One of my favorite things about being friends with the missionaries is the amount that I can learn from them.
For example, Elders Hurst and Fidel taught me that outside of WV "collar" and "color" are pronounced differently, Elder Espinosa taught me not to leave my wheelchair unattended, and Sister Wonnacott helped me learn how important it is to remind people of what they're doing well.
So, this week, I'd like to document what I learned from emailing with my favorite missionaries. Along with mostly-funny random photos of their time in Morgantown,
because.
Elder Fidel is basically my favorite honorary kid brother. Seriously, that's not the point of this, but oh my goodness I love that little punk. ANYWAY this week he reiterated the lesson about collars and colors by telling me a story about getting colorful teriyaki sauce on his white collar. :) And also he sent a really sweet list of things he loves about the "south" and working in tiny rural branches. "
Talk about a people who love their Savior. Their faith is so strong and just awesome. Makes missionary work a pain sometimes, but they're so great." I can lose sight of that myself and I feel like most missionaries do sometimes too, so it was so sweet to be reminded of that wonderful part of our culture. People who love the Savior are great!
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| There are so many funny photos of him to choose from |
Elder Fitch reminded me of the power of a positive attitude & the importance of having friends who can uplift you and help you recognize the blessings in your life.
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Me: I need to get a picture of you two.
Elder Fitch: Only if I can look chill. |
Elder Higgins sent me a literal two-word email... but his mass email made up for it. :) He wrote about how the love he's felt from other people in his life has impacted him. "
Always remind those that you love that you love them, do it in a time and place that will allow you to convey the sincerity and genuineness of that love, it will leave the greatest impact on their lives." #preach
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| There's an explanation for this photo but I'm not going to give it. |
Elder Hollembeak/Solemnbeak is the king of short but significant emails. I had told him about something I was worried about, and he replied with a word document containing a talk he wanted me to read. The cool thing was that it was my absolute favorite talk! (Elder Bednar, "That We Might Not Shrink") That talk was given at a time in my life when I really needed that message, and just as Elder Solemnbeak realized, I needed to read it again today.
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| The camera shy one... all the other pictures I have are from baptisms. |
Elder Rueda actually sent his mass email on Monday, because that's how APs roll. And as usual it contained something super deep and relevant to my life. "
No matter how much you love and want something for someone, they must make the choice for themselves. I've really grown to see that the only thing that's really ours in this life is our agency, or ability to choose for ourselves. Everything else is the Lords. We must choose happiness, it doesn't just come on it's own." Being patient with people I love when they're making choices that prevent them from being as happy as they could possibly be is tough, but the Lord is patient with me.
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| Surprise! It's not the chastity picture. |
Elder Su'a-Filo/Souffle also reminded me of the importance of keeping a positive attitude no matter your situation. His enthusiasm for missionary work and "the WVCM experience" makes me smile. He's going to do amazing things in Hazard!
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Sometimes I initiated new elders by making them grill dinner.
Sometimes they accidentally threw spices in my eyes... |
Sister Wonnacott gave me some great advice about figuring out what I want to do with my life. I guess a missionary going home in 2 days
would be the person to ask. :) "
My suggestions? Just give up on life and live as a hobo on the street with me..... or if you don't want to do that, you could try this thing that I had to do for this new "My Plan" program for returning missionaries. It has you read your patriarchal blessing and circle all the words that describe you and underline all the actions that is says God wants you to take in your life. [...] Ponder what KIND of thing God wants you to do, pick a course of action, then pray about it." Boom. Thank you, whoever came up with programs to help new RMs.
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| Name tag theft! |
Elder Zazueta made sure I know the importance of remembering EVERYONE'S birthday... I said something about Higgins's and Rueda's but forgot his so he kindly gave me an opportunity to practice the repentance process. (Don't worry, I was forgiven because I remember exactly what he orders from Cafe Rio, which is obviously more important.) Also he's planning on putting Elder Rueda on date to become "Mexicanly reborn." I can't learn something deep from them all
every week. ;)
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| Just like with the other photo including Elder Z, no explanation will be given. |
I love these kids. Every one of them (including the ones who are home or who didn't email me this week) are such a blessing in my life. If you have missionaries near you and they aren't your best friends, you should either buy them a burrito or bake them some brownies and tell them they no longer have a choice. Missionaries are the greatest.
