Once bitten and twice shy - 12/09/13

This week was amazing. I don't even know where to begin. 

Meetings galore this week. I thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyed being with the other zone leaders, sister training leaders, and the mission president on Thursday. We talked about a lot of things like the possibility of changing the "standard of excellence" or increasing the amount of grocery money we get a month. That, and we talked about our goals and where the mission is headed, and the possibility of us actually reaching our goal of 800 that was set before they split the mission and put our mission in turmoil. In all honesty, we might actually hit it still, and our mission is outperforming all of the other missions in the area in terms of efficiency. It felt really great to look forward to the future and see how great we could be. And anytime I'm with the APs and President Smart, I just feel great. 

The Parking Lot Miracle couple continued to provide me with miracles to think about. We learned that they will not be able to get married for probably six months, because that's how long it will take for the man to get divorced from his past wife. They were bummed about not being able to be married and baptized for six months, so we discussed the possibility of separating. They prayed and the next day decided that they wanted to live separately so they could get baptized as soon as possible. The problem is that they have no money and neither one of them has a job yet. But they want to get baptized as soon as possible. 

So, we got them in touch with the employment specialist, and now the man has an offer to go to trucking school and sign with a trucking company so he won't have any debt to worry about. We got them in touch with a realtor, and he's confident that the house will sell in the first week or two. It's on the market right now. The wife will take half of whatever they make selling it, but they will probably still end up with 40 grand in pocket, if what he's told us about his mortgage is accurate. So that's in the works. 

They've both smoked for years and years and have tried to quit earlier to no avail. So, we took a member with us that had quit smoking and drinking and taught them about the Lord's law of health as clearly and simply as we could and committed them again to quit. Not say they would try to quit and taper off, and hopefully get there sometime before baptism, but to quit cold turkey and just get it over with. The member offered to fast with them on Sunday to overcome their addiction. Saturday night, we talked to lots of members and got 16 of them to offer to fast with us. Then we started the fast with them and crushed their last pack of cigarettes. We fasted for a full 24 hours and I was surprisingly spry the whole time. Then we had Bishop come with us to give them a priesthood blessing to overcome their addiction to tobacco. It was very powerful. I hope that they can quit and commit to it and stick to it. I'm quite confident that it was a faith-building experience for them. 

Now we have the Law of Chastity to worry about. Our ward mission leader wanted us to call our mission president and see if he would let them get baptized if they just promise not to have sex. Yeah, I told him right then and there that Pres would never let that fly. I've heard of missionaries coming up with every conceivable reason to have opposite-gender roommates get baptized and President has never let anybody get baptized that is in a co-habitation situation. They have to get married or move out, and that's just the rule. So my companion and I came up with a game plan and pitched it to the ward council to find a home for PLM girl to sleep in until her husband-to-be got to hit the road trucking. Well, bishop put us off until very last in ward council, and then shot us down pretty hard and said they wouldn't be comfortable asking anyone in the ward to do that. So we walked out of there pretty discouraged. 

Then another member and our Bishop offered us a new plan. This member has an RV he's willing to let us borrow. Bishop will let us park it on his property. So now we have a place for her to sleep and they can get baptized on the day that we picked: December 22. I am so flipping excited I can't put it into words. These are really the coolest people. I kind of understand a bit more of parenting from this whole thing. They aren't perfect, in fact the decisions they make are pretty aggravating sometimes. But they want to do the right thing, and they really want to keep the commandments and get baptized, and the struggles we've had to go through together have made the whole experience really rewarding.

Other than that, our teaching pool is really, really shallow. The potential for baptisms seems to be a lady ("B") we met and a couple part-member families. We found "B" in a parking lot. I actually wasn't there, we were on exchanges. But we went by and gave her a blessing and taught her the restoration and she was crying. It was pretty amazing. Then she left town for Thanksgiving and was gone the whole week. She was nice to us when we came by and asked for another Book of Mormon because she lost the first one we gave her but then she canceled our appointment, so I dunno where she is now. Hopefully we can get her and her two kids that are accountable and maybe her husband but we've never met him. 

The part-member family, The "F"s are really nice. Sister "F" comes to church sometimes and brings her unbaptized children but her husband is very hard-hearted against the Book of Mormon. He's said that if it wasn't for the Book of Mormon, he would join the church. We had dinner over there once and warmed up to him a bit, but when we asked about his concerns, he wasn't willing to dive into it just yet. Apparently he's been looking at the scriptures and the Lord is trying to soften his heart enough to listen to us, according to what we've heard from the wife, but he's still pretty stubborn about us not teaching his son and we haven't tried to get in to talk through his concerns yet. But I feel like that is something we could find success in. 

Sister "R" is totally not an active member, but her Mom is. Mom just got called to teach primary and has taken her granddaughter with her the past few weeks. So hopefully the Mom will loosen up a bit and let her daughter get baptized. We stopped by once and helped them get their Christmas tree from the car into the house, which was appreciated. Then we shared a spiritual thought that turned into Hansen just sharing silly scriptures like 2 Kings 2:23-24 but that actually got the non-member dad really thinking. So I think that would be a possibility. 

Oh yeah, there's also the "W"s. We haven't taught them anything yet, but the non-member husband is the realtor I mentioned earlier, and he's invited us over for dinner a couple times already, which is pretty awesome. We're thinking he'll want to talk to us even more now that we've found him a house to sell. 

*sigh* So much happened this week. I really enjoyed talking to my zone and training them on finding new investigators this Friday. Then I went on exchanges with the Assistants to the President.  One elder has been an AP for five transfers and kind of knows a lot about what's going on. Well, this was our first time getting to know each other in any sort of significant way, and he told me that he really liked working with me. He also told me about how much respect Pres has for me for being so patient and taking on so many hard assignments in my mission so far. I have a lot of charity and love and I've helped a lot of missionaries. To confirm what he said, we actually had lunch with a former AP who has gone home and was visiting the mission and took us out to lunch. He said basically the same thing, that I'm known as a really patient, really loving missionary among the other leaders. That really warmed my soul. It was also cool to see Elder "D" again after he'd gone home. I can tell he misses the mission a lot. 

Other than that, I'm really looking forward to Christmas. I put up my little teeny table-top Christmas tree and put the lights and ornaments on it. It sits on my kitchen counter and makes me smile. 

I talked to a homeless girl recently who made me cry. She overheard me talking to somebody else in the parking lot and walked up and asked if our church had any shelters. I told her I didn't, and I couldn't think of anything to offer her other than some money for food. She and her husband didn't have a place to stay that night and it was cold. We've been in a cold front for a while. I told her that the best I could do was tell her about how much God loves her. My heart was aching. She said "Thank you, hopefully that will help me stay warm tonight." I about lost it. I actually shed a couple tears over it later. I spent that night wondering if I could have given her the coat I was wearing, even though it was a gift from someone I love dearly and really didn't want to part with it. I could have gone in the Target right there and bought her a blanket or a sleeping bag, I probably could live off the ramen and oatmeal and protein I have at home. I was thinking about it for a while. In the end, I just have to accept that I can't do everything for everyone, but the grace of our Savior Jesus Christ can make everything right in the end.

