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.