Hey Mom! October
24, 2016
This week:
Happy-go-luck panic, formality
gets thrown out the window, dump runs, and other points of sanity.
In
honesty I was kind of joking about the whole "mochi" request. While I
was writing the note I had Izzy's rendition of Gilligan's Island running
through my head, and at the end of that song Izzy sends a radio dispatch
"..did you send the poi?" I wasn't certain if poi holds up in the
mail, but mochi seemed more appetizing at the moment. It's been a while.
I also really loved your
insight about sowing seeds! That's actually one of the aspects of missionary
life I've come to have a testimony for. Seeds take a while to grow, seasons in
the garden at the ranch taught us that. But later on down the line it will be
harvested. When the first pioneers crossed the plains, they'd plant seeds for
crops that other guys who came later could harvest en route. Sometimes we're
sowing, sometimes we're harvesting. And that principle goes a long way as the
Gospel goes.
Glad to hear the house is
coming along well! I wouldn't mind too much about having a few pine trees
obstructing a view to be honest. It would be just a little annoying I suppose,
but life is full of great sights yet to be seen! And I'm certain whoever is
planting them understands the height issue, but still.
In terms of the grand ole'
white-shirt 'n tie black-tag machine, things were pretty good this past week!
And you know, it didn't feel that way until the end of it. The process was kind
of odd and a little hilarious. One experience that sticks out to mind was that
we went by a spot where a potential investigator lives. Well, a different dude
named Tony opened the door on us, and after offering to share a message he said
we could. Sweet! The only problem was this was the second of two door
approaches I've done where we got in, the first for elder Ackerman, and in
honesty I kind of...panicked. In a good way. Sort of. We wound up sharing
Mosiah 4:30. MOSIAH 4:30?!?! Who shares Mosiah 4:30 to a stranger you just
met!? Uggghhhhh.....it was kind of hilarious to be honest. Tony liked it. But
it taught me a good lesson about teaching people, not lessons.
Heh, heh, sometimes I think
Elder Ackerman has the worst trainer ever.
And so later on that night we
had dinner with Bishop's family. He was at work, but they have an 18 year old
son, so it allowed us to be present. Well, let's just say that it was clear and
obvious that dinner conversation with sis. Schilling and her sons wasn't really
going anywhere on a gospel basis. So I turned to Chris, their youngest who's a
junior, and started a conversation about....video games. I know, it's not
terribly formal, but I learned from talking to Daniel that talks about worldly
distractions are only distractions if you let them. But it broke the silence
enough so we could relate and communicate. And you know, I think Sis. Schilling
was quite happy we got them to open up about something. You could kind of tell
the boys were tired of standard missionary dinner conversations.
Yeah that was a weird day. But
the rest of the week was pretty nice! We did a dump run for Teri and was able
to move a "terribly annoying pile of junk" from her back yard. One of
the members, Bro. Tarbertt, graciously donated his time and truck for that.
Teri was very happy about that. So we're going to just start serving her rather
than trying to teach her anything. Now that she's not moving we can help situate
her current living condition, and you know, Service can go a looooong way
sometimes. Hey you know what the Air Force and Paul the Apostle say,
"charity never failieth!"
We also got the chance to meet
some amazing folks! One of them was named Jacquline, who was taking her smoke
break while we walked by. She moved the smoke to her side and told us she
didn't want it getting on us. A simple, but kind motion! So we got talking to
her and in the end she said we could send the 2nd ward elders by. Cassie and
Turk brought Amelie to church too! He was the friend at their lesson from last
week. We were also able to secure a ride for Nathan to come to church as well!
Turns out he had a lot more friends in the ward than we thought, so that opens
it up for great fellowship! It was also the Primary program, and Turk had a
part in it. Nathan left middway through for some reason, he did feel a little
out of place, but we'll let him know we're there for him whole way through.
Other than that, the week was
pretty normal. Lots of walking again. I'm surprised how fast the insoles in the
shoes that Daniel sent are wearing out. But I do try to keep them polished.
I'll let you know if anything comes to mind though. Really looking forward to
the Holiday season! It'll be great!
Love you all!
Michael
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