April 1, 2013

Missionary Slim and his new adventure or How use the word " assuaged " in a sentance. (Week 60 in Pennsylvania, Week 1 in Somerset, PA)

This has been a week of changes, and the only way I'll be able to describe everything to you is by giving a play-by-play day-by-day. So, bear with me, and here it goes.

Monday, we went over to Sean and Becky's to give them the Stop Smoking program. They did it. They promised to do it, and I believe them. In fact, they should be non-smokers completely by now. The program lasts for 7 days and kicks the habit entirely. Between that and the Addiction Recovery Program hosted by the church, they'll be completely smoke-free and free of the smokes.

The goodbye was pretty rough - that family, a lot of families in Washington, and I have gotten really close. In fact, the missionaries who went in to replace us getting transferred out texted us and said "Elder Anderson, these people really love you. They keep talking all about you." That means the world to me. It tells me that I must be doing something right, but it also says a lot about the people - they can love a person like me. I've learned a lot about love from Washington Ward.

Tuesday morning, we got a call from Shane, another investigator. He was bummed that we didn't get a chance to say goodbye, and while we were chatting on the phone, I mentioned that transfer meeting is in Greentree, PA. "Wow. I actually am doing a job in Greentree tomorrow." Coincidentally, we were actually able to meet up for lunch before transfer meeting to say our final goodbyes. I would even say, it was a miracle.

We got to the transfer meeting, met all of the new missionaries (A dozen new Elders and a dozen new sisters.) As usual, one by one the missionaries were called to their new areas. Elder Wright actually went to his old area, Uniontown, which he was pleased about. Then came me. "In Somerset Branch, Elder Anderson will be serving with..." President Topham purposely paused for dramatic effect, "...Elder Swanson." Both of us were pretty excited about that. I've met a lot of missionaries who have served in Somerset, and they said very good things about it. But my greatest concern, getting to know a missionary who I have never served with, was assuaged.
 
Just a little geography lesson - Somerset is a little town/county almost directly east of Washington. There is another county in between them, but it's only about 65 miles away. It's landscape and culture is similar to Lebanon, except there aren't as many Puerto Rican's here as Lebanon. The plane that went down in PA during 9/11/01, Flight 93, crashed in Somerset County, so hopefully, I'll be able to visit that place. And, the people who are here have been here forever. That means they have no intention of changing. It's a very nice place, quiet, the people are friendly, and the horizon is just peppered with windmills. Like anywhere else, it's full of uniqueness.

Wednesday, we drove to Johnstown, PA for our district meeting, where I found my semi-not-really-long-lost Cousin twice removed. Yep, coincidentally enough, my mother's mother's father's son's son, or grandmother's cousin is serving a senior mission here in Pennsylvania. He's been here for about a month, and is loving it. Needless to say, we made fast friends.

After a long drive back to Somerset with several stops to meet some less-active members, we got word from our Zone Leaders (who control our mileage allotment) that we were only allowed to use 100 miles from the time we got to Somerset. And we had used 90 already. With that, we put on our walking shoes (which happen to also be our driving shoes, but my English teacher would be proud that I used the phrase "put on our walking shoes"...) and went to work.

Oh, may I also mention - it has snowed pretty much every day that I've been in Somerset, with about 7 inches falling the first two we were here. It's been a very wet, cold, slippery week.

Now that I've bored you all to tears, I'll get into the highlights. This being the first branch that I've served in, I was a little nervous about how well the members would be able to help us. My worry was unnecessary - this branch is awesome. We've been fed, we've been driven around, we've been helped. The branch president spent tons of time with us helping us get to know the area and the people in the branch. It's been fantastic.

Friday morning we got a call from the Branch President: "What are yous* doing this evening?" (* Not a typo. Him saying that tells me "Welcome back to Central PA, Elder Anderson")

Our answer: "Well, we've got nothing solid planned."

"Well, Brother Vaughn's daughter is going on a mission, and they are having a little pie party over at there house. Most of the branch will be there, so you'll be able to meet them and get some pie. What do you think?"

If you know how much I love pie, you could probably guess my answer.

Incidentally, a very interesting person lives in this branch ("I don't always eat pie, but when I do, I prefer cherry. Stay hungry, my friends.") That interesting person is none other than Brother Topham. Yep, the mission president's son. It really doesn't affect anything. It's just... interesting.

Easter was also very pleasant for us. We again were invited to the Vaughn's home for dinner and an Easter egg hunt. (I felt like a kid again!) And the rest of our week was spent knocking doors, trying less-active members and potential investigators, and walking from place to place. A day in the life, as always.

In closing, I'm going to get on my soap box for a bit. Something very special is coming up. Something very unique, especially to people who aren't members of the church. You know, that time when a man who speaks with the Lord tells us what the Lord told him to tell us. It's an event which has been prepared and planned and prayed over for weeks, even months. And it's an excellent opportunity to share the gospel.

 I mean, come on. If you weren't LDS (maybe you aren't! If that is the case, it means the world to me that you are reading my blog), and somebody told you a prophet of God was going to speak, you'd be interested, right? I would be. And I'm sure a lot of other people would be too. I've been leading out my conversations with people by asking them "If there were a prophet on the earth today, like Moses, what would you ask him?" Answers ranged from "Where is my life going?" to "Why is there so much pain in the world?" And I know for certain both of those questions will be answered in General Conference.

Friendly reminder: Conference is in four sessions April 6th and 7th at 10:00-12:00 AM and 2:00-4:00 PM, and a Priesthood session at 6:00 PM April 6th, all times MST. It can be viewed online at GC.LDS.org, on BYU-TV, or at any friendly, neighborhood LDS meetinghouse. Be sure to check it out.

Oh! That reminds me of one more thing. For those of you into satellite stalking (or sending pieces of paper tucked into other pieces of paper folded, glued shut, and plastered with the most expensive sticker you'll ever buy), my address is:

402 High St. Apt. 2
Somerset, PA 15501

Enjoy!

Love,
Elder Alex Anderson, AKA Missionary Slim

No comments :

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments ( Atom )

Popular Posts