Folks, it seems the lull in missionary work was only temporary; this week has been just as wild as usual. That's okay, though. If it weren't, I would be surprised.

To keep things brief, for the most part, most of the people we've been teaching are still just about the same as always. We were disappointed that Dave and Peggy didn't come to church this week, and when we visited Dave his excuse was the same: he was too tired. He didn't get to bed till really late last night and was exhausted in the morning. I pointed to the Red Bull energy drink which he had just cracked open and asked "Do you think that makes a difference?" He looked at it for a moment, looked back at me and said "Yeah, it probably does. I know they're bad for me. I should stop drinking them so late." And with that, threw his head back and downed the rest of the can. I hope that was just a dramatic flourish to show his commitment to stop drinking them. So we'll see how next Sunday turns out.

It was too bad, too, because we had a confirmation on Sunday. Yep, you read that right. And because we had a confirmation, logic dictates that we had a baptism the day before.

I mentioned a few weeks ago how Brian was super excited to be baptized, and his scheduled date was the 24th. Well, it came, he was ready and boy, was it a great day. I can only imagine how wonderful it was for him, simply because of all the cool experiences he was able to have leading up to it. Monday, we went over the whole program, and prepped him for the interview. He was so stoked. On Wednesday, President Topham came out to interview him, and they had an awesome chat. Afterward, he pulled me aside. "Elder Anderson, I know we said that Elder Medina was going to perform the baptism, but I decided I want him to confirm me. Could you be the one to baptize me?" I was stunned with delight. "Brian, nothing would make me happier."

And so, around 5:30 on November 24th, I had the pleasure and honor of raising my arm to the square and exercising the commission I have of Jesus Christ. Man, I was nervous. Right before we got into the water, I was telling him how it was going to work, how to hold his arms and everything. Brian is so chill, though. "Relax, Elder Anderson. Just say the prayer, put me under, and help me up." He was so calm and so ready, and his words definitely helped me out right then. We went in, did the deed (he did slip as I was pulling him up. My bad), and he came out laughing and smiling. The same was the case on Sunday when he was confirmed. His wife, Katrina, and several ward members told us "He's glowing. He's downright glowing." I would say Katrina was glowing too.

Brian's wife, as I said before, was a convert, missionary, and MTC teacher before she chose to stop coming to church. She then married Brian, and since then has come back to church and tried to bring him back. After our visit on Monday, she pulled us aside, and said "Elders, I want to thank you so much for what you have done for my family. You have brought me the blessing of eternity." Wow. That really put everything into perspective. In a short year, Brian and Katrina will go to the temple and be sealed. And I'm sure that will be one of the happiest days of both of their lives.

After the baptism, I had two predominant feelings: an overwhelming feeling of joy and accomplishment and a feeling of "Okay. What's next?" We didn't have anything scheduled for the the rest of our evening, so we pulled over the car, said a prayer ("Bless us that we'll be able to find someone who is praying for us to visit them"), and looked over the list of less-active members in our area. Elder Colvin pointed to a name (Joann), and we drove to the address listed. Mind you, it was starting to get dark and as we drove, the city lights began to be less and less and the wilderness started to be more and more. Before long, we were straight-up driving on a gravel road through the deep, dark woods. Our trusty GPS guided us to a area where the road ended and a few houses stood off in the distance. Unsure of what to do, we called the phone number listed, hoping that we would get a response. Nothing. With trepidation ("We're going to get eaten by a bear!" said Elder Medina), we walked down to the one house which had lights on and knocked on the door. After several moments, an Asian man came to the door. "Uhh... Is Joann here?" I was sure the answer would be no.

"Uh, yeah. She is. Who are you?"

"The Mormon Missionaries."

 A voice came from behind "Oh, let them in, let them in!" And Grandma Jo came up from downstairs and shook our hands. She introduced her son-in-law and grandchildren, showed us around her torn-up house in the middle of  a remodel, and then said "You know, I was wanting to come back to church. I was thinking I should call someone to find out when church is." Hmm... Coincidence?

Early Sunday morning, we got a call from President Topham. We were planning on having him come to visit with Isaiah later that evening, and he wanted a few details. Then, in his usual style, he told me the following:

"Elder Anderson, I have an assignment for you."

"Okay, President. What's that?"

"I'm calling you as district leader for your district."

(A district leader is a calling within the mission. The leader presides over two to four companionship's, organizes training and meetings, goes on exchange with the missionaries in his district, and interviews candidate's for baptism)

Then came the question:  "What do you think about that?"

You see, President Topham always does that. Just about any time he tells us something that would elicit an almost infinite number of thoughts and emotions all at the same time, he asks us to tell him just one. Fortunately, I've gotten past my natural inclination to say the first thing that pops into my head ("AHHHHHH") and came up with the more gracious "I would love to."

With that, I also found out that Elder Colvin with be staying here and be my companion, and Elder Medina will be shipped out somewhere else. So, hopefully (it's all still up in the air) it will just be two of us. That's the goal. 

This also means that I have the potential to be here in Washington for at least a couple more transfers. I'm happy about that.

But after that... Who knows? Time will tell.

Take care all! Have a wonderful week, and an excellent start to the holidays!

Love,

Elder Alex Anderson, AKA Missionary Slim

P.S.

A few other things I am thankful for:

Molars, so I can eat delicious food.

My testimony.

Argyle sweaters

Lets add socks to that list too. I am thankful for socks.

Cell phones

Good music

CHRISTMAS!!!!!

The Spirit

Primary (we got to be part of the lesson yesterday)

And, of course, my Savior, Jesus Christ