Transfer 5 Week 4: Building a computer lab on mission- round 2, Christmas zone conference, new referrals and contacts, and teaching Christmas lessons
This has been a really good week so far, it started out with
us answering a Book of Mormon request by sending it via the post office, which
was refreshing. It was really nice to see so many anxious people hurrying to
send their packages across the world to their beloved family. Today I made sure
to holler a thank you to the postal man that came by our apartment from my
porch. I never had quite thought of the postal service as a means of sharing
the light, but I think that in an era where a lot of folks can't/won't be
traveling to visit their loved ones, there is an extra special feeling in being
able to just at least send that one package that tells their family how much
they're loved. It definitely is a way that people share the Light of the World
with others this time of year.
Speaking of which, I did receive all of your packages safe
and sound, our mission office does an outstanding job working to keep the truck
loads of gifts in order for all nine zones of missionaries to receive it at our
Christmas conferences. I did open a couple of them, before you told me not to.
I tried to feel the ones that were soft and squishy and probably clothing
items, which would be better worn now than later. (Since I only have two weeks
left) {gasp}
Zone Conference was amazing, chiefly because President and
Sister Richardson did an incredible job of teaching us how to be intentional
people for a few minutes, before exercising those exact principles throughout
the entire rest of the zone conference to build up, uplift and unite the
mission in the Spirit of Christmas. They did so by sharing how they had made
meticulously intentional family traditions for Christmas, and it seems like
they have hundreds of them. They are definitely the family that goes above and
beyond for just about everything on every occasion, in the most awesome way
possible of course. They showed us a PowerPoint of all the awesome (and
sometimes crazy) {COUGH} things that they do including having a "Cratchits"
Christmas, making crazy family videos, going to the movies, gorging themselves
on hot chocolate, (all of which were very well documented) and all sorts of
stuff. They made us really feel part of the family. Following that, they had
the missionaries give a full up nativity presentation, with President
Richardson not only Narrating but also filling in with Gospel Scholarly
commentary. The whole event was a massively enriching experience. Among other
things, they sent us off with gifts cards to Chick-fil-a and Kwik Trip (the Midwest
version of Maverick) accompanied by popcorn bucket and candy with the promise
that all 8 episodes of the "The Chosen" would be available to us in
our google drive (thanks to President's extended connections with BYU
broadcasting company) to binge watch on Christmas day. It's all incredible, and
we came away feeling totally spoiled. We also got to drive through a Christmas
light show with special permission to have the radio on, so we could listen to
ALL kinds of crazy Christmas music. It was ridiculous, and we loved it. More
importantly we loved the Richardson's and the rest of the mission as well, even
more than we used to.
Bullet Points:
-I have been setting up computers, again.
This seems to be a recurring theme throughout my mission,
taking things that aren't working and McGyvering them together. With
permission, I found an old console in the family history center closet, and
along with some misplaced cables, an old church plasma, a 25 ft. ethernet cord
and a whole lot of faith troubleshooting & updating, managed to create a
functioning workspace. I had to go through some blue screen pre-boot up menu to
bypass the administrator so I could reset the date to allow it to function with
the internet. There were a few weird looks from my companion, as I was hacking
away to get the computer to work. I was of course taking way too much pleasure
in this, with cables and wires flying everywhere; I felt something like when
Han Solo is hot wiring something in Star Wars and he's going "I got it...
I GOT IT... I GOT IT!!" and then it actually works.
-Out of nowhere, we have been blessed with a lot more people
to teach.
Twice this week we have gotten referrals from Salt Lake
sisters, which has never happened before, for people that are way excited to
learn the gospel and start being taught. The only reason I was actually set up
to watch Elena and Dad’s performance on Sunday was because one of those lessons
fell through at that exact time. Although Gabriel (The Liberian) is rather
spotty when we try to call him, we ended up having a 30 minute long Gospel
Q&A session where he shot out nearly every classic gospel question in the
book. Like "What does the Book of Mormon say about the Bible?'', "Is
there a life after this?,” “What do I have to do to be cleansed from sin?"
and "How do I balance my family and work life?" It was incredible,
and apparently, he has a car now to be able to attend church as well although
we didn't see him there. He'll come around eventually.
I'm also going to include a story from today that I just
finished writing to my mission president about:
"As for finding people, we had a very unusual
experience, where an individual working at Walmart was quickly walking by when
she stopped, looked at me, and asked if she could look at my tag on my jacket.
After reading it for 2 seconds, she asked me in the sincerest voice if we had
pass along cards. I didn't but I got her contact information. She continued to
explain that she couldn't talk right now because she was working but that she
had been looking for us, and really wanted to talk with us tonight. Her name is
Shawana. I don't know how this happens or how this kind of thing works, if we
had left two minutes earlier, and if Elder Baird had forgotten the need to buy
a bath towel, we would never have seen her, but it happened. All I have been able
to find out in my time of missionary service is that if we put in all the
effort we can, the Lord will bless us, usually irrespective of the way we have
been putting effort toward something."
We try our best, including making ridiculous videos, contacting
people on Facebook in as non-creepy a fashion as possible, and teaching the
folks we have to the best of our ability and the Lord just blesses us. The ward
leaders have been verbally impressed with the effort going on, and we are
starting to get more participation in ward coordination meetings as we are
actually having teaching visits with people that we can invite members to be
involved with, which really excites the members more, and just fills them with
the Spirit.
We've enjoyed teaching a number of members out here, and we
are getting more organized and structured which makes us better at it, and
we've loved being a part of the Christmas experience with members of the ward
family. We recently just were in an institute class where the teacher was the Aramaic
expert for the Christ Child video that came out last year. He got to translate
for us and tell us all sorts of things about the production in it that was
fascinating. He also highlighted the finishing scene which shows the empty
manger. And he was quick to highlight two verses in the beginning and the end
of the gospel of Luke which he thinks are very intentional and related:
“7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him
in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger”
“53 And he took it down, and wrapped it in linen, and laid
it in a sepulcher that was hewn in stone, wherein never man before was laid.”
Managers in Bethlehem weren't actually made of wood, as
archaeologists have found, but were normally hewn of the soft limestone that is
commonly found in the region.
His birth, wrapped in cloth, and laid in a stone bed where a
baby had never slept before, prefigured his manner of death. Even in the very
way he was born, he showed and emulated the real reason for His life, that he
would die for us, that we may all live again.
I thought that was fascinating, and it shows just how
clearly the Lord knows the end from the beginning.
I have felt incredibly blessed lately, especially after
reading your letters from home. I hope you know how much I think about what I'm
going to say to you when I arrive home. I'm looking forward to sharing with the
ward what I've learned over these last two years, condensed as much as
possible. I invite you all to watch the Christ Child video to feel the Spirit
more. I love you all so much and hope that you have a very Merry Christmas.
Sincerely,
Elder Shill
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