Hola Mi Familia...y otros....
Ok, so we had to take a bunch of time to fill out our letters to the President that are now done online and fill out a survey so Elder Zwick of the Seventy will know how best to teach us when he comes through in October and we're at the Library in Clear Lake (don't you love how missionaries talk about their areas' geography as if you know as much about those areas as they do?) because the Library in Mason City is closed today. Why didn't we email yesterday? Because we had interviews with the President and district meeting that day. So Prep Day was bumped to today. I'm wondering if I just need to ask if I can make tuesday my Prep Day. Probably not, huh?
Anyway, a good portion of this week was spent helping a member scrape his house. His little daughter who is probably just barely over a year old, somehow got lead poisoning from the paint on their house. SO, he is currently living alone there as his wife and children live elsewhere and he tries to finish scraping his house and repainting it. He's called upon ward members to help, but most of them are already busy beyond belief (hospital people with families) or else too old to be much service. Or they live forever away, take your pick. So we've been trying to assist as much as possible, and it was a couple weekday days for a few hours and a saturday morning spent on it. Most people would say that I shouldn't have spent so much time doing that, but it seems like a pretty big emergency to me. Maybe I'm wrong, but if I'm going to hell, at least I'll feel good about it.
In response to your email, mom, yes, I am getting along pretty well with Elder Shelman. I'm still learning to chill out, though. I've slightly lost the ability to take myself lightly between last transfer and training so I'm trying to regain that as to allow us both to have more fun.
The missionary work is interesting, as always. Things come and go and i'm not sure if it's because I'm slacking as a missionary or if everyone we talk to has a hard time sticking to stuff. And then things happen like yesterday. We tried to visit an invesigator whose name is Meki/Mike/Chris, different each time, and when he wasn't home, we went to the next house over to start tracting. A man came out, and when the question "Have you ever talked to Missionaries from our church before?" was posed, he said "My girlfriend might have." He then wrestled with the dogs behind him for a few seconds before shutting the door. Elder Shelman and I stood there, unsure of whether to leave or stick around, before his girlfriend answered. She was what we can "less-accountable," at least as far as I could tell. She was alright with us talking to her and was willing to read and pray, but..not really there enough to understand everything as well as she would need, as far as I can tell. I might be wrong, but if I'm not, it's just another exciting new investigator that might disappear off the map on us.
But I'm trying to stay motivated. I think I've gotten a new boost from my last interview with President Jergensen. I just have to do it. He's given me an idea to get both my companion and I up and going in the morning, and after utilizing it today, that motivation has seemed to carry on to now. I just want to do this and do this right. I've been told time and time again that training is the most important calling in the missionary field because generations of missionaries depend on this. Woo, no pressure. And it's hard when you have a discouraging week to pick up and work harder and not just go chill at the cool Less Active's house, but I have got to do it.
There's a thing here in Iowa called RAGBRAI. It's a big bicycle rally from the banks of the Missouri to the banks of the Mississippi. And get this, this is the really good part: it's to prove that Iowa is not flat. Let me explain something here. If you have to have people ride their bikes across your state to prove that it is not flat, IT IS FLAT. Maybe I'm crazy, you tell me. But you don't see people riding their bikes across Washington trying to figure out if it's flat or not.
I've realized more and more how blessed you can be as a missionary in Iowa. It is a very fruitful place to serve and things are nearly handed to you on a silver platter. Today we were given two tins of jelly bellies. Life is good. Much better than those glory missions to Mongospekistania where I get to sleep in a sleeping bag and eat something indistinguishable from the bowel movement I had the night before. Sorry if that's too discriptive.
This Sunday we were going to have to give talks, but it's been bumped back to a different week as we wouldn't have had enough time. So my still unwritten (and, knowing the topic, it probably won't ever be written as it's a topic I can do extemporaneously without even trying) talk on temples and families.
We're also finding Less Actives nobody ever knew about. It's happened twice now, and is kind of interesting. Our long list of less active (inactive, to all of you not going by PMG Lingo) is just growing, not shrinking, with our work. I've never heard of that being counted as a good thing....
Well, I guess that's enough rambling. Love you all!
--
"But nevertheless, deep water is what I am wont to swim in." D&C 127:2
Elder Charlie Gates
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Another Independence Day Has Come and Gone, and Still No Aliens
Hello World.
It says in the white handbook to not write anything negative about the areas where we serve, so I guess this Email will be really short.
Just kidding!