I love my mission. I have so much work to do in the last few months, but I know that I have the confidence and the faith to make it happen. God is awesome. REJOICE EVERMORE. Talk to you soon. 

There's no way we're gonna give up - 12/02/13

Exciting news! I get to stay with my companion for one more transfer. That means I'm staying here in Hemet for Christmas and New Years. Most of our zone stayed the same. Two elders left and got switched out, and one ward is getting a second set of elders. 

This means that I know where I'll be living for Christmas. Last year I discovered that the mission office likes to hold packages that come in December and hand them out at the mission party on Christmas Eve. So if you plan on sending me something to open up BEFORE Christmas Eve, you'll need to send it directly to me. 

Elder Tyler T. Hansen

470-A Westminster Ct

Hemet, CA 92545 

So, this week was a lot of fun. I think I have some pictures to send you of our Thanksgiving and Black Friday baptism. 

I feel like my mission is flying by. This entire transfer has gone by and I haven't even written in my journal once. I need to catch up. 

So, the man we called The Straggler is a straggler no more. He got baptized on Friday 29 November at 10am. One of the elders that taught him before me came back and got to be at the baptism. There were lots of little kids at the baptism so it was a lot of fun playing with them while the second speaker tried his hardest to give a general conference talk. I've been to enough baptismal programs where the exact same talks are given to where shorter is better in my book, but it's not my baptism, so I let them do what they want. 

The Parking Lot Miracle seemed to be getting complacent until their phone got shut off. That day they came to us and told us how they are looking for jobs with renewed effort, and asked us exactly what they needed to do in order to get baptized. They still need to get a divorce finalized so that they can get married and get baptized. But that's what they want. They plan on having our bishop marry them as soon as humanly possible and we are super excited. I've never married anyone before! So that should be interesting. It'll feel weird to marry someone only until the end of their lives instead of for all eternity, but I have confidence that they will progress towards the temple once they are baptized. The ward loves them a lot and they are very grateful for all the love and support they have found just in the short time they've been coming to church. 

Speaking of which, they actually missed church for the first time in a month. The reason being that they didn't have any clean clothes, so they drove all the way to Colton to do laundry and got stuck there. I wish I would have known so I could have offered to let them do laundry with a member family somewhere here. In fact that thought crossed my mind in our last lesson when I realized that the guy was wearing the same shirt as the last time I saw him and that it had a spot on it. Oh well. We are teaching them again tonight at the Stake President's home. 

Oh man Thanksgiving was fun. The in-laws of The Straggler had us over to their home and we ate and talked and lounged around and watched the little kids shoot some .22s. Then their grandfather showed me his gun safe that was full of historic rifles from World War II and Vietnam.  I think I saw seven or eight rifles in total and he told me about them and I got to be a little bit nostalgic for a minute before we put them back in the safe. My companion didn't really care but I thought it was really cool. 

Earlier that day, we got to play flag football with all the missionaries in Hemet. I think we played for about three hours. I was so sore the day after. And the day after. And a little bit the day after that. I think I'm better now. But goodness, I didn't think I would make it to the shower when I rolled out of bed Friday morning. We played hard. But I was lucky enough to be on the coolest team. At first we were playing 14 on 14, and it was kind of crowded, so we split into three teams. My team was selected according to who was the most fun, not who was the superstar player, or so the captain told me after we got together. We were the only team that selected a team name - the Sunbeams - and we practiced our team victory celebrations so we had a different one for every touchdown we scored. It went pretty quickly from that point on, because with the three teams we switched out the teams every time someone scored, so there really wasn't a whole lot of defense going on. But it was so fun. I loved being on TEAM SUNBEAM. 

My old companion is now the newest AP. That's kind of cool. My current companion served with him in the Jurupa 2nd ward as well. So we called him and reminisced for a little bit after transfer calls. It was super cool. 

Well I love you guys tons! Have a very happy December. God is awesome!

When it gets cold outside and you've got nobody to love - 11/25/13

It got a bit colder this week. In fact, we even got some rain this week, and I got to wear my raincoat that my grandfather gave me for maybe the fifth or sixth time this year. I was told that I look like a secret agent in my big long raincoat. I like it. 

I am so very blessed. The mission has been good to me this week.

The people that were progressing last week are still progressing this week. The ones that gave me headaches are still being sketchy and giving me headaches. In a way I guess that means nothing has changed.

The Straggler has moved his baptismal date. He's being dunked on Black Friday at 10am. Not a whole lot of people will come, but that's the way he wants it. We had a lesson with him last night and he was a bit bummed at how his Catholic parents reacted to his invitation to come to his baptism. But our teamup who knows the family well did an excellent job of bringing things into perspective. I'd like to think my scripture references helped too, but mostly it was the 80-year-old sage we brought with us. I call it teamwork. 

Maybe it's just the title, but I feel like I should be baptizing at least once a month as a zone leader. So far it took us a whole month just to squeeze out this one guy. I'm in such a fertile zone, with such a good companion, you'd think we would see more fruits of our efforts. But I think my reward is the peace and love that I feel on a daily basis as I buckle down and work consistently. It would still be nice to baptize more. 

This week is going to be a fun one. We have Thanksgiving dinner lined up with the in-laws of The Straggler. The missionaries all plan on playing flag football together that morning. I've got a baptism on Friday. I think we have a hefty service project lined up on Wednesday. Meetings on Tuesday.

Oh speaking of service... we did so much service on Saturday that I didn't even get to start proselyting until 5pm. We were loading and unloading U-Hauls all day, got home, and no joke, somebody knocked on the door of our apartment and asked us if we could unload another. It was pretty weird. All this was on exchanges, too. I exchanged twice this week, one day was all on bike.  And today I get to do some more service that I'm really not looking forward to. My Mondays are supposed to be my sacred days of rest! Oh well. 

Le sigh. I have so many good things to talk about but my brain is tired. I love you guys. Talk to you later.

If I Go Crazy Then Will You Still Call Me Superman? - 11/18/13

Well, I survived another week. 

Actually the time is flying by, it's gone by so fast so far. This transfer has been so quick it's a blur. 

I guess the biggest news is that The Straggler got hit with another spiritual brick to the face and accepted a baptismal date. He's committed to 30 Nov 2013. There's also a wedding reception going on that day, unfortunately, so we will have to do it at another building or do it earlier in the morning. But I'm super excited that he's actually going through with the baptism! It's about time. His wife has started joking with him about "It's the start of our eternal family... you'll be stuck with me forever" and he loves it. :D Families are forever guys! 

