Week 59: A good fit

Week 59 journal

Monday, August 14th, 2017:

For our p-day activity, we played a mash-up of soccer, football, rugby, and Frisbee, but a little less of those last two.  I took a hard shot to the crotch.  I needed a good little breather after that.

Elder Cannan and his companion, Elder Manansala

We have a proper place to email at, which is nice.  Some sisters were there so we couldn't go in for a while, but it didn't interfere with much.

Shopping went well, but since the apartment was empty we had to get napkins, paper towels, toilet paper, and tissues.  I'm also going to get plastic wrap, aluminum foil, plastic bags, and a heavier shower curtain at some later point.  Our apartment was pretty bare, so I've drained the excess funds I had collected over time.

Our restocked kitchen cabinet

We didn't have as much time for cleaning as I would have linked, so I'm cleaning the fridge piecemeal.

I figured out how to use the steamer I got, so we had salmon and brown rice for dinner.  Yum!

In contacting, Jeremy helped us out by driving us around.  He is in almost daily contact with us, I've learned.  It's a big help because he gives us so many rides.

We also find two new investigators tonight.  It's a couple; we'll see how it goes.  They seem genuinely interested in learning, which is a good sign.

Tuesday, August 15th, 2017:

This morning, we did a long roleplay in companionship study.  Phone work and poor timekeeping meant we started biking at 1:15, but this wasn't a bad morning because our day wasn't hampered by it (unlike when I wake up tired and thus have slow studies, which can snowball).  We'll improve.

We contacted a lot of people today.  It was one of those miracle days where we found a large majority of the people we were seeking.  We’ve decided drop many of them from the old teaching pool that we inherited. One was a former member of 64 years who now hates the church over the policy on children of gay parents.  We did find another investigator, however.  It was satisfying to see so much get done.

We informally met with a bishopric after dinner, which helped in connecting to them.  I'm excited for the work in this area.

After failing to meet up with the Canyon Rim stake president, we contacted a few people and headed home.

Wednesday, August 16th, 2017:

Interviews were today.  President Hillier helped me get on track with my goals for personal and companionship items—showing and developing skills or attributes that I wish I had at the beginning of my mission and having better planning and time management so I can be more diligent.

We visited the care center branch across the street from us.  Usually, they just want us to attend the meetings.  We sit in the back of the room and do studies.  A good number of people talked to us, including an investigator that dropped off the face of the planet a few weeks ago.  The care center couldn't get us in contact with her due to privacy concerns, but she still wants to be baptized.  She may be baptized in ten days.

My head hurt by the time we left.  I was light headed--everything was "shifting" as it appeared to repeatedly rotate clockwise and snap back--so I rested from 12-3.  Not trusting myself to be fully better, we started weekly planning at 3:00.  A member volunteered to bring by dinner, for which we were grateful.

Near 8:00, we talked about the two less-active members we work with, Joe and Tiana.  Things progressed with them. And Elder Parnes told me about his life story. We went to Hokulia's for (free) shaved ice after that.

Thursday, August 17th, 2017:

Our mapping program finally started working again, so our planning has gone better.  Being able to know who is nearby is so much more helpful!

We bumped into Tristyn and Staci after an appointment with some new investigators fell through.  We were contacting some people when Elder Parnes saw them.  It was right outside Wasatch Junior High, where a large crew was filming for a Disney show at a fictional "Jefferson Middle School."  (I don't know the show, but it's got a title of someone's name--"Andy Mack" or something.)  We managed to get hold of them and have a short lesson; it was great that I got to meet Tristyn before the day of her baptism.

I'm definitely more confident as a missionary.  I also believe I understand more of my role and how to do things. I'm continually relying on God.  Every time I catch myself mentally puffing myself up, I reflect to some point earlier in the day and find some way to laugh at myself.

One lesson we had was with a less-active member.  She had us eat dinner with her and talk.  It was a pretty odd visit, as she is well on her way back into activity, so when her son brought in Nerf guns and he and his mom started shooting each other, I didn't know what to do.

There was one brother in a stake presidency who requested to meet with us regularly.  Normally when that happens, the person will work with us very closely.  It's a good sign.

Friday, August 18th, 2017:

When we get down to contacting people, we are golden.  Elder Parnes and I both love to go and do.  We want to get to the point where we're only at home with set plans in mind as to why we are there, as being outside encourages us to act.

I'm really, really enjoying my time with Elder Parnes right now.  It feels good as we do solid work.

Zone meeting today was on relying on the spirit to know when to drop someone. I learned more about how dropping works.  When we "drop" someone, we stop working with them.  It's hard to know when to drop someone who still wants to meet with us, but sometimes it’s the right decision, especially when they stop doing things they need to do. Being dropped can help investigators to learn the gospel in the right way.  Some things can only be learned through experience.

I got to meet Kiki, the mother of a family we are struggling to work with.  They are so busy, only able to meet on Fridays due to work, but the last two Fridays haven't worked with them.  We got to talk to Kiki only briefly.

Saturday, August 19th, 2017:

Our lesson with Jim and Kristen went well.  They're new investigators.  Only Jim sat down with us, but he asked good questions about what we believe.  It was easily apparent that he wants to learn.

We had a different lesson with Tristyn.  She called off her baptism for tomorrow, as she didn't feel it was right.  Tristyn is shy, while her mother is all for having her baptized.  She spoke up about how she felt pressured to go forward.  I'm glad she spoke up, as there seem to be some essential internal decisions she still needs to make before joining the church.  We're seeking to make a plan with her so she can work toward baptism in a way that helps her grow.

Not too many people were home this afternoon, so every day is different.

There were two ward parties in the Canyon Rim stake we went to.  There's a glow around members that makes events like that have a different feel.

As a side note, I love dogs.  There are so many in this area.  I will have to get a large dog at some later point in my life.

Sunday, August 20th, 2017:

I had so much trouble staying up this morning. I wasn't falling asleep in sacrament meeting, for which I was grateful, but didn’t feel 100%.

Tristyn went home early with Staci (her mom).  Staci said she was getting a headache, but she would be back by the third hour.  They didn't come back.  The whole exchange helped me learn a lot, from Staci's perspective and the ward's distrust of her, to Tristyn's progress.

Much later, we explored a footpath and discovered that it is a shortcut across Mill Creek.  I believe I'm picking up the area well as we travel so much.

We weren't able to contact too many people today.  The whole town seems to have packed its bags and high-tailed it to Wyoming or Idaho to watch the eclipse in its totality tomorrow.

We met with a recent convert.  There are a few in our area book that we don't know.  One point we're slowly grafting together is our connection with recent converts and local leaders.

A very large sunflowe