Transfers

Those of you who have served missions understand exactly what I mean when I say: transfers.

Being transferred to a new area on the mission involves a lot of emotions. For one: you may or may not love the area in which you are currently serving. If you love your area you may feel sad or upset about being transferred somewhere else. If you don't like the area where you are serving, transfer day can't come any sooner. Second: you may or may not like your companion. If you love your companion you're sad to get transferred and run the risk of serving with someone you don't like. Or if you don't like your companion then again, transfer day can't come any sooner.
Whether you love or hate your area, like or dislike your companion, transfers always bring a fresh start. A time to reevaluate. Set some new goals, develop better habits. A new beginning, where you take everything you've learned from your previous area and former companion and build upon those things.

I served in my second area of my mission for 4 transfers. That's 24 weeks of the same area. The same surroundings, same ward, same investigators. I loved this city. I loved the ward. I loved our investigators. I could have stayed another transfer or two without any complaint. But the day did come and I did have to leave.
A new city, new ward, new companion, new missionaries, new investigators. It was the end of November and I was going to be here for Christmas. My one Christmas in Germany. I was sad to leave my area but I was excited and looking forward to some new adventures. I had been in my second area for so long that I had forgotten what it was like to be in a city and not know where anything is or how to get anywhere. I hated it. I didn't like not knowing where I was. It was cold and got dark early. We lived in a sketchy part of town in a nasty, little apartment that smelled like smoke. The ward was strange and the Elders were completely unmotivated. And, we had no investigators. It was a depressing 6 weeks but we did what we could to keep happy. Feeding the ducks who lived at the pond behind the palace brought us great enjoyment.
















And the palace there is BEAUTIFUL!


















I also have to mention that I had probably the most amazing Christmas day EVER: a member of our ward took us hiking in the Black Forest. Yes, THE Black Forest.

To this day I still can't quite figure out why I was transferred there. The whole six weeks we had one person that we kind of taught. I felt like my time there was kind of a waste. I was happy when transfer calls came.

As you can probably tell I've been thinking a lot about this time in my mission. About that transfer in particular. Probably because I still don't understand it. Just as I don't understand what's going on in my life right now.

I've worked for American Eagle for almost 2 years now. And I've loved every moment of it. I love everything about working there: except for letting people into the fitting rooms. I can't explain it but it puts me in the worst mood and I can't stand it. Anyway, to make a long story short, just after the back to school season my hours got cut. Mostly because business died down, but for other reasons as well. I was so upset. I've given pretty much everything for my store (just ask my friends). I'm good at my job. I know everything about the store. I know everything about the clothes. I can tell just by looking at someone what size jeans they'd wear. My life revolved around AE - I seriously lived my life at American Eagle. And I loved it. I usually came away from work feeling better than I had when I got there.










So my hours were few and I needed a new job. Let me tell you, I cried over this. But a miracle came along and within a week I got a job working at Crazy 8 (children's clothing store) as a manager. More hours doing the same thing, just at a different store. I feel like I got transferred. Working with different people, different customers. And you know what, I feel like something in my life is missing. I feel so incomplete. I miss my store. I miss the people I worked with. It's like I transferred myself to a new area and miss the familiarity and comfort of my old area. I know that this new job will bring me new experiences and challenges that will (hopefully) help me grow and learn. I've learned one thing for sure: I miss living my life at AE.

So just like was I feeling when I left my second area, wondering what it is that Heavenly Father wants me to learn, I'm sitting here wondering what I need to learn this time. Hoping and praying that I can be happy again and that my experience here won't leave me feeling like I wasted time.

One thing for sure...I probably won't go hiking in the Black Forest again this Christmas...