The Parking Lot Miracle couple is trucking along towards baptism, it's just that stupid divorce to work through still. The miracle of this week is that the wife wasn't sure if she was going to make it to church. At our lesson on Saturday she laid on the couch under four blankets and just listened. We bailed on Ward Council Sunday morning to go give her a blessing and she was not looking good at all. She was puking a lot. But then we did the priesthood blessing and said she felt warmth and healing as soon as our hands left her head. She said a personal prayer in her room, then hopped in the shower and got ready for church. Oh, but first she texted us and asked if it was okay for her to wash her hair after we anointed her. :P Sincere investigators can be so cute when they remind you of little things you just haven't thought to teach them.

I exchanged again this week, this time I was with Elder "T". We had an awesome day of visiting less-actives and part-member families. I don't know which was more potent, the magic of exchanges or the magic of Elder "T"'s personality, but we got into a lot of doors that have been closed to me and Knudsen since I got here. And we are excited to continue working with those families.

Our lessons were pretty great this week. We did a lot of work in the Four Seasons gated community by having a member call us in to visit her family and then just lingering and visiting a lot of less-actives. It may have been bending the rules but nobody seemed to mind. I'm always grateful to see the new things we think of when we take a minute to pray and ponder. 

Thanksgiving is coming up soon! Wasn't it just Independence day? Sheesh time is flying by. I hope I can inspire my zone to get a lot of baptisms lined up for December. We're performing really well this month so far, in my opinion, but there are still a few adjustments that could be made. So I'll try to have some ideas in my head for the next MLC and Zone Meeting.

Love you guys tons. Have a great week.

Who more than self their country loved and mercy more than life - 11/11/13

Happy Veteran's Day! Luckily for me, we have email privileges at the Family History Center here in Hemet, so I don't have to worry about the library being closed. 

Yesterday morning, the missionaries got to do a ton of physical service, yes, on a Sunday morning before church. We helped with the assembly of 1,776 American flags. Those flags were put up in the park to honor Veterans all this week. We will be helping to take them all down again on Saturday. The assembly was probably the hardest part, but because of a lack of organization and tools, the holdup was actually driving the rebar into the ground for the PVC flagpoles to rest on. In order to look nice, we had to measure out where to pound the stakes into the ground, and we only had a few tools for driving those stakes, so we got all the flags assembled in the span of about an hour but the rest of the time was spent watching people drive metal stakes into the ground while a dozen people tried to organize and streamline the process by yelling at people to do things their way. But, after church we drove by the park and it was a pretty impressive sight with all the flags in neat little rows. 

We had a very productive lesson with "The Straggler". He's the last non-member in a part-member family in our ward. His children all got baptized shortly before I showed up, and he's shown little to no interest in reading and praying but he's come to church nearly every week. So we went in there with a little more firepower than normal. It seems that we were a bit too casual in previous meetings. We read about the sealing power given to Nephi in Helaman 10, and talked about how our church has the authority to seal families forever. Then we went over Moroni's promise and specifically pointed out the blessings God has given him in his life, and how much he has to be grateful for. Then we promised him that reading the Book of Mormon and praying sincerely about it would be how he would find out if our church is true and if his family can be together eternally. We had a spiritual giant for a teamup who bore tons of inspired testimony and drove the point home like a champ. He now seems to be taking things way more seriously and I hope to have him baptized by the end of the month. 

I'm also excited about the Parking Lot Miracle Couple. They are some of the most elect and prepared people I've ever taught. They are struggling financially, in fact the missionaries put gas in their car one Sunday and I was in their home when the power got shut off because they're behind on their bills. But this weekend they had a yard sale and it was a huge success, so hopefully they'll have their power turned back on after they run the errands on Tuesday.

There is so much to say about this family. Every time we go over there, they share another miracle in their life that they attribute to the gospel. Everything has started looking up for them since they met with me and my companion. Most recently, the woman in the couple got to meet up with her Dad who she hasn't spoken with in six months, and it made her cry, and she feels like it's because of the spirit we brought in to her home. 

Our Parking Lot Miracle couple wants to be baptized, but first the man has to get his divorce finalized, and they have to get married to each other. But they told us this week that is what they want to do. We didn't even teach them the law of chastity and they committed to live it because they read it in a pamphlet. It's a testimony-building experience every time we go over there. The man said his first verbal prayer during a lesson this week and he was in tears by the end of it. I love teaching them. 

It hit me this week, again, that my patriarchal blessing specifically lists a gift I will have on my mission that doesn't seem to be developed yet, or at least I haven't recognized it yet. Hopefully with some study of PMG chapter 9 and some prayer and effort on my part, I will be able to see that blessing more readily. I hit 19 months today in case anyone was wondering, so I only have five more months to be as productive and effective as possible. 

Exchanges were fun! I went to Riverside with one of the APs while he did Spanish work and I just smiled awkwardly and felt the spirit. Even though I didn't contribute much to the lessons as a whole, I felt good after the exchange. Then I exchanged with one of my district leaders and had a pretty decent day, even though we had to take our car in to Pep Boys to get checked out and that took up a lot of our afternoon. I think I've helped set an example that will inspire him to be a better leader. 

Well, I'm not quite sure what else to say, so this must be a good place to stop. Have a fantastic week guys!

Bonus letter from Elder Hansen 10/04/13

Here is a letter from a friend in the ward who heard from Tyler this week and she wanted to share her letter with us:

I'm having a wonderful time here in Hemet as a Zone Leader. Trying to motivate and encourage seven other companionships of missionaries is exciting. I'm loving it so far. My missionaries are mostly hard workers, and the stake we serve in is has a lot of very missionary-minded people, so it's an excellent place to serve. We put in some pretty solid work and we put up some pretty impressive numbers. I'm looking forward to seeing how much we can do in November. 

God constantly reminds me how blessed I am in ways that I didn't expect. I'm currently wearing a jacket that was a gift to me from a lady I baptized last year. I received a priesthood blessing this morning that warmed my soul and calmed my nerves. The people that we have found to teach here are inspiring and miraculous. "K" and"P" met the missionaries in a parking lot the weekend before I showed up, and I've seen them go from the ground up in building their faith. It's a really beautiful thing to watch. 

I've learned what a rare possession my faith really is while on the mission. I've met people with nothing to believe in and very little to cherish. I've had companions who struggled with serious doubts and went home early because they couldn't find the strength to keep moving forward when their testimony was so weak. All the time, I am so glad that I have found the truth and felt the power of God in my life. I know that God lives, and that there is plan for all of us to fulfill our purpose and find joy in our mortal journey. There are several instances where in the face of failure, I have simply assured myself that I will have the chance to revisit that person again in the spirit world and teach them, if they haven't already heard from the missionaries and accepted the message before then. God's plan truly is happiness for all of His many wonderful children.

