Hello everyone!
It's me, Elder Weber, reporting in once more for an update as to how life in the mission field is. And...well, I'm currently covered in bruises and feel like my legs are about to pop off. Don't worry, it's nothing serious. Just the average, everyday life of a missionary. ...Well, the average, everyday life of a missionary in the Loveland Zone, with two trunky Elders travelling along with you. Yep, crazy, right? My story is an interesting one, so pull up a chair and grab some popcorn, 'cause this is going to be good.
After emailing y'all (good lord, I already am writing in the Coloradoan accent!), the other Elders and I went over the the Baer's house to enjoy the rest of the P-Day. Usually, P-Day at the Baer's includes eating ice cream sandwiches while competing in table tennis tournaments, enjoying a refreshing game of pool, or launching tennis balls at each other with lacrosse sticks, inside the Baer's indoor gym. However, this day we had a small change in plans. Somehow, the Stetson Creek Elders (Elders Mangrum and Corpus) had gotten their hands on two pairs of pro-boxing gloves, probably from a member or something. And they wanted to have a little fun boxing each other around. It was fun for a while, but after a few rounds, I was paired up with Elder Corpus. This man is easily a full foot taller than me, and a good fifty pounds heftier than me. Whoever thought it was a good idea to have the largest and smallest Elders go at it with boxing gloves must have been an absolute maniac. Suffice to say, after the first few blows, I ran like a headless chicken away from the tall Native American boxer. All the while, one of the Baer boys happened to be video taping the entire thing, and the other rounds as well.
Luckily, we got to him before he could post it on any site, and had him delete it forever. However, Elders Corpus and Wengreen weren't as lucky, as their's was posted on SnapChat. From what I've heard, everyone in the Fossil Creek Ward now knows of the "Elder's Fight Club". May President Brown have mercy on their souls.
After P-Day, the rest of the week passed on fairly slowly. However, on Thursday, I was able to once again enjoy an exchange. This time, it was with Elder Jensen, one of the Zone Leaders that looks out over the Elders in the Loveland Zone. Talk about terrifying. Lucky for me, Elder Jensen was very easy to get along with, so I looked forward to serving with him. Our first thing we were going to do was take care of weeds at the Church Building for a service project. However, before we could get very far with it, we found ourselves stuck in a downpour. It rained all day, and all night. Just biking from the building to home got us so wet, even throwing our clothes through the dryer twice didn't get them completely dry! So, once again, I had an exchange where we were unable to do anything of use.
Saturday, we had another chance to do some service. A young man was taking out the cement for fire pits at a large camping ground, and myself, Elder Proffit, and Elders Wengreen and Miller volunteered to join the work. Talk about back-breaking work! First we had to break the cement and remove the fire pits themselves. Then we had to dig square holes in the ground, and place large wooden frames in them, for the concrete to be filled in for the new fire pits. Then, when the cement was brought, the pits had to be placed back into their spots, with the iron pins used to hold them in place perfectly erect. We messed up several times, and by the end of it, I was dog tired. Then, the other Elders, including the Zone Leaders, decided they'd go and friendship a less-active. Friendshipping is when you form a bond with a less-active, before you begin teaching them, so they can trust you. We did this by LARPing with him, or Live-Action Role-Playing. Basically, eight full-grown men ran around swinging foam swords, shields, spears, clubs, and knives, and beat each other to a pulp. It's a lot of fun...unless you're the one they keep hitting! Seriously, I think the other Elders wanted to do this just so that they could have an excuse to beat up the greenie (me) some more.
So, between getting boxed by Corpus, drenched in rain, covered in broken cement shards and clay, and getting knocked around with foam swords, was it really any surprise that I practically passed out the second my head hit my pillow Saturday night?
Despite the negative points throughout this week, it's still fun being a missionary. I've made some good friends, and have really enjoyed being a part of this large family. And, the spirit is strong here. In fact, I have another story to tell you. Growing up, my dad told me a story of him losing his wallet, back before he became a member of the church, and how he found it again. Well, now I have a missionary version of that self-same story. Last night, Sunday night, Elder Proffit and I got back home, tired yet again. We had done a lot of walking (couldn't bike because Elder Miller had messed up Elder Proffit's bike seat), and we were just about ready to fall in bed and fall asleep. As we were dressing down, I reached to my back pocket to take out my wallet. Immediately, I knew something was wrong, because I always button my back pocket up when I put my wallet in there. Yet, the button was undone, and the pocket was empty. My thoughts immediately went to 'I lost it'. This was bad, because we had been tracting in Timnath in the darker hours of the night, so it could have fallen out then. Or, it had fallen out in the van, and the Elders took it, thinking it was someone else's. Or, it could have fallen out in the Church Building, and someone in one of the later sessions had taken it home. Then, as I calmed myself, I told Elder Proffit of the situation, and he suggested we search the room, first. So we did.
Nothing.
We couldn't find it anywhere. We searched everywhere, the bathroom, the kitchen, the living room, under my bed, everywhere. Just when I was about to give up, I decided to continue the search tomorrow, and go to bed. As I laid down in bed, I sent a prayer heavenward, asking Heavenly Father for help to find my wallet. Instantly, I fell into the best sleep ever, and had the most clear dream I have ever had. It was like I was watching a video clip of myself. It was Saturday night, and Elder Proffit and I had just gotten back after our long day of service and sword-fights. I watched as I took my pens, pencils, notebooks, and wallet out of my pockets, and tossed them at the edge of my bed. Then, the dream went black, and changed to Sunday morning. In the haste to get to church on time, because we had Ward Council at 7 in the morning, I watched as I fumbled around in the dark, slid my pens, pencils, and notebooks into my pockets, and ran out the door. While doing so, I saw my wallet get pushed back further under the bed, lost and forgotten.
The next morning, I got up and looked under the bed. Sure enough, there it was, sitting right next to the shoe-shining kit Elder Miller had given to me, about two weeks ago. I was dumbfounded. I had seen the shoe-shining kit the night before, when I was looking for my wallet. I had moved it to the side, to see if the wallet was behind it. And yet, this morning, there it was, with the wallet sitting right next to it! There is no doubt in my mind that that was an answer to my prayers. I don't know where the wallet was, between searching for it that night, and finding it that morning. Because, I promise you, it was not under my bed when I looked for it. And now, I have it once again. I bear my witness here and now that God does listen to our prayers, and He always answers them. While the answer may not come as quickly as mine did, they always come. God loves us, and He wants us to pray to Him, not just so that we can talk to Him, but also so He can help and bless us throughout our lives. I testify that He is our Heavenly Father, that He loves us, and wants only what is best for us. And as long as we follow His commandments, and turn to him when we are in trouble, He will bless us. I say this, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
That's all for this week! Catch y'all next Monday!
--Elder Z.S.Weber
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