Week 44 Journal
Monday, May 1st, 2017:
P-day! I slept in until
around 9:00. I needed the extra sleep. Now I feel great.
While we didn't get all
our cleaning done, I realized something as I prayed today: I don't know if I
will ever be all done with my temporal affairs. I realized I should seek
more to fulfill my spiritual matters first and not worry so much if things like
cleaning aren't done. I'll still get to doing temporal things like
that. I realized that I have had a lot of temporal growth on my mission.
Perhaps the best way to explain it is that I had an epiphany about moderation
in all things. I shouldn't invest so much time into some temporal
things. For example, my desk isn't organized from when we rearranged
the room. While it's nice to have a tidy area, it’s important that I
recognize the function of my desk: a working space for my mission. I
shouldn't HAVE to have my desk totally clean every day--and I don't—and I
realized that, when it comes to cleaning my desk during proselyting time, or
waiting to p-day, I should let it sit until p-day. I think it's best
exemplified by my dad explaining the process of sorting our family's things in
preparation for moving: my mom has a lot of sentimental value in many things,
but my dad just asked himself if he currently had a purpose for or will have a
purpose for the thing he is sorting. Together they sorted things out
well. He said, loosely quoting, "I guess I just have a more
practical view of these things." So I guess it was just a moment of
me realizing how to apply being practical.
We didn't go fishing
today. We shopped, emailed, picked up my re-tailored suits and pants
from Mr. Mac (Yaaaayyy!), and headed over to the zone activity at the Granite
Tabernacle. The zone activity was the normal playing around with
basketball, frisbee, and other projectiles. We played a game called
"Mafia," but it has many variants. Everyone gets a secret
identity: either cop, nurse, mafia, or just citizen. The mafia try
to get everyone else killed while everyone else tries to get the mafia killed. In
the second round, I was the cop with the nurse, two citizens, and two mafia
still alive. It led to a very interesting probability analysis
problem I couldn't stop thinking about. It's a good indicator that
I'll still love math after my mission.
We scrounged for
dinner--I had a granola bar and a piece of bread--because we got to the apartment
at 5:15 pm, and we were a little rushed. To start off our evening,
Elder Gudmundsen picked up his bike from the members who worked on it for him. He
was really happy with the results. We synced and handled some phone
work afterwards. Elder Gudmundsen and I talked a bit because he had
to schedule an appointment for family services. He admitted how he
was having trouble feeling joy in much of his activities. I felt
like I had gone through something similar before, so I tried to show I would
support him and encouraged him. Still, I had to respect the fact
that I wasn't qualified to give him advice.
We met with the assistant
ward mission leader of the Wasatch Hills ward to coordinate, given that the
leader was out of town. The meeting went well; he seemed pretty
excited about the activity in the ward. Thinking about it, I
realize I didn't have much of a testimony in how missionary work could affect
an area. I didn't doubt that my efforts are important, but I also
didn't have any specific experiences to draw on. Talking to this
assistant helped me see all that our work had done for the Wasatch Hills ward
(where we have focused a good portion of our efforts), so I'm glad it worked
out the way it did.
I also got a small
package from my grandparents. In it were two ties, both Disney
themed. One of them is grandpa's favorite tie. It was
very touching for him to send that to me—I guess he has a lot of memories in
that tie—so thank you grandpa.
Tuesday, May 2nd, 2017:
Elder Gudmundsen wasn't
doing to well this morning, we talked again. We got a call from some other
elders asking us to help with moving a member. Service is a sure way to
override a loss of motivation. Even though there were more than enough
elders there, it was good for my companion and I to be up and doing something.
We were late to our MLS
meeting because service took a little longer than we anticipated. So,
our participation in the meeting was brief. After the meeting, we returned to
our apartment to finish studies, shower, change, and clean a bit. We're
hoping to get the couch all fixed up and clean.
We ventured out to talk
to Joseph, a priest-age young man who's had trouble with his testimony and church.
Elder Gudmundsen really wants to go out fishing and hiking with him as a way to
relate to him. We both love getting to work with youth because they are
so different than adults. It's very refreshing.
Dinner was soon after;
while one family had us over, the husband of another family called and asked
why we weren't there. There was confusion over the sign-up, so we stopped
by the second house and talked.
English class was good;
there was a Turkish mother with two kids, so we helped Sister Paul in her class.
Abraham and Jack have another friend with them now, Kevin. He is a
foreign exchange student from China and likes volleyball and basketball, so he
fits right in.
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| Abraham, Jack, Elders Gudmunsen and Brothers |
Elder Gudmundsen left his
bag at the member’s house, so to end the night we went and picked that
up. The member with the speakers was en route to home, so we picked up
speakers some other elders wanted and headed home.
