Missionaires For Hire

I feel like we should be standing on the side of the road, like homeless people, with signs that say "WILL WORK FOR FREE. WE GIVE SPECIAL BLESSINGS. GOD BLESS" because there's no one on campus and everyone interested in U district is not YSA aged. So we've been able to do a lot of work for other areas and probably will until the Christmas holidays are over. Speaking of, Merry Christmas! I hope everyone had an enjoyable Christmas season and is looking forward to the new year, becuase I certainly am. I've never been this excited for the holidays to end, and for school to start again. I also never thought I'd say that in my entire life. A mission does things to you

Josiah is leaving! You might remember this guy, I wrote about him a few emails ago, but he basically thinks he's prophetic. He keeps talking about the tribulation and the end of the world. He knows that there are native American satanists in his hometown in Alaska, he's gonna have a 1v1 with the Antichrist when the time comes, he's gonna lead a bunch of astronauts into the new world and discover dinosaurs. I would say more, but that would take up the whole email. Anyway, he's moving down to Vancouver in Washington, and im actually gonna miss him, cos when he's not going on rants or talking about his prophetic visions he's actually really chill. I remember one time during an institute dinner during the middle of a conversation he whips out his phone, and he's got one of those could gaming things, becuase next thing I know he's playing smash bros on his phone. Just randomly outta nowhere. 

Our friend, Zhang, has been put on baptismal date! He is soooooo ready, and eager to learn more. He is ready to let God prevail in his life, and he loves reading the Book of Mormon. But, he isn't YSA, cos he's not young enough, and he told us at bible study on Saturday that he's got a wife back home, so he's gonna be given to the Mandarin elders. I really hope he gets baptised, he really wants to. And, it's on the 25th of January, which is Burns Night! It's also the day I got baptised, because I remember that I had haggis at my baptism. I don't think it's a coincidence that we will be baptised on the same day. I see God's hand in my life every day, and this just further enforces my belief. 

We had two exchanges this week, and I was with Elder Denton. These have been the roughest days on my mission so far, becuase he does absolutely nothing. All he does is drink Dr Pepper, talk about steak, walk around and not engage a conversation with someone, and talk about the next time he's gonna play pool. He's really hard to work with, and I don't think he even wants to be here, which is gonna make it really hard for future companions. I imagine it's like what I was like at the start of the mission, except I didn't talk about steak all the time, and the reason I didn't engage in conversation was out of nerves, not unenthusiasm. He's still a chill guy, and we get along really well, when we're not doing missionary work. Which is bad, becuase we need to be doing missionary work. 

We had Christmas Zone Conference on Wednesday, and it was really great. It didn't feel like Christmas until that day, but it was great. We did a white elephant gift exchange, where everyone gets an inexpensive gift or something from their flat, wraps it, and then there's a random selection process to mix up the gifts. I went to DI and got a Ladybug hour timer, and I got a laser gun in return! I've got no idea what I'm supposed to do with one laser gun, since the other one is in the next zone over, but oh well. It was still fun. We gave away the golden dolphin that has been sitting in our flat since I've been here. I hope the person who got it enjoys having it in their home. I just hope that they don't start worshipping it like the Israelites in Exodus.

On Christmas day I called my family, and i feel really sorry for Emma, my sister. We go up to Aberdeen for Christmas to spend time with family, and Emma and I are the oldest cousins by a good few years, so we are usually on cousin duty, which is very tiring, since there's a lot more of them than there is of us, and they've got a lot more energy. I called home on Christmas and Emma looked like she'd just walked away from a fight with Bane or something. Anyway, we had a nice Christmas. We went round to the senior missionaires house for lunch, and got my butt handed to me at Cover Your Assets. We had another dinner appointment with someone on the Bishopric, and that was really nice. He has a very energetic dog, who is cute and loved the rubs that we gave him. Still love my dog more. 

We also went carolling at a nursing home for Christmas, and it reminded me of where I used to work back home. I worked in a pseudo nursing home, becuase it was just a regular house, but the company had placed clients in that home for us to care for. There was one person that we offered to sing for when we went carolling, and she was very happy to see us, and immediately started screaming. She beckoned Sister Monson to come over, grabbed her forearm and left some nasty nail marks. She reminded me of one of the clients I used to work for, who was also very screamy, happy to see people, and has a mighty grip. I've got some marks from where he's grabbed (and bit) me. But we were just standing there siging "Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer" while Sister Monson is fighting for her life, and her forearm. We got out in one piece though. 

