"At Least it's a Dry Heat", Among Other Lies

Happy Monday Everyone!

This has been a really great week. So much has happened, I can't even remember it. 

Also, real quick, I have a word or two to say about the heat. 

So many times I've heard people say "well at least it's a dry heat" when talking about Arizona. And yes, humidity is not fun by any means. And it can make the temperature feel hotter than it is, however, 90° that feels like 97° is still not as hot as 115° that feels like the flames of hell are burning your face off. 

And the wind, don't even get me started on the wind. Wind is supposed to be cool and refreshing but instead it feels like we're riding our bikes against the forces of an unusually large hair dryer that is powered by Smaug the dragon, breathing fire and death to any unlucky soul who happens to be outside. I have never experienced such pain from simply being outside. It's crazy. We step outside and it's like, "Ouch, my skin hurts." And not just the skin either, the eyes too. We ride our bikes, and despite our glasses, the fire wind gets in there and inflicts such profound discomfort upon our eyes it's amazing. 

Anyway though, those were just some things on my mind. I really love Arizona though. I have absolutely nothing but good things to say about this state. Just like the hymn, this is a "Lovely Desert." Except for the hymn says "deseret" instead, which to my understanding is a fancy word for beehive. 

Speaking of dessert, we had a lovely dessert of chocolate cake this morning, while waiting for our interviews with President and Sister Cox. They are so cool. They do things differently than the Robinson's, but it's so good. I am so excited to serve with them and get to know them more. 

So to get to the point of this email, my week was great. 

The week started off kind of rough though. We were in some situations that were more sad than drinking warm water and more uncomfortable than wearing dress clothes in 115° temperatures. All humorous comparisons aside though, Tuesday was pretty rough. Things are only getting better though. It was still a great week, and this next one will be even better.

On Wednesday we had an awesome visit with someone named Aaliyah. It was such a good discussion about the Book of Mormon and about how we can come closer to Jesus Christ by reading it. She has such a strong desire to learn, it's awesome. 

We also visited with a super wise old man on Wednesday. He's so nice. I love visiting him. 

The rest of the week was pretty normal, pretty busy, and pretty awesome. 

And then came Saturday. We were on exchanges. I went with my good friend Elder John into his area, and we had a great day. It was very long and very hot. We talked to people and we had an interesting lesson with a guy at a fishing pond. They found him fishing at that pond, and since then they've met with him several times, while he fishes at that pond. It was a solid day. 

Also, Elder John is from Kenya, and he was teaching me some Swahili. For example "Book of Mormon" is "Kitabu cha Momoni" and "garbage" is "taka taka." I seriously am a foreign language missionary. I can pretty much carry on a conversation in Spanish, I've given a Persian Book of Mormon to someone, I sang songs in Cantanese and Mandarin, I have a friend who knows Swahili, not to mention that I learned British from Elder Adamson in the MTC, and now I've learned Canadian from Elder Salter. So counting English, that's 8 languages I'm pretty much fluent in.  

Anyway though, things have been good. In other news I chugged half of a half gallon of chocolate milk this afternoon despite sort of having a stomach ache, and I haven't felt the same since. And not in a good way. I feel like taka taka now. 

Well, I just love being a missionary. I was just reading this morning in Alma chapter 36 in the Book of Mormon. I have read that chapter many times, and this morning it hit me once again just how much I love that story. It's about someone named Alma, and the chapter is pretty much him telling his dramatic and inspiring conversion story. After spending all his time seeking to destroy the Church, he was stopped by an Angel, and he came to a realization of all his sins and his guilt, and he was "racked with eternal torment."

As the story continues however, he remembers what he had heard about Jesus Christ, and he cries out for mercy and he Then can remember  his pains and his sins no more. And from that moment he had a dramatic change in his heart, and he could see the light and the hope made possible by Jesus Christ. And while we might not have as dramatic as an experience as Alma, each of us can still have experiences throughout our lives that are nonetheless miraculous and powerful, where we come to know of Jesus Christ's role in our lives, when we realize He is our Savior, and His sacrifice is real. 

I know Jesus Christ lives. I am coming to know that for myself, and how He has a role in my life, personally. I know His Gospel has been restored. I love Jesus Christ and His teachings, and I love being able to share this message of hope and joy with other people.

Til next week,

~Elder Oswald

Happy 4th of July--Chinese Edition

Well, much like the title of this email, this week was rather strange.

Everyone decided to be out of town this week which made it difficult to find people home or set up visits with them. However, it was a great week just the same. 

