Where the Bike Lane Ends

The dishes are washed, my hairs are cut, and there's a brand new carton of Great Value fudge tracks ice cream in my freezer. These can only mean one thing: It's P-day!

This last week was awesome. We were super busy. 

Thursday was especially fun because it was one of the few days I've ever experienced that actually sort of went according to plan. We went out first thing that morning and talked to a whole bunch of people and were able to contact some people who were previously taught by missionaries and we set up with them to come back and teach them. Then we scadoodled on back to the apartment and ate lunch and studied before skedaddling on out again to try to contact more people and knock on people's doors. After dinner we scurried on over to the church for basketball night and we saw an older lady in a motorized wheelchair with her dog outside the Church. So we went and talked to her, and had the most delightful conversation! Her name is Linda, and she has a lot of thoughts about religion and Christianity, and also a lot of questions for us. We talked with her for a good 30 minutes and she wants us to come back this week to do some service for her and also teach her. So that's exciting! 

Wednesday was also great. We were able to meet with Aaliyah, and also her brother Jalen finally. And we set up for a visit with them next week, despite their crazy busy schedules. They're really awesome and they've been reading from the Book of Mormon and enjoying what they've been learning.

On Friday we were recruited by the Sister missionaries to help them do service for a lady. Her name is Bessie, and she's the most adorable little old Greek lady I've ever met. She's also the only little old Greek lady I've ever met, but I'm confident that if I ever meet another one, Bessie will still be the most adorable. She lives down at the most southeast corner of the ward boundaries which is technically on a Native American reservation, and it's a pretty busy road, and there isn't a bike lane to get there and so you have to ride on a narrow sidewalk against the flow of traffic. So that was fun. Then we got there and there wasn't actually really anything to do, because her son was there and he was like, "yeah she's kind of not all there, there isn't anything to do." She was very insistent on us watering her flowers though, but her son was like, "yeah no it's 115 degrees and the steam from the water will kill the flowers." So we compromised and pretended to water the flowers while in reality we just dumped the water out.

Well, some things came up, and I am as out of time as I am out of excuses.

So here are a couple scripture verses that have been on my mind, and I would just invite you all to read them and ponder them for yourself.

"He is the light and the life of the world; yea, a light that is endless, that can never be darkened; yea, and also a life which is endless, that there can be no more death."

-Mosiah 16:9, The Book of Mormon 

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?... Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us."

-Romans 8:35 & 37, the New Testament 

I know Jesus Christ loves us. That's something that I truly know. And I know that He is the light in our lives.

Til next week,

~Elder Oswald 

New Companion, A Big Difference

Well, it's that time again.

And that time is already almost up, so I'll probably make this quick.

First of all however I want to address the picture of the cat I sent in my last email. I realize that it was pretty disturbing and so I apologize for that. To be honest I really was just excited about the opportunity to make the  catastrophe pun. 

So I hope I didn't catch anyone off guard. 

Anywho, it was a wonderful week here in Scottsdale. However, I am out of money for the month so if this is the last correspondence you ever receive from me, it's because I died of starvation. 

I'm just kidding. I bought some ramen today and also some milk. And I'm pretty sure I still have taquitos in the freezer, not to mention whatever's left of my Reeses Puffs. So I'm set. 

As mentioned last week, I have a new companion! And his name is Elder Sellers, as in the plural form of someone who sells things. He's from Wyoming and Idaho, he has a cool country accent that reminds me of being back on the ranch, and he is also exceeding large in stature. He's just a big dude. So that's a fun contrast between the two of us. We're like that classic slapstick comedy duo that every good movie has. Except for we're not really like that at all.

He's great though, it's been a good week.

We found a lady this week, she's someone I've been trying to contact pretty much the entire time I've been in this area, and we successfully contacted her! And we're gonna be able to start meeting with her. So that's cool.

Elder Sellers had some bad luck that day though. Cause right before that we were biking, and his water bottle flew off his bike and broke. Then I accidentally led him under a low hanging branch, which was less low hanging for me than it was for him, and he crashed into a fence. Then the next day he broke a spoke on his bike tire. Then the loaner bike he was using all weekend, just got a flat last night, so today we picked his actual bike up from the shop and dropped off the loaner bike to the shop because not only is the tube flat but the tire is just messed up too. So it's been wild.

Then Saturday was exciting, we had the Ward Pool Party!!! Which was so much fun! Except for it was 117° and missionaries can't actually go swimming so it was kind of terrible. It was a lot of fun though. We got to talk to a lot of people and eat a lot of pizza and drink a lot of soda. It was fun, when the party was dying down and we still had left over food we went around to random people and offered them free stuff. Now that I think about it, we probably looked really weird being at the pool since we were wearing shirts and ties and whatnot. It was a great time though. 

