WEEK 47 - HAPPINESS or JOY!!!

Good Morning world and all that inhabit it! What a beautiful day it is today! As you might have guessed, this is Elder Z.S.Weber, reporting to you fresh from the town of Erie in the Colorado Fort Collins Mission! And, for the first time in far too long of a time, I can honestly say that this past week has been a truly great week! My new companion, Elder Hale, and I get along great, and we're both able to push each other far to get the work done. We're bold, we're strong, and we're confident that the Lord will bless us for our labors, be they profitable or not. So, without further ado, let's examine this week ourselves, and see just why this week was so great!

 

So, on Tuesday and Wednesday, Elder Hale suggested something to me that I had never considered before--bike tracting. The idea is very simple; bike over a large area with our companion to get to know the area and to reach out to those who are out and about, or enjoying the sunny day outside, and try to share God's love with them. And it's been an interesting experience. There are a lot of people that are very willing to talk once you have them outside of their front doors. Though they might not be willing to listen to the message, they can see though our actions and our words that we aren't that crazy of people. Of course, you still get the occasional person that says something crass or rude like, "Mormonism's a cult and you're all gonna burn in hell". But, hey, opposition in all things, right?

After working hard as missionaries on Tuesday and Wednesday, Elder Hale and I decided to take a break on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, and see how good of ranch-hands we could be. The next-door-neighbor to our host family, the Dimigs, happens to be non-members that have had little to no interaction with the church. So Elder Hale and I got to be the first influence in their lives. We did this by serving them. They had approximately 1,120 bales of hay out in their field, and they needed help moving it and stacking it up for storage. By the time we were done, Elder Hale and I had moved about six-hundred of those bales of hay, truly showing our non-member friends that Mormons are hard-working people that aren't all that bad.

 

On Friday and Saturday, Elder Hale and I were able to celebrate our patriotism a bit. On Friday, we joined the Birds family for hotdogs and pulled pork sandwiches at their culdesac barbecue. As we ate and socialized, we couldn't help noticing how many people were coming to watch the fireworks that night. The streets were completely jam-packed. Going home, we could barely make our way through the masses of cars and pedestrians that were parked along the sides if the street. Just as we were clear of the chaos and off on our way home, we heard the first of the fireworks going off.

 

On Saturday, Elder Hale and I joined the Coal Creek ward for their annual Fourth of July pancake breakfast. It was really cool, as we were able to watch hot air balloons fill the skies and sail overhead. After everyone had been fed, and we're able to get their fill, ElderHale and I decided to play a round of horseshoes with the Elders Quorum President and Second Counselor. The awkward part was that neither of our teams could even get a point until almost a half-hour had passed by. Still, it was loads of fun, and afterwords, we still had the energy to play some ultimate frisbee with the young men and adults. So, it was a great way to spend the weekend.

 

Finally, Sunday was a great day because during Gospel Principles, we had a very in-depth discussion about the difference between happiness and joy. And it left me wondering...what is the difference?

To me, I see them as this; happiness is something of temporal worth that gives you satisfaction or entertainment in the moment. There are many things in our lives that can bring us happiness, or make us happy. For me, they're things like playing a good video game, or reading a good book. But those things aren't things that produce feelings that can last. You feel good after playing a video game, or reading a book, but not long afterword, you lose that feeling of satisfaction and happiness. Therefore, you need to seek out another form of pleasure or entertainment that can preoccupy your mind and fill you with happiness again.

Joy, however, is not something of temporal worth. Joy is something that is from our Father above, a lasting feeling of peace and happiness that does not flee the moment trials arise, but can push through them. God's source of joy comes from "bring[ing] to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" (Moses 1:39). Right now in my life as a missionary, my source of joy comes from serving faithfully and magnifying my calling as a representative of Jesus Christ. It's not an easy thing to do. Compared to playing a video game for an hour (or five) of fun and entertainment, it's long, laborious, and seemingly unfulfilling. But unlike the short-term happiness I feel whenever I play a video game, the long-term joy I feel from serving my Father lasts through even my worst of days.

In closing, I'd just like to bear my testimony that this Church is true. Jesus Christ is our Savior, and He lives. I know this to be true. I can't explain how I know this, but I know with as much certainty that I live, that He still lives today, and shall return soon to this earth. I hope that when He does return, I'll still be as fervent in my testimony as I now am, so that I can meet Him face to face and welcome Him back to His kingdom with open arms. I pray that we can all do the same.