So anyway, Mom asked me how it feels to have reached 11 months and to be almost halfway. I'm guessing it feels about the same as being asked what it feels like to turn 50. I'd rather not think about it either. But since you asked, I'll answer. It's exciting but scary at the same time. Someone once told me the hardest part of my mission would be right about now. Extreme tiredness sets in, you start realizing you're almost on the downward slope, and earthly things (like sequels to your favorite childhood movies about talking toys) start to look very, very attractive. It's kind of a cruddy time to be training, but it's probably best to keep me focused. President Jergensen mentioned in the interview with me how missionaries lose focus around this time. I can definitely see how. But I'm pushing through and making the best of it. I'm enjoying this transfer much more than last, and the work is definitely picking up, so those two things help.
This week was also the week of the big change. The Peoria Illinois Mission was split so now we have Davenport (which apparently takes in Dubuque), Nauvoo, and Peoria Stakes. That's a huge geographical change. We also got a new Assistant from there, one of the ones from the other mission, and so it's weird having three. And we also have a new mission President, President Jergensen. Now, this is a lot of big changes for a guy who hates change (yeah, it was wonderful hearing our new AP that's been out 17 months saying he's been in as many areas as me, and would have only been in four if he had stayed in the other mission), but I learned quickly to love President Jergensen. Now, when he asked us to take off our jackets in Zone Conference, that may have made me somewhat biased in his favor, but still, I think he'll be good. He definitely doesn't seem like the whip-wielding taskmaster I expected him to be. He's got a good sense of humor, really has his wits about himself, and seems loving and caring too. We only had quick interviews, kind of like little getting to know you things, during Zone Conference, because we'll be having real ones at one of our district meetings coming up. During that interview, I was telling him about a couple that have been friends to the missionaries that ordered a Book of Mormon out-of-the-blue when the Referral Center called them up, seeing if they had gotten whatever DVD they had ordered, and asked them if they wanted a Book of Mormon. I said, "We'll be teaching them now, which is great, because we already love them and they already love us." He stopped me at that and pointed out how that is what it's all about, and that I was the first one to mention that yet. He also said that the second part of that sentence really shows what type of missionary I am to have people love me. Since I'm still learning how exactly to accept compliments, I mentioned how that was not meant to be bragging (which he said he knew that already) but that it's become common for me to tell my companions "I'm sick of all these people liking me!" I'm not, really, but I really don't understand what's so apparently lovable about me. I don't go out of my way or work really hard at it, it just happens. Anyway, I just find it so odd that the thing that means the most is the thing that happens naturally. Maybe all these other things I constantly stress over will just fall into place if I just sit back and let it.
Maybe. Can't risk it. Some useless stress should help things come together, right?
But yeah, things are picking up like crazy here. Numbers weren't terribly high for this last week, but numbers don't matter, the people do, and a lot was done for the people. We set a baptismal date last Monday, which fell through when she didn't come to church, but at least we set one! Also, we picked up a few investigators and gained some fun stories. One new investigator has dementia, I think, and was way talkative, spoke in third person, was 82, repeated a lot of the same stories and sayings, spoke to her pictures of deceased relatives, and dropped us when we finally got a member there for a visit. We're still puzzled as to why she dropped us, but we were able to convince her to keep the Book of Mormon that she was trying to hand back to us, at least. I told her that there was a chapter, 2 Nephi 2, that would help with reading Genesis.
Yesterday we were taken by an awesome Less Active to a town named Forest City to go to the A&W there. While there we drove around the Winnebago Plant there. It's the main one. I feel so special to be near such a major American Landmark as the Winnebago Plant. We also went to the Pilot Knob, the second highest point in Iowa. It had woods there and a stone tower and a hill to hike up. I felt like I was in Washington for a minute. Pictures of both will come soon.
Oh, and the fourth was actually really quiet and boring. No real fireworks like back at home. I kind of miss the war zone. there were some good fireworks displays, but both were after we needed to be in and too far away to see from our windows. You'd think third story in Iowa would allow you to see forever, and it would, but we have trees around us.
Well, that's about it!
--
"But nevertheless, deep water is what I am wont to swim in." D&C 127:2
Elder Charlie Gates
It says in the white handbook to not write anything negative about the areas where we serve, so I guess this Email will be really short.
Just kidding!
So anyway, Mom asked me how it feels to have reached 11 months and to be almost halfway. I'm guessing it feels about the same as being asked what it feels like to turn 50. I'd rather not think about it either. But since you asked, I'll answer. It's exciting but scary at the same time. Someone once told me the hardest part of my mission would be right about now. Extreme tiredness sets in, you start realizing you're almost on the downward slope, and earthly things (like sequels to your favorite childhood movies about talking toys) start to look very, very attractive. It's kind of a cruddy time to be training, but it's probably best to keep me focused. President Jergensen mentioned in the interview with me how missionaries lose focus around this time. I can definitely see how. But I'm pushing through and making the best of it. I'm enjoying this transfer much more than last, and the work is definitely picking up, so those two things help.
