Week-10

Double digits! It's felt like a quicker journey than I thought it would be, but that doesn't mean I haven't gained a lot during that time. This week was a bit slower than some of the others, now that I'm getting used to the daily routine, but that happens to everyone sometimes.

MONDAY started off with all four of us elders hopping into the truck and driving to a member's house. This time wasn't for service or a lesson but instead was for us all to get some haircuts. This member had apparently been giving haircuts to the missionaries for a while, and since I hadn't had my haircut since before I went to the missionary training center, I definitely needed one. All of us ended up getting our hair cut, so we were able to talk with the member for a while, which was cool. Afterwards, we all went shopping and did zone P-day, where they played a ton of basketball as usual. Later, when we went back to tracting, it was dark enough where we got to see a ton of stars, constellations, lightning, and even some satellites.

TUESDAY was mostly just a lot of finding time since we didn't have any appointments to go to. Other than that, we caught up on the conference session that we had missed, which I was really glad we were able to do. Being on the mission has really given me an appreciation for the spirit that is there at conference and the wisdom that is spoken there.

WEDNESDAY we were able to have a return lesson with one of our friends we met recently. While we were there, we got to know them a bit better and shared a message about baptism and how it makes a connection with God, letting us be able to return to him again after this life.

THURSDAY we had interviews with President Edwards and his wife. The mission president and his wife are in charge of all the missionaries and almost all other parts of the mission. The interviews are mostly just to check in on all the areas and give advice to the missionaries on life and how they can serve to their best efforts. It was pretty great because we were able to practice explaining the restoration of the gospel to Sister Edwards and got some advice about how we should remember to relate our own personal experiences as we teach.

FRIDAY was District council which I've gotten pretty excited for now because the social media training is always so interesting. This time they related the training to twister, which wasn't the most comfortable thing to do in a suit. They related it to how when our messages don't flow into gospel topics, we'll have a harder time understanding the interest of the person we're talking to.

SATURDAY started with some service I was never expecting to do because I didn't know this type of thing existed. Some members had been having trouble with gophers and had developed that the best way to get rid of them was to blow them up. They had bought a machine which would fill the tunnels with gas and then make a spark to blow the tunnel and kill the gophers inside. All four of the house's elders were there, and because we wanted to be safe, we just dug out the entrances to the tunnels so the member could put the machine in. Overall, it was pretty cool and really loud. Afterwards, we headed back to the house where the zone leaders were waiting for us so we could start exchanges. I was going into town for exchanges, so I got to do a lot of street contacting while we were just walking to different places.

SUNDAY we had a fast and testimony meeting at church, so ward council was quick and short, which gave us time to plan out our day. There were some pretty great talks on general conference and how so many of the members had been blessed by the Spirit they felt during the talks.

Like I said, it was definitely a slower week than the others have been. But that was fine with me because it just meant we didn't have to be so rushed. The spiritual thought I'd like to share for this week is something I'd been thinking about after listening to a lot of the conference talks from this week. When it comes to what is most important for being a part of the church, a strong testimony or a strong feeling of the spirit at a baptism is good, but what's truly needed is a personal and life-long conversion unto the Lord. When you are truly converted unto the Lord, you do your best to follow in his example, serving and teaching those around you selflessly. A baptism is only really meaningful when someone truly takes the name of Christ upon them and works to exemplify Him.

Nice view.

Getting rid of the gophers.

After exchanges.