October 7th - Monday
it was the preparation day in the field and it was fairly low key. We didn't do anything too spectacular. I did email for a while. Shopping was fun but I didn't get much. Partially because it was only for a week and partially because my funds for the month were rather limited. They adjusted the amount of money I received according to how many days I had left of mission. We exercised in the morning but I had come down a rather unfortunate cold. I kind of took it easy and spent most of my time on the weight machine. For studies I planned out district meeting and felt good about my plan. It was a lot of information but it was relevant and it was organized well. Later in the day I attempted to pack but made little to no progress. Perhaps it was because I lacked energy and motivation but maybe it was because deep down I kind of didn't want to pack. The evening was finished off nicely with a great lesson with Shae. She's a very nice young women who has many questions about a variety of topics which makes teaching her fun. I enjoyed it immensely. She told us that we explained answers to her questions better than anyone else and it makes sense. It brought me a sense of gratitude that the Lord has blessed me so.
October 8th- Tuesday
Was district meeting and I thought it went pretty well. I think everyone came away with something they can improve on. The main theme was helping people make and keep commitments as that is what is going to help them progress to baptism. I extended a fun game/challenge to everyone. The sister missionaries inspired me because they had set a goal for themselves that they would do 1 or 2 pushups for every person that they didn't ask referrals from that they could have. After talking with some of the other missionaries including the zone leaders I present this idea to the district. We would play a game. Each companionship would get a point for each person they asked for a referral. I think a little bit of healthy competition is helpful sometimes. Whoever had the most amount of points sunday night would then win an illustrious prize (it was some chocolate snack cakes).
After the main part of the district meeting was over we went into the practice and role plays section. That's when we sprung into actions. In missionary culture, when a missionary goes home it is commonly referred to as "he died". So there has arisen a tradition of a missionary funeral. It's most silly and usually last for about 5 minutes. Keeping with tradition we did a "funeral". I laid on a table and elder Pittard welcomed everyone as they came back from their respective role plays. Elder Eklof gave a eulogy. It was pretty funny.
After district meeting we all went out to taco bell. It wasn't my first choice but that's what the district voted and I didn't mind. It turned out to be quite good. We had a great lesson with a great man named Jason. He recently lost his job and it been hard on him. As a result he's really been reaching out to God and really strengthening his relationship with God. They have been reading the bible together as a family daily. He really really liked how we prayed for him the first time we met him and he felt something special. Something different. And he liked it. We taught him about the restoration which he really liked. He told us a few times that he was learning so many new things. It was just a fantastic experience I really have hopes for him as well as his family. (His wife was there but very tired. It was around 3pm and she had just gotten off of work as she goes in around 4am- she dozed off). We also had an interesting lesson with Vince (he was raised Jehovah's witness and as a result has many interesting questions).
October 9th- Wednesday
It was a rocking day. Everything about it was just awesome. It was fun as I was on trade off with Elder Brooks, one of the Spanish elders. He's fairly new so it was fun working with him (he had just come from the Mexico City MTC about 5 weeks ago). He hadn't driven a while so he was a bit nervous about driving again but he did fine. We taught many lessons that day and we stayed busy all day. I think I was able to show Elder Brooks a good time and I hope he learned a lot. He's a good guy and a good missionary. We went over to Courtney's and Jacob was there again. What's more is that he actually read the Book of Mormon! I was really impressed and he actually understood it really well. We read another chapter and he understood it like a champ especially considered against the fact that he is coming from a very non-religious background. There was something different about him- I think the simple act of his faith really changed him in a small and very subtle way. It was great. Dinner was at the Noel's. They're really nice but it was the first time they had had the missionaries over in a long time because they had no kitchen table. We ate on couches and the floor but the conversation was pleasant and the food was good. They're just a really nice family and their two boys were really funny together. I think they were much like Michael and I probably were back in the day. We also saw the Chandler's which was nice. We talked mostly about how they were doing and what they thought about coming to church on Sunday. It was a nice conclusion to the night.
