Missionary Work is like a Roller Coaster

This week has been fun as always. Lots of blessings in this week. I have gotten the chance to see people change completely. For example I was able to go to the temple with one of my recent converts to do baptisms for the dead. Now I was not allowed to do anything but watch but still a neat experience.

Have I ever told you about the senior couple in my district, they are called a MLS missionary (missionary leader support missionary)? They are great. We work with them a lot they help us in our stake because they serve in our stake as well. They are full time missionaries and they are always willing to help us out as missionaries when we need someone to go with us to a lesson or to go to some of the ward councils that we can't make it to, even to pick up some of our investigators when they can't get a ride to church on Sunday, the MLS missionaries are willing to help. They are really cool. Their names are Elder and Sister Brown. They have been on their mission for about 7 months and I have been there district leader the whole time. They call me their trainer. 

All of the youth from our stake went this week [to camp] and it snowed about 5 inches on them and it was not expected at all so no one was prepared. They said it was cold. It did rain really good here for Utah. Normally we go outside and it is raining and in about 5 min it will stop. That is the normal weather here in Utah. It makes it convenient it you want to be hot and cold all in one day. haha

So this Sunday we had a nonmember give a talk in church. That was strange. She is what we as missionaries call a dry Mormon. We hope to be able to teach her sometime this week. We were able to put someone on date to be baptized on July 5th. I am excited to see the work picking back up this week. 

Missionary work is like a roller coaster. At the beginning of life we are getting ready to start everyone is excited for you to go some give advice to hang on tight and others give the advice to hold your hands up the person in charge puts a safety belt on you to keep you safe though out the trip. Then all of a sudden you start going up and up and up and you are scared thinking, "Did I sign up for this. Then the ride gets to the top and you look down and say this is going to be really hard to get through all of those bumps and flips. So the ride starts you are moving 100 MPH down the track. and you are screaming and scared. Then you make it up the second hill and start to slow down and think to yourself I did it I can continue doing this then you start again and you hit a hard turn and then a loop and you are upside down and have no idea what to do because your perspective has changed. Finally you actually start to enjoy it and think to yourself this is not too hard, but something comes and tells you that you still need to rely on that safety belt that they put a little too tight on you. We have to rely on the things that we have learned from the people before our mission and to remember the blessing that we have received. Then you see the end and think, "Is it done already? I want to continue going through these trials because each time I overcome one I am happy and glad that I went through it and learned from it." Then you pull up to the stop and you get off and everyone is glad to see you and that you made it. I like this analogy I heard it in church once and I changed it a little to relate it to missionary work but I think it really shows what a mission is like. 

Hard but rewarding. I am grateful for the Spirit that I can rely on and count to always protect me. (safety belt), but you have to have it on tight (exact obedience) to work the way it was designed to. For the hard turns and flips (transfers and becoming a district leader) and the fact that when you get off you think that was really hard to go though but I really want to do it again. (I love my mission and am a little sad that it is coming closer to the end)

I am sorry that I forgot to tell you that I would not be emailing on Monday. We are going to the temple today so that is exciting. I love the temple and we are so blessed to be able to go though it being here in the Utah Salt Lake City Mission. One of the smallest but the one that has the most temple in it and is the best mission in the world.