I love you Sister "V"! I hope that you find the time to count your blessings and thank God for them.

Elder Hansen

Today this ends, I'm forgiving what I've done - 10/04/13

Great news everyone! I got a priesthood blessing this morning and now my headache is gone. For some reason it seems that fasting has gotten harder for me on my mission and I always end up with nausea and a lingering headache by the time I eat again on fast Sunday. Hopefully the Lord recognizes my sacrifice. Or perhaps I'm supposed to learn something that I still haven't picked up on yet. But I think it was kind of funny that I broke my fast with a Fast Break candy bar. I bought a Reese's variety pack and some fun-size 3 Musketeers at Target on clearance Saturday night. Not quite as fun as trick-or-treating but at least the payoff is similar. 

I have survived another week of Zone Leadership. I attended my first Missionary Leadership Council with President Smart on Tuesday. I enjoyed it, actually. It's fun being around other missionaries and getting positive feedback from them. Stake missionary correlation meeting was not quite as fun, especially since I had to get up early to get there by 7am, but our presence was definitely welcomed there. I told the stake leadership about how in the six wards I've served in so far, the greatest indicator of missionary success is not the socioeconomic status of the area as I once believed, but the diligence of the ward council. When the ward council makes assignments, does work, follows up, and makes missionary work a priority, then lots more missionary work happens and the ward members feel a sense of teamwork. This is primarily why I feel that the Jurupa 1st ward and Cole Canyon ward feel so much like a big family: the ward works together towards their common goals, and the ward council leads by example.  

I ran my first zone meeting on Friday. I'm pretty happy with how everything worked out. We did our best to keep our meeting super short and ended up at two hours and ten minutes, ten minutes over our goal. I'm sure I'll get better at planning these things as time goes on. But I think that since the standard in our mission seems to be three hours or more, we are definitely making strides to reduce the mind-numbing reputation of never-ending zone meetings. 

The ward Halloween party was a big hit! We had four of our investigators show up, and they all had a really good time from what I gathered. I think my favorite costume I saw was a woman dressed up as a bathroom stall. We also had a family dressed up as the Wizard of Oz crew, a pregnant teen in the middle of a Cesarean, a dude dressed as a giant banana, and several Captain Americas. I felt kind of bad that our two new investigators showed up late and there weren't any bowls for the chili so they had to use cups, and the hot dogs were all gone as well. But after the trunk-or-treat portion, we took them on a tour of the church building and they really liked what they saw... especially the baptismal font. :D 

I was humbled this week as I realized that I never need to be separated from my scriptures. My companion and I both left our scriptures in the car as we entered a house, but we didn't think it was a huge deal. Well, we were wrong. As we talked about the restoration, she started talking about the Church of Christ. We assumed she meant the church that Christ established during his mortal lifetime. But no, she was referring to a modern-day denomination. And she was absolutely flabbergasted that we had never heard of the Church of Christ. "You've never heard of the Church of Christ?!" she repeated about eight times over the course of our stay, no exaggeration. Apparently, she believes that Jesus smote the rock with his staff and said upon this rock I will build my church, and that was the Church of Christ. I asked her if she had a bible and she said no. So I had no ground really to discuss how dumb that assertion was - I'm assuming she's referring to Matthew 16, and that in no way shape or form supports her beliefs... unless she's a mysterious sort of Catholic offshoot, and that's even dumber. We left feeling very, very stupid for not having our scriptures. 

And if that wasn't enough, we got caught in a bash later that same week. Some guy started asking us what I'm sure he thought were tricky questions, and after we answered everything using the bible, he started to just preach to us, for literally half an hour. At that point my companion said we had to leave, and I stood there and put my hand on his shoulder and bore pure testimony to him. He said all kinds of things about being a liar and being misled by the devil, but I again testified to him that I knew I had not been deceived because I had felt the power of God and I knew that I would stand before God someday and be cleansed by the blood of Christ. I then told the man in front of me that I loved him, and left. Bible bashes are not fun,, but I always feel really, really calm in a bittersweet way when I'm done. I know I haven't got a chance of changing their mind, and it hurts me that they are so hardhearted against the church, but the love I feel when I testify of the truth in the face of hatred is pretty significant. So that's what I aim to get out of those situations. 

Remember the eternagator out in the canyon?  She got baptized on Saturday, and I got a ride back to Moreno Valley to attend. The attendance was pretty low, actually, and I was surprised that more people didn't come. But it was so cool to see her family there, all excited for her. Her son is hoping to get baptized soon and told me I'll be invited to his, as well. Did I mention that this lady was a descendant of Joseph Smith? Yeah, I thought that was pretty cool. I just hope her conversion sticks and that her family follows suit. 

Bringing investigators to fast and testimony meeting is always a gamble. You never know how many dumb stories, travelogues, and endless crying thankimonies you'll have to sit through. Well, we had four investigators with us this Sunday, and I think this was one of the best fast and testimony meetings of my life. The secret is in the youth. We had a seminary teacher and a bunch of seminary kids get up to the mic, and all of them bore pure testimony. They get up, say what they believe in, and sit down. Perfect. I didn't even have a chance to get up, they were always lined up two or three deep on the stand up until the end of the meeting. I think we had five adults and close to a dozen kids that got up, and none of the adults were crazy old people that rambled on about their medical history or their kids or stories from the good old days. I was very touched, and so were our investigators. I seriously want to go to Seminary sometime this week and thank them. 

So, next time you're walking up to the microphone on Fast Sunday, remember that Elder Hansen told you not to tell stories because it drives him crazy, especially when his investigators are there. And it's totally incorrect to say "take out your endowments." You receive your endowment just like you receive any other gift from God. It's far more correct to say you "are endowed." Just something I heard from a temple worker and read in the Ensign. I can't for the life of me figure out why that's so ingrained in the Mormon colloquial vocabulary, because as a word nerd, the construction makes no sense to me. Oh well. Rant over. 

God loves you and I do too! Keep on smiling and testifying.

I'll start again and whatever pain may come - 10/28/13

Well, another week in paradise. Hopefully you all got the picture I sent out of me and the Elders that I live with. The apartment I live in has been an Elders apartment for probably three years now, and it definitely looks like a missionary apartment. Right now we have a lamp in the bathroom because the light fixture is acting up. And the shower kind of sucks, I can't get any water pressure and I'm not quite used to the finesse required to get the temperature that I want. So it's a learning curve.