This week was also the week of the big change. The Peoria Illinois Mission was split so now we have Davenport (which apparently takes in Dubuque), Nauvoo, and Peoria Stakes. That's a huge geographical change. We also got a new Assistant from there, one of the ones from the other mission, and so it's weird having three. And we also have a new mission President, President Jergensen. Now, this is a lot of big changes for a guy who hates change (yeah, it was wonderful hearing our new AP that's been out 17 months saying he's been in as many areas as me, and would have only been in four if he had stayed in the other mission), but I learned quickly to love President Jergensen. Now, when he asked us to take off our jackets in Zone Conference, that may have made me somewhat biased in his favor, but still, I think he'll be good. He definitely doesn't seem like the whip-wielding taskmaster I expected him to be. He's got a good sense of humor, really has his wits about himself, and seems loving and caring too. We only had quick interviews, kind of like little getting to know you things, during Zone Conference, because we'll be having real ones at one of our district meetings coming up. During that interview, I was telling him about a couple that have been friends to the missionaries that ordered a Book of Mormon out-of-the-blue when the Referral Center called them up, seeing if they had gotten whatever DVD they had ordered, and asked them if they wanted a Book of Mormon. I said, "We'll be teaching them now, which is great, because we already love them and they already love us." He stopped me at that and pointed out how that is what it's all about, and that I was the first one to mention that yet. He also said that the second part of that sentence really shows what type of missionary I am to have people love me. Since I'm still learning how exactly to accept compliments, I mentioned how that was not meant to be bragging (which he said he knew that already) but that it's become common for me to tell my companions "I'm sick of all these people liking me!" I'm not, really, but I really don't understand what's so apparently lovable about me. I don't go out of my way or work really hard at it, it just happens. Anyway, I just find it so odd that the thing that means the most is the thing that happens naturally. Maybe all these other things I constantly stress over will just fall into place if I just sit back and let it.
Maybe. Can't risk it. Some useless stress should help things come together, right?
But yeah, things are picking up like crazy here. Numbers weren't terribly high for this last week, but numbers don't matter, the people do, and a lot was done for the people. We set a baptismal date last Monday, which fell through when she didn't come to church, but at least we set one! Also, we picked up a few investigators and gained some fun stories. One new investigator has dementia, I think, and was way talkative, spoke in third person, was 82, repeated a lot of the same stories and sayings, spoke to her pictures of deceased relatives, and dropped us when we finally got a member there for a visit. We're still puzzled as to why she dropped us, but we were able to convince her to keep the Book of Mormon that she was trying to hand back to us, at least. I told her that there was a chapter, 2 Nephi 2, that would help with reading Genesis.
Yesterday we were taken by an awesome Less Active to a town named Forest City to go to the A&W there. While there we drove around the Winnebago Plant there. It's the main one. I feel so special to be near such a major American Landmark as the Winnebago Plant. We also went to the Pilot Knob, the second highest point in Iowa. It had woods there and a stone tower and a hill to hike up. I felt like I was in Washington for a minute. Pictures of both will come soon.
Oh, and the fourth was actually really quiet and boring. No real fireworks like back at home. I kind of miss the war zone. there were some good fireworks displays, but both were after we needed to be in and too far away to see from our windows. You'd think third story in Iowa would allow you to see forever, and it would, but we have trees around us.
Well, that's about it!
--
"But nevertheless, deep water is what I am wont to swim in." D&C 127:2
Elder Charlie Gates
Monday, June 28, 2010
Tornadoes, Floods, No Mail, Mission Presidents Going Home, Mission Changes, Parted Hair, and Other Disasters
Yeah, I know which one of those you're probably most concerned about.
I've started sort of parting my hair. It's not so much a part as it goes to one side. It doesn't look too bad, but I think I can only do it for a little bit before my hair grows out some more. I hate parts.
Anyway, now that I'm done with the important stuff; we had some more tornado warnings to worry about this week. So, yet again, we went to a member family's home for awhile on one of the nights this past week. Trained my trainee in how to play Scrabble and lost by a few points to Sister Hansen. The weather is crazy when it's going to storm like that: the clouds look like a ceiling that has condensation on it, with little blobs of cloud hanging down, and then there was a funnel cloud and all sorts of lightning. I started to get a weird headache in my temple the short time we were outside in the lightning storm. I wonder if that's one of the feelings you get before being struck. Oh well, I wasn't, but my bishop was once!
Along with these storms came floods in the southern part of our area, and an entire town just about was underwater. I'll send pictures of Dumont.
The nice thing about the midwest is that the old homes here are very sturdy. They have to be in order to survive a hundred years or so of tornado seasons.