In the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen.

--Elder Z.S.Weber

WEEK 45 - SO LONG PARTNER

Hey, everyone, it's Elder Z.S.Weber, reporting in once again with an exciting update on what craziness is going on in the Colorado Fort Collins Mission. And this week has probably been the craziest week of my mission life yet. This is the last week of the transfer, after all, so y'all know what that means. It's Transfer-Time! And this transfer's set of Transfer Doctrine was pretty crazy, for all of us included. But, before we get to the insanity that came from Transfer Doctrine, let's get to the insanity brought on through the craziness of the week--because, in all reality, the week was just as crazy as the end of it was! From Magic to Munchkin, from frenemies to bonfires, this week was the craziest week ever. So, without further ado...lets go!

I think I'll start my week off with Thursday, when Elder Buchanan took a look at his actions and life as a missionary, and came to conclusion that he wasn't doing everything he was supposed to be doing. Together, we came to the conclusion that Magic: The Gathering, the trading card game, was his biggest problem. You know the whole 'leave all worldly things behind' part of the missionary rules? Yeah, definitely applies to Magic. So, we decided to see if we couldn't sell some of his cards. We finally found this place called the Gamer's Guild (totally sounds like the kind of game shop I'd go to in my spare time) and stood in line waiting to sell some of Elder Buchanan's Ultra-Rare cards he'd collected.

When we finally stepped up to the front counter, I noticed a display window with several Rare and Mythic-Rare Magiccards in it. I suddenly became well aware of why this hobby could be so draining on your accounts. There were some cards there that were worth over one-hundred dollars! Not only that, but some of the descriptions of the cards were just insane and crazy. There was one card that actually said that you had to tear it apart and sprinkle the pieces on your opponent's cards. Who would do something like that?! Anyways, once all was done, Elder Buchanan got thirty dollars from the game store. He then gave me the rest of his cards, which I thought was awesome seeing as I was starting to really like playing Magic in my spare time.

Now, the only question is...what am I going to do with these five boxes of Magic cards...?

Anyways, with Thursday done and gone, Friday came along and we had service once more with the Lafayette Elders. Well, much to my surprise, along with Elder Stone, we were graced by the presence of Elder Greer. Yep, DC Chillin' was back. I just couldn't believe it. I first met him in Loveland. When I left to Nebraska, he followed me. Now, with only a few days left in the transfer, he shows up again! I swear, sometimes it's like my life is Heaven's #1 comedy, with all the crazy and weird fiascos that go on in my life! Still, it was good to hear how things were going with him and spend some time doing some fun service to help the day go by faster.

Saturday, however, was where everything got crazy! Elder Buchanan got a message from one of his friends in the Mission, Elder Carnation, asking if they could hang out together one last time before they possibly got transferred. So, we met up at McDonalds, had a nice lunch, talked about basically anything that came to our minds--and that was when insanity kicked in. To my surprise, and horror, I found that Elder Carnation's personality is almost an exact replicate of Elder Buchanan's. For the last three months, I had gotten used to his crazy persona, but to know that there were now two of them? Once more, it feels like my life is Heaven's #1 comedy.

After we were done talking and chatting at McDonalds, we headed back to our apartment and played a few rounds of Munchkin with Elder Carnation and his companion. Once they shoved off back to their area, we headed out to a member's house for dinner. Turned out that, along with dinner, they were having a start-of-summer bonfire. So, we helped set up the wood, built a huge wall of lumber, and then set it ablaze. The fire was so hot, I think it might've melted Elder Buchanan's and my name tags a bit--even when we were over thirty feet away from it! It was as we were watching the flames rise into the sky...that we received Transfer Doctrine.

Ladies and Gentlemen...Transfers for June 23rd are...

...Elder Buchanan, transferred to Laramie as a District Leader, companions with my former companion, Elder Vakameilalo, both on bike. Elder Weber, staying in Coal Creek, Boulder, companions with Elder Hale. Elders Wangsgard and Stone are both staying in their areas, Louisville and Lafayette, respectively, and getting new companions. So, this transfer should be interesting. I have no idea who my new companion is. He's probably someone from the more northern parts of the mission. Someplace so far away that no one's heard of him before. Well, whatever the case, wish me luck with this new transfer!

--Elder Z.S.Weber