Yesterday was one of the best days of my life.  "KH" who I started teaching 11 months ago, finally got baptized. I walked into the chapel and remembered the names of everybody I saw except for the one family that moved in after I left but I quickly introduced myself to them. Most of the people there came up and said hi to me, which felt awesome. The one kid that told me he's serving a mission because of me was there, as was my family that I baptized first on my mission. I was so happy to see the girls! "M" sat down next to me and we bonded while the baptism was going on. Wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles, it was "J" that actually brought her daughters. I didn't think she would set foot in the church but she did and stayed for the whole baptism. That touched me deeply. She's been inactive since the day of her confirmation.

If there were any people around who thought it was inappropriate for missionaries to hug people, they sure kept quiet, because everybody was giving me hugs, men women and children. Including Jody. I got a handful of pictures, too.

The baptism was full of the spirit. "K" started crying 30 seconds into my talk on baptism and I don't think she let up until after she got out of the water. She has come such a long way! And there were detours and backsliding and sister missionaries that she didn't like along the way, but she got a testimony, she got married, and now she made the step of baptism. My talk was probably the best baptism talk I've ever given. I was so happy for her. It was literally one of the best days of my life so far. 

The new ward seems pretty good. Our ward mission leader is super stoked about missionary work and is trying his hardest to rally the ward members around our banner. There are lots of old people but it's far more diverse age-wise than I was initially led to believe. I don't really know anybody but I'll get there, I'm sure. I've met all of our investigators, and there are only a handful of them. But we picked up two more this week in a super-spiritual lesson! I'm gaining confidence in my teaching abilities again. Now we just need to find them.

Love you tons! Have an awesome week guys.

Erase myself and let go of what I've done - 10/21/13

Big news! I am leaving my beloved companion and the Hidden Springs ward. I will be serving as a Zone Leader in Hemet, starting today. 

I feel like a lot happened this week but I have no clue what to write about. Mostly I'm just sad about leaving and excited that big things are happening. My companion is going to train and be district leader here. 

I know we taught a lot of lessons this week but I can't remember anything. I do remember going to a couple of baptisms this Saturday. I baptized a little girl I taught in Lasselle ward and forgot about my camera in my pocket so I baptized my camera as well. I went to another baptism for another set of missionaries so that our eternagator from the canyon could see a baptismal service. She and her daughter both really liked the baptismal service. It was a very spiritual day. Although I think I ruined my camera. I tried to turn it on and the screen went all screwy. That was probably a mistake. I should have just taken out the battery and stuck it in my uncooked rice. Oh well. Now I'm bumming pictures off of everybody else. 

Have I mentioned that I haven't packed? 

Oh yeah I got my temple recommend renewed this week after President Smart did an interview for our investigator from the canyon. She's getting dunked on 2 November 2013. Pres said that my interview was the first one he's done where the recommend will expire after he goes home and is released from being a mission president. That's pretty cool. 

Also, I get to go back to Jurupa to attend the baptism of somebody I taught like a year ago!  She's having me give a talk. I am so stinking excited! It will be at 5pm on 27 October. So I will be doing that this week. I was so excited to hear that news! It really made my week. 

And then I got told I'm leaving my companion and I have to be a Zone Leader in Hemet. So I'm kinda sad about that and in a daze because I have no clue what to do. Oh well. Life goes on. And God is still great.

Love you tons! See you later.

I'll face myself to cross out what I've become - 10/14/13

Things are going pretty well! We are super happy that a bunch of our investigators came to church this week. The eternagator from the canyon is getting interviewed this week and is on track for her baptism on 26 October. Her son is also expressing interest in baptism but may take a little extra time to get ready (having recently served time may prove to be problematic). 

Our softball star also came to church for the first time since we started teaching her! I was super impressed with her craftiness, actually. Initially when she told her father that she wanted to skip one of her three softball games on Sunday to go to church, Dad said no, because she needed to keep her spot on the team. Well, since one of the coaches for her team is a member, we got her set up to play in games two and three instead of game one. And then she waits until her dad goes on a date, and calls him on his date and gives him that news and asks if she can go to church. Of course he was much sweeter to her in front of his date. I'm reminded of King Lamoni being caught with guile in Alma 18. :D 

We had a super great lesson with the guy we got from the Spanish sisters. He's our resident Hispanic musician. We taught him all the commandments in one big marathon lesson. Our YSA teamups were great and he accepted and understood all of the commandments and committed to live them. He still has hangups, though. We were going to tackle those in our lesson on Sunday after church, but he didn't come to church. Sad. Really hope that we can get in touch with him and schedule another lesson soon. 

We are no longer teaching our 7th Day Adventist friend because her inactive LDS husband pitched a total fit about her joining the church. We are praying that he will stop being so stubborn and let her do what is right. Hopefully it's soon enough that we can pick right up where we left off, but it might take until their baby is born before he has a change of heart. She's read a lot of the Book of Mormon, and she's still reading and talking to her friend about it, but she told us through her friend that she can't come to church or meet with us while it's causing so much tension in her marriage. Totally stinks. But that's what happens in missionary work. 

I have been thinking a lot about the temple recently. I kind of wish I could take a day off and go do temple work all day long, but that's not what I'm here to do. It sure would make me feel awesome, though. I'm really looking forward to doing initiatories again and sealings. I've never done a proxy sealing but I really want to! But yeah, I'm supposed to focus on saving the living, and not the dead. 

We got an awesome pamphlet from Salt Lake called "Adjusting to Missionary Life" that's training all of the missionaries how to handle stress on a mission. I really enjoyed reading it. I can tell the leadership put a lot of effort into putting together a resource for their rapidly growing and increasingly youthful missionary force to deal with the stresses of being a missionary. I really would have liked to see this used in my past companionships! But oh well. 

"Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed." Doctrine and Covenants 123:17

So let mercy come and wash away what I've done - 10/07/13

I'm convinced that the mission is life in miniature, a microcosm of the human experience as a whole. What sticks out to me today is how there will always be things to be happy about or things to be sad about. Whether your focus is on the victories or the setbacks will determine your attitude about the future. And your attitude influences your actions in a large way.

We taught a lot of lessons this week. We had a lot of cancellations this week. I'm super proud of most of my investigators, actually. I told somebody this week about how being a missionary feels like being a parent, and on any given day, four out of five of your investigators/children will tell you they are making bad choices. But when you get one that changes their course for the better and listens to the counsel of God, it means that much more to you. My companion was quick to chime in that I feel that way because I care way more than most Elders do. But this week, I feel like I have a lot to be grateful for. 

Our eternagator from the canyon recorded the conference talks on her DVR and is all set for her baptism on the 26th of October. We need to get her interview set up soon, I almost forgot. 

