May 21, 2018 ~ Transfer 16, Week 1

Hi everyone!

As I was reviewing my journal I realized that this week as been very interesting. The people are what make and break missionary work. And people are hilarious. I will explain.

Example #1: Monday we met who we will call Marijuana Tim. We asked him for directions and he said "sorry I don't live here" and we started talking and it came up that he has friends in la Palma that have a garden where they grow "vegetables...you know potatoes, cabbage, carrot...and marijuana". The way he said it... I just died haha. It was super funny. He wasn't too interested in our message haha

Example #2: Then as we left the church, there was a beer can that Elder Hydrick and taken in and thrown away because it was in the entrance of the church. He threw it in a trashcan without a bag so as we left we figured the members would freak out if they saw the beer can in the church, so we put it into a bag but in the process I spilled beer every where (it wasn't completely empty)... And so we had to clean that up haha. And while throwing it away we found two crates that will be super helpful for moving so (we are moving pisos)...win win right? Haha

Wednesday: while we were on our way to the bus station, a lady named Jacqueline stopped us and said "hey I'm Mormon. Where's the church? I live in Puerto Santiago" so we got her number and we are looking at a day if it's even possible to visit her (she lives super far away). But it was cool that she stopped us and talked with us.

(Wednesday afternoon)
Then as we sat in a park putting in the lessons we just had, I got smacked in the face by a soccer ball...a 10-12 year old kid was kicking it around and he doesn't aim well...and I got wrecked. And my companion saw it going for my head but didn't warn me or stop it at all haha it didn't occur to him until after.

Then we walked to Las Galletas and Costa del Silencio to do pass bys. Not much luck with pass bys (it was literally a maze of buildings...) but we did find some people to teach. There were 2 Cubans we got to talk to. I turned around after walking by them and said "hey, you got a baseball shirt on, you like baseball?" And we got them talking. The more interested of the two ended up getting a phone call that lasted 10mins or so and at one point both guys were on the phone hahaha. So we waited until one got off and then we were waiting forever for the more interested guy to get off the phone and finally he does. We asked for his number and then he got another phone call...but his friend gave us his number and we were all good haha. We will see when we can meet with them. In their 20s. Pretty cool guys.

Then we went and we visited a member named Juan. We had tried to meet with him 3 times before but he would say yes and that he would call us but nothing ever happened. And we tried to get in his building with absolutely 0 possibilities. No timbre, no button to get in. Nothing. The place is locked down... So we called him and he has us come in and he shares his story with us about why he hasn't been at church and his testimony about how he knows it's true. It was a good little visit.

Funny moment: we were talking to two Russian workers who were fixing the sidewalk. We asked for directions in the maze of buildings. They said "Español, no. Sorry." Then they asked "Ruski?"
Me: No.
Them:Douich?
Me: No. English?
Them: No.
Me: oh... "coc de la?"("How are you" in Russian). Haha they enjoyed that haha. They thought it was cool that I knew a little bit of Russian

Thursday:
Comp study in the park. There were a couple flies but not that many.

Then we met with Maria and we met on the same bench that we did comp study on. Flies came and attacked again like last time! Wow! There were a ton of flies and they weren't there before! We are hoping that she understands what and why we are teaching these things, we taught the plan of salvation today. She understands when she reads but not when we explain things to her. So that can be a little frustrating haha

Funny moment: we were walking back home and I got hissed at by a "snake" from a 4th story balcony. Haha "snakes" are girls that are super flirty with the missionaries. But like she actually hissed haha. I guess it was like some sort of cat call. And then she blew some kisses when I realized where the sound was coming from. She was around 15 I think hahaha.

.

Friday:
Then we had English class and "Elder" Hendrix had come back to visit (he was comps with Elder Wither at one point). So that was cool.

And then we looked for cardboard boxes to do the move. We've found boxes here and there to put our stuff in for the move. Where do we get the boxes from? From the trash. They usually pile them up next to the trashcans and we try to find the very cleanest ones haha.

Saturday:
Then we taught Lily over video call. Her faith is being strengthened and she's feeling better again. She told us sí o sí (100%/absolutely) she would be at church next week because she misses going. We are excited for the progress that she is making.

Sunday:
Church. I got to translate today in sacrament meeting. It is interesting the things that I've learned. For example, the need to finish my sentence by saying something even if I didn't catch everything that the speaker said (that way if you really get lost you don't have to sound as dumb or lose your listeners when you abandon the idea and start with a new one haha).

It's been cool this week to see the blessings we recieve everyday and how much Heavenly Father really does bless us. Elder Holland said something in a talk from Oct. 2006 that I really liked: ( I know the quote is a little long but it's totally worth it)

"If we constantly focus only on the stones in our mortal path, we will almost surely miss the beautiful flower or cool stream provided by the loving Father who outlined our journey. Each day can bring more joy than sorrow when our mortal and spiritual eyes are open to God’s goodness. Joy in the gospel is not something that begins only in the next life. It is our privilege now, this very day. We must never allow our burdens to obscure our blessings. There will always be more blessings than burdens—even if some days it doesn’t seem so." ... "Enjoy those blessings right now. They are yours and always will be."

My favorite part...."There will always be more blessings than burdens—even if some days it doesn’t seem so."" Some day it doesn't seem like there are more blessings than burdens but Heavenly Father is there for us to help us. I know that. He's only a prayer away no matter who we are or what we believe or how imperfect we may feel or if we think He won't want to talk to us. He does want to hear from us. He's always there and wants the best for us. It's hard sometimes because I'm sure if He could, He would let us have a perfect little life with no problems at all. Heavenly Father is our father, the father of our spirits and wants the best for us like any great father. But life doesn't work that way. If things were easy, we wouldn't grow, we wouldn't progress, we wouldn't change. And because Heavenly Father knows what is best for us He knows we have to change and grow because we aren't perfect yet and that we need a little push sometimes to change. Growing isn't usually pleasant but it's the purpose of why we are here in life. Alma 34:32 says: "For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors." We prepare to meet God as we become more like Him and change with His help, trusting in Him (also known as repentance). And like it says in Mosiah 29:20 He "extend[s] the arm of mercy towards them that put their trust in him."

Have a wonderful week!

With care,
Elder Openshaw

Photos - I don't have any in missionary clothes from this week haha. But here's a couple from this past Monday at Teide and a bunch of fruit we bought because it was wayyyyy cheaper than usual (and we freeze it so it won't go bad. Don't worry :P).

PS. Sorry this is way long but if you got to the end you get some brownie points for sure. --86 BROWNIE POINTS -- sound good to you?