Week 40 Journal
Monday, April 3rd, 2017:
I just wanted to note I've gotten a lot of emails.
Thank you. I’ve read every one I've received, but responding to them has
been a lot harder. I'm trying to do what I can. I don't have a lot
of free time at all, though, so thank you for understanding. In an effort to
catch up, I might not respond to every single email people have sent me.
I'll try to stay on the ball this time, but don't expect as deep a
response. I love the spiritual thoughts people give me, especially Uncle
Art, and hearing updates on your lives is always great.
P-Day! Each of us ended up sleeping in for 1.5 hours But we
got everything done! We played tennis for p-day. It was so fun! We then
visited around the WasatcC Hills ward. Elder Gudmundsen got a speaker
from the member who works for Skull candy. He gave me another set of
headphones! It was a good night. Also, we got in on time.
Yay!
My grammar and spelling have taken hits from my
journal. I'm going to focus more on it and try to write slower. I'm
normally so busy on a mission that I don't have too much time to think about
it, though.
Tuesday, April 4th, 2017:
This was a good morning. After getting up and having
breakfast, I joined Elder Gudmundsen for his morning workout. Having
completed my normal routine of walking up and down the stairs, push-ups, and curl-ups,
I hadn't reached 30 minutes. So Elder Gudmundsen show me how to lift
weights. While it was difficult, it also felt good. I tried to do
bench presses and nearly fell off the bench; all we have are 35 pound hand
weights and it’s a lot harder than with a bar; I found it hard to do one
rep. I will work from push-ups. As it stands, I can do the other
exercises Elder Gudmundsen showed me. I'm glad I have a more productive
way to exercise.
~Later~
Soon after companionship study, we got in an argument.
Same old, same old: the topic actually wasn't so important, the resolution
would take too long to explain here, and really I was just being
prideful. Still, I'm trying hard to avoid future arguments when
necessary.
We then traveled down to Midvale to contact a referral.
It's Elder Gudmundsen's old area; we stopped by a member's fridge (in his
carport). He lets the missionaries come by and grab drinks whenever
they are around.
Before that, we held a language study that went very well
for me. I mainly focused on "cat" versus "dog" and
other words that have a -| or |- stroke combination.
As we returned to our area, Elder Gudmundsen got a
mini-migraine. Not fun at all.
Dinner was with the sisters. The new sister is Sister
Simpson, one of the first sisters I served around. She had cut and
straightened her hair so she looked different. One other referral later,
we headed off to English class, again staying with the students. This time it
was very well-attended.
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| English class was really full this week; it's the most anyone had ever seen. |
We checked in at basketball to end off the night.
Whew! Things are going better. I'm still hoping
to get along better with Elder Gudmundsen. Even still, I've
matured/grown/improved in many ways on my mission so I know I'm doing well.
Wednesday, April 5th, 2017:
We joined the sisters for language study today. Sister
Simpson wants to learn. She was in a Korean-speaking area before she came
here. Hopefully I helped her--we reviewed Pinyin and tones--as the basics
are the hardest to do alone.
Our stake meeting was stellar. In re-adjusting the
roles of the elders and sisters, the meeting became a group discussion.
Everyone was able to contribute and we all took tasks to accomplish. The
meeting was most specifically about getting everyone on the same page with our
meetings with the ward mission leaders. Everyone will attend a bi-weekly
meeting for each ward. I'm hopeful for the prospects.
We joined Elder Gudmundsen's former senior couple for lunch
today. He was able to fill them in on questions they had regarding the
old area.
I checked in to family services for a follow-up
appointment. Brother Oswald taught me about mindfulness, which is being
aware of emotions and attaining self-mastery. Neither of us thought
additional appointments were needed.
Our area book app updated! We now have a new type of
event. This wouldn't mean much to anyone at home. Basically, it
lets us plan and keep records a little better.
The couple that had us over for dinner tonight has a
semi-serious goal to visit the highest (natural) point in each state. We
talked about creating our own spiritual high points, even when in a spiritual
valley (the metaphor is most complete when considering that Florida's highest
point is only 300-something above sea level). It was a pleasant
discussion.
After dinner, we helped Josh find a piece of pipe under his
house. He's a less-active member we've been trying to get to return to
church. He didn't really know why he stopped going; all he needed was
someone to ask so he would consider it. So if you're reading this, go do your
home or visiting teaching. God works through small acts sometimes. Josh
lives right by the member who works for Skull Candy, so we dropped by him to
ask about the speakers. He ended up giving us earbuds. He's so
generous!
Thursday, April 6th, 2017:
Wait, I'm at 9 months. What?
We had the district leader and his companion over for
studies. I got a good refresher on leading by example from our companionship
study.
I've gotten good at instant exercise: getting out of bed and
doing a short exercise so I stay awake.
After studies, we had some confusion over dinner. Two
families thought they were having us over tonight. We would find out
later that one family signed up for just the sisters, not knowing that the
elders have a second list. I sorted it our while Elder Gudmundsen had
lunch.
Language study is going very well for me. I'm (very
slowly) expanding my vocabulary. Chinese is fascinating; I've learned
that cat and dog have the same first part of a character in Simplified but not
Traditional. Cat changes while dog is the same. It turns out that
the radical [a base part of the character, like "turn" in return] in
cat means "animal," but more specifically it means "dog-sized
animal." Some other dog-sized animals' characters share this
radical. Just like with cat, they are all changed to match dog's in
Simplified. Also, my favorite Chinese word so far is cat--"mao" (high
tone).
 |
| My attempt at writing Chinese: on a Pass Along card. it says, "Hello! We are missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Is there a good time we may come back?" |
We had a little different weekly planning; we
scheduled/cleaned up our meetings with the ward mission leaders. It took
a while but hopefully it'll be worth it.