Wednesday, May 3rd, 2017:
Bullet points for the
rest of the week. I was so pressed for time so my daily entries are a little
rougher this time around.
· I was using the microwave this morning and when I turned it
off, the power in the kitchen went out. The rest of the apartment still had
power. I didn't do anything unusual with the microwave, so it was weird.
o Went by other elders and got an extension cord for our
fridge
o Elder Gudmundsen showered at our district leader's apartment
o Our landlord not only got our fridge on an extension cord
before we got back, but he restored our power before the end of the day.
· Elder Gudmundsen had a really rough morning--getting up for
studies was tough, staying focused was hard. He was like that until we
went to split with our district leader around three I don't put it on him,
though.
· Split with Elder McKee
o Visited a few different people
o Member visit--newly moved in (one month). We were
going to contact a former investigator, but Elder McKee decided to knock on the
door right next to him. We had a really good visit.
o Dinner in their area. We got a referral from them for
the Chinese ward, so I'm glad it sorted out the way it did.
· Visited up in the Canyon
o There was a referral from the New Mexico temple's visitor
center. We sorted it out--the man had requested a blessing, but he wasn't
living there anymore--but we have no idea how New Mexico was involved in this.
o We were asked to visit lot of people by the Elder's Quorum
President.
o There are a few things I didn't realize as a kid, such as
how there are varying levels of activity in the church. Almost everyone
could use strengthening, but we as missionaries can't do much strengthening
with some people.
o Emigration Canyon is just like where I grew up in that it's
a private, quiet place where richer people live to be near a densely populated
area, but have some breathing room. I didn't think most people were cold
to unprompted visitors, but in Emigration Canyon there's at least some cold
shoulder with everyone besides the members.
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| Welcome to Emigration Canyon |
Thursday, May 4th, 2017:
· Elder Gudmundsen doesn't feel that well, but we have service
at 9:00.
o I did studies as best I can, but it's always at least a
little harder for me to focus when I'm not with my companion.
o He is able to get up and we go to service.
· Service was not easy but we did it--moving heavy furniture.
· We arrived back at our house and Elder Gudmundsen did prep
stuff (like shower).
· We then had our normal studies.
· Elder Gudmundsen got diarrhea from Chinese leftovers.
At least, we think that’s what did it.
· We got to split with our DL because Elder Wehle is sick. But
we didn't split--we just sat around the apartment for a bit and I don't know
why.
o Unlike last time, we didn't plan on this. Last time,
we split so we had two companionships working in our area. It helps to
re-balance after so many exchanges.
I really want to go to a
faster area. While I feel like I could stay and work and get this
area moving with a healthy companion, I feel like it's the same question that I
faced two transfers ago. There's an advantage if one of us stays in the
area, but the area needs to pick up in speed. We've been handicapped
enough that our area has slowed down. It's not terrible, as we still know
about a lot of people we can visit--we just haven't found the time to visit
them--so it's not like some areas I've heard about.
I have time to clean and
otherwise set more temporal things in order, but I don't feel very motivated. Right
now we're sitting in Elder McKee and Elder Wehle's apartment, but Elder McKee
and I aren't going out to see people and I have no idea why. I feel
a little like I have no purpose in being here--like, "what am I doing with
this day?"--but when I think of how to go and do things I feel like I am
unable to put the effort foreword to do them. It's not that the
tasks are hard, but I'm just not in a state to do them.
I just want to have a
companion who wants to work as much as I (normally) do, be in an area that can
satisfy our efforts, and hold up my head and charge along.
· We went out [we went on splits after a while in the
apartment] and visited a person in their area, two in ours (waking up a baby,
oops) and went to a lesson in their area.
· Dinner--ate out, super late to the next meeting. The
sister who had us to dinner was very nice, gave us each $20.
· Barely checked in at the meeting, the WML has to go.
· Stayed at building for Elder Hafen to give his talk, goes
until the end of the night.
Friday, May 5th, 2017:
Cinco de Mayo
· Tried a new morning schedule: planning and studies before
anything else, like exercise and breakfast.
· Elder Gudmundsen hasn't been getting up on time.
· Eventually, we ran together. Did some
companionship study, in which we mostly just talked about our feelings.
· Brief language study. Elder Gudmundsen prepares,
I study somewhat and then prepare.
· Zone lunch. I may get the Barricade XL speaker from
the member who works for Skullcandy, as it sounds great.
· Zone meeting. There was a really interesting point in
the training at which we had five pretend investigators described to us and
were asked if they should get baptized. Our zone leaders, who were conducting
the training, then told us that everyone should be invited to be
baptized. Even if they are not worthy, it is their only chance to be in
the Celestial kingdom and they should be invited to make that a goal.