We met our new Mission President, President Cox, on Tuesday. He's a super cool guy and he's really funny. It's exciting to have him here and to get to know him. He'll be a great Mission President.

Also, for those of you who didn't know, the fourth of July was this past week, which was rather interesting as a missionary, because we weren't allowed to knock on doors or stop by people unannounced, and we had to be in by 7:30 in the evening probably for safety. 

The good news was that we had planned for this. And we, along with the 18 other missionaries who constitute our "Zone" had been signed up to help out all day at a Fourth of July event. But it wasn't just any Fourth of July event, it was a Chinese one, which is very similar to a regular one except for there were 700 Chinese people there. And it was wild. From 10:00 to about noon, there were activities like ping pong and some other activities, all around the Church. Then we had lunch which was hamburgers, hot dogs, and chow mein. Then there was a big program of all sorts of songs and dances, most of which were related to the fourth of July. Some examples are, the Chinese choir who sang America the Beautiful, the Chinese orchestra who played the Star Spangled Banner, and a personal favorite, the Baritone solo rendition of God Bless America. 

The best part of the show however, was the closing act, when the 20 of us missionaries got up and sang two songs in Chinese. We sang a hymn in both Cantonese and Mandarin, and then we sang a random Chinese song. We were a hit, the crowd loved us. It was so much fun. 

We gave out a ton of Chinese copies of the Book of Mormon too which was cool. It was a good day. 

So another highlight of the week, was Friday. 

We had such a nice evening planned. We were going to stop by a lady and try to teach her, and we did! It was cool, we said hi and all of a sudden she was pulling out chairs outside for us to sit on before we even asked if we could meet. So then we taught her right there. It was cool.

Then we had planned to go by another guy and pretty much try the same thing. For this part of the story though, I need to paint you a picture. We were on a side street. North of us a ways was a street called McDowell. South of us a ways was a street called Roosevelt. Both of those streets run east and west. And we needed to go east to get to the next person we were going to visit. So we had the choice of going north to McDowell to then head East, or going south to Roosevelt to then head East. And as we came to the intersection at which we needed to make the decision, I for some reason turned right to head down to Roosevelt. And as soon as I did that, I realized how silly I was. Because I remembered that McDowell was closer and made more sense. So all the way down the street, and even as we began heading East on Roosevelt, I just kept thinking to myself "why would I do that? that's so dumb of me" 

And then all of a sudden an old lady flagged us down from the sidewalk and was like "are you missionaries?"

And we were, so we told the truth and said "yes." Then she went on about how she's Christian and how her life has changed because of Jesus Christ, and how grateful she is to see us and how it isn't a coincidence that we crossed paths. She was like "I've always wanted to see missionaries come down this street, but I never have!" Then she talked to us for 45 minutes and told us her whole life story of all the horrible things she experienced early in her life but how things are so much better now because of her faith.

It was cool. She wasn't interested in meeting with us or anything, and she was a little crazy. 

Every once and a while she would pause her story to comment on how she likes motorcycles (If a motorcycle passed by) or to comment on how handsome Elder Salter is. That happened a couple of times. She was like, "You're just so handsome, you stand so confidently."

Then she'd turn to me and say, "And you! You're awesome. You're just like a wise little monk."

So I'm taking that as a compliment.  

Anyway though, she was kinda crazy, but I do believe it was not a coincidence we biked down that street. Because even though she wasn't interested, that interaction meant a lot to her, it was what she needed, and that was one way we were able to bless someone's life. Once again, it is amazing how many different ways there are for the Lord to use us to bless others lives. And it's such a blessing to be able to be made an instrument in His hands, and to be placed in those situations where we can help other people. It's so awesome. 

I love the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I know it's true. I know the Book of Mormon teaches and testifies of Jesus Christ and His Doctrine. 

I hope everyone has another great week!

Til next time,

~Elder Oswald

Happy Canada Day!

Well everyone, I learned from my Canadian companion Elder Salter that today is in fact Canada Day, the celebration of Canada becoming it's own country.  

So before you bust out the red, white, and blue hats and the fireworks, take a moment to sit down, relax, have a nice cup of maple syrup, and enjoy your Canada Day, or as I like to call it, "the 1st of July."

I could use many words to describe this past week. I'll name a few of them:

Hot.

Miraculous.

Exhausting.

Hot.

Exciting.

Long.

Busy.

Hot.

Bike.

