Insert subject here - 09/24/12

This week was high in many regards and low in others. I guess life will continue to be a rollercoaster.

I try not to pay much attention to the numbers game but it's discouraging when we don't teach many lessons and then we have to go report those numbers to someone else. President Monson said that when performance is measured, performance improves. When performance is measured and reported, the rate of improvement accelerates. Well, all it's gotten me so far is a sinking feeling that I'm not living up to my potential. We are going to keep on working hard this week to make up for last week and continue to seek the blessings and inspiration of the Lord.

What few lessons we taught were pretty good. Our anesthesiologist friend continues to impress us with the depth of her curiosity and understanding. She told us over Five Guys that she didn't like it when the other Elders kept trying to get her to commit to a baptismal date, but that she would probably want to get baptized in October. Considering she's on constant rotations at the hospital, I think that's good enough for us to work with. We will let her pick a date and rejoice in the fact that she is our most impressive investigator both in terms of knowledge and commitment. She attended church for the third week in a row yesterday, even though she only got three hours of sleep! But she knows she's working a twelve-hour shift next Sunday, and she really doesn't want to miss two weeks in a row. This woman is dedicated. I love it.

The family of four that was our miracle find last week didn't show up to church for the second week running. Neither did Kim and Charlie, and I'm pretty sure they fixed their car because they told us they would make it this Sunday. The 20-year-old that has a baptismal date, "JB", continues to flake out on us and not answer his phone and not show up to appointments. I don't know if he's holding himself back or his Mom is, but either way, I'm starting to wonder if we'll need to move his date back a bit. We only have three more Sundays between now and October 20, and he has yet to show up for church.

 

Speaking of three more Sundays, I'm going on week 4 of my fourth transfer in Jurupa 1st ward. Chances are pretty good that I'll be transferred on October 15th. I'm not quite sure what to think about that, honestly, because I love it here so much, but I'm sure it'll be good for me to dig in and start working elsewhere. I just know that I'll miss all my ward friends and investigators here that I've grown to know and love so very much.

Like I said, what few lessons we taught this week were really high quality lessons, and I enjoyed them thoroughly. I guess you appreciate them more when you don't have as many as you'd like. Elder "A" and I had an investigator tell us that we work really well together. And I wholeheartedly agree. He is very knowledgeable and explains all kinds of truths very well, and I am very personable and relate to people and testify with sincerity. So we have the teaching skills, but no investigators that show up to appointments to be taught. Now I guess we need to cultivate the faith that we will be diligent enough to find people to teach. And then I'll get transferred before anything really takes off. I'm kind of hoping I stick around for another transfer just so I can feel like Elder "A" and I lived up to our potential. I feel like we spent the entirety of our time together learning to get along and getting over our various sicknesses and finding the willpower to work hard. But I guess whoever is next in this area can reap whatever benefits they can from our efforts.

Also on a high note: I got a lot of quality letters this week. I about peed myself in my excitement over a few of them. Thank you so much to those friends who make my life a little more exciting when we open the mailbox at lunchtime. And to any who may have just started writing me five months into my mission, thanks for remembering me.

Has anyone read the new For Strength of Youth and compared it to the old one? Elder "A" and I have come to the conclusion that it's mostly the same, but written on a slightly higher comprehension level. Like the last one was simple enough for a barely-literate 12-year-old, while this new one was supposed to connect to 16-year-olds while still fulfilling the purpose of the For Strength of Youth.  I like a lot of the new wordings and new sentences that they've added in the new one. There's even a brand new section titled Work and Self-Reliance - a principle I wish I'd learned sooner! "Remember that God has a great work for you to do. He will bless you in your efforts to accomplish that work." D&C 58:26-27

 

Another fun scripture for today: 1 Corinthians 11:14 says men shouldn't have long hair. Verse 6 talks about how women should shave their legs. True story!

 

Love you tons. Have a wonderful week!