The 7th Day Adventist watched conference with her in-laws and really enjoyed it. She's still reading everything we give her and is nearly spellbound by our lessons when we teach her. Apparently there's some paperwork to take care of for her client that was formerly on Sundays, but I think she will start attending soon. She's praying about a date right now, and I'm pretty sure it will be pretty darn soon. Mostly I think it's her husband's hard feelings towards the church that are making her even the slightest bit hesitant. But she's pretty strong, and I don't think that the less-active husband will hold her back much longer.  

The guy that we promised an answer to didn't make his appointment this week. I hope he actually knelt down and prayed. Our softball star has had to cancel on her last appointment - actually her last THREE appointments, but who's counting - but I'm convinced that the spirit will not let her give up on the light that she's found. 

We had a fun unplanned lesson with a 14-year-old truth seeker at our dinner appointment last night. I hope that she takes the effort to read and pray. We also picked up an investigator from the Spanish sisters.  They are the best sisters I've ever met, and they're in my district, and they do the best work, and they're so much fun to be around. Just wonderful! This guy needs some good influences his age, and our ward has a pretty good YSA presence. I'm convinced we will fellowship him as well as anybody, and he speaks English really well, so the handoff has been smooth so far.

General Conference weekend is always the best! I've really come to appreciate President Monson's facial expressions. The eye roll during his priesthood session talk about bad home teachers was hilarious! And I really enjoyed being able to spend all weekend at the stake center with the other missionaries. It just so happened that the neighborhoods around the church had their bi-annual neighborhood yard sales on conference weekend, so my companion and I got to walk around and get our daily contacts in short order right before conference started. Then after priesthood session, we had dinner with one of our favorite families and celebrated the 19th birthday of one of our ward missionaries. He invited some non-members over for dinner too, and it was a pretty fun missionary experience. They didn't end up coming to conference or taking the lessons, but that's their own fault. :P 

I have so much to be grateful for guys! And he that receives all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious. Thanks for your prayers, and I'll keep on being an awesome missionary.

While I clean this slate with the hands of uncertainty - 09/30/13

I HAVE A DREAM that SOMEDAY I will have investigators that attend church WITHOUT phone calls, begging, pleading, persuasion, or guilt trips.

It seems that God likes that dream. My eternagator from the canyon came to church this week, along with her son and grandson. We didn't even arrange for a ride to come pick her up! She just came. Granted, we had to lay down the law on her pretty hard when we taught her on Thursday, but still! She came to church using her own agency. And she accepted a baptismal date: 26 October 2013, the weekend *after* transfers. I'm just happy that she seems committed enough to stick to a date.

Also related to that dream: our Seventh Day Adventist friend works from 7am to 12:30 pm every Sunday taking care of elderly people in Corona. She told us that she wants to get baptized, but that she can't come to church until she takes her maternity leave in December. Her fellowshipper (whom I love dearly) talked to her about quitting earlier than that, but they looked at the finances and they don't think she can make ends meet without pushing through to December. So the three of us decided that all we could do was pray for some way to appear for her to get baptized sooner than December. I was also hoping that God could bless us with some rained-out Sundays so that our softball star investigator would have an easier time coming to church.

Oh, I almost forgot: On Tuesday, we had a talk with one of our favorite part-member families and was led by the spirit to promise him, in no uncertain terms, that he could not resolve his issues with our doctrine until he got on his knees and prayed about whether the Book of Mormon was true. I read to him Moroni 10:3-5 and 2 Nephi 33:10-12. I then promised him that if he took Moroni's challenge and prayed about the Book of Mormon, then either we would have something to talk about in our next meeting, or the next meeting would be our last. I felt very confident in saying that. If he gets on his knees and asks, God will let him know. We've taught him more than enough, and he keeps coming back to the same hangups. It was time. 

I left him with a note for his wife that said "From the desk of Elder Hansen and Elder Harrison: Please excuse "TG" from bath time with the twins tonight. He was learning about the Book of Mormon with the missionaries. He has committed to pray about the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon in a quiet, grateful moment during the week. Love, the missionaries." He thought that was amusing. 

Also on Tuesday: we met with our softball star investigator and talked to her about 2 Nephi 31.  She had lots of questions.  As we read it out loud together, discussed it, and defined things that she didn't understand, she got so very happy. The spirit was thicker in that room than humidity in a SC summer. She kept saying how she just couldn't stop smiling. I would have put her on date in a heartbeat if I wasn't scared of her softball schedule keeping her from church. I wonder if I should have just pushed the issue anyways. But perhaps there was a reason why my tongue was still every time I thought that.

So, we had a pretty decent week. We taught more lessons than last week, and they were mostly really productive lessons. I've been bolder than normal recently, and it feels awesome. Joshua 1:9, baby. We also have been looking for service opportunities with a passion reminiscent of my former passion for World of Warcraft. We took care of one old lady's lawn this week, and I think we have four more service projects lined up for the coming week. I love service! It's way better than trying to find something productive to do at 10am when everybody's at work. 

Oh yeah, I almost forgot: our Seventh Day Adventist read all four of the chapters we wrote down for her and told us about them and read from her notes what she learned from them. She's making our job way too easy. She said she feels that desire that Alma 32 talks about really strongly, and I quoted the Savior's "Blessed are they that do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled." She is a sponge and wants to soak up more and more of what we can teach her. It's so exciting to work with her.

This part is my favorite part of the story. In fast and testimony meeting, we learned from this investigator's mother-in-law that her elderly client on Sundays is no longer needing her services. Nothing to do with her, but the company she works for. So it appears that now she is out of a job on Sundays and can attend church every week. That story was shared from the pulpit in the second testimony - I was first - and my jaw dropped. That is one of the coolest and quickest answers to prayer that I have seen in weeks. 

So keep up the good work, guys. God is hastening his work, and he is pouring out his blessings abundantly upon those that labor in his vineyard. I've been coughing and sniffling and not sleeping at night, but I am trying to emulate and ponder on Isaiah 40:31. "But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." 

My closing thought for today: "Whenever you have the choice to be right or be kind, always choose to be kind."

Put to rest what you thought of me - 09/24/13

It's official, guys. I feel like an old missionary. Little things keep jumping out at me as the perfect thing to say to a certain investigator. The spirit pushes me hard to testify to certain people, especially the cases that seem hopeless. Sometimes I can't sleep at night because I'm thinking about my investigators. I even think about them in the shower. There's a sense of urgency that hasn't been present in my work in a long time. I wouldn't have put two and two together if it wasn't for our dinner appointment last night who pointed that out when I was telling her about my inexplicable drive to testify to a certain member of our ward. But yep, I have all the symptoms. Luckily there's still lots of time. 

This email is a day late because yesterday was our meeting with Kent Richards of the 70. He said lots of really cool things during his 4-hour lecture. It really built my faith. But honestly, the quality of instruction and the spirit that I felt was pretty darn similar to what I feel when President Smart trains us. It's nice to hear it from someone new, but I think I would have been just as happy with good old President Smart training us. Don't tell Elder Richards that... I'm very grateful that he came to visit us. It was fun. 