We met someone last week on the way to the hot chocolate stand downtown. He works for the subway, and photo bombed us. We gave him a card with our number on it, and said he'd come to church. He did not come to church, so we went looking for him, but we didn't find him. We did start talking to someone else on the street. She had a really nice dog as well. We started talking to her, but i was a bit distracted, becuase I saw through a window that someone was playing Batman: Arkham Knight, and I kept glancing over. I imagine it's how a recovering addict looks at the thing they're recovering from, becuase it was really hard to focus on the conversation with one of my favourite games being played nearby. It must've been new game+, becuase he was using some takedown moves which you usually don't get until the nearer the end of the game. Maybe. It's been so long I've already forgotten. Anyway, we invited her to church and she said she might come. Yay!

She did not come to church, but that's something that I have learned in my time here. Sometimes you won't get someone's information. Sometimes you plant seeds. That idea that "hey these missionaires aren't so bad" will work wonders in the future. I feel like the dude from Inception, explaining how powerful that idea is, and planting that idea, that seed, that the church is alright. That seed will be nurtured by future missionaires, on and on, until they are ready to receive the gospel. So sometimes when you meet someone you're not reaping the rewards of their spiritual journey. Sometimes you're planting those seeds, planting that idea to come and see the church. Alma, a prophet in the Book of Mormon explains this really well. Alma 32:28 says,

"Now, we will compare the word unto a seed. Now, if ye give place, that a seed may be planted in your heart, behold, if it be a true seed, or a good seed, if ye do not cast it out by your unbelief, that ye will resist the Spirit of the Lord, behold, it will begin to swell within your breasts; and when you feel these swelling motions, ye will begin to say within yourselves—It must needs be that this is a good seed, or that the word is good, for it beginneth to enlarge my soul; yea, it beginneth to enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me."

So it's just about knowing your placement in the person's journey on the covenant path. Sometimes you're there for all of it, sometimes you're there for only a wee bit. But missionary work is all about recognising your role in this person's journey. 

Into the new year we go! It still feels like 2023, so I got no clue on how next year will go. One thing I do know, is whom I can place my trust in, and how I can go about doing that. And I really hope that I don't get sick, because that will suck. At least I'll be able to catch up on all the sleep that I missed on that fateful Tuesday, the great Exodus to Utah. I think I've got about 20 hours left to catch up on, but I'm still here!

Just so tired. Tactical power naps are underrated. 

Elder Black

Eight Days a Week

This has been the single longest week of my life. Not the toughest, becuase Advanced Higher maths will ruin your life, but it just feels like this week has been longer than expected. I woke up on Thursday and thought it was Saturday. Oh well. This week has been good if I remember right, but let's find out

Not much happened these first two days. We went to Chic-Fil-A for lunch on Monday and it was great. We also went to the Ensign Symphony again, and that was even better. It was a Christmas themed one, and our friends really enjoyed it. Nothing much happens on Mondays, because we usually go shopping, get lunch, then hang out at one of the church buildings with people in our zone. It's great, and I love hanging out with other missionaries. 

We had a friend coming to pickleball on Tuesday, but he didn't show up, and it didn't look like pickleball was on either. It gave us time to prepare for what was coming tomorrow. I got a really nice smash burger, although expensive. Very good though

BLITZKREIG BOP

Wednesday might be one of the best days I've had on the mission so far. President Sherman wants all the new missionaries to go street contacting in Seattle to kind of break them in, so we had to plan what was going to happen. The other zone leader got called to be an Assistant to the President, so we were a zone leader down. My companion is the other zone leader, and so because i was his companion I was there for all the planning. I was basically an Acting Zone Leader for two days until the new one came. But the New Missionary Blitz worked really well. I went out with Elder Hawkins, who is the other Assistant to the President (AP), and Elder Fitzgerald, who was a new missionary. He did really well for his first day, probably better than i did at finding in my first few weeks. We made a whole bunch of new friends and it was a great time in general. We had a really good lesson with our friend Miguel after. He's beginning to progress spiritually now, and not ask a million questions about stuff that happened in the early days of the church. Yay!

Thursday, on the other hand, was a long day. Weekly planning took ages, as usual, and stuff kept coming up. Elder Hammond and Nelson left. I'll miss them, but Elder Hammond is the new AP, so I'll see him a bunch, and Elder Nelson just moved up the road a wee bit. 

We almost put our friend on date. We gave him 2 Nephi 31 to read, and we called him after he read it. He really liked it, and understood most of what it talked about. 

After that, the conversation was basically:

"Josiah, we think you're ready for baptism"

"Yeah i think I am to"

"Will you follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptised by someone with proper authority on January 12th?"

"Nahhhhh I don't wanna commit to a religion, and I'm still looking for the truth"

Like, COME ON! I really hope he comes to know the truth, but until then, we'll keep working with him. 