The most exciting thing this week however was that Omar and Louisabella got baptized! I explained their story already I think, but it's just amazing. The change in Omar is miraculous. And that family is just going to be so much closer and happier as they continue on this path. The highlight of the service I think was during the closing song, "Families can be Together Forever" just watching them sing that together with their arms around each other. It sounds cheesy when I describe it, but it was actually really touching and heartwarming. So awesome. 

As I said, I would keep this short, so I just want to share one more thing. I've shared it before, but I'm going to share it again because it's one of my favorite verses and it's also Omar's favorite verse. Its 2 Nephi 31:20: "Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life."

What I love about this is that we can't ever give up, and we always must be seeking to strengthen our faith in Jesus Christ. It doesn't stop after we have one faith building experience. It doesn't stop after we repent and are forgiven once. It doesn't end after we get baptized and after we receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. It has to continue throughout our entire lives. And as difficult as it can be, it is possible, and it is worth it. Because then we "shall have eternal life." 

Have a great week,

~Elder Oswald 

P.S. Pictures 

1. Elder Sellers, myself, and our tacos 

2. Elder Sellers after crashing into a fence

3. Ice Cream with Doug #dougistheplug

A Broken Heart and Broken Glasses

I have come to learn by much experience that missionary work is a lot like stabbing a salad crouton with a fork. It is very difficult to do, but it is very rewarding when you do it. 

Well, it has been another hot, busy, exciting, week here in Scottsdale. And believe it or not we have come to the end of yet another transfer cycle. And with transfers comes change. And this time round things have certainly changed, however not in the way we thought they would. 

When we learned that one of us would be transferred, first of all we were really sad because things were going so well and we'd been having such a great time together, but we were also sure it would be me, since I've been here the longest. But if we have learned anything from President Cox, it's that nothing is as it seems. For much to our surprise, Elder Salter is the one leaving, not I. He will be going up to the mountains, escaping the heat which is nice for him. How long he will be up there, I don't know. He'll be coming down the mountain when he comes I guess. 

But yeah, I'm very sad to see Elder Salter leave. My new companion is named Elder Sellers though. He seems like a cool cat. 

So to update you on the week, it was a great week. However many things happened that we didn't expect, and many things didn't happen that we did expect. Tuesday in particular, we had many plans made and literally all of them were defenestrated, a word which here means thrown out of a window. 

Tuesday was also 119° at one point. Just thought I'd mention that. But we ended up meeting this super intense guy. He's super spiritual, he loves the Gospel. So much so that he has heart problems from getting too worked up about stuff. It's a little concerning. He lives in a different area though so the other Elders in our district have had some more adventures with him. 

Then throughout the week we had some appointments cancel. But we were able to visit some other people which was good. 

A tragedy happened Thursday night though. It was our weekly basketball night with members of the ward and anyone else we invite, it was going great, I made some baskets, I felt like Michael Jordan in Space Jam, it was awesome. But then a sister missionary tried catching the basketball, except instead of catching it she ended up smacking it right into my face. Now, I know what you must be thinking: "well that's okay, he wasn't wearing his only pair of glasses right? Right?"

If only that were the case. 

It is with much sorrow and regret that I say I was indeed wearing my only pair of glasses. 

It was as if the world moved in slow motion. I saw the ball getting closer, and then I saw nothing. All I felt was my glasses bending into my face, the wire frames crushing under the weight of a basketball much like my hopes crushing under the weight of reality, and all I could hear was the clatter of a glasses lens onto a lonely gym floor. 

Twas a tragic day indeed. 

I am currently using the other broken ones, that are now good as new thanks to my handy dandy scotch tape. 

But anyway, I think the lesson I have learned here is that I shouldn't wear glasses during sports. 

The highlights of the week however were when we met with Omar and Louisabella. Especially in Omar, seeing the change the Gospel of Jesus Christ has brought in him, is really amazing. In just less than 3-ish months I've seen his desires and his commitments become stronger, and I've seen him become a happier person as well. 

I just want to testify of the good I know that Jesus Christ can do in our lives. He has made it possible for us to have power, peace, joy, and forgiveness, and all sorts of other great things. We just have to live His teachings, and those blessings will become a part of our lives. I know the Savior can really help us change, to become better people every single day. I know that He really loves us and knows us and cares about us. I know that the Book of Mormon is here for us to help us grow our faith in Him and to come closer to Him. I love the Gospel of Jesus Christ so much and I know it's here for us to have the blessings Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ want for us. And I love sharing this message with other people. 

Back to the analogy of the crouton, despite the difficulties and the hardships and the defenestrated plans and expectations, sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ is more rewarding than any temporal or culinary achievement you can make.

Til next time my friends, 

~Elder Oswald 

P.S. Pictures!!!

1. Singing in Chinese for the 4th of July! (A couple weeks late)

2. The lunch of Champions 

3. Bowling with part of the Zone in our matching t shirts 

4. Elder John and I on our exchange eating the popsicles we found in the church freezer (excuse our helmet hair, I know Elder John's is really bad)

5. A catastrophe