Week 4

A lot has happened in the past week. On Thursday the remaining missionaries in districts 03-G and 03-C, including me, went out for the evening and played games at the field and gym. I couldn't participate for as long as I would have liked to, since I pulled a muscle in my inner thigh the day before. It was really fun though, I'm glad that we were able to make the most of our remaining time together.

My companions stayed up late into the night, until around midnight, packing up their bags for departure the next day. It took me a lot less time than them, because I never really unpacked. They (meaning my companions) say that living out of a suitcase is no way to live, but I can testify to you today that it does have its perks. Sadly it didn't end up mattering, as I wasn't able to fall asleep until past midnight anyway.

One thing that was cool was that I gave my first priesthood blessing that night. Our remaining elders had a little meeting before we started wrapping up our packing, giving blessings to any one of us that felt like they needed it. I gave a blessing to Elder Hill and also got a blessing from Elder Casper. Both experiences strengthened my testimony of the power of the priesthood. I felt something as I was getting a blessing that I can't deny or easily explain another way. Even though I heard a lot of the same things that I've heard in previous blessings, I felt Seen by God in a way I haven't often felt. I can also testify that I saw a guiding hand in my blessing as I prayed over Elder Hill. It seems inappropriate to get into too much detail over email like this, but suffice it to say that when I was searching for words and didn't know what to say, I took a leap of faith and just let my mouth run. Words were put into my mouth that I wouldn't have said otherwise, and weren't in my mind before I said them. And included therein were some really cool promises to Elder Hill if he would keep doing this and that.

We had to wake up at 4:30 am to get ready and move our bags out of the dorms. We met the sisters outside their dorms, and then walked together over to the T-3 Building where check-out was happening. We took a few pictures, which I will try to have sent to you, and then went our separate ways. It was a long and exhausting trip on four hours of sleep and no breakfast between a bus, a train, and an SLC tram. It instilled in me a strong conviction to never utilize public transportation ever again.

By the time we made it to the airport my district had split up and been absorbed into our various mission groups, and I wasn't able to give a few of them a last goodbye. It was sad to realize that our final parting at the check-out had really been our final parting, but we had said plenty of goodbyes beforehand and I wasn't worried that any of them wouldn't make it where they were meant to go. They are all competent and have strong personal witnesses of what we're here to do, so I feel that they will be fine. As for me, I got better acquainted with the Phoenix group. There were 10 total- 6 elders and 4 sisters (we came in at the same time that 26 others were on the way out of the mission, so right now we're in a deficit). I was paired with Elder Asher Dalton, who knew Jackson at BYU. We bonded over our shared contempt for him. He is a very friendly guy (maybe overly friendly), and did most of the talking with other people. I liked that just fine.

We thought we'd get a light, healthy breakfast, so we went to the Shake Shack. A nice family paid for our meal- they were waiting for their flight to Hawaii for a vacation. The dad was called to Brazil somewhere when he was young and he was very kind to us. His eldest son has his call and is going to Guatemala in a month. Elder Dalton gave a marked-up pocket copy of the Book of Mormon to one of their little daughters and told her to give it to her friend. He was very proud of himself. The second-oldest, Tanner, was the only one who I talked to for any length of time. He gave me one of those WWJD (What Would Jesus Do?) bracelets that seem to be all the rage in Utah right now. Not something I'd ever wear normally, but I was touched by the gift nonetheless. Sadly, in all the excitement of meeting them and taking pictures, we forgot to ask for their last name. So we'll probably never see or hear from them again. Live and learn.

That's a common theme since leaving the MTC, I've noticed. Most people ignore us and a few are rude, but a lot of people are especially nice to us as well. Several people cheered for us at the airport when we told them we were off to the field, and there have been several instances where people have paid for our food or greeted us warmly just because of who we represent. We've had dinner with members every evening so far, and the calendar that the ward passes around for signing up to feed the missionaries is consistently full. Just today we went to eat out at a make-your-own-pizza place for p-day, and the lady working there gave them to us on the house (for a total of like $50, it was very overpriced there). She even took a picture of us and let us send it from her phone to our moms. Her name was Kierston, which would be a really cool name if the first part of it was spelled a little differently.

The flight was fine. Coincidentally my Aunt Ashley, Uncle Nate, and their son Blake were on the same flight as us, going to some kind of a junior basketball tournament. I sat next to a mom and her son, Nina and Champ, who were going to the same event (though to play for a different team). Our branch president at the MTC got us to commit to being "real" missionaries the second we sat down next to someone on the plane, and to talk to them. As first conversation as a missionary go, it went fairly well. We talked for a while and also watched part of a documentary about wine-making together. Strictly speaking I'm not supposed to watch anything like that, but it was easier than talking.