Elder Durrant is playing a musical number for the upcoming Christmas Zone Conference, where a bunch of missionaires gather together to hear from our mission leaders. Anyway it sounds really nice, and some of the missionaires in our area were asking him about stuff like how he wrote it, and since theres no sheet music, if he learnt it by ear, and if he can learn any song. This wad a really funny moment, becuase I'M usually the one being asked those questions, and giving the exact same responses. It was interesting to see the interaction from a spectator's point of view. But I'm really looking forward to the performance. 

We did a Hot Chocolate stand downtown in Seattle, and it was great. We had a few fiascos getting it organised, but it was a success, hopefully. Anything to boost public opinion of our church works, so yay! I got some nice photos as well, and it was overall a great experience. There was also a guy absolutely shredding it on the piano nearby, so that was fun to listen to. I'd never heard the Simpsons theme like that before, but i liked it. I was tempted to ask him for a shot, but there's a lot of crazy people downtown, and he was killing it, so probably not the best idea. 

We met this guy on the New Missionary Blitz who is really elect, and loves coming to church. We felt prompted to extend a baptismal invite, and we did, but he was like "hang on guys, I wanna know some more before i get baptised." He's got a point, but usually we give people a date to work towards when we extend an invitation, but looking back I do feel it was a bit hasty. Elder Durrant started talking about the holt Ghost, then started reading out of 2 Nephi 31, and we had a total companion connection, cos i knew what he was gonna do as soon as he started reading. 

I went to the Mandarin church on Sunday for exchnages. It was the Christmas musical service, and it was really nice, becuase i wasn't confused all the time, listening to talks in mandarin. We helped pass the sacrament, and when we looked at the programme it said "O Holy Night - Missionaires." So, naturally, we went into full panic mode. My companion hadn't been told about it, and i thought it was going to be in Mandarin, and that would not be a pretty sight. When the time came, we stood up, full of confidence, ready to give it our best shot, but when we got to the mic, there was only a Sister missionary up on the stand, and an Elder on the keys. It was a freaking SOLO, and we'd just walked up on her. We pretended like we were giving words of encouragement, then went back down after the number ended. It was really nice, and I'm looking back fondly on the experience, so that means I've gotten over it already. 

We also taught a lesson while we were there, and the member participating in the lesson had to translate everything for me. We extended a baptismal invite, but apparently my comp was cut off mid invite and told no. 

So that's 0/3 for Elder Black, but I've still got time, and I need to keep in mind that our missionary purpose is to INVITE other to come unto Christ. It's totally up to them, and no matter how good you think you are as a missionary, it's up to the other person if they get baptised. 

Well, it's been A Hard Day's Night, and In My Life, I've never felt the spirit Here, There and Everywhere I go until I came out here, but God Loves You, and you know you should be glad. Don't Hide Your Love Away, and don't be afraid to cry to God "Help!" Becuase, he will help you. I've seen miracles out here, and it's only Getting Better all the time. I get by With A Little Help From My Friends, and having to Carry That Weight of missionary standards is getting easier and easier. It's really starting to Come Together, and in The End, the love you take, is equal to the love you make, so show love!

I am the Walrus

Goo-Goo-g'joob

Elder Black

Kinder Bueno for $2.39

These last three weeks have been really interesting. Not a lot of regular missionary work done this week, due to numerous factors. This week Elder Wada (someone high up in the church, he's one of the seventy) went on a tour of our mission, and he gave devotionals for missionaires om Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. So we basically had three zone conferences back to back to back, and boy let me tell you, there was some good stuff in there, but I was passing in and out of consciousness. Anyway, we also got transfer news, and I'm staying in Seattlw YSA with Elder Durrant. Yay! Too bad the work is gonna suck during December, because nobody is on campus and the ward basically cut in half. Ach well, it's not like this transfer is seven weeks or anything. 

MONDAY

Not much happened today. We played basketball, I landed a mean half court shot, we played chair football and it was great. I might need to go back to the mighty Sauchie Amatuers, cos I'm really rusty. I still enjoyed it though. 

THE TRAGEDY OF MIGUEL

This guy was incredibly promising the first time we met him. He understood and agreed with most of what we taught him. Then, he started doing his research into the church history, and that consumed his questions, which as missionaires we aren't specifically trained to answer. We've had numerous talks about how people, even prophets, can use agency the wrong way, and at the end of the day, we are all human, and can make mistakes. He is interested in baptism, but he's just too skeptical. He asks a lot of great questions about missionary work and our church, but we've spoken four times about controversial topics in church history. I wish we'd gone over that stuff in the MTC, so that more missionaires know how to properly address people's concerns. 