But above all, the word that can describe it best is this one: Fantastic. 

All week was just super busy and awesome. But to conserve time I'll only share the most important details. 

So Tuesday, we were invited to lunch by an old couple in the Ward. They live in a retirement community, and it is seriously the coolest retirement community ever. I'm honestly considering retiring there some day. First of all, lunch in their "cafeteria" was actually like a 5 star restaurant. We ate so much food. But after lunch they showed us around and that place is so nice! There's billiards and card tables at every corner, there's a theater that plays old classy movies, there's a library, there's a barber shop, there's everything you can ever need, and there's also a lot of really nice old people who really appreciated that Elder Salter and I were wearing dress shirts and ties. So that was great.

One of the other days this week we biked up to the gas station at which Omar works as the chef in the  restaurant. He made us Philly cheese steaks and didn't charge us which was really cool.

On Friday we met with Reza again! He was the one who requested the Persian Book of Mormon. So Friday we stopped by to deliver it since he was busy earlier in the week, and he let us in and we talked some more. He is so excited to read the Book of Mormon, and he said that he's going to read the whole thing within a week. We made sure he knew he didn't have to feel rushed, but he said that he loves reading and doesn't have anything else to do. So that's cool! He's had some amazing personal experiences as well so that has been cool to discuss with him. 

So Saturday, it was a special day indeed. Such a good day. And every day is a good day, but Saturday was just extra good. Elder Salter and I just got super hyped up and we went out first thing Saturday morning to go spread the Gospel. We began by trying to visit a couple members of the congregation but they didn't answer. So we then went across the street to the apartment complex that we had previously decided to knock doors in. We get there and Elder Salter goes "Let's do building E" So we did building E. On the first floor, no one answered their door. On the second floor, one person answered the door except the lady was super weird and not interested and it was kind of awkward. Then the third floor. No one answered their doors, until we came to the very last door. And a woman answered. And she said it wasn't a good time because they just came back from an early flight from, guess where, Michigan. So, instant connection right there. And she said she would like us to come back another time to talk. So that was super cool! It just shows how even when we think our small efforts aren't doing anything, like knocking on a bunch of doors with no one answering, sometimes that's what it takes, because it shows the Lord we're trying and we're ready and willing to be led to those who He is trying to lead us to, so that we can be an instrument in His hand. 

But the miracles didn't stop there, after leaving that complex, we decided to go try and find a man who is named either Kelvin or Eugene. Some other missionaries told us he called them saying he wants to meet, so they gave us his address and phone number. And we've been trying to contact him but he doesn't answer his phone and his address doesn't exist. It's pretty strange, the house numbers just skip the number we have for him. So we decided to just knock the houses on the street and see if they know a Kelvin or Eugene who lives on the street. And we started going down the street, and it was so hot. Unlike the shaded complex, we were right out in the sun and it was like 113°. And there was a moment where we were like, no way we're knocking all these doors in this heat, but we quickly reminded ourselves of how it isn't about us and we got ourselves hyped up again. And the first couple doors didn't answer. Then we saw a lady outside and we talked to her. She was not interested but she was very nice. Then we knocked a couple more houses and no one answered. But then the next house, we knocked on the door and a woman answered. She was on the phone with someone but she still talked to us and she took our information and said she wanted us to come back. Her name is Delma, she's old, as you can tell from her name being Delma, and she is just super nice. It's super awesome!

And riding back afterwards I was just overwhelmed with gratitude for being made an instrument in the Lord's hand. We don't knock doors all that super often, and of all the many doors we could knock, we don't know who lives where and what people are ready to listen to our message. And so we just have to do our best, and the Lord put us in people's paths or put people in our paths. A perfect example of this is Kelvin/Eugene' s nonexistent address. I'm honestly starting to think he's not even a real person. But we had that address, we couldn't find it, and it was on the most random, tiny little street that I would have never in a million years thought to knock the doors of. And we did. And we found Delma. It is just so amazing. I am just so grateful to be a missionary and to be able to be placed in situations where the Lord can use me to help and serve others. It is amazing.

I know that Jesus Christ lives. That we are all a part of our Heavenly Fathers plan for us. I know that Jesus Christ's Gospel has been restored. I know that the Book of Mormon contains God's word and that is on the earth for our blessing and benefit. 

I love you all, and I hope that your week to come is everything that you hope it to be and more. 

Til we email again.

~Elder Oswald

P.S. - Attached is a picture of me and Elder Salter celebrating Canada Day