Oct 10th- Thursday
Was a day of gastro-intestinal pleasure as much delicious food was consumed. The day began rather unusual from our usual pattern and routine. The Bair family had loaned us some tennis rackets and after rummaging through some very prickly bushes we found a tennis ball that Elder Sato (the elder I replaced) had thrown in there a month or two prior. We played tennis with much vigor and Elder Pittard hadn't really played tennis much and neither had I. He was in sandals and I was in normal tennis shoes but he still beat me (not by much though).
The lights on the tennis courts warmed up gradually, but also very slowly. We began played and it became much easier as we played as our ability to see the ball increased from almost zero. The day started after our typical studies and training (we were really trying to get training done as we had 4 days to get it all done). I packed a little bit and really tried to get it done quickly. We then went to lunch with Brother Holmes who is a really nice guy. He took us to a place called Cheddars that someone had told me in Madison that was really good. I got a monte cristo and it was very good. It came with fries, powdered sugar, and raspberry dipping sauce. It was quite large and I only finished 3 of the 4 sandwiches so I took a little togo box. I was very full.
We went over and saw the Hardin's. They're very nice and they talked about their challenges and history with the church. We went and saw Amy and David but David was there. They're a nice family and they really treasure family values. Unfortunately, they both work quite a bit and a rarely home at the same time. Amy used to be more interested but has decided to stick with what she was raised with and isn't very open. When we arrived their 4 year old daughter was outside with her dog (it was a fairly large dog). We asked her where her dad was and she went and got him. We had a nice chat with him about his reading in the Book of Mormon and just kind of reemphasized some things. We had dinner with the Jentz family which is always quite good. If I remember correctly, it was a pot roast. We talked to Brother Whitaker and had a nice chat with him on his doorstop as it was rather late when we got there. He's not as active and he's working through some things before he feels he can come back.
Oct 11th- Friday
Was a good day. It was very tiring as we were just go go go all day. Service, weekly planning, a baptismal interview, 2 appointments, a dinner, lunch at McDonalds, and a few other things in-between it all. Like I said, we were busy. Tennis was good and we had a couple of really good volleys. Elder Pittard is very athletic and a good sport. I was reading the adjusting to missionary life packet (a little late since I just got it about a week prior) but it was very good. I noticed that it said most of the suggestions in it would take 2 or 3 weeks of effort in order for me to see results. That bummed me out a bit.
Weekly planning soon commenced and I participated as best as I could. I didn't want to leave Elder Pittard just hanging even though none of it really applied. We stopped planning for a break and headed to the church for a baptismal interview with one of the sister's investigators. I was a little nervous as I had never done an interview before. She was very nice and I talked to her. She did really well especially considering the fact that she was only 9. I asked her what her favorite thing about Georiga was and she told me "the church!" "Why do you like the church so much?" "Because it's the only one that has the Book of Mormon".
After the interview we rushed to McDonalds to meet the spanish elders. We usually go out to lunch on friday as it breaks up weekly planning nicely (the spanish elders study until 12 because of training and language study so it breaks up studies and planning nicely. Sitting for 7 hours isn't as much fun all at once). The McDonalds in question had been undergoing remodeling for a while when I got there and it had just reopened the day before. Elder Pittard was really excited about it so we went. It was good and I enjoyed eating with all the elders. We finished planning and had a good lesson with Geraldine. We read the Book of Mormon with her and explained and expounded on the things she picked out as we read (she understood and picked out a lot). She's a recent convert and tried to invite one of her friends to our study but she cancelled. I told her I was getting transferred (I technically was) as I didn't want to come out right and say I was going home as then people usually start talking about how happy my mom is going to be. She asked where I was going. I told her Oregon. She looked at me funny and said "That's a big transfer! Oregon. Never been there! Can I come with you?" It was kind of funny. She asked if I would still be an Elder. "Nope- I'll just be a Brother." Then she got it "Oh...wait.. you're going home! I won't come with you then."
We went and did service at the Harper's. They were building a patio type thing and I poured some cement and dug some dirt and did a few other things.