(Pro tip: Gospel Library > Topics and Questions > Categories > Church and Gospel Questions. It has it all in there)

ELDER WADA COMES TO TOWN

Not much happened these days, becuase we had the zone conferences in the morning, and usually more meetings and planning in the afternoon. I played another musical item with the ASL sisters, and it went really well. We did O Holy Night, and had sheet music, but it was in a bad key for them, and the accompaniment kinda sucked, so we scrapped it, changed the key and I just winged it. I probably shouldn't be too proud, but I managed to sneak in some Radiohead, House of the Rising Sun and REM into the song. 

The zone conferences were really good, and Elder wada is very funny. He has some great insights about how to use what little time you have street contacting effectively, and to leave people with a good impression of the church.

ELDER MEANS TEACHER

We had some good lessons this week. On Thursday I had six lessons across two different companionships. Two were over the phone, and I'd only planned on three. We had just finished our fourth of the day, when one of the mandarin elders grabbed me and took me to a lesson with one of their friends. That was probably one of the best lessons I've been in. We really felt the spirit, and spoke by it as well. We used christian history, testimonies, scriptures and all. As we headed back to reexchange, the other elders were talking to someone, so as to not be awkward, we ducked into the nearby shop, and i got a kinder Bueno. I later realised that I'd paid about $2.39 for it. I could get one at the shops back home for about 75p. My aberdonian ancestors are gonna jump me when I get to the afterlife for making such a ridiculous purchase. 

Anyway, we made a friend whilst they made another contact, and we finally reexchanged and headed back. 

THEN, we saw another one of our friends, and had a lesson on the street with him. That was nice, and it led to a really nice miracle hour (the last hour of the day)

LAKE FOREST PARK EXCHANGE

This was probably one of the best days I had on the mission, mostly becuase i just needed a day out of my current area. It was a nice change of pace. We did a lot of walking, and I'm glad i walked to school pretty much every day for about 14 years, becuase we spent pretty much the entire second half of the day walking. We had a lot of good conversations, and was able to apply the teachings of Elder Wada in our missionary work. We visited a members house and he gave us some jolly ranchers. I only took a few, then he looked at me like I'd offended his dog (which was really cute by the way). He said I should take more, so I, being one not to shy away from free food, stuffed my pockets with blue jolly ranchers. And, before my mum and dad come breaking down the door like SWAT, I'm gonna share them with my flatmates. Becuase I'm a nice person. 

SUNDAY

Not much happened today. We had some people come to church, then we had the stake Christmas devotional, with music and Christmas messages. It was really nice. I could've swore that Barry White himself came and performed, because he had the look and the voice. Epic. 

I also realised that I accidentally wrote "Mary did you know?" about a year ago. Oops

SPIRITUAL THOUGHT

One of the first things we teach as missionaires is the Book of Mormon, but the first teaching point in the first lesson is God is our Loving Heavenly Father. There's a reason why it's the first, becuase everyone should know it. It's a fact that will never be changed, and he loves everyone equally. People say, "Oh God's never done anything for me" but he has. You've just not noticed it. This is Mosiah 21:14-15, and the people in these verses aren't being the most righteous, but they are still praying. It says,

"And they did humble themselves even in the depths of humility; and they did cry mightily to God; yea, even all the day long did they cry unto their God that he would deliver them out of their afflictions.

And now the Lord was slow to hear their cry because of their iniquities; nevertheless the Lord did hear their cries, and began to soften the hearts of the Lamanites that they began to ease their burdens; yet the Lord did not see fit to deliver them out of bondage."

So maybe God won't give us exactly what we want if we aren't righteous, but he still provides for his children. Never forget that you are a child of God, sent to earth to do a marvellous work

Elder Black 

Wake Me Up (in about twenty minuites)

I will never make fun of anyone for falling asleep while watching a film ever again. Doing sealings at the temple, almost fell asleep. 

Weekly planning on Thursday, fell asleep. 

Car ride to the Fred Meyer for the Salvation Army, fell asleep. 

Twice. 

Extra comp study on Saturday, almost fell asleep. 

During the Christmas devotional on Sunday, fell asleep. 

I woke up on friday, full of determination that I was not going to fall asleep. I drank water, I did some exercises, then as soon as we sat down to plan our day, I got a little too comfortable, and guess what. I fell back asleep. 

It reminds me, i started to write a parody song called "Wake Me Up When Stake Confrrence Ends," but it's going nowhere. Probably becuase I'm asleep all the time 

WEDNESDAY

We went to the temple today, and it was great. There's a real sense of peace at the temple, because it's such a sacred place and is kept that way. I mean, it's literally the closest we can get to God on this earth, so it makes sense that it's this sacred and stuff.