· Driving other elders home and changing takes to 3:45 pm. We
then plan.
· Discouraged about the area. We talk and I feel
better. I'm working on moderation: at school, I took more and more on my
plate. If I needed to catch up, I just took more time. Now,
I don't have that unassigned time to draw on. I am learning to be okay
with not going 100% on the things I choose to do so I can do more and feel
healthier. That being said, I really hope this bullet-point summary is a
one-time thing for my journal!
· Dinner was at home. A family had thought they
were signed up on Tuesday, so we just didn't mention it to them as we had
already visited them, they wouldn't be expecting us, and they already gave us
something to take home. It was good for me, as we finally managed to get
the cushions back on the couch. I didn't sew them shut, but whatever.
· After dinner, weekly planning. Really unfocused, but
that's okay for now.
Saturday, May 6th, 2017:
· Elder Gudmundsen woke up late. I am not able to do as
much in my mornings as when I first came out on the field. I will
try to change that; I need some more time.
· Service with Elder Wehle and McKee. We helped someone
move, but there were enough people from the ward there that we didn't do much.
· Elder Gudmundsen prepared and exercised, we planned at 11:40
or so.
· We thought some other elders were coming here for lunch, but
I don't know what happened. They got permission to have lunches with
other elders in the zone to build zone unity, or at least they told us so.
· We did a short planning but I wasn't very motivated. We
then waited for the elders to show up. I lied down on the floor and
fell asleep for a little bit. I was tired, and certainly wasn't
feeling my best.
· We had lunch at 12:45, after which I curled up in a ball on
the couch under a blanket. I think Elder Gudmundsen thought I was
asleep. I was really sad because I didn't feel like doing anything
and I didn't know why.
Recently, I've been down. I
feel, since I've been here 6 months, that I was a major part of this area
slowing down. In addition, I've fallen way behind on my journal and
other cleaning things. As I waited for Elder Gudmundsen on his bad
days, I didn't feel very motivated to catch up on it. It felt like a
chore. I then reflected on how I would email on Monday and could
sort everything out with cleaning, cooking, my journal, etc. then. But
I didn't even want to email.
I thought about how there
was certainly a woman in our area with a relative who hoped she would come back
to church, and how that is my sister for me. But I couldn't go out
and help this hypothetical woman, so by transition, my sister. I thought about
how I would soon call my parents. I wouldn't want to call them
feeling like this.
On the other hand, I
thought of counting my blessings and worked outward in instead of inside out. I
have a very good shot in life, no matter how my mission goes. I
would eventually be sent out of this area. Even in this area, I
could go and do something and hopefully find a person I was really supposed to
meet.
· After that, we had comp study. I decided to then
do something.
· We went out and visited Josh, the less active member who
only needed to be invited to come back. He's doing really well.
· We went to move a member in Emigration Canyon.
· Dinner at the members' house near the Oquirrh Mountain
temple. We had ribs from a smoker. Reminded me of Brother
Bach.
 |
| We're supposed to text the mission president if we leave the mission boundaries to teach or visit. Here is how he responded. |
· Had a lesson with Abraham to end the night. Played
basketball. Turns out that yes, he really did want to talk with his
family. We had speculated that Abraham didn't want to get baptized
because he wanted to talk to his family, but he had never told us specifically
before.
I felt a lot better once
we went out and did something. Really, on both sides there's no way to
tell how hard a mission is, how I'm feeling, nor how good a mission has been
for me.
Sunday, May 7th, 2017:
· WH ward: Sacrament meeting (Sunday School and Priests’
Quorum with the youth)
· IH, EC ward: Abraham
bore his testimony about how God had brought him here; Primary, Elders' Quorum)
· Correlation meeting didn't happen, but we talked to the
sisters.
· Landlord came by right after church--fixed breaker. He
thought it was overload, but we weren't using AC and the fan was off.
· WML didn't get the dinner list because he wasn't at the
meeting, but we got a member to feed us.
· Spent 40 extra minutes at the dinner. I kinda have to live
with it. The amounts of time we spend at dinners is longer with Elder
Gudmundsen than it has been with my other companions, but there are also things
that are better with Elder Gudmundsen so I'll focus less on the negative.
· Visited two families. One is a convert father.
Both were pretty cool visits.
· Two commitments to do family history--a unique commitment to
members. I've never really involved members into family history on my
mission, but I think it's something they aren't often asked to do.
Sunday was a lot better for
me. This week has been pretty emotional and slow in terms of missionary
work, but I think we're finally getting out of the worst of it. Elder
Gudmundsen is going to family services on Wednesday and interviews are
tomorrow, so we'll be getting some guidance soon.
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