On Friday we had district meeting and President Talbot and Sister Talbot came to the end of it to have interviews with us to say goodbye. They both gave me a really good pep talk, which is good to hear, since now they're not necessarily obligated to give one. It's crazy to think that this coming Friday I'll be sitting in an interview with President Jergensen. I'll really miss Pres and Sis Talbot. I'm nervous about getting a new mission president, but I'm sure he's what this mission needs. Also, as of this week, due to the change, the mission will change as well, and we'll be losing Sioux City Stake and gaining Dubuque, Davenport, and Nauvoo Stakes, which will be a huge change. Some of my favorite mission buddies are over in Sioux City Stake right now, too, like Elder Heyborne.
Things are going great. We're picking up a lot of new people to teach (especially elderly single women. And by elderly I mean one's 84 and the other 82), finding investigators that have been lost, and things are really bumping up a notch. Things will go well here, as long as Mason City's not wiped off the map by a twister.
--
"But nevertheless, deep water is what I am wont to swim in." D&C 127:2
Elder Charlie Gates
I've started sort of parting my hair. It's not so much a part as it goes to one side. It doesn't look too bad, but I think I can only do it for a little bit before my hair grows out some more. I hate parts.
Anyway, now that I'm done with the important stuff; we had some more tornado warnings to worry about this week. So, yet again, we went to a member family's home for awhile on one of the nights this past week. Trained my trainee in how to play Scrabble and lost by a few points to Sister Hansen. The weather is crazy when it's going to storm like that: the clouds look like a ceiling that has condensation on it, with little blobs of cloud hanging down, and then there was a funnel cloud and all sorts of lightning. I started to get a weird headache in my temple the short time we were outside in the lightning storm. I wonder if that's one of the feelings you get before being struck. Oh well, I wasn't, but my bishop was once!
Along with these storms came floods in the southern part of our area, and an entire town just about was underwater. I'll send pictures of Dumont.
The nice thing about the midwest is that the old homes here are very sturdy. They have to be in order to survive a hundred years or so of tornado seasons.
On Friday we had district meeting and President Talbot and Sister Talbot came to the end of it to have interviews with us to say goodbye. They both gave me a really good pep talk, which is good to hear, since now they're not necessarily obligated to give one. It's crazy to think that this coming Friday I'll be sitting in an interview with President Jergensen. I'll really miss Pres and Sis Talbot. I'm nervous about getting a new mission president, but I'm sure he's what this mission needs. Also, as of this week, due to the change, the mission will change as well, and we'll be losing Sioux City Stake and gaining Dubuque, Davenport, and Nauvoo Stakes, which will be a huge change. Some of my favorite mission buddies are over in Sioux City Stake right now, too, like Elder Heyborne.
Things are going great. We're picking up a lot of new people to teach (especially elderly single women. And by elderly I mean one's 84 and the other 82), finding investigators that have been lost, and things are really bumping up a notch. Things will go well here, as long as Mason City's not wiped off the map by a twister.
--
"But nevertheless, deep water is what I am wont to swim in." D&C 127:2
Elder Charlie Gates
Monday, June 21, 2010
Tornadoes, Broken Bike Chains, and Crazy People: What a Great Way to Start!
Hello everyone,
Yep, that's right, we had a tornado just outside of our area (and Grandma was so excited that I was going stateside and not one of those "dangerous" foreign countries). It was actually Thursday night, Elder Shelman's first night in the field. We first got a call from a member letting us know about it, and then our Mission President called, asking how things were. I told him nothing looked bad where we were but that there was a tornado about forty miles away or so and he said that the news reports were saying it may turn south towards Mason City. So we canceled our plans to visit a member family that lives in a trailer park (for some reason "Trailer" and "Ternater" just didn't seem like a good combo) and just drove to a member family's home nearby that had a basement. Living on the third floor of an apartment building with no basement didn't seem too safe. So we stayed there until the news reports said it had moved down from tornado to storm watch.
The next day we bought a new bike for him. The day after that the chain broke about two miles from our house.
And this morning we tried to visit what we thought was a less-active member that wasn't on our roles. Yeah, no, he wasn't a member, but a man who is the son of a member who first ask for a Book of Mormon since he knew it was true and wanted to study it himself, but then continued on to talk about how he's had a spirit inside him and has a rock that Jesus once held and all sorts of stuff.... He talked, loudly, nonstop, for about 45 minutes and then tried to set up a time for us to come back. I hesitated, thinking "Look, guy, you seemed solid for the first five minutes but now I'm pretty sure you've fried your brain on too many drugs or else you have Bi-Polar/Schizophrenia or maybe you really were possessed by a spirit and it sure wasn't a good one by the story you just told or something and I'm pretty sure we could get nowhere with you," but instead all I said was "Uhhhhh...." I think what I said was more tactful than what I thought. He figured out that we'd either stop by at the foreordained time or else we wouldn't. I severely doubt we will. My poor companion, that's his second time in a "lesson" (I can't count it as a lesson, because there were no prayers and we said very little more than uh-huh and nope) with a nonmember in Iowa.
