First of all, thank you for the
package! Loved it. My roommates all really like Fuzzy Peaches. And now that I
have contacts for both eyes, all I need is to find my contact solution that I
lost five weeks ago in the mission president's car! I've started a list of the
things I've lost so far on my mission. I'm at 4 or 5 now. I wonder how long
until I lose the list too.
I'm surprised nobody's asked me
about food yet. Don't get me wrong, I'm super glad that's no longer a factor in
my identity, but I would have thought you guys would all want to hear about
this stuff. First of all, so I don't get your hopes up: I haven't started
liking anything that I hated before. BUT my extensive list of things I would
never eat is rapidly shrinking. My reform started after my first mangez-vous.
We all ate, and I ate almost all of it (way more than I would have a year ago)
but didn't quite finish it. Nobody said anything and it was still a really good
lesson but I felt SO BAD. These are people who are investigating the greatest
thing that will ever come into their lives. Who am I to skew their perception
of this wonderful message because of some petty dislike of a taste or texture?
I would walk over hot coals to get these people to recognize the truth of the
gospel. So surely I can move my teeth up and down, even when I don't want to,
so that at least they don't hate me and the name I have on my tag. Even if it
tastes like dog food. (Not naming any investigators' names, but that did
happen.)
Elder Wheatley and I have
become super close this week. I realized how good my trainer is when I went on
a couple of exchanges this week and stayed in a different apartment. Some of
these missionaries don't invite the Spirit in the places they live. Not that
they're super pagan or anything, but...yeah. How can you live and study in a
place that doesn't have a constant spiritual atmosphere? So yeah, I really love
Elder Wheatley. He's got everything that I was hoping for in a trainer: hard work
and enthusiasm and good advice and the ability to sing on-key. Like I said
before, he is also a master at receiving and following spiritual promptings.
I'm super lucky.
Kind of a slower week this
week. But still, a few cool things happened. First of all, we got to meet with
Helder on our third visit! He's really cool and super open. Which is good but
also bad, because he struggled a bit with the concept of only one true church.
He visits the Charisma church, which is basically a super-Evangelist just-clap-your-hands-and-dance-hallelujah
rock concert type church. But he did accept our commitments and listen our
message, so there is hope! We're meeting him again this week.
We met Lony for the first time
this week and this guy. Is. Golden. He is so excited for us to meet with him.
He so readily accepted our message and said he would read the Book or Mormon
every day so that it can help him be better. He's coming to church this week
and we're going to meet with twice a week from now on. He's investigated many
churches but felt they were all "missing something." Well Lony, have
we got the message for you.
Last week we saw a guy who
requested a Book of Mormon online. He did it because his uncle is meeting with
the missionaries in Lyon, and he wants to read the Book of Mormon to make sure
we're really Christians. He doesn't think he wants to meet with the
missionaries himself, but we talked about the Restoration a bit with him while
we were there. Right after I gave the account of the First Vision, there was a
little silence, and then he said something amazing: "I am sure of one
thing--Mormons are Christians." Really cool.
Pierre got the Priesthood! Super cool. He has so much faith.
He might come help us give a blessing to a less-active. Next step for him and
his family: temple!
Some advice to future
missionaries: READ YOUR SCRIPTURES. Do it. Get to know them. Learn to love
them. As a missionary, it becomes such a joy to do, and part of you just wants
to pretend to be sick so you can stay in and read some more. But here's the
thing: I thought I would have plenty of time on the mission to do lots of
reading for myself. Not so. I do lots of reading, but lots of it is for our
amis that we'll be meeting that day. So one thing I wish I did before the
mission is just to have read more for me. There are gems in there. The more
closely you look, the more you get. For example, Helaman 15:7-8 is a formula
written by ancient prophets for how to stay active in the church. Alma 26:22
(one of my absolute favourite scriptures right now) gives me some things to do
and then some promises if I do them.
Shoutout to the Gillis family
for sending the first non-family letter that I've received on the mission.
Thank you guys! Great to hear about all the stuff that's going on back home.
Also great to hear that I'm not missing a legendary ski season haha.
Thank you to all those who
wrote! Not much time to write everyone back, but I read everything and loved
it.
Love you all! I'm about to go
to the Louvre. Not a bad life. Write you in a week!
Elder Stanford
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And now some pictures from last week. We're not very good at selfies.
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