Last Monday we had fun with our laundry. I think I've told you about the woes of spending $4 a week on the laundromat tax. Well, another fun side effect is that my white load of clothes came out of the wash smelling like marijuana last Monday. I'm guessing that somebody forgot about some bud in their pocket when they used the washer or dryer right before me. Elder "H" and I had a good laugh about it and rewashed my whites the next day at a member's house. 

Oh, and when I was pulling them out of the member's dryer, she asked "Do they still smell like reefer?" and I held up what was in my hands and said "I dunno, Elder "H", do they?" I didn't realize that what I was offering him to sniff was my underwear bottoms. He didn't want to sniff those very much.

Tuesday marked the fulfillment of prophecy. Everybody has been telling me and my companion that our hard work is bound to pay off eventually in this ward. Well, on Tuesday night, we went on splits with the ward, and right as we were meeting up at the church before splitting off I got a phone call from a member in the ward asking if we could teach their friend on Wednesday night. Of course I agreed. After we got back to the church, we saw a YSA friend in the parking lot who told us that one of her friends was asking to take the missionary discussions. I was so excited I almost hugged her on the spot. Elder "H" got tackle-hugged instead. She got us an appointment with that friend the very next day. So on Wednesday we taught both referrals. Both lessons went fantastically well and both of them committed to baptism. I don't think I would have been more excited if I won a million dollars. 

Seriously though, this ward has been really slow lately, and both of these two fine young ladies asked *us* about baptism before we had a chance to ask them about it. Wednesday was one big giant miracle. Getting them to church is going to be hard, because one of them plays softball and the other one goes to work from 7am to 12:30 pm every Sunday. But we will figure out a way to make it work. They both are pretty dedicated already from the get-go.

The rest of our investigators evaded us or disappointed me in one way or another this week. I lost sleep over one of them. I prayed at night to know what to teach her. That night, I dreamed that I was teaching out of a certain chapter and I knew it was important. When I woke up, all I could think of was "Read Alma 20." So I did, and it was perfect for this girl's situation. She canceled on us that day and refused to give us a return appointment, which was especially disappointing because I had baked her some chocolate chip cookies. I kept thinking about it all that night. 

I remember thinking in my bed "Why do I care so much? Why can't I just not care?" And I received a very clear answer to that question. "That is your GIFT. That is your gift and there are those that wish they had it. It is your job to figure out how to use your gift to help others." I am quite confident that was the Lord speaking to me. 

So yes, I have had a very spiritual week. My prayers have been answered in extraordinary ways. I have been instructed and fed spiritually by special servants of Christ. I have been blessed with two miraculous investigators to work with. And I've come to appreciate my special spiritual gifts and talents even more. I hope to hone them and bridle them so that I can use them to further the Lord's work in this part of his vineyard.

In other news, there will be an epic Nerf battle next week at the stake center. My companion just bought a beastly Nerf gun - the "Rampage". We also discovered in our chats with returned missionaries that a short length of 1/2" pvc pipe makes an excellent blowgun for blowing Nerf darts at people with all the speed and accuracy of the guns. We have tried it out with a foot of that pvc and it's actually pretty good. So that may be an option for the sister missionaries that don't want to buy a gun.

What am I talking about? Most of the sister missionaries here are super competitive and will be blasting us all away anyways. :P

Love you tons. Have an awesome week.  

A seven nation army couldn't hold me back - 09/16/13

Elder "H" and I are going to do some great things together. I'm still super excited about the next five weeks. Our teaching pool is pretty small, and our area is still the richest and snobbiest part of Moreno Valley, but I have faith that things will pick up as we continue to put in a solid effort.

Elder "H" likes to sing and play his guitar. He used to play soccer, and I'm thinking that his legs are still in pretty good shape because by the end of this week, he was biking faster than me all over our crazy hilly area. That's actually an awesome thing. I don't have to worry about leaving him behind. We can plan however we want without having to worry about whether my companion will get worn out and worn down while I'm still chomping at the bit. 

I had a bit of an accident on Friday. I was biking entirely too fast down a hill when I caught the edge of the sidewalk and lost control. The bike went into a big bush and stopped. I flew into the bush and rolled onto the sidewalk. I must have done a full turn in there somewhere because my companion was behind me and he says he saw my face. He said it was surprising how I didn't look at all shocked or scared, but very highly annoyed. In any case, I ate it. But the bush absorbed most of the fall and I hopped right back on my feet. I only have a scratched-up arm to show for my stupidity. I think that's decent. It gave my companion something to laugh at all day, anyways.
 This Sunday was the Primary Program in sacrament meeting. So, naturally, we spent all day Saturday visiting everyone we could think of and inviting them to church. Who doesn't like the Primary Program? Either you're sappy and you're touched by the pure innocent testimony of children, or you're a normal person who laughs at the hilarity of children making mistakes and hamming it up on stage. Total win-win situation. Well, we tried to invite everybody. Only a couple people gave a solid commitment to come. We spent a lot of time biking to and from places and actually ran out of places to go by the end of the night. It felt like everybody had been taken up in the Rapture and only my companion and I had been left behind. The fall-back less actives were gone. The active members were gone. The ancient widows and widowers were gone. We were striking out everywhere we went. 

But there is a silver lining: everybody that we did talk to fed us. We got free donuts at the stake center from the Primary, even though we were there to help the high priests set up for a dinner. We met up with our Ward Mission Leader there, and he took us out to lunch. We managed to catch an Ecuadorian part-member family at home, and they insisted we stay and eat their delicious hornado even though we'd already eaten lunch. We biked over to the church to meet our teamup, who drove us to an appointment that stood us up, and then went driving all over our area trying to find work to do. We ended up going to Baskin Robbins. Then we had dinner with a lawyer and his family who allowed us to have a family home evening with their five beautiful kids all under age 12 and then took us out for frozen yogurt. So 2 breakfasts, 2 lunches, ice cream, dinner, more ice cream. We didn't get much done, but we were being fed all day long. 

Well, I didn't enjoy the Primary Program very much. I was saddened to the edge of tears by the fact that none of our investigators were present to take the sacrament. We had two ladies that had promised us they would be there, and they both failed me. I was so sad for them. Neither one of these families has been to church in a long time, and I don't know if they realize what a blessing it is that they are missing out on. 

I spent a lot of time reading a hand-out Book of Mormon. I was led to Alma 14, where Alma and Amulek are forced to witness tons of horrible things and go through lots of hardship before being finally delivered from their captivity. I can't quite put it into words, but I found comfort in their story. Perhaps because they never gave up hope that everything would be all right in the end. I feel very strongly that Elder "H" and I will reap bountifully in this area before I leave, and we are putting in an awful lot of effort, but we haven't seen a lot of payoff yet. These things just take time.