More about my trainee, his name's Elder Marcus Shelman from Pingree(?) Idaho, somewhere near Blackfoot. Thank goodness he's not from Utah. Tall kid, blonde, he's kinda like Tyler Mallory in the way he acts. Best way to describe him as far as I can tell. Great kid, he'll be a good missionary to train. I was pretty stressed out at first, and still kind of am, because I want his training process to go well and for me to set a good example, but there have been so many things going wrong outside of my control it's crazy. But at least they're outside of my control, so I can't beat myself up too much about the work not going well here. I was late to the training meeting though and so I missed out on some of the training for the trainers. So I was a tad more confused than most, I think. But things are going well. Not much else to update on, I don't think.
"But nevertheless, deep water is what I am wont to swim in." D&C 127:2
Elder Charlie Gates
Yep, that's right, we had a tornado just outside of our area (and Grandma was so excited that I was going stateside and not one of those "dangerous" foreign countries). It was actually Thursday night, Elder Shelman's first night in the field. We first got a call from a member letting us know about it, and then our Mission President called, asking how things were. I told him nothing looked bad where we were but that there was a tornado about forty miles away or so and he said that the news reports were saying it may turn south towards Mason City. So we canceled our plans to visit a member family that lives in a trailer park (for some reason "Trailer" and "Ternater" just didn't seem like a good combo) and just drove to a member family's home nearby that had a basement. Living on the third floor of an apartment building with no basement didn't seem too safe. So we stayed there until the news reports said it had moved down from tornado to storm watch.
The next day we bought a new bike for him. The day after that the chain broke about two miles from our house.
And this morning we tried to visit what we thought was a less-active member that wasn't on our roles. Yeah, no, he wasn't a member, but a man who is the son of a member who first ask for a Book of Mormon since he knew it was true and wanted to study it himself, but then continued on to talk about how he's had a spirit inside him and has a rock that Jesus once held and all sorts of stuff.... He talked, loudly, nonstop, for about 45 minutes and then tried to set up a time for us to come back. I hesitated, thinking "Look, guy, you seemed solid for the first five minutes but now I'm pretty sure you've fried your brain on too many drugs or else you have Bi-Polar/Schizophrenia or maybe you really were possessed by a spirit and it sure wasn't a good one by the story you just told or something and I'm pretty sure we could get nowhere with you," but instead all I said was "Uhhhhh...." I think what I said was more tactful than what I thought. He figured out that we'd either stop by at the foreordained time or else we wouldn't. I severely doubt we will. My poor companion, that's his second time in a "lesson" (I can't count it as a lesson, because there were no prayers and we said very little more than uh-huh and nope) with a nonmember in Iowa.
More about my trainee, his name's Elder Marcus Shelman from Pingree(?) Idaho, somewhere near Blackfoot. Thank goodness he's not from Utah. Tall kid, blonde, he's kinda like Tyler Mallory in the way he acts. Best way to describe him as far as I can tell. Great kid, he'll be a good missionary to train. I was pretty stressed out at first, and still kind of am, because I want his training process to go well and for me to set a good example, but there have been so many things going wrong outside of my control it's crazy. But at least they're outside of my control, so I can't beat myself up too much about the work not going well here. I was late to the training meeting though and so I missed out on some of the training for the trainers. So I was a tad more confused than most, I think. But things are going well. Not much else to update on, I don't think.
"But nevertheless, deep water is what I am wont to swim in." D&C 127:2
Elder Charlie Gates
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Training? I Really Wish I Had My Behavioral Psychology Notes Right About Now....
Hello Everybody Who Reads These Things; It's Me, Elder Gates.
Well, As you can tell from the title, I'm training! It's going to be exciting, I'm sure. Nerve racking, but exciting. I knew it was going to happen, President basically told me so, but still, that was a scary call to get last night. I had planned out some smart alec thing to say and everything (You mean I can actually stay in an area for three whole transfers??) but all that came out was "Well, if it's what the Lord thinks I can do...." When he poses the calling in the good-ol' "I feel very strongly that the Lord wants you to train next transfer," it makes it really hard to say much more than that. I nearly just said "Uhhhh..." like some idiot, so what I did get out was fairly intelligent comparitively, if you ask me.
