August 1st, 2016

Dear Family and Friends,

We had transfers this week! Elder Low went to Xenia and is a district
leader now. Here is the surprising thing, I am in a Tech Elder Trio
again! My new companions are Elder Liu and Elder Janson.

Being with two companions again has been strange, especially with how
different each of our personalities. When I was with Elders Marvin and
Winkler, we all had really similar interests so we all felt
comfortable around each other. It isn't that we don't get along, the
friendship just hasn't been as immediate.

Elder Liu is from mainland China and came to Ohio in the same transfer
I came. He is a convert and joined the church in Canada while he was
going to school there. He is 27 and has a masters degree in chemical
engineering. Elder Liu has been doing great with all of the tech tasks
we have had to do. He is not yet confident in his skills, but he has
been a real asset. I can tell he has a loving personality and he has
wonderful spiritual insights.

Elder Janson is from Highland, Utah. We served in the same district
for my first transfer in the mission and now we are companions. It has
been cool to see the change in him since then. He is one transfer away
from going home now. Elder Janson has been struggling to come to terms
with this new assignment as a technology specialist. At first he was
feeling like he was not part of the team, and that he is "just along
for the ride." He is feeling that less now, but he still feels out of
place. This is the last area that he expected to be in to end his
mission and I can tell he wants another area. Having Elder Janson to
assist with the workload has helped during this large transfer. He
will continue to be helpful, but I can tell there will need to be a
lot of direction given to keep him on task. While working with Elder
Long, I have seen him do some fantastic work on the cars, so it is
just a matter of him finding the right motivation.

We haven't had a lot of time to meet with investigators this week, but
we have been making the best of our time with members during dinners.
We have been sharing part of the "Families are Forever" ensign talk
which lists some steps members can make in working together to
fellowship others into the church. I like the message because it gives
advice on how the family can be more unified and gives good direction
on what each member of the family can do to help. The three main
points I like are fasting and prayer as a family, setting a date as a
family that they will find someone that has accepted to meet with the
missionaries, and picking a family to fellowship. I have found many
other talks that I think will be invaluable in motivating the ward to
fellowship and invite their neighbors.

--
Elder Aaron King
Ohio Columbus Mission