Elder Kent Thompson, India Bengaluru Mission: Big Changes

Hello,

This week was nice with lots of big changes. Last P-day, we got an unexpected transfer call. Elder Ball will be going back to Bangalore to serve in my old area. Not only that, but all of the Elders in Rajahmundry are leaving except for the Zone Leaders, me, and Elder Patten. Elders Harris, Monk, Farr, Bandi, D'vaz, and Ball are all leaving. My new companion's name is Elder Willis. Currently, he is serving as the AP in Bangalore. He'll come be with me for one transfer and then he will go home. I'm stoked because he's a cool guy. Also, nobody is coming to replace Elder Harris and Monk so I'm taking over the entire branch. I don't really know their area, but they showed me some homes last week. I've also been informed that I will be the new District Leader here. I don't know much about being a District Leader, but I will learn! Anyway, this week brought some huge changes. I'm a little sad to see so many great elders leave, but there will be some fun times in the future.

This morning Elder Patten, Elder Harris and I went to ride our cycles across the Godavari river. We carried our cycles up some stairs to get on the bridge. We started riding around and noticed that there was no traffic. Turns out the bridge was closed off to traffic because they were doing some painting and resurfacing. Nobody seemed to mind that we were riding our bikes on the bridge, so we just kept going! Because there was no traffic, we decided that we should take an opportunity that we probably will never have again. Elder Patten had his slackline with him, so we set it up from one side of the bridge to the other and slack lined across the road. I'll attach some pictures from this morning's adventures.

That's about all for the week. I went on exchange a lot to try and learn as much as I can about the area and the branch. I think I'm ready to take over. It's a lot for me to do, but I know that I can do it.

I hope you all have an amazing week.

Love,

Elder Thompson