Hello and aloha, my dear family, friends, and extended acquaintances!
It is I, the great and impressive Elder Z.S.Weber, back from another
long and laborious week of work, and ready to start a new one off
right, here in the Mariana Butte Ward, the Loveland Stake, the
Colorado Fort Collins Mission! To start off, things have been going
alright here for me and Elder Oaks. We've had a few vicious bouts with
the weather (just when I though Nebraska was the windiest state I'd
serve in), but other than that we're doing well. The work is slow, and
incredibly hard, but it's well worth any amount of trouble. I'm glad
to be out here.
Okay! Enough with the sappy beginning! On to the week-summary!
So, this week started off like a bullet shot from a sniper rifle. Some
of you might remember that every once in a while on my mission, I've
gone on Exchanges with the District Leader or his companion. Well,
that's how we started the week off—with Exchanges with our District
Leader, Elder Hancock.
long and laborious week of work, and ready to start a new one off
right, here in the Mariana Butte Ward, the Loveland Stake, the
Colorado Fort Collins Mission! To start off, things have been going
alright here for me and Elder Oaks. We've had a few vicious bouts with
the weather (just when I though Nebraska was the windiest state I'd
serve in), but other than that we're doing well. The work is slow, and
incredibly hard, but it's well worth any amount of trouble. I'm glad
to be out here.
Okay! Enough with the sappy beginning! On to the week-summary!
So, this week started off like a bullet shot from a sniper rifle. Some
of you might remember that every once in a while on my mission, I've
gone on Exchanges with the District Leader or his companion. Well,
that's how we started the week off—with Exchanges with our District
Leader, Elder Hancock.
Now, in most Exchanges cases, the senior
companion in a companionship and the District Leader swap companions
for the day. However, because Elder Hancock is in a tripan (three
elders instead of two) he was able to leave his area with his
companions, and come be a part of a temporary tripanionship in our
area.
How'd that go for us? Absolutely great! After doing service at the ARC
thrift store, we headed out for dinner, and then made our rounds
throughout the Ward. Elder Hancock really wanted to stop by some
members that had recently merged into the Mariana Butte Ward. One of
the members just so happened to be the very same one that shouted at
us last week to leave him and his family alone. Needless to say, we
made certain to give that house quite the distance. However, when we
thought the evening wouldn't end well, we decided to stop by a name
Elder Hancock thought he recognized. It turned out it was the mother
of a former companion of his, from back when he was serving in Maine.
After sharing a spiritual message for the night, we headed back home,
pleased with our work for the day.
Tuesday was quickly followed by Wednesday, with another District
Meeting. As part of the District Meeting, Elder Hancock asked all of
us to show up in athletic clothes, with a change of proselyting
clothes. The message he wanted to share with us was the importance of
trust in a companionship, so we started the District Meeting off by
playing some relay games in the gym. These included—but we're not
limited to—the wheelbarrow race, leap frog, and the trust fall (felt
so bad for those missionaries whose companion was almost twice their
size...). It was loads of fun, and actually got all if us thinking as
to the importance if strength and trust in the companionship.
Thursday was an interesting day, as for the first time in a long time,
we had appointments that completely filled out our time for the day.
Usually, we have a couple of hours at the end of the night where
everything is dead, and there's very little to do. However, this week,
we got a call from one David, who was an inactive member hoping on
returning to activity, and wanted to take the lessons. So we set an
appointment with him, got all set up to teach a lesson. We visited the
other less active members we had set up for appointments that evening,
and then swung by his place to end our day on a high note!
...he wasn't home. So, we're working on getting in touch with him, and
getting a new appointment later this week!
Finally, this week really came to a close on Friday. The day had been
filled with rough times—rejections at the doors, many rude less
actives, and very exhausting hours of nothingness. Luckily, we were
able to end the night fairly nicely, as we were able to go to an
Elders Quorum social at the church. The Elders brought ice cream,
fixings, and several different games to pass the time by. Now, I know
it's not as satisfying a way to end the week as, say, teaching an
investigator and getting them lined up for baptism...but chocolate ice
cream and a few games of Uno and Spoons can at least come close!
Anyways, on to my spiritual message for the week! Remember earlier,
how I said for District Meeting, we did a lot of trust-based
activities done to show the importance of trust in a companionship?
Well, there was one companionship that was clearly divided. One had
followed the District Leader's counsel, and came in athletic clothes.
His companion, however, had chosen to be strict about the White
Handbook rules, and came to the activity dressed in a suit. His
companion was eager to do the activities, but he simply sat back,
saying, 'object lessons in District Meeting are stupid, and I'm not
going to be a part of it'.
Luckily, the District Leader was able to help the companion that
wanted to join the activity, and served as his temporary companion.
However, the exchange between the two companions stayed with me. In a
companionship, unity is one if the most important principles. A house
divided upon itself shall not stand, and neither can a companionship.
If one companion wants to go out tracting—because he wants to be
obedient, even though he knows it's hard work—and the other doesn't
want to do anything, it will cause a divide in the companionship.