The rest of the day Sunday was superb. I was led to a home where the missionaries' spirit was sorely needed, and we ended up giving a blessing to somebody who really wanted one. And I think we may have motivated her to start coming back to church. 

At the end of the day, I was a bit saddened by what I'd seen. I couldn't stop thinking about a YSA in the ward who is making choices similar to mine, the families who had forsaken the sacrament, and a former investigator that just popped into my head for no apparent reason (somebody please baptize "BC" so I can stop thinking about her everywhere I go).  I was talking about these things with Elder "H". He told me I am too emotionally involved. It isn't healthy for me to care this much about other people.

Well, perhaps there's some truth to that. But while I'm a missionary, I feel it is my duty to invite people to come unto Christ the best way I possibly can. And sometimes that takes some work and some personal investment. I'd like to think that I'm fulfilling the call to mourn with those that mourn and comfort those that stand in need of comfort. (Mosiah 18:9) And that in the end, I will receive mercy because I was merciful to others, as per the beatitude stated by our Savior (3 Nephi 12:7, Matthew 5:7). I'm going to love others the best I can and help them along their way.

Have a wonderful week, guys. Remember to smile. 

I just met you and this is crazy - 09/09/11

I finally get a new full-time companion!  I don't know a ton about him yet, because he hasn't gotten here yet. But I know he served in the Menifee singles branch with a friend of mine last transfer, he's been in the field for 8 months or something like that, and he hails from West Virginia. So, this should be a lot of fun, from what it sounds like. I was super paranoid that they would kick me out and put sisters in my ward. That seems to be par for the course in this mission. 

In fact, starting today, there will be more sisters than elders in this zone: four sets of elders and five sets of sisters. They added a second set of missionaries to two of the wards. One of the sets of sisters will be a second set of Sister Training Leaders, which basically translates to "Sister AP". So we have more female APs in our mission than male APs. I'm fully expecting them to give the women the priesthood next general conference.... just kidding. Kind of. 

We were talking about the huge numbers of sister missionaries with the high councilor over missionary work.  He is so excited about the next generation of youth that will be born into households where both parents served missions. It's going to be pretty amazing when most of the Moms can tell mission stories as well as the Dads. That little thought just blew my mind. I can't wait.

So yeah. I'm excited. Only one missionary is being sent away from this zone, and five are coming in. Three are new recruits. In fact, one of the districts is led by a 3-month-old elder who is training, and his district has two 3-month-old sisters who are training. At the end of this month, if you add up all of their mission ages together, I'm still older than that entire district. 

Gosh I'm old. 

I gave a really awesome object lesson this week.  Elder "S" and I cut out a bunch of paper swords and spears and axes. Then we went and taught a lesson about the Anti-Nephi-Lehis throwing all their weapons of war into the ground so they wouldn't be tempted to use them to kill people, as described in Alma 24. Then we read Alma 23:7, which reads: "For they became a righteous people; they did lay down the weapons of their rebellion, that they did not fight against God any more, neither against any of their brethren." We talked about how all of us have weapons of rebellion against God, and how we allow sin and temptation to separate us from God's love. So we wrote down our temptations and pet sins on our paper swords, and then tore them up and threw them away as a sign of our commitment to avoid those temptations that so easily beset us. I thought it was pretty effective. 

All in all we had an awesome week. I'm really happy to know that Jesus died so that all of us could be happy, and that we get to go to church and take the sacrament every week to be cleansed from our sin and reminded of our eternal worth. God is awesome.

Love you guys.

#2 mini-missionary comp - 09/02/13

Transfers happen a week from today. Can't wait to see what happens! 

My current companion is another mini-missionary.  He's part Chinese, part Hawaiian. He likes to play his ukulele and generally keeps to himself. Pretty chill. I like him. I only have to deal with him for a week, so no worries. 
I got sick this week, which somehow allowed me to sleep from about 8:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m.  I feel bad for my past mini. He listened to my music and played with the Nerf guns while I slept. He also put a pretty impressive drawing up on the whiteboard, which I will include as an attachment. :D 

The miraculous thing is that I got a priesthood blessing from my buddies the Zone Leaders and felt good enough to go out almost instantly. But then we discovered that my mini had a flat tire, and that we couldn't go anywhere. Then we got somebody to take us to Wal-Mart and buy a new inner tube after dinner, and it was the wrong size tube. So we had to go back to Wal-Mart the next morning and return that tube and get the right tube. All in all, a lot of time at Wal-Mart. But it's okay. Stuff happens.  

The Lasselle ward elders had a double header baptism on Saturday! I was so thrilled for them. And the Lasselle ward came out in force to support them. I was kind of worried that no one would show up but it was a packed house. I'm so proud of those elders and of the two young ladies they baptized. I got to give the baptismal interviews on Thursday and I really enjoyed it. There is something special about those interviews. I just felt the spirit so strongly. 

And I can kind of appreciate how much change the two ladies went through to join the church. I hadn't met the first one, but she had a learning disability of sorts and still managed to learn a lot about the gospel in a short amount of time. I could tell she had been prepared by the spirit. And the latter one, I had only met once, in a less-than-righteous environment. But she is committed to living the standards of the gospel, and I could see her determination. They have both been converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ, and it was so cool to be able to see it firsthand. 

The sad news about all this is that they broke up the dream team. The trainer in the Lasselle ward got emergency reassigned Saturday morning and was not allowed to go to the baptism. So the other Lasselle Elder had to hang out with me all day while we prepped for the baptism. It was a very sad thing that he couldn't be there. And even odder that they couldn't wait another week for regular transfers, and for the 12-week training program to be finished. 
I have been surrounded by the best and worst of missionary life in MoVal. And nothing has stayed stable for me for very long. I guess the Lord wants me to learn to be flexible. And I think I'm learning.

We had very spiritual visits with a less-active guy with one leg, with our country gal eternagator in the canyon, the Suicide Silence family, and my favorite CA public defendant lawyer guy. Hopefully there will be more of those this week that really touch my heart! I'm about to finish out a transfer here, and I feel like I'm overwhelmingly getting attached to the people that I have the opportunity to teach. But I kind of doubt I'm leaving right now. We'll see what happens. 

I love you all! Keep the faith and don't give up. 1 Corinthians 3:16

"As eternal beings, we each have in us a spark of divinity. And, as one who has traveled over much of this world, on both sides of the iron curtain, I am convinced that our Father’s children are essentially good. They want to live in peace, they want to be good neighbors,  they love their homes and their families, they want to improve their standards of living,  they want to do what is right, they are essentially good. And I know that God loves them"

- Spencer W. Kimball