We went to Costco for shopping and got lunch there. Then, we had about an hour to spend time with missionaires, because the other elders needed to go to the church. So we headed back (they had the car, and it wasn't faster walking or taking a bus) and in the lift back to our flat, we met Miguel. This guys gotta be baptised, becuase we later walked with him to institute, spent most of the time there with him, he met the bishop, and we walked back with him. We taught like the entire restoration and half of the plan of salvation in the first three hours that we've known him. He also lives directly below us, so he hears all the shenanigans that we get up to. Missionary flats are so fun when it's more than just your companionship. 

THURSDAY

We never seem to do weekly planning in one day, and we always get sidetracked. Not much happened on Thursday.  Not much ever happens on Thursdays. I've got no clue why, but it's just so boring. 

FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS

We did some service with the Salvation Army, collecting donations standing at the entrance of a Fred Meyer (supermarket). I'd seen people do it before at QFC (another supermarket) and they were always ringing a bell with the Salvation Army apron on. I donned the apron and armed myself with the bell, and gave it my all, for about three and a half hours. It was boring, and I could've swore I saw the same person go in and out of the Fred Meyer about seven times, but whatever. I'm sure they have their reasons. 

I took four naps today, and they were all in the car. I've not had trouble sleeping, I'm just so tired all of the time, but as soon as i wake up from a nap I'm ready to go. 

SATURDAY

Wait we had the ward Christmas party on Friday. That was fun. Miguel showed up again and had a blast. 

(just so tired. man.)

ACTUALLY SATURDAY FOR REAL THIS TIME

MLC again, stands for Mega Long Cskive (the C is silent), so I was with Elders Nelson and Denton again. One of the members of the bishopric brought their dog to the church building, and it was great. The dog was a trained service dog, so knew all the tricks. I still like my dog more though. 

We found a guy in a Brazil strip, and I went to talk to him about the World Cup draw that had just taken place a day prior. Scotland and Brazil are in the same group. Revenge!

Anyways, I started talking to him about it, and he said "Actually it's my friends soccer (ugh) jersey." Whatever, we're still gonna absolutely pump the Brazilians in the world Cup and go all the way. 

Anyway, we had another Christmas party. This time it was a dance, and it was really nice to listen to the music. Too bad most of the stuff wasn't 2010s nostalgia, and I realised how much of a thing line dancing is here. I now understand how our friends feel when we talk about deep doctrine, cos I had no idea what half of the line dances they were talking about. There was food, and that was great. 

SUNDAY (THE DAY OF REST)

It really is the day of rest, becuase i was out cold for most of the Christmas devotional. Apparently I was snoring as well, but i heard conflicting accounts, and until I see evidence, I'm in denial. 

Anyway, today was really nice. We had the Christmas service, and the people here are just too gosh darn talented musically. There was one stand out, where someone had swapped the lyrics to "The Lord is my Shepherd" with "Away in a Manger" which was really clever. The rest of the service was really nice. Then we had a baptism. Or rather, the sister missionaires had a baptism, or rather they had three baptisms. That's right, they've had four people baptised in less than two months. It's not fair. When are we gonna get some freaking baptisms! Most of the people we are teaching, are either perfect candidates for baptism who aren't interested in committing to one church, people from other Christian denominations who want to know more about our church, or people who just want to know more about the church without progressing spiritually. Whatever though 

Anyway, the baptism(s) were really nice. It wasn't helped by the fact that i was asked to play hymns about two hours before the service started, and I'd never even heard of one of them. Safe to say my playing was not the best, but I played the hand I was dealt. I also played a musical item with Sister Monson, and that was really nice. We then had the Christmas devotional, which I slept through, finally finished weekly planning and had about the best sleep I've had on the mission. Hopefully anyway. I'm writing this bit Sunday night, and I'm really looking forward to bed. 

Spiritual thought comes from Mosiah 16, in the Book of Mormon. In this verse, the prophet Abinadi is facing death by excecution, and he spends his last moments talking about Jesus Christ, and teaching the wicked king and his judges about the nature of Christ. Verse nine says,

"He is the light and the life of the world; yea, a light that is endless, that can never be darkened; yea, and also a life which is endless, that there can be no more death."

The church does a "Light the World" thing every Christmas season, where we try extra hard to act christlike and show love for one another by doing acts of love. Jesus Christ is the ultimate example of love, and his light can illuminate even the darkest of spaces. We need to share the light of Christ this christmas season, and strive to show love in all that we do.

Editors Note: it was actually a really good sleep, but I'm still just so darn tired

Anyways, I also got a supply drop from back home. Apparently Jaffa Cakes and Vimto isn't a thing over here? Man you guys are missing out. We've just got a better selection of sweets and chocolate, what can I say.

