Luke's first week as an AP....hard work, no sleep!
It was so fun to hear Luke talk about all the things he got to do this week and the things he is learning now that he is an AP. (Assistant to the President) First he said this week he got NO SLEEP!!! The very first morning he had to wake up at 3:30 am to drive the missionaries going home to the airport and then to pick up the new missionaries coming in. He said he got the chills seeing these new missionaries get off the plane. He remembers that day so well when he first arrived and all the emotions that go with it. Also he has to learn to drive a stick shift and today was his first attempt. He said it's not too bad, he only stalled once. It's a little stressful because there aren't any traffic lights and so it's a little bit crazy! But he'll get it! :)
As APs they need to go on 11 exchanges this transfer. So this week he already had 2. He got to go to Bario Quatro and saw Ellie, one of the sisters that got baptized when he was there, she is doing great and is even in the Primary Presidency! It was so cool to see her there getting things ready for an activity they were doing. So exciting to see her still active! And Sandra from his first area just went through the temple and was sealed to her husband! So amazing!
Luke's new area is a really hard area and very dangerous. The Bishop has been the bishop for 8 years and he told them to go out and find their new bishop :) There are 6 new converts in the ward and one of them gave them a reference and they already put them on date! So hopefully things work out for that! They don't have too many other references and so they had to knock doors this week!!! Luke laughed and said he hasn't had to knock doors his whole mission! Definitely not as fun nor as successful.
They had a little miracle happen when they were knocking doors...it was getting late and suddenly they felt a guy that looked like a hoodlem, walking behind them. Soon he left on his scooter but then started coming back around. All of a sudden there was a lady from across the street that yelled to them that they needed to leave She said that guy was coming back for them. They went and started talking to her and she warned them that it wasn't a good area. She was worried about them so she and her husband gave them a ride home! And now they have an appointment to go back to teach them. A tender mercy, they were kept safe and they have someone new to teach!
Being an AP you are going 100 miles a minute! Luke is excited because each week they have breakfast with President Reber and have a meeting with the office missionaries and then a meeting right after with President and the APs. When he had his interview with President this week it felt so different. He felt the pressure of the importance of his new calling. Instead of an interview where President just asks how things are going, this time he was more serious and said "I need you to learn everything you can!" The new president will be coming in July and he won't know anything and will really need Luke. Luke is learning how President Reber does transfers and showed him the transfer board. He said Luke will probably need to do the transfer board the first transfer until the new President learns the missionaries and gets a hang of everything. Luke felt so awesome inside as President Reber told him "You have been prepared for this moment. You have been to all the areas and you have a knowledge of everything!" There are 170 missionaries in the mission and President told him he will probably have to plan the first zone conferences for him. Wow, so much responsibility!
With leadership you also have to deal with some not so fun situations. On exchanges Luke did a phone audit of some elders. He found rap music and all kinds of things that are not appropriate for missionaries. Then he saw pictures of a bunch of elders hanging out at night together and some didn't have their garments one. He said it was so eye opening, some of these missionaries are zone leaders. He had to talk to them and tell them they needed to be an example. Luke said he and his wife are going to do phone audits. That way they will just keep each other accountable. :) At then end of each exchange they are supposed to give the elders an invitation of some sort. One elder had a nasty apartment and so he extended the invitation to clean his floors :) ha ha ha!
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