Last Minute Transfer Changes and the Reign of Winter Storm Nemo

Justin found a stuffed Nemo in his apartment- how fitting!

"Where's the car??!!!"

My new companion, Elder Johnson

I have never seen this much snow in my entire life. For those of you who aren't aware, a blizzard hit New England this weekend, and it hit HARD. Winter Storm Nemo took its toll, and Lowell now looks completely different. In short, the city is practically buried. It snowed a good 2 feet or so, and then with the plows clearing the roads, there are monstrous piles of snow everywhere. I took plenty of pictures, no worries. Maybe my mom will put them up on the blog she's keeping up about my mission once I can get this memory card sent home. I don't think I've ever experienced anything like that blizzard in my entire life. Digging the car out afterward was its own adventure!

The four of us Elders here in Lowell bunked together for the storm in our apartment and had a great time. We were under lockdown and weren't allowed to leave the apartment from noon on Friday until 8:00 AM on Sunday. It was a good opportunity for the four of us to get to know each other better, since both of the companionships have changed with this transfer. We hung out, studied the scriptures, talked, played tons of board games, wrote letters, took naps, etc. It was a fun couple of days, but I'm glad to be back out and about, tending to this portion of the Lord's vineyard.

Transfer meeting was this last Thursday, and I've missed Elder Butters, but my new companion and I are getting along well. Here's the surprise part...it's not Elder Ban. On Thursday morning, Pres. Packard made a last-minute change in transfers. Elder Ban is now in Franklin, MA. As the APs (assistants to the president) read the "mission adjustments" (basically, how the entire mission will be with leadership, companionship assignments, designated drivers, etc.), they go by zone, and typically in alphabetical order of the zones, from what I've noticed. The 11 zones are Boston, Cambridge North, Cambridge South, Hartford, Hingham North, Hingham South, Nashua (my zone!), New Haven, Providence North, and Providence South, and Springfield. Franklin is in the Hingham South zone, and when they read off Elder Ban's name in that area, I was VERY confused. I was sitting in the front row, and Pres. Packard must have seen my puzzled look. He got my attention, and signaled me to come and sit next to him on the stand as the APs continued to read the list. He whispered to me, "That happened this morning." I later found out, as the Nashua zone was read, that my new companion is Elder Tory Johnson, from West Point, Utah. As I talked with Elder Johnson on the ride back up to Lowell, he told me that he got a call from Pres. Packard at 7:00 AM that morning, telling him that he was being transferred. He had about an hour or so to pack, and still made it to transfer meeting on time.

I was also asked to sing at this transfer meeting, and I wanted to share with you an inspiring story about choosing the piece I sang. It's called "You Have Nothing to Fear" and it's by Rob Gardner. When Elder Reber (one of the APs) called me and asked me to sing at transfer meeting, he asked that I sing "Make Me Whole," the song I sang at the mission's musical fireside last week. I was very happy to do so, but it occurred to me to sing "You Have Nothing to Fear" instead. My mom had emailed me last week about that song and I indicated to her that I had been thinking about it also and wanted to sing it for something. Sister Jordan played the piano for me (she played "Make Me Whole" for me at the fireside) - she's very talented and this was a simple piece. We only practiced once beforehand, about 5 minutes before the meeting! Of course, she played perfectly, and I felt really good about my singing. I wasn't sure why I wanted to sing that song so bad until after the meeting - many people, youth missionaries and senior couples alike, came up to me and told me how much that song touched them. Several people asked for the name of the piece. One non-missionary sister, a member from the area, who was in attendance told me that her friend was battling cancer, and that my song really meant a lot to her. She wanted to know the name so that she could share it with this troubled friend. Her eyes shone with gratitude and emotion, and it then hit me that the Spirit had gently prompted me to change the number I'd be singing. I'm grateful for that direction from my Heavenly Father to do so, and to have been able to touch the lives of others as an instrument in His hand, through the Spirit and through music.

Elder Johnson and I are excited to get to work now that the storm is past. Our companionship is off to a great start, and he's already proving to me that he truly is divinely called to be here in Lowell at this time whether he realizes it or not! He's contributed fantastic ideas to help a couple of our investigators who just can't seem to progress. I'm excited to see what this transfer has to hold.

Love,
Elder Justin DeLong