Week-5

I've officially been in the field for over a month now. It's been moving a lot faster than I thought it would be. Living with so many other Elders in one place has led to some funny moments that I'll talk about.

Monday started off interesting with the power going out while we were studying, which really didn't affect us much. What it did do, though, was make us have to go shopping in town because Walmart needed to get the food cold again. The drive felt longer because it was 4 elders in one truck with bags and a change of clothes for zone p-day. Once we finished shopping, we went to the chapel for zone p-day where the tall team started the punishment for losing the Facebook challenge. The punishment was that we had to cook breakfast for the winning team, and we didn't slack off with cooking. We made hashbrowns (which became hash-blacks after we cooked them) and French toast, which turned out pretty good, if I had to say. After that, I talked to my family for a while on how they were doing, which was nice. Once p-day ended, we went around tracking and had a lesson on the restoration with a random person.

Tuesday, a member had us come over really early so they could give us some smoked chicken that they had made for us, which was very nice of them. Afterwards, we headed into town for zone conference where the mission president, sister training leaders, the social media leaders, and the assistants to the president all talked on how we can be better, more obedient missionaries and how we can use Facebook to find better. It was a really cool experience that helped me get into the motivated mindset for the day. Afterwards, we went tracking for a bit but didn't meet anyone, unfortunately.

Wednesday wasn't too interesting, with us just trying to save miles and tract. We did get to go tracking with a young man who is preparing to go on his own mission. It was pretty fun, just giving him some info for what to bring to the missionary training center and to the mission field. After that, we had dinner with one of our ward's bishop's family and shared a message with them, which went well.

Thursday, I went on exchanges with another missionary in my zone. Because we started exchanges later, we went to a Sonic to get lunch but got confused on where we were supposed to order, which was pretty funny after the fact. Once we figured that out and had lunch, we went out tracking for a while around the area and gave some unexpected service to a member. After it got dark, we thought that we probably shouldn't knock on any more doors and went home to do contacting and Facebook tracking. After finding time was done for the day, the other Elders in the house did something that was pretty funny to me. One of them wanted a haircut but didn't want to wait for p-day, so his companion said that he could cut his hair there at the house with some clippers he had been sent from home. What made it funny was that this was the first time he was cutting someone's hair, and he had to watch a video from his mom on how to just before starting. In the end, the missionary getting his haircut decided to just buzz it.

Friday started with us going into town for probably the third time this week to have zone counsel and to plan the zone's goals and commitments for the month. It was pretty interesting to me since it was my first zone counsel and it helped me understand how zones work a bit better. After that, we made the drive back to our area so we could go to our lessons and do some tracking. It was also the first of the month, so our miles finally reset, which is nice. Hopefully, we don't go over again.

Saturday was a bunch of tracking and lessons, with us having a busy schedule that day. We originally didn't have dinner for that day but randomly got invited to have dinner with a member in the adjacent area and those Elders. It was pretty cool since those Elders were on exchanges, and the member gave us a bunch of business advice. Once the day was over, we went back home to, ironically, another haircut. The same elder wanted his hair fixed up a bit and had asked the zone leader he was on exchanges with to do it. This is the fourth time I've seen missionaries get haircuts in unexpected places on my mission.

Sunday was a fast Sunday, and we didn't have any ward meetings, which made it ironic that the one day we have time for breakfast we can't eat any. There were a lot of people that went up to bear their testimonies during the first hours for both wards, which was cool. After that, we went home to do studies and end our fast before going to an early dinner. After dinner, we went tracking for an hour before we had to cut the day short because my companion started to feel sick.

It was an interesting week with us going into town so much, but all those meetings really got me into the missionary mindset for the week. The thought I'd like to share this week is from the April 2023 general conference, and it's a quote from President M. Russell Ballard's talk "Remember What Matters Most." What it says is, "Having a testimony alone is not enough. As our conversion to Jesus Christ grows, we naturally want to testify of Him—His goodness, love, and kindness. Often in our testimony meetings on fast Sundays, we hear the phrases “I am thankful” and “I love” more than we hear the phrases “I know” and “I believe.” I invite you to bear your testimony of Jesus Christ more often. Bear testimony of what you know and believe and what you feel, not just of what you are thankful for. Testify of your own experiences of coming to know and love the Savior, of living His teachings, and of His redemptive and enabling power in your life." While it may come more naturally to say "I'm thankful," what we really need to be saying and thinking about is "I know." I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior and that through His sacrifice, I can be saved.

1-french toast 2-the first haircut 3-inch worm we found on exchanges 4-the second haircut