This week wasn't terribly interesting, really, so going through a day by day play by play like last week would be even more boring than last week. So, highlights included seeing the garbage garden, as we call it. It's this lot of land in town that some guy has just collected garbage and put together to look kind of artistic. It's a cool place for pictures, but we met the guy. He's...out there. And on the city council. He uses what BS stands for the way most of us use the word Stuff. Literally. But yeah, that was a cool place to see.
Besides that, it seems like a lot of our stuff has been visiting members Elder Sheffer wanted pictures with before he left. I didn't mind, a lot of visiting the garbage garden was for that reason, too.
In the way of missionary work, the coolest thing that happened this week was taking an RM around with us and getting a member present and new investigator with him. We were trying to visit the son of a Recent Convert from here. His mom, Alice, had joined in December or something like that and then, after being taught the New Member Lessons, went back to Africa where she was from to try to help build up the church there. Anyway, her son, a guy in his twenties, I'd say, is still living in town here, and one of the Elders that had baptized his mother told us to stop by and see him. And we have been hurting for member presents because we just are not getting any return appointments so we took that RM along. We knocked on the door and luckily the guy was there. At first he seemed uninterested completely. But then I told him that what we teach doesn't have to take forever, it can only take a few minutes for us to just explain what we're all about (because he didn't understand what the difference was between us and other religions). After I said that he let us in and we taught a first. While I did not commit him to baptism as we've been trained to on the first lessons now, it went pretty good. He's still skeptical, but with all the seemingly unskeptical people that turn out to be completely uninterested, a skeptical person might just be a breath of fresh air.
So, yeah, that's the news. I'll let you know about my new comp in my next email.
--
"But nevertheless, deep water is what I am wont to swim in." D&C 127:2
Elder Charlie Gates
Well, As you can tell from the title, I'm training! It's going to be exciting, I'm sure. Nerve racking, but exciting. I knew it was going to happen, President basically told me so, but still, that was a scary call to get last night. I had planned out some smart alec thing to say and everything (You mean I can actually stay in an area for three whole transfers??) but all that came out was "Well, if it's what the Lord thinks I can do...." When he poses the calling in the good-ol' "I feel very strongly that the Lord wants you to train next transfer," it makes it really hard to say much more than that. I nearly just said "Uhhhh..." like some idiot, so what I did get out was fairly intelligent comparitively, if you ask me.
This week wasn't terribly interesting, really, so going through a day by day play by play like last week would be even more boring than last week. So, highlights included seeing the garbage garden, as we call it. It's this lot of land in town that some guy has just collected garbage and put together to look kind of artistic. It's a cool place for pictures, but we met the guy. He's...out there. And on the city council. He uses what BS stands for the way most of us use the word Stuff. Literally. But yeah, that was a cool place to see.
Besides that, it seems like a lot of our stuff has been visiting members Elder Sheffer wanted pictures with before he left. I didn't mind, a lot of visiting the garbage garden was for that reason, too.
In the way of missionary work, the coolest thing that happened this week was taking an RM around with us and getting a member present and new investigator with him. We were trying to visit the son of a Recent Convert from here. His mom, Alice, had joined in December or something like that and then, after being taught the New Member Lessons, went back to Africa where she was from to try to help build up the church there. Anyway, her son, a guy in his twenties, I'd say, is still living in town here, and one of the Elders that had baptized his mother told us to stop by and see him. And we have been hurting for member presents because we just are not getting any return appointments so we took that RM along. We knocked on the door and luckily the guy was there. At first he seemed uninterested completely. But then I told him that what we teach doesn't have to take forever, it can only take a few minutes for us to just explain what we're all about (because he didn't understand what the difference was between us and other religions). After I said that he let us in and we taught a first. While I did not commit him to baptism as we've been trained to on the first lessons now, it went pretty good. He's still skeptical, but with all the seemingly unskeptical people that turn out to be completely uninterested, a skeptical person might just be a breath of fresh air.
So, yeah, that's the news. I'll let you know about my new comp in my next email.
--
"But nevertheless, deep water is what I am wont to swim in." D&C 127:2
Elder Charlie Gates
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Of Videotaping Fireflies and Other Interesting Failures
My bet is that you're looking at this email right now thinking "Dang, isn't it a few days late?" It is. The library in Mason City is not open due to sewage problems. Bunch of crap, if you ask me (that's not a downer attitude, it's just fact). So, yeah, we just got sick of waiting for the sick stuff to be cleared out so we went to Clear Lake. Interesting sentence.
So, yeah, this week. I guess I'll attempt a day-by-day replay.
Monday: We were planning on going down south and having some good lessons with an investigator and members but both of those fell through. So we didn't and just tried to get things done around here. Key word: Tried.
Tuesday: I just realized I emailed last tuesday. Well, we ended up using most of the day on email then buying a new air filter because we had forgotten the day before. Then a dinner appointment and such.
