Below Freezing in Elkton

Elder Tevita Vimahi is doing well!  He was transferred 2 weeks ago from Clarksville, Tennessee to Elkton, Kentucky.  He is now a District Leader (DL) and held his first district council.  This is a meeting where those within his district get together and discuss about their goals and data, share problems they might be having in the area about some of their people and then everyone counsels together to help resolve issues or come up with possible solutions.

This week Elder Vimahi has not been driving much because of the icy roads.  Their mission president, President Galland counseled them to refrain from traveling on the roads for safety.  So, they have been walking a lot.  Elder Vimahi mentioned that they had stopped by the gas station to get a drink and as they continued on their way, walking to their next destination, his drink started to turn into slush while it was in hand!  Pretty crazy!

I check the weather often where my boys are serving and took this screenshot of his area’s weather forecast due the week:

David and I initially told him before he left Texas that he could buy a coat when the weather changed.  However, Elkton’s town is so small (population 1300) that they don’t even have a Walmart (the nearest one is 40 minutes away) or a place to buy a coat.  So we ended up buying one for him and sending it overnight—of course, it took an extra day to get there because the icy roads caused a delay in the delivery process.  In the meantime, he had been wearing his cowboys hoodie with a church sweater over it to stay warm.

In other winter preparations, Elder Vimahi said the housing coordinator over their mission instructed each companionship to drip their faucets in an effort to keep the pipes from freezing and busting.

I asked Elder Vimahi if he still had a hard time speaking to people.  He said he has definitely become more bold.  He also said “On your mission you’re like under a microscope in the sense that your personality becomes magnified.  Before my mission I was just me.  But on my mission I’m using me as a tool to get things done”.

Word has gotten around that Elder Vimahi put out a few tracks before his mission.  A few of the Sister missionaries sought him out after a conference and insisted he take a picture with him and autograph it 😂