Brother Wheeler asked us to copy files onto a flash drive
for him. I don't think he knows how. At the same time, he is the
most involved member I've ever met. We all have our strengths and
weaknesses, and even writing this two days later I'm still turning that
principle over in my head.
Also, I realized Brother Wheeler is pretty similar to
me. He had a solid personal perception of what should happen (like what
ward councils should do) and he is bothered when others don't align in
that. I think I'm the same way. I also had the idea occur to me
that maybe "exact obedience" is being obedient to the spirit of the
law. It would make sense with what President Hillier said--we cannot
interpret the law, ordinances, principles, or commandments, but we interpret
the application--and would help me accept things that would otherwise become
points of arguments. Above all, I must be driven by my purpose.
After dinner (which was at Ruth's Cafe, a restaurant at
Emigration Canyon's mouth and a landmark of sorts for that community) we had
two meetings and visited a few people we're trying to work with. The meetings
had a great feeling; we are all so engaged in the work that we have a good
group vibe. It was absent when the sisters were working in solely
Chinese. A similar feeling is in our companionship, which is good.
Friday, April 7th, 2017:
We had a pretty long comp study. We talked about
calling people by their last names, especially investigators. I'm still
working on the whole getting along thing. Don't get me wrong--it has gotten
better. On a very related note, I'm temporarily wearing my ring again to
help me be mindful. It can be hard to remember in the moment (when I most
need it), but now any time I think of or notice my ring I have re-enforced the
habit of self-evaluating.
Our zone meeting centered on finding. I hope to get
better at being able to talk to people. In some ways, I feel like I'm
out-of-touch with "being a missionary" sometimes. But I don't
worry myself with it.
Elder Gudmundsen got a headache after we changed at
home. We were inside until dinner. I hope he can get better.
It seems like he hasn't had the best luck with health. By the way, his
knee has a torn ligament--he's still wearing the brace and taking it easy--so
he has a while to wait before it's fully healed.
I got two letters, one from Chelsea and one from my
mom. Both had talks or other materials about stress and mental
health. My journal from last was intense, I must admit, as well as the
one before that, so they were sending me stuff in response. Thank you!
For dinner, the sister in the Emigration Canyon ward who
organizes the meals took us out to Blue Plate Diner near 21st South & 21st
East. It was the first time for all of us, but we had heard good reviews of
it. I had eggs benedict with spinach, avocado, and mushrooms. It was the
oddest thing I've had on my mission.
We finished weekly planning! It took all evening.
We set up appointments with various ward leaders or families with priest-age
young men. Elder Gudmundsen tanked through it. I couldn't focus by
the end either.
Saturday, April 8th, 2017:
We helped a member who was moving We had previously helped
her pack; this time we helped her load. It took from 9-12, following which we
did studies.
Elder Gudmundsen got another headache. I let him nap;
I'm creating my journal from little summaries I keep on post-it notes if I run
out of time. It's 4:40 right now. Abraham and Jack will have us
over for dinner later tonight. I hope Elder Gudmundsen will be all right.
I can't do much to help him right now. On talking to him later, he said
it was most likely due to his allergies. It should clear up in a few
weeks. Elder Gudmundsen misses home. But that's an indicator of the level
of sacrifice a mission is to him. That occurred to me as I wrote. We
spent the rest of the evening with Jack and Abraham. They cooked good
stir fry for us, we had a lesson on the Law of Chastity and the Word of Wisdom,
and finished with a game of basketball.
Sunday, April 9th, 2017:
Josh went to church today! I'm excited. If he
keeps this up, it will lead him to sort out everything. No investigators
came to church, but this felt like one of my best Sundays.
The Chinese ward had their ward conference today, so we went
to their ward council. Every ward council has a different style, but most
all are very productive.
I finally remembered to give fast offerings. I'd
forgotten for a few months. Speaking of which, I didn't bear my testimony in
the first sessions because it was fast Sunday for most wards. However,
the Chinese ward had their fast Sunday before conference. It's the first
month I haven't born my testimony as a missionary.
We visited a family whose son got a mission call to
Louisiana. We gave him lots of advice, so while we missed the majority of
a ward's singing of Handel's Messiah, it was worth it to help prep
a new missionary.
At the singing, a member told me he found my name tag.
I lost it when helping someone move a few days ago. I'm glad I got it
back; it's a hassle to replace and it was my original MTC magnetic name tag.
I've been thinking about the restaurant idea that I had and
realized that maybe a safer route would be to open a video game store. The
draw to it would be a respectable rewards/loyalty program and letting anyone
demo any game in-store. Outside food and hanging out with friends would
be encouraged. By positioning it near high schools, colleges, and popular
restaurants of those demographics, it might work out well enough. I don't
want to be crazy rich, just do something I would love. Focusing on
"spoiling" the customer fills both.
 |
| A truck for a business. The guy said that I upload it to social media, I can get my iPad waterproofed for free. I have to see if it's okay, though. |
Also, I have a care package idea that I imagine would be
especially fun: take some free time and go hunting for cheap ties. At the
very most, $5; more ideally around $1. Just make sure they in good
condition and mission appropriate (they could be worn by most anyone at
church). But go to thrift stores, DI, Goodwill, yard sales, garage sales,
and have fun doing it! We missionaries like to swap ties; it’s one of the
few ways we can express some personality. Thank you!
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| Sign at a member's house |
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| Spring sprung--the tree has blossoms--but winter wasn't quite done yet! There are fallen branches all around Salt Lake. The buds and flowers might be mostly dead now. Spring was going to be great... |
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