The Harpers are just awesome. We visited the Bank to withdraw that last few remaining dollars off of my Missionary card as my records showed I still had 5 dollars left. After a wait in line and some confusion I learned I had a total balance of $0.52. It was a little disheartening but we went to dinner at the Taylor's. It was quite good and enjoyable. The Taylor's are really nice.
Oct 12th- Saturday
Mostly consisted of packing and cleaning. I felt bad about spending so much time on it but it needed to get done and I really wanted to leave the apartment cleaner than I found it (since it wasn't very clean when I found it). I scrubbed the shower for a while as my guess would be that it hadn't been scrubbed before- at least not recently. I usually don't have my glasses on when I take showers so I wouldn't see the state the tub was in and it was rather shocking. Ignorance is bliss. Anyway- the pink stuff came off pretty easy but the black stuff took a long time and lots of scrubbing to come off. As we were headed down to dinner we had a few minutes and elder Pittard had the idea to try Candice. We've tried her several times and she is never home. That's what I thought at first but decided we should give it a shot. She was home and while we only had a few minutes, it was a nice chat. She doesn't believe what we teach but she's interesting to learning more. We emphasized her reading and praying to find out from God not from us or other people. As a result we were 10 or so minutes late to dinner at the Winward's which was really good. It was weird to think this would be my last dinner appointment. I enjoyed it and just savored the moment. We tried more people and saw the Jung's. They're a nice family and one Brother Jung is a member. He's not really active but he's really nice. We talked about family prayer. We got back and I finished packing and Elder Clayson taught me a bit about how to play chess better. I feel like I really made good friends with all the other elders in Warner Robins.
Oct 13th- Sunday
It was the big day. The day I never really thought would come came. It was odd waking up knowing it would be my last in Warner Robins. I was oddly calm though. We got ready and I finished the last few items of business related to packing. We went to church early with the spanish elders. We were called a few day prior by sister Hatt who asked us (the 5 missionaries in the ward) to give a special musical number in church. We got there and had some brief coordination meetings after which we began our practice. I remember feeling rather odd knowing it was my last time. Sacrament was good and I enjoyed the talks. Courtney Pickett came! She's a non-member that the ward mission leader told us about and we've been trying to get in contact with for a while and she came. It was really nice to have her there. We sang our song and I thought it sounded quite good. It was rather funny as in Priesthood one of the councilors in the bishopric got up and mentioned that one of the missionaries was departing soon, in a few weeks or so. I looked at me and I raised my hand. "Today actually." He was rather taken aback and it was rather funny. "Oh. Right..... Well. It was good to have you Elder."
After church I had a light snack (I wasn't really feeling like eating) and finished a final inspection of the apartment as well as collect a few last minute items. Brother Bair came to pick me up and strapped a suitcase shut which was very nice of him (the latch was having some trouble- for the moment it was working but I was worried that it would fail during transit). Elder Pittard felt my bags and told me they were a little overweight (we didn't have a scale and I needed to be under 50 pounds). We drove up to Macon which was a relatively short drive (maybe 30 minutes). I saw the mission home for the first time. It was pretty nice.
We sat on the couches as we were waiting for one more elder. There were 6 elders going home. I saw anxious and didn't really say much. I weighed my suitcases and found they were at 70 pounds and 65 pounds. Thats a total of 35 pounds of excess. It weighed on my mind rather heavily. I tried to enjoy the evening and the dinner was really quite good. After dinner we watched a slideshow that they had put together from our pictures that we had sent them a few weeks back. I probably should have sent more pictures. We sat up and President Cottle gave us the final interview advice part all at the same time and we asked some questions. It was mostly about getting married and going to school. Elder Young and I talked for a long time as well as another elder named Elder Donovan. It took a awhile to fall asleep after we finished talking. All of us were rather anxious and it was probably 2 am when we finished talking. I slept pretty good though.
It was a good week and I enjoyed it. I'll try and get the next week done sometime soon. But until then,
Love y'all.
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