Sorry, the number 5 has no relevance to me.
So, here's the deal: Dubuque is splitting up into two areas, and Elder Unsicker and I are splitting up as well. Elder Unsicker will take one area and train a new missionary while I and another missionary will cover another section of Dubuque. The way we split up Dubuque is by districts. There are Six Districts in Dubuque: Eagle Point, Grandview/University, Downtown, Port of Dubuque, Southend, and Westend. I will be taking University, Southend and Downtown, and Elder Unsicker will take Eagle Point, Westend, and everything outside of Dubuque. I've volunteered my new companion and myself to being bike missionaries, and, as Elder Unsicker's two areas are split up on both ends of town, he'll have the car. He has a pretty good apartment we've picked out, we just need to gather up furniture for it. I'll be getting a new apartment probably as well, as this week we had more leeks and mold and all sorts of junk. It's supposedly all fixed now, but we're no longer messing with it. So I'll be moving next week. We also got a call from the AP's asking if there would be room in either of the Dubuque Apartments for a trio of missionaries at some point in the future. So I'm figuring one of us may be getting two new companions.
This past week was also my going home temple trip. That was great. We went first to an old cemetery a little ways outside of Nauvoo. That was a really cool, spiritual place. I loved looking around at all of the old gravestones and the statue they have there. Many of those who were dead there were only teenagers or younger. Then we went to the temple and did an endowment session. That was just as spectacular as ever. And then we went up into the bell tower. It was quite the view from up in there. We even went up into the dome right below the Angel Moroni. We then went shopping and I got myself a lanyard, temple recommend holder with a picture of the Nauvoo Temple on the front, and a Sunstone ring that has kind of become a tradition in the mission to get. We then headed back. I love Nauvoo. On the way back from Nauvoo, through Iowa City, we stopped by the hospital and saw Mary's triplets. They are adorable. Arina, Terrina, and Marina are their names, I think. They're doing very well, and it was good being able to talk with the nurse there about everything. One apparently got a shunt in the last couple days in her head to deal with the fluids up there. Getting this kind of information through a Marshallese Middleman makes things harder to understand than straight from the NICU nurse. It was also nice to talk to someone like Cari about Pick Lines and all those things.
And, as you can tell from the subject, we had three baptisms this weekend. On Saturday, Dino Alfred and Branton Johnson were baptized, a couple Marshallese youth who are great. They were nearly late because of a scout campout earlier that caused Branton to nearly sleep through it and Dino forgetting to come early, but they made it and it was great. President Jergensen came to it along with Sister Jergensen. It was a pretty small turnout to that one, but it was much larger at Mary's baptism the next day. Ronnie baptized Dino and Mike baptized Branton, and Elder Unsicker confirmed Dino and I confirmed Branton. That was a great Sacrament Meeting. President and Sister Jergensen were still around for that one, and President was given an opportunity to bear his testimony. I also gave a brief talk, but I was assigned to it earlier. The entire Sacrament Meeting was on Joseph Smith and my talk was on the First Vision. I loved being able to share it with an audience of members and bear my testimony of it. There were a few nonmembers present as well so I'm glad they got to hear the powerful testimonies given that day. During Sunday School, Elder Unsicker and I taught a lesson to the Marshallese on the importance of the Word of Wisdom in our line of preparing them for a Marshallese Branch lessons. It's supposedly secret but everybody else is talking about it like crazy that Galena Branch is closing and joining up with us. That will push everything to the point where a Marshallese Branch will basically be necessary, as will the possibility of two Dubuque Wards. That night was Mary's baptism, which was probably one of the most spiritual ones I've had for some reason. She was able to come up from Iowa City for it. We had the little marriage ceremony first and then the baptism, performed by Ronnie, and her confirmation, performed by her father-in-law. Her little son was there, too, a cute little four-year-old by the name of Peterson. He sat by me and drew pictures of me as a monster and held my hand as I would lead him around. I've loved seeing these six baptisms in the past three months.
Badabububah, I'm lovin' it!
--
Ij Yokwe Yuk!
Elder Charlie Gates
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