Also I miss UK Dr Pepper. Over here is strange, but still OK. 

Elder Black

Down With The Sickness: Disc Two - Durrant Watch and Bonus Features

This email contains a record of the events of Durrant Watch and it's spinoffs. It begins on Wednesday 26th November in the two thousandth and twenty-fifth year since the birth of christ, and concludes on  Monday 1st December, in the same year. Wherefore, I make a record of the proceedings of the Flat of Five, and the events of Durrrant Watch

It's also Christmas Season! It's a great time to show love to one another, as Jesus Christ loved. He is the perfect example of love and charity, of which we can show to others to uplift them. Find something that you can do to lift someone's day and make them feel happier this christmas season!

DURRANT WATCH: DAY ONE

My companion had a fever in the morning. Mission rules dictate that you should be in sight and sound of your companion at all times unless you're in your residence, which meant that when your companion is bedridden, you are stuck in the flat with them, doing whatever you can to entertain yourself and a lot of study. The good thing is that we've got another companionship in our flat, so we took shifts looking after Elder Durrant. I had a really good lesson with a friend with Elders Hammond and Denton, while Elder Nelson was on Durrant Watch.  Then we tagged out Elder Nelson, so Elder Denton and I were on Durrant Watch for lunch and a bit more. After that, we (Elders Nelson, Denton and I) went out for campus finding and got some meds for Elder Durrant. Then I tagged out Elder Hammond, and I was on Durrant Watch for the rest of the night. It was very boring and there's not much I could do in the traditional sense. A lot of reading, cleaning, studying and napping. I hope Elder Durrant feels better, so that we can go out and actually do stuff for our area. 

DURRANT WATCH: FONNESBECK 

Elder Durrant did not feel better on Thursday, so we were not able to go out and actually do stuff for our area. It looked like Durrant Watch was being renewed for a second season. But, one of the Mandarin speaking elders was also sick, so we just did a little switcheroo and I went with Elder Nielson, and Elder Fonnesbeck took Durrant Watch. So Durrant Watch got a spinoff TV show and The Mandarin Escapades were renewed for a fourth season. It was also thanksgiving, and oh man, I ate so much food. Our church put on a thanksgiving event with games and food. Elder Nielson and I were having companionship study, and one of the members comes up and asks if he can use the TV. We say yes, cos we're not using it, then he whips out a switch, with a dock, and starts playing Metriod Dread, which is one of my favourite games of all time. We talked about that for a while, and i helped him get through a bit, but we actually needed to do missionary work, so we went out and made some friends for the Mandarin elders. We had dinner at the church, then we had a dinner appointment with the Mandarin ward's bishop. He lives in what can only be described as Helm's Deep, because it takes forever to get there, there's only one way into the area which he lives, and his house is a fortress. I was half expecting Gandalf to come down the hill once we left, with the Riders of Rohan behind him. Elder Nielson did not get the reference when I talked about Helm's Deep, which is okay. I'm used to missionaires not understanding film references that I make. But it's freaking Lord of the Rings. He's still cool in my book. 

DURRANT WATCH: (ELDER) BLACK FRIDAY

Elder Durrant was still sick on Friday, but feeling better, and Elder Fonnesbeck still wasn't feeling great, so both shows got a Holiday Special! We had a mini exchange with the Mandarin elders, same as the day before. They got moved to the Seattle South Zone at the start of this transfer from our Zone, Seattle North. So in addition to leaving the mission boundaries every time I've exchanged with them, I'm now leaving the zone. This was only a wee exchange though, becuase we needed to weekly plan. Basically, we set goals for the next week for how many new freinds we make, how many lessons with members participating, people at church, people on baptismal date, people who are baptised and confirmed a member, and new members at sacrament. After that, we go down all of our friends, ask ourselves what they need, and set goals and make plans to meet their needs. Usually it's supposed to go on for two hours in a day, then you go and do missionary work. Our session took SIX hours, becuase we were both a bit sleepy and Elder Durrant hadn't left the flat since Tuesday night. It was now Friday. He took a hour and a half power nap, in which i also took a nap, cleaned and read. Not much else I could've done. 

I also totally forgot that it was Black Friday today. I was joking earlier in the week that my powers would double on Black Friday, but alas, I was confined to the barracks for Elder Black Friday. Ach well, there's always next year

TOP 10 PHONE CALLS I'VE BEEN IN

Imagine this: you wake up at 7:30 on a Saturday to a phone call. You frantically check your area book to see if it's a person who's not saved on the phone, but you pick up because the phone will ring out. It's someone whos not in the area book, and they're not saved my phone (new phone btw) so we chat. It goes something like this

Female voice - "Hey is this the missionaires for the Mormon Church?"