They'll start to argue, and before you know it, the work is at a
standstill, because the two cannot work together.
This doesn't just apply to missionary work, though. All our lives, we
are going to have to work with or be around other people. We can't do
everything on our own, and we're gonna need help. Fortunately, I was
blessed with loving parents who understood the importance of unity in
marriage, and (from my point if view) always stood united in their
actions. They might've disagreed in some places or some points, but in
spite of that, they worked past their issues, learned to look at the
bigger picture, and—together!—decided on a path that would best
benefit the both of them, or their children.
That is the type of unity we all should seek for in life. We might not
be able to get along with everyone we meet, but we can at least work
together in unity, putting our personal views to the side. If we learn
to do that, we can find this world to be a much more peaceful one to
live in. This is my personal prayer, in the sacred name of the Lord
Jesus Christ, Amen.
—Elder Z.S.Weber
companion in a companionship and the District Leader swap companions
for the day. However, because Elder Hancock is in a tripan (three
elders instead of two) he was able to leave his area with his
companions, and come be a part of a temporary tripanionship in our
area.
How'd that go for us? Absolutely great! After doing service at the ARC
thrift store, we headed out for dinner, and then made our rounds
throughout the Ward. Elder Hancock really wanted to stop by some
members that had recently merged into the Mariana Butte Ward. One of
the members just so happened to be the very same one that shouted at
us last week to leave him and his family alone. Needless to say, we
made certain to give that house quite the distance. However, when we
thought the evening wouldn't end well, we decided to stop by a name
Elder Hancock thought he recognized. It turned out it was the mother
of a former companion of his, from back when he was serving in Maine.
After sharing a spiritual message for the night, we headed back home,
pleased with our work for the day.
Tuesday was quickly followed by Wednesday, with another District
Meeting. As part of the District Meeting, Elder Hancock asked all of
us to show up in athletic clothes, with a change of proselyting
clothes. The message he wanted to share with us was the importance of
trust in a companionship, so we started the District Meeting off by
playing some relay games in the gym. These included—but we're not
limited to—the wheelbarrow race, leap frog, and the trust fall (felt
so bad for those missionaries whose companion was almost twice their
size...). It was loads of fun, and actually got all if us thinking as
to the importance if strength and trust in the companionship.
Thursday was an interesting day, as for the first time in a long time,
we had appointments that completely filled out our time for the day.
Usually, we have a couple of hours at the end of the night where
everything is dead, and there's very little to do. However, this week,
we got a call from one David, who was an inactive member hoping on
returning to activity, and wanted to take the lessons. So we set an
appointment with him, got all set up to teach a lesson. We visited the
other less active members we had set up for appointments that evening,
and then swung by his place to end our day on a high note!
...he wasn't home. So, we're working on getting in touch with him, and
getting a new appointment later this week!
Finally, this week really came to a close on Friday. The day had been
filled with rough times—rejections at the doors, many rude less
actives, and very exhausting hours of nothingness. Luckily, we were
able to end the night fairly nicely, as we were able to go to an
Elders Quorum social at the church. The Elders brought ice cream,
fixings, and several different games to pass the time by. Now, I know
it's not as satisfying a way to end the week as, say, teaching an
investigator and getting them lined up for baptism...but chocolate ice
cream and a few games of Uno and Spoons can at least come close!
Anyways, on to my spiritual message for the week! Remember earlier,
how I said for District Meeting, we did a lot of trust-based
activities done to show the importance of trust in a companionship?
Well, there was one companionship that was clearly divided. One had
followed the District Leader's counsel, and came in athletic clothes.
His companion, however, had chosen to be strict about the White
Handbook rules, and came to the activity dressed in a suit. His
companion was eager to do the activities, but he simply sat back,
saying, 'object lessons in District Meeting are stupid, and I'm not
going to be a part of it'.
Luckily, the District Leader was able to help the companion that
wanted to join the activity, and served as his temporary companion.
However, the exchange between the two companions stayed with me. In a
companionship, unity is one if the most important principles. A house
divided upon itself shall not stand, and neither can a companionship.
If one companion wants to go out tracting—because he wants to be
obedient, even though he knows it's hard work—and the other doesn't
want to do anything, it will cause a divide in the companionship.
They'll start to argue, and before you know it, the work is at a
standstill, because the two cannot work together.
This doesn't just apply to missionary work, though. All our lives, we
are going to have to work with or be around other people. We can't do
everything on our own, and we're gonna need help. Fortunately, I was
blessed with loving parents who understood the importance of unity in
marriage, and (from my point if view) always stood united in their
actions. They might've disagreed in some places or some points, but in
spite of that, they worked past their issues, learned to look at the
bigger picture, and—together!—decided on a path that would best
benefit the both of them, or their children.
That is the type of unity we all should seek for in life. We might not
be able to get along with everyone we meet, but we can at least work
together in unity, putting our personal views to the side. If we learn
to do that, we can find this world to be a much more peaceful one to
live in. This is my personal prayer, in the sacred name of the Lord
Jesus Christ, Amen.
—Elder Z.S.Weber
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