I wish I could share some pictures with you from how amazing my p-day has been so far. The guy we live with took us on a spectacular nine mile hike up in the Santa Rosa plateau, and it was beautiful. We saw a lot of flowers, really pretty poppy flowers especially, and some fauna as well. I will have to upload some pictures in the future and email them off. I felt really accomplished after finishing the 9 miles at a good pace and seeing a lot of pretty landscape, some of which reminded me of home because there were trees all around. I miss my trees. The spirit, the calm, and the peace that I get outdoors, exploring God's beautiful creation, is something that I hope to keep enjoying and appreciating for the rest of my mortal sojourn. I've decided now that my wife needs to enjoy being outdoors with me. I just love the woods and the mountains too much to give up hiking and camping completely.
After the hike, we had a fun p-day activity at the stake center. It probably would have raised a few eyebrows from the members, but I saw no harm in it, and it was a ton of fun. We played soda pong, a Mormon-friendly adaptation of a popular drinking game. I drank probably 2 whole liters of soda, not very long after finishing that awesome hike. It was a bit nauseating, but a lot of fun. I'll enjoy telling stories about it, and it was fun seeing how close the games were, because I got pretty good at it, actually. But the sick feeling after drinking that much soda was not enjoyable, nor is it particularly healthy. So that probably won't be happening again anytime soon. But it was a fun one-time experience. The sister missionaries all played too, and it was a blast seeing them get into it! One of the Spanish elders, who hails from Mexico City, volunteered to be a referee, and commented on the games like a soccer announcer. It was hilarious!
I went on exchanges twice this week. Once with one of the members of my district who I've been particularly concerned about. Another with one of the Zone Leaders, because both of our companions left the area to go to baptisms in past areas. The baptisms were at 3. They didn't get home until almost midnight. My zone leader wasn't very thrilled with that. But beside that point, I really enjoyed the exchanges. The guy in my district that I spent the whole day with actually helped me out a lot with the things I've struggled with, and we bonded a lot. I think our friendship is a hundred times stronger than it was before, and that we will be good friends from here on out. Oh, and while I'm singing this Elder's praises, he and his companion hit the Standard of Excellence this week, with 9 investigators at sacrament, 7 member-present investigator lessons, 7 days of 20 contacts, and 22 lessons in total. Hopefully that will help dispel the feelings in the zone that he's not a hard worker.
We didn't teach as many investigators this week as I would have liked, but we got over 20 lessons because of all the active members we taught as backups. That's a good start, anyways. Our best effort is all that we can do. I felt very strongly in church that as long as I'm trying my hardest, I have nothing to be afraid of as a missionary. I've had my struggles, I have my concerns, but the sacrament felt so completely invigorating this week, that I couldn't help but feel optimistic about things. I know that I am doing my part, and it's up to the Lord to make up for what I haven't succeeded with just yet. I have a lot more faith in the Lord's strength to make up for my weakness. Odd how it often takes a trial for us to realize how strong we are! Ernest Hemingway said that "Nobody knows what's in him until he tries to pull it out." I'm glad that I've gotten this chance to know my Savior a little closer and understand myself a little bit deeper.
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