Me - "Yeah, this is the missionaires for the, yeah, this is the missionaires"

"I heard you guys have service tomorrow, is that correct?"

"Yeah! We've got service at 11am tomorrow. You know where the UofW police station is?"

"Yeah" 

"It's there"

"Awesome. I'd like to attend"

"Great! What's your name?"

"Veronica"

(At this point I'm making the person record already)

"Hey, I see people with name tags wandering around sometimes, are you one of those guys with a nametag or are you part of the congregation?"

(I then explain missionaires and what we do)

"You don't sound like you're from here"

(At this point I'm already completing the baptismal form. I explain that I'm from Scotland, and being assigned to labour)

"Wow, that's cool"

"Thanks. Who told you about our church?"

(We'd had a contact a week ago and she said that she knew someone who might be interested in showing up, so it was my concensus at this point that this was her friend)

"Actually it's Sister Bundy"

(Sister Bundy is in the Seattle South Zone. We see their companionship around sometimes)

At this point it all comes crashing down. I've been reporting along what's happening to get a good account, and lone behold it be a fellow missionary. I was chuckling about that for a good few hours after that, and I would say that it made by day, but my day was just getting started. (Timeskip to Saturday - Disc 1)

DURRANT WATCH: LEGACY

Elder Durrant was feeling better on Saturday, but we were both confined to the barracks on Sunday. At least after church and the lesson Elder Hammond and I had. He's still not feeling great, so we both went down for a nap. I watched some really dated church videos on Gospel Library, and that was probably not the best thing I could've been doing 😅 but it did make me think about the things that I've done in the past, and all the stuff that has lead me to be on a mission, so it was a really introspective experience. I am glad that I am here, and there are stuff that I miss about back home, but if I keep thinking about it, then I'm going nowhere. Gotta stay focused, and keep my eyes on the prize. 

We had a dinner appointment with a member, and that was really nice. 

DURRANT WATCH: THE LAST STAND

Still not well enough to go out. It's now Monday, and that guitar is sure looking nice. There's a lot of upsides and downsides to having a sick companion. Upsides are that there's not much pressure to wake up on time, cos what are you going to do? You're probably gonna take naps anyway, so just take them in the morning, and sleep in a bit. It's great, because it means that I can finally catch up on sleep lost from Home MTC and travelling to Provo for actual MTC. I've successfully caught up on about 5 hours sleep, only about 20 to go! But, you can't go to the gym, you can't interact with anyone who doesn't call, and there's just a general lack of motivation. Sure, we can text and call, but it's just not the same doing it in the flat than doing it at church. 

Not much happened today. Popped off in basketball, had a snooze, and wrote the next bohemian rhapsody. Trust me, its that good. And it's only a demo at the moment

EPILOGUE 

We finally both left the house together for a full day on Tuesday, and returned to normality. We still didn't daily plan, and it's gonna be weird getting back into the regular routine of things, but I've got confidence that we can do it.

Mark 10:27 says "And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible." 

I quote this a lot, usually when I get lucky in pool or basketball, but its true. All things are possible with God, and all we need to do is have faith, trusting that he will guide us and deliver us from tricky situations. 

I almost fell asleep during my mentor meeting yesterday. 😅 

Elder Black

Down With The Sickness: Disc One - Who Needs Daily Planning?

Pday got moved to Wednesday for going to the temple. So this is gonna be a chunky one. I'm gonna send two emails, becuase there's just so much that happened this week and it'll be way too long for one email

Double Album Time! 💿

(I also took a grand total of zero photos. Sorry)

MONDAY 

This was certainly one of the days of all time. We went to Costco to get stuff for the week. We spent about an hour in the shop just wandering around trying to find stuff. It's a freaking maze, and I'd only been in a Costco a few times. After we went to one of the church buildings for a thanksgiving dinner. It was cool. Even though we don't celebrate thanksgiving in the UK, I've had some of the food before, and been invited to thanksgiving dinners by American members in my home ward. It was great!

As I'm writing this section right now, Elder durrant has just spontaneously done a handstand, touching the ceiling and the floor at the same time. It's perhaps the most random thing I've saw all day. And I just came from capitol hill in downtown. There's some crazy stuff down there. 

