Hey ya`ll!!
Alright, first and foremost, being the most important item on this weeks agenda, HAPPY 8 MONTHS ELDER ROYAL! Alright, got that out of the way. We had interviews with the president this week, he seems pretty "trunky." I must say, because he finishes in like three months, and he talked about "time" more than anything during our interview. I found it rather amusing. Pretty interesting, though, he said: "Wow, Elder Royal, you have out eight months now? Time is going so fast!" Well, time is going fast - I just did not expect to hear that from the president (ha). Anyway, on with the week…
A few interesting things this week, in what was overall a week that was somewhat disappointing. We worked hard, of course, but there was a lot of outside things going on that made focusing on Catacaos a bit more difficult. One day was interviews, which took all afternoon, another we went to the doctor (for my comp, not me, Mom), and then….another day something else happened…that I cant remember. Hmmm. That sounds suspicious to even me. Anyway, not our best week, but I can't complain. We still worked hard.
Oh! Sit down and relax. I've got a really good story! Exciting, awesome life changing (and potentially life maiming) experience. Yes, this is one of those mission stories I'll hold onto forever. My comp was doing a baptism interview, and Elder Adkins, our ZL, went to go find some other investigators to get interviewed. So we were strolling along down the street, and there were like 15 guys yelling at each other. So we played it safe, walked on the other side of the street, and this older guy says: "Hey, careful guys, you might wanna walk fast." So we did. However, the little gang of dudes moved to where they blocked the street, so we went one more block and turned left onto another street, and in that moment, rocks and bricks started flying everywhere. And Elder Adkins and I were right in the middle of a brawl. The guys that were yelling started chucking rocks at each other and…yeah we were caught in the crossfire. It was crazy!! We got down the road a little bit, and everyone was freakin' out because there were little kids in the road and stuff, parents screaming, and the dudes eventually chased each other away, and then about 50, literally 50 more guys between the ages of 15 to 25 who went chasing after all of them. No - we didn't get hit, and unfortunately, I didn't see anyone get hit, either (ha ha, jk). But yeah, they all have really bad aim, so it was just throw and run. But it was nuts…to be right in the middle of that. Then we left. That's my story.
Interesting story number 2. Talk about a small world. My comp knows Matthew Kelly and his wife Ericka. That's right. Elder Machacuaýs father was the bishop where Elder Kelly served, and Ericka was my comp's Sunday school teacher. Best part, my comp was at their wedding. Wow! Tan pequeño es el mundo. So that's some fun facts for you.
So it was kinda a rough week with the work. Not too many people wanted to listen to us, unfortunately. However, my comp is awesome and we have lots of fun together. With the whole teaching part, the message I received from about 80 percent of people is that they are good at professing love for Heavenly Father, but their devotion seems to end there. They always claim they are too busy or something, and it's really sad to me when people say they have all this faith and stuff, but they don't bother to learn more about how to live accordingly to Heavenly Father's commandments. Many seem to feel that passing by the church once a week for a few minutes and singing a song gets the job done. From what I have seen, there is a small percentage of people who actually understand how truly important this all is, that knowledge must be attained, and that salvation must be earned - that the Savior's invitation of "come follow me" requires action, even sacrifice. There is a misconception that we are automatically saved because Christ died for us. There is more. We still have to do our part - to not only accept Him, but follow Him. So, that's thats my job, to help people understand that and find those who desire to know and do more. But, I live with it. Frustration is all part of the mission, and I've accepted the fact that not everyone is going to welcome us with open arms. But that's ok. I'll keep at it. I studied Alma 5 this week, and if anyone needs some good spiritual feeding, that's a great chapter. Alma 5:44 is a really cool scripture, a more missionary kinda scripture that when I read it I imagine it mounted on one of those missionary plaques with the picture and scripture hanging in the church hallway by the bishop's office. Good stuff.
So, there is a phrase everyone uses here, no pasa nada. It means like…lame, or, nothing good comes from it…something along those lines. There are a lot of phrases in Spanish that I know how to use in Spanish, but not exactly sure how it would be in English. But it's funny because I started singing that phrase with the music of the Mexican hat dance, or the Cucaracha song…so whenever we are talking to someone who, is lame, or doesn't get it or something, my comp and I quietly begin singing that, but like, na na na na na na na na na na…it's funny. Like I said, good times with Elder Machacuay. Oh, other funny story I might as well mention, I got in the habit of saying se vende, for a person that sells stuff, and when an investigators mother told her that she was in the comercio (where all the sellers are) I meant to say like: "Oh is she selling today?" But how I said it, with se vende, instead of just vende, it means: "Oh is she selling herself today?" Something like that. So that's for Brad, because he likes the language stories. My comp had a good laugh and gave me a pretty hard time about it. So that's me, still learning this dang language (ha ha, jk). No, it's actually coming along real well.
Alright, so that's what I got for you guys today. Hope you enjoy it. Not our best week, but hey, we're gonna keep at it, try again this week, get something done, cause we're missionaries and that's what we're here to do. In closing, the Church is true, the commandments make us wonderfully happy when we keep them, so please do it, and have an excellent week in whatever ya'll might be up to. I love you all very much and thank you for all your support, and prayers. Don't forget about me, but more importantly, don't forget about your Heavenly Father who loves you dearly. (Isaiah 41:10,13. I think that is the right reference. Ha ha.)
Bye!
Elder Stoked for the Work Royal
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