Same area, new companion & new mission assignment

Elder Irvine is hereby called to serve as a full-time missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Oregon Salem Mission.
 
Last week was a blur. Apparently we did some service for a couple different people on Tuesday, planned out our week on Wednesday, had a mission tour on Thursday, went to prison camp again on Friday, did more service and attended a crazy baptism in North East Portland on Saturday, sung in sacrament meeting at church for Father's Day on Sunday, and then I got a new companion yesterday...
 

The mission tour with Elder Scott D. Whiting was great! He explained how even though we should have a vision to baptize, we also must look forward when we are teaching, so that those we teach can have the vision to endure to the end and reach their fullest potential in the Celestial Kingdom with their families and Heavenly Father. We had a leadership training meeting right after lunch where Elder Whiting sat down with all the district and zone leaders to discuss how we could improve our leadership. He shared with us how we need to discover and more actively strive to follow the 'character of Christ,' that is, to be selfless.

All this spiritual preparation led us our final transfer meeting as the current Oregon Portland Mission. All missionaries in the entire mission were invited to come so as to have one last "departing transfer" with our mission president. He jokingly told us he would like to house all of us at the Mission Home for one night. President Morby made the final move for all of us, and we are now placed within the areas, districts, and zones that will be after July 1st splits our mission into three. The districts and zones are way different and all of us are pretty confused. It feels as though we are in limbo, but it's a super exciting time.

I traded in my two companions, Elder Clayton (who went home today) and Elder Harding (who is going to be Assistant to the President in the Washington Vancouver Mission), for Elder Dustin Hatch. Funny enough, we've been joking that he pulled an "Elder Irvine" the same way that he moved a whopping one area over from Cornelius to Banks. So we not only came into the mission on the same plane together, but we have been in the same district since January and we both had Elder Wohlleben as a companion before he went home. We're both confused that we were placed together as zone leaders, destined to leave the area and mission together in September unless the next transfer (on July 24th) changes something.


We're stoked to be together and we hope and pray that we can get coordinated quickly so as to go forth and serve effectively immediately. Prayers would be nice! Thanks so much!