Transfer Week!

Hey y'all, hope you had a good week. We had a crazy one!
TRANSFER DAY:
   At 8:30 on Wednesday morning the Mills family came to our apartment to take us to transfers. It is a pretty good drive to Farragut from Kingsport and we got there at about 10:30.  Transfer day is always a good time to see friends that I’ve made out here, even some that are going home.  But after a while of talking Elder Donahoo and I loaded back up with the Mills to head back. They even took us to Cracker Barrel, which is always good.  On the way back there was a big accident on the freeway so we were in traffic forever, and we didn’t get back until about 5:00. 

Elder Roden and Elder Donahoo

   Then at about 6:30 I had set up a meal appointment with this guy named Bruce Miller, who is a non-member, but likes feeding missionaries!  It was one of the coolest nights of my mission.  He is not a member and is not interested in becoming one but he just really likes missionaries.   He owns over 100 acres nestled back in a more rural area, but he has an amazing house and property.  He also raises cow and he fed us steak from one of them and it was probably the best steak I’ve ever had.  In his basement he had one of the BB guns that Ralphie used from A Christmas Story ,haha, it was the one that he dropped on the porch.  And he also had the original telephone from The Andy Griffith show.  I’ll send some pics.  It was all authenticated and everything. But we had a really good time with him. 

Best steak ever with a view

The gun Ralphie shot his eye out with

Andy Griffith's phonw

WHAT'S NEW DONAHOO:
   Well I am very, very excited, to say the least, about this upcoming transfer.  I know Donahoo a little bit from my last district and we get along really, really well. We have already had a really good time working together.  He is from Montpelier Idaho and has been out for 20 months.  We are both on the same plan when it comes to missionary work. We are busting our butts so far but are also having a blast while doing it.

Newest version of the Kingsport District

LIGHTNING BUGS/AGGRESSIVE BIRD/HOLE:
   Well one night we were just sitting on our back porch and we could see some fireflies, so we wanted to catch some, haha.  While we were walking around I went up to this tree to shake out some of them hopefully.  Well I shook it and I just heard this loud flapping noise and SMACK! I got right-winged by a freakin’ bird, haha!  At first I had no idea what it was but I was just like "AH! Dude I swear that felt like a bird", and Donahoo was laughing super hard and just said, "Yeah it just flew off". Haha, it was funny! 
   We continued our hunt in this big field of tall grass next to our apartment complex, and Donahoo was chasing after one and I just heard him yell and he disappeared. Turns out he ran straight into a big hole! It was a funny night.

The Kitchen of Hope owns no manly aprons

KITCHEN OF HOPE:
  One day we were helping out serve at the Kitchen of hope, because the 2 Kingsport wards serve a meal once a month. After we were about done cleaning up, this woman came into the place with her 2 month old son and they were not in good shape.  They had been kicked out of her parents’ home and had just been floating around for a couple days.  She was absolutely frantic and it was so sad to see.  So some members took the baby to take care of it for a little bit and we tried to help the lady.  We offered a blessing to her and she accepted. So we took a chair outside, because we couldn’t "proselyte" in another church.  It was just an odd, loud setting…  Downtown area, hysterical woman, lawns being mowed, cars driving by.  But as soon as we put our hands on her head, all was still for a moment.  She stopped crying, and almost every word that I was thinking in my head, Elder Donahoo spoke right after. 
   After that she calmed down, and a member took her and her baby to her house to say. Such a tough situation and she needs all the prayers she can get.
MALAKAI/MATT:
   We got Malakai’s baptism all set up and ready to go on Wednesday.  He is super excited and we are too!  Also, we got some news that Matt Courtney is going to be baptized next month instead of this Saturday.  It’s mostly because his step son, Sister Courtney’s son Nick, will be gone for all of June. But we are super excited for him. 

QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

"The most important of the Lord's work you will ever do will be within the walls of your own homes" -President Harold B. Lee- 

Thanks everyone for everything, have a good week!