December 21, 2009
Hey hey hey,
Well, I am trying to get through this kind of quickly. I will be going to the airport in about an hour to see off the 15 gringos that are going home today. It's pretty crazy that they are all going home now. I have known these guys since I first started, and it is really kinda sad to see them leave. I just don’t know the mission any other way. But, 15 new gringos are showing up tomorrow, and life as a missionary will go on, no matter what happens, or for how long I cry…we move forward. (I love these guys. They are awesome!)
We ended pretty well this week as a zone. It actually turned out to be the best week of the cambio as far as baptisms go. I liked our zone. We had a good group. Cambios are tomorrow. Elder Guerra is leaving and my new comp is Elder Meza. I don’t know him all that well but everyone says he is cool. So I am not worried. A lot of the zone is changing, but we have good missionaries coming in. We have one training who actually lives in the same room as me, so HOPEFULLY he trains one of the new gringos. The odds are pretty good…15 gringos and 2 Latinos. I have no problem with the Latinos, but to have a gringo join us would just be splendid. We’ll see.
I continue to learn great new things as a missionary. Before the mission, even before this cambio, I didn’t have a great understanding of the Holy Ghost. It has such a new meaning to me now: what the Holy Ghost is and how it helps and blesses us. The doctrine is incredible, really. I can't go into much detail because of lack of time and no one necessarily desiring to read all my preaching, but really, it's amazing and it just makes teaching so much for fun when I know more about what I am teaching and the truthfulness of it all.
We did NOT baptize Eva this week. Dang. She told her family and they flipped out - as predicted. And even though she is older, she said she will not be able to do it, talk with us again, come to church, talk to members, or do anything that would be remotely close to following the path of Jesus Christ and His gospel. Very sad and unfortunate. The Savior once challenged those unwilling to leave their family and follow Him (such as Peter, James and John, who left their professions altogether in response to the mere invitation: "Come follow me"). So we have not been able to get in touch with her this week. Maybe we'll get some luck here in the near future. So we won't give up hope. She has a great, courageous heart. But, it is always so frustrating when someone sees the light, gains a tender testimony, and is then entirely obstructed from proceeding due to severe family pressure (in some cases family disowning their own simply because they have embraced the gospel in its fulness).
Otherwise, everything is good here. I am happy, healthy, working hard. We had a special missionary conference yesterday. Our zone sang a special musical number that we practiced a few times this week and it actually came out pretty good. I was happy about that. Oh, on Saturday we were waiting at the church for an interview, and while we were waiting I played the bass guitar with a little band that the singles in my ward have put together. Haha, that was a GREAT 10 minutes.
I received a letter from the Stark family this week that just impressed the heck out of me. I really loved reading that and hearing about how well their children are doing and how successful every single one of them are. That is just so great. There are so many people that throw life away on pointless things. After I read that, it really made me reflect about what I was able to do in my childhood, what talents and skills I was able to develop, and see areas/times where I wasted time. I also thought a lot about how I will apply that after the mission to always be productive, constantly learning and improving in every aspect…because that's what we should be doing. (Yes Mom, I'll probably play less "Halo" in the days ahead.) So thank you Stark family for being so awesome. My whole family is awesome. It's so great to be blessed not only with such a strong family, but also with a great extended family. You guys are the bomb.com. I love you all very much, and thank everyone for their prayers and support. The mission is amazing. I am looking forward to Christmas this year. I shant lie, this Christmas will be MUCH easier on me than last, now being so adjusted to the mission. The Church is true. Have a very Merry Navidad!!
Elder "Hey, Who Won the World Series?" Royal
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