February 20th, 2017:
It's Elder Bach's and Elder Leterneau's last day!
Elder Leterneau got a hair cut, Elder Bach went to Deseret Books, and I found a
spikeball net (but it was very expensive so I did not buy it).
I finally made onigiri! However, I did not put
anything inside it so it was just rice & seaweed. It really needs
something inside... next time!
Transfers can be very chaotic. Elders Lyons and Evans
were with us today. They are going to be in a trio (just like I was) for 3
weeks. There's a trial elder going to the MTC to start his full mission.
February 21st, 2017:
This morning Elder Lyons did a workout DVD called
"Insanity workout." It was pretty funny to see him scream back
at Shawn T (the instructor on the DVD).
My new companion is here! He's Elder Gudmundsen.
He has been out for nine months and served in Rock Springs, Murray YSA, and
Murray North. He hails from Midvale, Michigan. He's pretty diligent
and obedient, has studied Chinese for three years in high school (but it's been
a while), and likes to cook. He also likes video games a bit, which is
fun.
We went grocery shopping and it was evident that we both
like to cook. His dad made sushi, so he likes it and knows how (he has to
cook the fish, though). We got a lot of fresh produce (mango, avocado,
peach, ...) to use in the sushi. I also found a huge bag of
sushi rice (20 pounds) for a good price ($13), so I'm very happy.
Everyone was at basketball, it seemed. The ward
mission leaders for Saint Mary's, Emigration Canyon, and 6th ward were there
along with basically the whole 6th ward council. It's like a community
hub for them.
We went contacting with Jake and I realized it was my first
time really "tracting," where the people we were meeting did not know
that we were coming. It was entirely different than contacting referrals.
February 22nd, 2017:
We had a language study with the sisters today. Sister
Shang got a new companion, Sister Cushman. I haven't really met her yet,
though.
After language study, we had a weird meeting with the Paul’s,
the sisters, and Brother Wheeler. Brother Wheeler was agitated because we
haven't visited anyone on a long list of people as part of a project he set
up. We couldn't because of Elder Leterneau's knees and Elder Bach, while
the sisters had many investigators and didn't have much time. However, I
can understand why he would be frustrated--he probably felt that we had apathy
toward his efforts to pick up activity in the English wards. Also, I
asked at one point what the purpose was for doing this. I intended by
that to find out what would he want for us to accomplish by visiting, but I
think he thought I meant why should we even bother. I only realized this later,
so I'll straighten it out with him. As such, however, we took most of the rest
of the day and wrote out the names, addresses, ages, and family of those people
on little cards. When we visit them, we'll be able to record it all.
We were going to visit some tonight, but when we drove back
to our apartment get my coat, we found our doors unlocked, the lights on, and
the blinds up. We spent a chunk of time carefully moving to each room to
make sure no one was there. Nothing had been touched, so we assumed we
just forgot to lock our door that time. We haven't left our door unlocked
since.
After that was a meeting with all our stake's ward mission
leaders. President Hillier was there and told us that he felt that God
wanted to give this area a special blessing, but he didn't know what. He
said that we would need to be diligent for it, though.
After the meeting, I offered President Hillier some spicy
wasabi-coated peas. I probably should have warned him. I don't think
he knew what they were. He took about six--a small handful, but still a
lot--and ate them all at once. He made a funny expression. It's a
good thing wasabi doesn't last long. I guess that I won’t be called to any
leadership positions in the mission after that.
February 23rd, 2017:
Here are our current investigators:
- Jason and Zhiwei: teachers from the PRC ("People's Republic of China" or Mainland China [also just China; when people say they're "from China," they don't normally mean Taiwan or Hong Kong.]). They accepted the Word of Wisdom cold turkey (with coffee) and tithing, despite their financial circumstances. However, due to some issues with the PRC government, they will not get baptised anytime soon.
- Rick and Dauri: Dauri used to be very unreceptive, but she's come a long way, including reading the whole Book of Mormon. Rick has ALS and is wheelchair-bound; there's something holding him back from joining the church that he hasn't shared yet. They love family history and do it weekly.
- Lizzy: She's from China. She has a PhD in electrical engineering and is very busy studying for a certification so her degree will be accepted here. She got engaged recently. She has a hard time giving up wine from her now-reduced rate of once a week.
