WEEK 9 - HEY EVERYONE!!

So, another week come and gone. And, what do I have to show for it? Sadly, not much. Things are still going slowly here in the Fossil Creek Ward, with investigators becoming very few and far between. I've mentioned that we've had some potential investigators for a while. That is still true, but sadly, they still haven't made much time to talk to us. It's not only Elder Proffit and I that are having the trouble, either. It sounds like a lot of the Elders in our area of the mission aren't faring very well either. And with the days quickly getting shorter, and the nights darker and colder, the chances of filling our evenings with appointments, discussions, and lessons are getting fewer and fewer. Seems like this time of the year, with everything that goes on in life, is just an up-hill struggle in teaching. But, worry not! We will press onward!

Fort Collins Temple as the construction progresses 



This week was transfers, when Elders and Sisters are sent to different areas in the mission, sent home, or, for the first time in their lives, enter the mission field. I was not directly affected by this, as I am still in Fossil Creek, and with Elder Proffit as my companion. However, one of the other Elders in our group, Elder Miller, got sent to the Young Single Adult's Ward in Fort Collins, around the college there. I'm very saddened by this, for two reasons. First, because Elder Miller was a very fun and exciting Elder, who always made District Meetings and P-Days a truly great event. And, Second, because that means I'm now stuck with Elder Wengreen for another transfer. Elder Wengreen isn't all bad, to be honest...but I would not ever recommend him as a driver, or as a serious missionary. He is seriously trunkie, and I only hope and pray that this next transfer, he'll at least be able to focus on the work a little bit more, and not be so...immature.

Elder Weber on a "double decker" bike



But, with Elder Miller gone, that means someone has to replace him. And so, in comes Elder V. Elder V, or Elder Vakameilalo, is a Polynesian Elder from Tonga. When I say this, I mean fresh off the island, still learning English. He's a really nice Elder, and to be honest, he's not the worst Tongan I've ever seen. The other Elders were moaning about how he's going to be so big, and that he's going to eat everything, and that he could break me just by giving me a hand shake. But when I saw him, I couldn't help but think, "This is Elder V? The titan from Tonga? He's tiny!" And, really, he was. He's about six-foot, which is still a half-foot taller than me, but hey, everyone's taller than me! So, really, I am looking forward to working with Elder V in the nearby future. I just hope that Elder Wengreen won't corrupt him with trunkieness too soon!

We had Stake Conference this last weekend, and while driving down we found out that the brakes were in danger of failing. So, while down at the Stake Center area, we took the van over to a Firestone, and had them look at it. It turns out that some form of rodent had snuck up into the machinery at night, while the car was parked out on the road, and chewed up the brake wires! Can you imagine that? I didn't even think that was possible. So, Elder Holley, the elderly Elder in charge of the vehicles, reassigned us to a new car, a Subaru, and had us stick with it until the van can get fixed. We were all pretty bummed out about this, but we went on and all of us, all six of us, piled into the very small car. It was like a can of sardines in there! However, there was a ray of light amidst all this darkness. While we had been tossing our suit jackets and bags into the trunk of the Subaru, I found laying there an old Japanese-version of the Book of Mormon.

Japanese Book of Mormon that has found a new home



For those that don't know, I have always wanted to learn Japanese. It has been a goal of mine for many years. When I found out I couldn't learn Japanese by going on a mission to Japan, I have to admit it was quite a let-down. So, to find out that my mission president, President Brown, had served in Japan on his mission, and that several of the Elders in our mission speak Japanese, and that there is actually a family in our Ward that is from Japan, it just blew me away. And, now, to find a Japanese-version of the Book of Mormon, just sitting there, in a car that hadn't been used for a while, probably since the Fort Collins Mission was founded about a year ago...it all just seemed like answers to my prayers.

Someday he'll learn to read it, just not at this time.



However, when I asked President Brown about it, later that day, in the Adults Session of Stake Conference, he very kindly, and very firmly, told me to not waste any time on my mission learning Japanese. Surprisingly, I wasn't saddened, or angered by his advice. In fact, I was grateful. Perhaps it was because, deep down inside, I knew that my mission was no place to learn Japanese. And, yes, all signs seemed to point towards me getting the 'okay' from Heavenly Father to learn Japanese, and I feel that He does still want me to learn Japanese. Just, at a later date. Who knows? Maybe I'll serve worthily here in Fort Collins, learn Japanese once I come home, and then, only a few years after I've started my own family, I'll end up being assigned as Mission President for one of the missions in Japan! You never know.

And that's what I'd like to leave you with today. You never know what God has in store for you. We all have a mission to accomplish while we're here on Earth. Sometimes, we have the blessing of knowing what that mission is. But, most times, we haven't the foggiest clue. But, we live worthily, and serve diligently, and leave the rest in God's hands. The answer, or mission, that He gives us might not be the mission we expected, or the mission we wanted, but that isn't what matters. God knows us far better than we know ourselves. He knows who we are, what we were sent here to do, and what we need to do to accomplish that mission. So, don't ever fight God. He'll always win in the end. Besides, whatever God calls you to do must be good. For whatever is good is of God, and whatever is evil is of the Devil.

Aim to do good, my friends, and listen to what God asks of you. You never know where it may lead.

--Elder Z.S.Weber