Hey fam :)
Well the gopher saw his shadow, and I'm staying in Wrightwood for 6 more weeks. I'll be here until mid September, which will mean I'll have spent almost a third of my mission in this area. Crazy huh? At least it's cooler up here in the mountains than out in the desert or down in the valley. It's pretty much staying in the 80s and low 90s here whereas it's in the upper 90s and over 100 everywhere else. So I don't mind staying here through August, that's for sure. haha
This week... it was the best of times, it was the worst of times. It was the best of weeks, it was the worst of weeks. It was the best of commitments, it was the worst of commitments. Haha. We had a lot of good and a lot of blah stuff happen this week, hence why I'm half quoting a Tale of Two Cities.
The Bad: every single day this week, most of our appointments fell through. By the end of the week, we'd even started planning back up plans for our back up plans, and still we ran out of things to do. Everyone is gone and busy with vacation because school starts up in another week or two. Gotta get all the partying in while you still can, right? haha. Also, we met with Shannell (that's how you actually spell her name) and committed her to come to church but she didn't show up and wasn't home yesterday afternoon. It's disappointing to see investigators not take all the steps necessary to continue becoming happier and closer to our father in heaven. Also, our two week missionary left, and we were sure sad to see him go. He really didn't want to leave. We're sure glad he had a good experience though.
The Good: We committed Shannell to baptism! We set a date for August 25th. Hopefully she doesn't miss church again, or we'll have to push back that date another week or two. She has a hectic life, so I bet something unexpected came up yesterday that impaired her ability to attend church for whatever reason. We'll meet with her tomorrow and probably emphasize the importance of attending church. Another good thing... Daniel Parisi's (our two weeker) mom was so happy with us for "taking care of her boy and helping him to have an amazing experience" that she sent us home with gift baskets. Not just a gift, not just a card, but like a whole big bag full of stuff. Junk food (oatmeal cream pies, oreos and pringles), dress socks, a new tie, cereal, toothpaste, even body wash and deodorant. haha. It's one of those things thats almost awkward and you're not really sure how to thank them. I hope I serve in or near his ward sometime throughout my mission. At this rate though, I'll only serve in 3 or 4 areas. haha. Daniel is planning on coming back up sometime soon to hang out with us and do some more missionary work.
One of the things we did to pass the extra time in the afternoon but still try and feel constructive about it was to help the members we live with. I might of mentioned that we'd cleared some bushes and chopped down some trees last week. We continued working in the same section, moving the wood that we'd chopped down and cutting out the stumps. The stumps were so wildly knotted and the grain was so wild and the wood so wet that chainsaws weren't really getting anywhere. So, we just took an ax to it. Apparently, I'm really good at swinging an ax. haha. We rotated taking turns chipping away at the stump, and every time it was my turn brother Zorad would just make remarks like "wow. look at that! Look at him go!" haha. It was funny. He told me "I'm never going to make fun of you looking like some CPA smart kid again." haha. So that was kind of fun.
My glasses are under warranty? sweet! Guess that solves that problem :) haha. So I got some new contact saline solution and I've worn my contacts twice without having a problem. I've always been bothered by them the 2nd or 3rd etc. day I put them in, so maybe the 2 week contacts will still work. I just don't wear contacts more than once or twice a week at most, so I only wear the 2 week contacts like 3 or 4 times before it's been about a month and they have a nick or something in them. I dunno. haha. I'll see how long this pair I'm on lasts with the new saline solution.
I'm not really sure what to do with the referral from grandma and grandpa. Upland and Fontana are both in my mission, but they're several zones away from where I'm at. If I had a general address or phone number, I could forward the info to our office which could then find the missionaries for that area and send them to the couple. But. There's nothing I can do besides pray that the missionaries there run into them. haha
I made a list of every song in the hymnbook that I can play and might be able to play by the end of my mission, and there are several hymns that I can play well enough to accompany. We thank thee o god for a phophet, nearer my god to thee, god speed the right, come follow me, come unto jesus, be still my soul, sweet hour of prayer, I stand all amazed, and choose the right. Those are the ones I can think of off the top of my head anyways. So I've become the official district meeting pianist. haha. And... I kind of enjoy it. Wait. What? Who said that? :) haha
Elder Bagley and I are hoping to continue to work hard in this area and get the work moving even a little more. We're going to have an area planned every day to tract if everything else we try falls through. By small and simple means are great things brought to pass.
I love you guys! :)
Elder Browning
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