- Abraham and Jack: International students from China. Abraham is a freshman and Jack is a Junior. Abraham doesn't feel mature enough to get baptized, while Jack is still wrapping his head around the concept of God.
- Larry: He has onset dementia or something similar. We need to work with his wife to know if we should invite him to be baptized. He's probably okay--able to actually choose--but we want to respect the wife as well. They're around their 60s. The wife's mom is 98 but gets around like she's 70-something.
Today, we had a lesson with Lizzy. We did weekly
planning for the rest of the day. I was introducing Elder Gudmundsen to the
area, so hopefully later planning will not take as long.
The bishop over the Crestview ward gave me a "Hymns
made easy" book. They were so nice to do so, and now I could play
piano for meetings, given some notice.
Today for lunch I had chicken noodle soup and Elder
Gudmundsen had a hand roll (less-fancy sushi). Tomorrow we're going to
make a stir-fry.
I feel good about the next six weeks of this transfer.
I really hope I'm not misplaced about that. Looking back, I think Elder Bach
and Elder Leturneau both knew that they were going home early. While it
made the past transfer harder than usual, it helped me to be more grateful for
good health and the chance to serve a mission. Now I'm with a different companion
and I appreciate the chance to serve with him.
Mandarin Chinese has been good. It's not really being a pioneer (we are in the middle of SLC, after all), although we are working with people who don't know anything about God.
February 22nd, 2017:
We had a normal study schedule today, so aside from district
meeting we had a good amount of time on the field.
Our stir fry was pretty good today! We excluded the
eggs, shrimp, and beef but we're going to make another tomorrow. We're still
figuring out the new schedule in terms of lunch. Since it's 30 minutes, I
guess that means we really shouldn't be cooking so much (making such
time-intensive meals). We'll work it out soon enough.
One thing I learned at district meeting is that I need to
work on being humble when others make me feel less experienced, especially when
I feel I should or could do better. Our district leader paused us in
roleplays to point out that I could have asked a better question before I could
ask a good follow-up question. I just need to remember that being a
district leader is hard and he's only trying to help. I've noticed it
retrospectively on prior occasions, like at the recent meeting with Brother
Wheeler or when we had to give a training once.
After district meeting, we had a lesson with Rick and
Dauri. It went nowhere very fast. Sometimes people will start
telling stories and we'll have to wait for a good time to talk, but the member
we brought with us (a neighbor) turned out to be a long time friend, so they
caught up for a while. Eventually, we just had to ask to leave as it was
near dinner time.
We've decided to ask every dinner appointment about their
home and visiting teaching. It's probably the best thing they could do
for us, aside from trying to find someone who's ready to be taught.
We finally managed to visit people on Brother Wheeler's
list. It went well enough; it was cold but good.
February 25th, 2017:
We had a normal day of studies, followed by about four hours
of passing out cookies. After that was dinner--hot pot is a buffet at
home--and a lesson with Jack.
That was about it today. Elder Gudmundsen is pretty
good. Things are well.
I've very briefly considered working with firefighters or
the military once I get back. There's a lot of benefits. I still
have to look more into it when I get home.
That's a weird thing on the mission. I don't really
want to think of later, but at the same time there's a lot of chances to see
people, the choices they've made, and improve from that. So I just try to
make sure it doesn't interfere with missionary work.
February 26th, 2017:
Today was different for a Sunday. It was a slow
morning, since we visited only five wards (more than any time last transfer)
and spoke at a Sunday school class of 16-17 year-olds. So church was
pretty good.
Elder Paul, part of our senior couple, went unconscious
during church today. It was just after sacrament meeting. It turns
out that he was very dehydrated, we found out later, but paramedics were called
to the scene. It was interesting, though; during the whole thing I felt
calm. I knew he would be okay. I'm glad he was.
We had a very long dinner followed by a solid companionship
inventory. We both opened up to each other. Honestly, sisters
aren't the only emotional ones. Elders have their crying times,
too. We just choose them better. ;)'
Also, on a side note, I absolutely LOVE wasabi. It's
spicy, but it completely reverts after a few seconds. After serving in mostly
Spanish area in Evanston, I could ask for nothing better from my spicy food!
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