Hey everyone! 

So the first week as a zone leader....Honestly this was the busiest week of my mission! All the zone leaders call this week Shark Week. It's because we have a bunch of meetings that we prepare for and a lot of logistical stuff. And since it was the beginning of the transfer, we were helping everyone move dressers, mattresses, and box springs, plus the brand-new missionaries' stuff all this week. AND, on top of all that, we had an APOSTLE come and speak to us!!!!! It was such an awesome week, but I'm glad all the meetings are over. 

Thursday was the craziest. We had 9 hours of meetings that day, and boy was I drained! We had a Leadership Meeting for all the District Leaders, Zone Leaders, and Sister Training Leaders in the mission. Then we had MLC (Mission Leadership Council) for 5 hours. It's where all the Zone Leaders and Sister Training Leaders talk about their areas and what President Hobbs wants us to focus on for all the missionaries. We take what President Hobbs trains on and then pass it down to our zone through Zone Meeting. It's once a month, and for us it's tomorrow. So Elder F.  and I have been preparing like crazy for it. And then on top of that, we had Stake Coordination with all the Bishops and Ward Mission Leaders in Hesperia. 

Overall, my respect for zone leaders has skyrocketed. There's so much to do! Haha 

Ok, so about my companion. Elder D.  (yup, pronounced like Donnie) F.  is from Fillmore, Utah. He's been out 9 months and turned 19 not too long ago. He grew up on a farm and did wrestling in high school (he's a state champion!). And he's super funny. We quote Napoleon Dynamite all the time, and we haven't stopped laughing since last Monday. He's been showing me the ropes of the Green Tree ward and being a zone leader, and he's been a huge help. He's also really good at listening, and a lot of missionaries trust him, which is awesome. I'm learning so much from him. 

I forgot to take pictures of the new apartment, but with four elders there is never a dull moment. And both the other missionaries (Elder S. and Elder S.) are hilarious! It's a good-sized apartment: two bathrooms, a living room area, and two bedrooms, but unfortunately we don't have a washer and dryer in our apartment. Thank heavens Ninnie sent me a roll of quarters like 6 months ago. Oh, and I got both Ninnie's and Mom's package over the last couple weeks. It's been awesome!! That Green Eggs & Ham book from Ninnie is the coolest dinner thought to share. Little kids, moms and dads, even teenagers LOVE IT!! We shared it with one family last night, and they couldn't stop laughing. And Elder F.  loves those good gloves from Mom's package. Those cookies were great too :) 

When I got Ninnie's package a couple weeks ago, I decided I needed to just clear out most of the candy I had. I filled one of the packages with candy I wanted to give to other missionaries, and I handed it out at my last District Meeting. Funny story, we had a Tongan sister in our zone, and she was so happy I was giving it away. She ended up taking half the box of candy - it was so funny to see her so happy! haha

One more funny story. I didn't really know this, but missionaries are super resourceful. Our new sister missionaries needed a box spring, so we managed to fit a box spring into the back of our Corolla. Bad news was, we couldn't close the trunk because the box spring stuck out. So what did we do? Elder F.  and I took three of our Mission Belts and hooked them around the lid of the trunk so it wouldn't bounce up and down. We drove over a mile like that. It worked pretty dang good if I do say so myself. We got pictures of it too. 

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!!! I've been pinched already because I forgot to wear a green tie. I'm gonna have to go back and change. 

Hope you all have an awesome week!! I love you!! 

Love Elder Nissinen