TUESDAY 

District Council today. It was good. We basically give advice about our friends, and insights as to what worked with missionaries who had similar situations with people. It's a great place to get advice from fellow missionaries. Not much else happened today. We had two lessons cancel on us, made a friend out of an old friend and got properly drookit in the rain. We went down to capitol hill to contact one of our friends who was really progressing last month, and has since been ghosting us. We knocked on his door, full of hope that we might find him, but no dice. That was a shame. We try to contact him daily, but we tried so hard, and got so far, but in the end, it doesn't even matter. But it does, I just wanted to put Linkin Park in my email. Mayhe someday down the line, he'll finally pick up the phone somewhere down the line, and remember us. Pray for Delvin, please.

TIMESKIP TO SATURDAY

We had a really interesting call today, which might go down in history as one of my favourite phone calls of all time (yes, I've got a list. If you want to know, feel free to ask!) It's on the other email, because much like Nephi in the Book of Mormon, he keeps two sets of records. One is the record of what happend to the people, the larger plates, and one is a record of spiritual moments, the smaller one. I'm not comparing my emails to the golden plates (which later became the Book of Mormon), becuase that would be slightly blasphemous, but it was an interesting similarity that I thought of while writing this. 

Anyway, today was weird, becuase all of our plans kinda went up in the air. We set up christmas stuff in the church, and had a table tennis tourney. It was a humbling experience. 

We were setting up Christmas stuff, when all of a sudden, the mission president shows up outta nowhere. They were in town for the UofW American Football game, and they just decided to stop by the church. 

Other than that, not much happened. Had a good lesson, bible study and game night. I let our friends beat me at pool, but only by a bit. I don't wanna absolutely skelp them so that they don't come to church, ya ken whit ah' mean?

SUNDAY

Church was cool. To be fair, church is always cool 😎 but church today was especially cool. Because the Christmas service is next week, they moved fast and testimony meeting to this Sunday. Fasting is going without food for a few meals, to humble yourself before the lord, and show your love for him. For church, they did something interesting for the testimony meeting. Usually, people from the congregation get up on the pulpit and talk about their experiences with christ, and testify of his divinity and their beliefs. It's a nice meeting. However, instead of that, the bishop instructed people to get up and share their favourite hymns, and what they mean to them. Then, we would sing a verse from that hymn. I feel sorry for the organist, who had to sightread most of them, and as someone who's been in a similar situation, I know how he felt. It was still a really nice meeting, and the organist did very well.

TIMESKIP TO TUESDAY

Chipotle sucks. We went after district council for district lunch, and it's still not any better. I've been three times, had three different things, and every time we leave I just feel like I've eaten ultra processed Mexican food made from powder and genetically modified meat. Wait a minuite...

Anyway, we had another dinner appointment and got hung up on by all of our friends! Yay! We also got invited to a frat party by one of our old friends, offering to invite twenty friends to church on Sunday if we showed up. Now, I like a party as much as the next person, but I'm a missionary. It would not be a good use of our time to go to a party. We would get so many contacts, though none of them would be elect. Ach well. The work goes on!

Side Note - I miss performing and practicing in a band. Every year, the church releases a new album for youth, centred around the youth theme for that year. Now, usually most of the songs aren't that good, but there are some that are good. Anyway, they also put on a gig for the new album, and I was watching that on Monday, when I was confined to the barracks (Disc 2), and it made me really miss the band environment. I went to uni for a year before I came out, and I did music at UHI Perth. I still consider it one of the best things I've done, and I worked in various band environments, and played a lot of songs. Like, a lot. Everything from Muse to Adele, to Bob Dylan, to Slipknot, to Steely Dan, to Taylor Swift (don't ask), to limp bizkit, to Coldplay, to chappell roan, to megadeth, to britney spears, and on and on. Just working with other musicians, writing and playing songs, getting annoyed at the bassist for not knowing the structure, and looking at the drummer's face when I tell him we're gonna do Foo Fighters (pricless) is so fun. Watching the church gig made me miss that, and we are only *supposed* to play instruments on pday, but I just miss it so much. I just wanna smash a keyboard to bits playing "Hail to the King," "Hysteria" or "Song for the Dead." But I've got that to look forward to, if Kathedral are still together, when I get back. Gotta focus on why I'm here, right? 

On Sunday, we had a really good lesson with a friend after church. We spoke about the Book of Mormon, since he asked what it was, and we spoke about the power of the Holy Ghost, or Holy Spirit. One of the roles of the Holy Ghost, is to testify the truth to us of the things we read in the scriptures. We can find the truth by praying to God, in the name of Christ, and ask if the teachings of the church are true. If we ask with a sincere heart, with real intent to act on answers we receive, and faith in Christ, we will receive answers to our questions, through the Holy Ghost, for God gives knowledge to all men liberally, and will never choose to whom answers will not be given, for God loves us, our souls are of great worth to him, and all are alike unto God. Never forget that your Father in Heaven loves you, and cares about you.