Wednesday: Tried to visit a lot of people (that dang "try" word. Yoda would hate me.) and did some knocking before eating with a part member family. They were way cool. Hopefully he joins at some point.
Thursday: District Meeting in Fort Dodge (Please look up that distance on a map). Once we got back and that we were able to go visit our main investigator for a little bit before heading home.
Friday: Weekly Planned and then went to work on building a ramp for some members of the ward. We dug post holes and laid the posts and began putting on the supports that night. With our little holes, going two feet deep, we managed to cut their phone line. Wouldn't have thought you would have needed to call in about that at a farmhouse. But the next day was really fun.
Saturday: More people came out this day to do work on the ramp. Many of the members tried to take charge, some not realizing that others were the ones that knew what they were talking about. My companion jumped on in trying to figure out what to do, and I enjoyed just doing what I was told and laughing at the incongruous ideas. Rest of the day was spent trying to visit people, teaching a Recent Convert on a doorstep, and having correlation with our Ward Mission Leader.
Sunday: Drove around for awhile trying to visit people with our ward mission leader. Failed. Went to a few members homes for dinner then to visit and give the sacrament to.
Monday: Bought a camera! Went to dinner at a members home.
Tuesday: Went to Service, met our landlord, drove around with our ward mission leader again and actually caught somebody at home this time! Met with them for maybe thirty minutes before we had to go again. Saw Fireflies for the first time in my life. That was exciting! I tried to videotape them with my new camera, but apparently that's a little tough. There weren't a lot of them, so there should be more later in the summer. I'm excited.
Today: Had lunch with a couple older ladies who can't have us over because they have no males in their homes so they took us out to a place called Taco Tico. Came to email.
Well, that's the gist. Hope you enjoyed it.
--
Your Favorite Missionary,
Elder Charlie Gates
So, yeah, this week. I guess I'll attempt a day-by-day replay.
Monday: We were planning on going down south and having some good lessons with an investigator and members but both of those fell through. So we didn't and just tried to get things done around here. Key word: Tried.
Tuesday: I just realized I emailed last tuesday. Well, we ended up using most of the day on email then buying a new air filter because we had forgotten the day before. Then a dinner appointment and such.
Wednesday: Tried to visit a lot of people (that dang "try" word. Yoda would hate me.) and did some knocking before eating with a part member family. They were way cool. Hopefully he joins at some point.
Thursday: District Meeting in Fort Dodge (Please look up that distance on a map). Once we got back and that we were able to go visit our main investigator for a little bit before heading home.
Friday: Weekly Planned and then went to work on building a ramp for some members of the ward. We dug post holes and laid the posts and began putting on the supports that night. With our little holes, going two feet deep, we managed to cut their phone line. Wouldn't have thought you would have needed to call in about that at a farmhouse. But the next day was really fun.
Saturday: More people came out this day to do work on the ramp. Many of the members tried to take charge, some not realizing that others were the ones that knew what they were talking about. My companion jumped on in trying to figure out what to do, and I enjoyed just doing what I was told and laughing at the incongruous ideas. Rest of the day was spent trying to visit people, teaching a Recent Convert on a doorstep, and having correlation with our Ward Mission Leader.
Sunday: Drove around for awhile trying to visit people with our ward mission leader. Failed. Went to a few members homes for dinner then to visit and give the sacrament to.
Monday: Bought a camera! Went to dinner at a members home.
Tuesday: Went to Service, met our landlord, drove around with our ward mission leader again and actually caught somebody at home this time! Met with them for maybe thirty minutes before we had to go again. Saw Fireflies for the first time in my life. That was exciting! I tried to videotape them with my new camera, but apparently that's a little tough. There weren't a lot of them, so there should be more later in the summer. I'm excited.
Today: Had lunch with a couple older ladies who can't have us over because they have no males in their homes so they took us out to a place called Taco Tico. Came to email.
Well, that's the gist. Hope you enjoyed it.
--
Your Favorite Missionary,
Elder Charlie Gates
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Remembering All of Our Fallen War Heroes, Music Heroes, Book of Mormon Heroes, and Superheroes
It's tough coming up with new ways to greet all yall every week,
So, critical, life-changing experiences that occurred this past week:
1) Went and visited the Place Where the Music Died. Got a picture next to it. I'll attach it. It's literally out in a corn field. No surprise there.
2) Every Memorial Day weekend in Mason City there's a parade with all sorts of marching bands (paying tribute to the Music Man I'm sure) and floats and all sorts of fun stuff. Huge crowds come out from states around to see the big parade. This was my chance to see the thing that makes Mason City famous, see buttloads of cool old cars, take awesome pictures and talk to hundreds of people about the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. One of those once-in-a-lifetime things that sound like I wouldn't miss it for the world, right? Wrong, I missed the whole thing. Didn't see any of it. Why? I was helping a member of the ward lay sod in his yard. I figured that was more important. So go ahead, check it out online and see the big parade I didn't see! KIMT is the local news station here in Mason City so you can check out their website for coverage.
