To be a rock and not to roll - 04/07/14

And then there was one. Last week. I get to spend it with the Office Assistants, running errands all over the mission and taking care of business inside the office. Apparently we are actually assigned to a ward, too, but not a whole lot happens there, and since we share the ward with Sisters, they get most of the good stuff. I got to spend my last weekend in Hemet in a beautiful Zone meeting, watching conference with all my missionary friends, and baptizing "D" on the anniversary of the official organization of the restored church. I don't think we ever explained that part, though. Maybe "J" will tell him.

She's such a sweetheart, "J". She's not actually  "D's" daughter, but she's basically being raised by him and his wife. She goes to seminary every morning, she's soaking up everything being taught to her like a sponge, and she wants to serve a mission in a couple years. Unfortunately her biological parents are so against the church that she's going to have to wait until she turns 18 in November to get baptized. But right now she's making us so proud because she can answer questions about the gospel better than some of the kids that have been raised in it. Can't wait until she follows "D" and his wife into the waters of baptism. Being able to dunk "D" was a great way to cap off my weekend and my stay in Hemet.

Buying stuff at Walgreens is usually an act of desperation, under impaired judgment. As a result, I have far more cough drops and chloroseptic spray than I will ever use in the remaining 7 days. But I got a ridiculously sore throat on Tuesday morning and have been fighting it off ever since. My fever broke Wednesday night and it's been more manageable ever since, but I'm still pretty snotty. Thank goodness for Sudafed. 

A detail I almost forgot to share:  I'm still shocked that we managed to hit the Standard of Excellence for the third week in a row, in spite of taking time off for zone meeting, conference, and being sick all day for most of the week. Seriously, we didn't leave the house to teach until dinnertime on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. I call that a miracle. My companion is super proud. I'm glad that everything worked out so well. Only 10 hit the standard this week. We feel like champs.

Stare at CNN for long enough and I'm sure you'll go crazy hearing the same story of nothing happening over and over and over. I was stuck in that predicament on Thursday night, when my good friend Elder "Mc" and I were told to go to the emergency room. "Mc" had a killer headache, and every doctor that he'd visited in the past six months had failed to solve the problem. Well, the emergency room doctor didn't really fix anything, either. And we got to be in the emergency room from 8:30pm to 2am. That was entirely too much CNN in the waiting room for my poor brain to handle. But I was still more sane than poor Elder "Mc".  He was so mad by the end of the ordeal. 

Way back at the beginning of my mission, I remember how exciting everything was, and how much enthusiasm I had for everything. Now that's replaced with the wisdom of experience and being so used to these things it's almost like second nature. I almost feel a bit jaded, honestly. But every time I see the spark in someone's eyes, it's like it's brand new all over again. Or being able to participate in any ordinance of any kind, whether it's a blessing, the sacrament, or a baptism. I was told by Bishop that he really liked how I looked right at "D" the whole time I was saying the words of the ordinance. It never gets old. 

To say that the mission was the hardest thing I've ever done may not be entirely true. But it is definitely the best thing I've ever done for myself. The mission has shown the greatest return on investment for any significant chunk of time I can think of in my life so far. I've grown so much and I'm so grateful for it, crazy companions and dead areas and all.

Heaven must be like this: love and service. I am surrounded by people that I love and I get to serve God's children in fantastic ways every day. Soon I'll be doing different service, and not be a full-time missionary. But I'll still be able to progress and learn in ways that I haven't yet. I'm looking forward to it and hope to see all of you soon. My last thought is 2 John 2:12. Stay true to the church and to the gospel of Jesus Christ, and I know that God will bless us all in ways we can't even imagine.