WEEK 95 - A TIME for GROWTH

Hello Internet, this is Elder Z.S.Weber, reporting in to y'all live
from the McKenzie's basement in the Fort Collins Zone of the Colorado
Fort Collins Mission. I know, last week I said that I wasn't going to
use that statement again, as we were moving. But, things have turned
out to be a bit more difficult than we thought. It's looking like the
family that we were going to be moving in with aren't ready to house
missionaries just yet. And now, both the Prairie Ridge and Taft Canyon
Wards are saying that they don't have anyone who can or will house the
missionaries. So, for now, we are still here at the McKenzies until we
can get a new place to call home, which is starting to look like an
apartment, unless some of the families that can house us have a change
of heart.

Anyways, enough with that. Things are going alright for me and Elder
Pember this week. I'll be honest, though, there have been many better
ones than the week I had this week. While I would love to say that we
got a lot of work done this week, the honest answer is that things
didn't go too well for us. It has been a very tiring time coming back
from the transfers of last week, and learning to work with the new
missionaries in our area. We also have had a few of our investigators
drop us again, so we are pretty much planning on spending our days
with this next week in finding new investigators and working with the
potential investigators to see who is most interested in learning
more. We need a lot more work to keep ourselves busy.

However, this week wasn't without its high-notes. There were actually
three particular moments this past week that were good. On Wednesday,
we got the chance to meet with the new District. The meeting was
mostly spent as a meet-n-greet, a chance to get to know the new
missionaries in our area. We met Elder Allen, Elder Christenot's
replacement in the Harmony Ward, who is an excitable greenie with a
very infectious greenie-fire. Along with him, we have two new members,
Elder Marchetti (Mar-KET-ty) and Elder Anderson. Yes, this is the same
Anderson that was my companion a few weeks ago. It was great to see
him again, as well as to know that he is my replacement, as I am no
longer a District Leader.

Another high-note from the week was a chance to teach Kathy and Ralph
Williams, who are pretty much the only pair of investigators and/or
less-actives that we are really teaching regularly. We ended up
teaching about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, as well as sharing a few of
the commandments from the Commandments section. It was really
interesting teaching this lesson to them, as it gave us a chance to
try and light a bit of a fire under Ralph, who is trying to get back
into the church. We mentioned how he could baptize Kathy if he
prepared himself in time for the baptism. It would make him work a bit
harder to be ready in time, but hopefully with the support of his
family and friends back at church, he will be ready the same time
Kathy is for her baptism.

Finally, the biggest highlight of this past week was Saturday. Now, I
should probably preface this by saying that Saturday, once again, was
a very hard day to work on. Not a lot went our way, and we were
feeling pretty bummed out. 

We went home at the beginning of the
evening as we didn't have anyone for dinner that night, and found an
interesting surprise waiting for us there. A large chocolate cake and
balloons waiting on the front porch. Apparently, Sister Banagas (from
my first area, Fossil Creek) had come by and dropped off a birthday
cake, as it was actually my birthday! We decided to gather the other
elders that evening and headed over to the church building to enjoy
the cake with friends.

And, so, those were the highlights of my past week. I know, not a lot
compared to others, but this week didn't give me much to work with.
That being said, though, we do have a Spiritual Thought to share with
you. Here we go.

As I slightly nonchalantly mentioned in one of the previous
paragraphs, I am no longer District Leader. Going into the transfers
for this new Transfer, I felt that I didn't want to have the pressure
of being a District Leader squarely on my shoulders anymore. It was
rough for me the past three Transfers, and I didn't want to have to
worry about it anymore. However, the interesting thing about that was
shortly after I was relieved of the duties of being a District Leader,
I was left feeling kind of...blank. I mean, I had been a District
Leader for three Transfers. And, while I didn't always enjoy the
responsibilities, I did learn a lot, and enjoyed being able to be more
than just a friend, but a leader, to my fellow missionaries. Now, I
can't claim that anymore.

However, while I was a District Leader, there were certain things that
I truly learned and grew with as a missionary. Perhaps the biggest was
I actually became a leader. I learned how to work with others and help
them to reach their highest potential, even as I myself am rising up
as high as I can aim to go. As I've thought over this, my thoughts
have turned to how slightly somber I felt when my calling was taken
away. While I had hoped I wouldn't be a District Leader anymore, I
can't help but shake this slightly somber feeling in my heart over not
being a District Leader anymore. I've had to set aside one calling so
that I can better serve in another. It makes me feel glad, as now I
can work harder in my area, but somber, as I wish I could've done
better before.

Our callings, whether on a mission, in the priesthood, or throughout
life, are an extremely important part of ourselves. It is a chance to
let our Heavenly Father shape and nurture us into greater, more
god-like sons and daughters of Him. It's a sacred trust, and we are
expected to do all that we can to follow Him and do the work that He
has given us. Some callings are easier for others than others. Some
are trying no matter who the calling is given to. Whatever calling you
might have in your life, whether it be that of a Bishop, that of a
District Leader in a Mission, or simply that of a father or mother in
a family, serve with all your heart. Yours is a chance to become more
like Him, and serve Him as He needs you to serve.

If there's one thing I've learned the most from my mission is that
there's no growth in a comfort zone, and there's little to no comfort
in a growing zone. If you want to see change, if you want to see
growth, nine times out of ten you're going to have to stretch yourself
a little or a lot before you start seeing results. It's something I
hope to take to heart, even after the mission, and one I hope we all
can strive for.

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

-Elder Z.S.Weber