3) I helped make cotton candy for the scouts to sell during the parade I didn't go to. Making cotton candy is pretty much not a glorious thing. Cotton candy was flying all over and it was sticky (yet tasty). I had some before I got sick of it, but my comp...well, it seemed like it might have been cotton candy laced with caffeine and meth the way he reacted to it. Great kid, ya gotta love him.
4) Went on exchanges down to Boone where our zone leaders are. Pretty much like the rest of the state. I got to see Mount Boone. That picture will be included, too. I was quite surprised to see a "mountain" in Iowa. Oh, I also got to help with committing a couple of their investigators to baptism. That was way cool. No luck doing that back here in Mason City, though.
5) A couple non-investigator-yet-very-nice-nonmembers gave us some awesome stuff this week. One of the couples gave us both full sets of disc golfing discs, and the other couple gave us two La-Z-Boy Recliners!!!! People out here are so nice, as long as they realize you aren't Sons of Perdition.
Really, that's about it. Oh, you're wondering about missionary work here in Mason City. It's pretty slow. Really just trying to get the balls rolling. We're working with a few members, both less active and active, and helping them overcome their problems. It's tough, though, and slow going. And it hit me this week how TRUE what we say is! No science, logic, ANYTHING can disprove it, because it all PROVES it. You cannot, logically, fight against what we say, because logic proves that this is true. And this fact, instead of making me excited about sharing the message, made me angry! I was pretty dang upset that people would fight us on this! But I had to get that anger out or else I'd stoop to the level of those missionaries who Bible bash. I refuse to do that. I'll discuss things, but as soon as it's contentious I'm out of there. Nobody benefits from that.
Anyway, I'm ranting. I'll go ahead and start uploading pictures. Love you all!
Your Favorite Missionary,
Elder Charlie Gates
So, critical, life-changing experiences that occurred this past week:
1) Went and visited the Place Where the Music Died. Got a picture next to it. I'll attach it. It's literally out in a corn field. No surprise there.
2) Every Memorial Day weekend in Mason City there's a parade with all sorts of marching bands (paying tribute to the Music Man I'm sure) and floats and all sorts of fun stuff. Huge crowds come out from states around to see the big parade. This was my chance to see the thing that makes Mason City famous, see buttloads of cool old cars, take awesome pictures and talk to hundreds of people about the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. One of those once-in-a-lifetime things that sound like I wouldn't miss it for the world, right? Wrong, I missed the whole thing. Didn't see any of it. Why? I was helping a member of the ward lay sod in his yard. I figured that was more important. So go ahead, check it out online and see the big parade I didn't see! KIMT is the local news station here in Mason City so you can check out their website for coverage.
3) I helped make cotton candy for the scouts to sell during the parade I didn't go to. Making cotton candy is pretty much not a glorious thing. Cotton candy was flying all over and it was sticky (yet tasty). I had some before I got sick of it, but my comp...well, it seemed like it might have been cotton candy laced with caffeine and meth the way he reacted to it. Great kid, ya gotta love him.
4) Went on exchanges down to Boone where our zone leaders are. Pretty much like the rest of the state. I got to see Mount Boone. That picture will be included, too. I was quite surprised to see a "mountain" in Iowa. Oh, I also got to help with committing a couple of their investigators to baptism. That was way cool. No luck doing that back here in Mason City, though.
5) A couple non-investigator-yet-very-nice-nonmembers gave us some awesome stuff this week. One of the couples gave us both full sets of disc golfing discs, and the other couple gave us two La-Z-Boy Recliners!!!! People out here are so nice, as long as they realize you aren't Sons of Perdition.
Really, that's about it. Oh, you're wondering about missionary work here in Mason City. It's pretty slow. Really just trying to get the balls rolling. We're working with a few members, both less active and active, and helping them overcome their problems. It's tough, though, and slow going. And it hit me this week how TRUE what we say is! No science, logic, ANYTHING can disprove it, because it all PROVES it. You cannot, logically, fight against what we say, because logic proves that this is true. And this fact, instead of making me excited about sharing the message, made me angry! I was pretty dang upset that people would fight us on this! But I had to get that anger out or else I'd stoop to the level of those missionaries who Bible bash. I refuse to do that. I'll discuss things, but as soon as it's contentious I'm out of there. Nobody benefits from that.
Anyway, I'm ranting. I'll go ahead and start uploading pictures. Love you all!
Your Favorite Missionary,
Elder Charlie Gates
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