When we got off the plane I got to hug my relatives and say goodbye to them, which was nice if a little weird to see them in that context. It was a little like seeing your teacher at the grocery store. Still, nice to get one last shred of familial affection before beginning my two years of lonely, solitary monasticism in the wilderness. Perhaps I'll dress myself in animal skins and survive off of locusts and honey like John the Baptist. Grow out the hair and beard a little.

We then went to meet the Mission President, President Eyre. He and the Assistants took us to the mission home and we met Sister Eyre. We got to know eachother a little and then had an orientation dinner. I didn't enjoy that at all, since they spent half of it trying to scare us straight talking about crime statistics and punishments for serious infractions, and the other half reviewing standards for dressing, teaching etc which we already covered 15 times at the MTC. The average greenie must have a brain the size of a pea if they felt they had to pound this stuff into our heads this often and this forcefully. There were some good parts, though. A couple people spoke about the importance of missionary work and how we all have things to offer, to let the Spirit guide us etc etc.

After that we went back to the mission home, I had a candid one-on-one interview with the Pres so he could determine who would be the best trainer for me, and then we went over to sleep at the Zone Leaders' house. It was not what I was expecting at all. Apparently this is true of all mission apartments and homes, but it was full of 'relics,' aka random toys and knickknacks. There were nerf guns, legos, action figures, and even a traditional Japanese parasol. Didn't seem like an environmment that would invite spiritual contemplation, but I guess I'm not a ZL.

The next morning we went on a hike up a nearby hill as a sort of group bonding activity. When we arrived the Pres said something like "time to slay the dragon, brethren." It didn't look like much from the ground, so I said that it didn't look like much of a dragon. More like a lizard.

I quickly came to regret that snide comment because the hill seemed to grow taller with each switchback we reached. I don't know if it was the angle of the slope of the hill or what, but every time I thought we were at the end I looked over the top and saw more hill waiting to be climbed. I ended up getting very winded by the time we got to the top. Infuriatingly, no one else seemed to be out of breath or even that sweaty. The President commented that it was a "nice, short, easy little hike." I guess I reallly am that out of shape. Can't wait 'til I get transferred to a biking area!

After we got back and showered, we were taken to meet our new companions. There was this big unveiling ceremony where all of the trainers lined up on one side and the trainees lined up on the other, and Sister Shumway listed off the companionships one by one. President Eyre apparently didn't think much of that idea, because while some of the other missionaries in the district were helpng us unload the car of all of our luggage he randomly turned to me and said "oh, by the way, this is Elder Cook. He's going to be your new companion." And he only did that for me. Everyone else was kept in suspense until the names were read out, but I knew and met my new comp beforehand.

Elder Cook is a good trainer, and I'm glad that he's my first companion. He's very patient and forgiving of my many silly mistakes and slip-ups. He's a good teacher and he has a good relationship with everyone in Country Club, one of the two wards that we are responsible for. The other is Biltmore, which was recently added to our area. He's both shorter and younger than me at 19, but he's much more seasoned and confident. He's got big, serious eyebrows and a good poker face, so you often can't tell what he's thinking. He says that English is his second language (the first being sarcasm). He likes card games and taught me how to play both poker and blackjack. So if I ever need to devise a method to get even poorer I now have the perfect thing.

He also likes the occasional prank or practical joke. On Sunday the family we were going to eat with had an engagement, so we went over early to give a short message and then take the food back to our apartment to eat later. I get the feeling that they were trying to kill two birds with one stone, since the selection of cuisine for the meal was a bit strange. Among the various delicacies we were gifted were several small containers of Chipotle sauce and an entire, unopened jar of pickles.

Neither of us like pickles, so instead Elder Cook decided to wrap up the jar in duct tape to disguise what it was and then left it on the doormat to the sister's apartment (there are six missionaries currently serving in our area, 2 sets of elders and one set of sisters. The sisters live in the same apt complex as Elder Cook and I). The sisters called us in a panic few hours later and asked us to come over. They were afraid that someone had left an improvised explosive on their doorstep. We came over and Elder Cook, cool as a cucumber (ha), cut open the package and showed them what was inside it. He was a very convincing actor. Even though we were the most obvious suspects, they didn't seem to suspect us at all. We had to tell them earlier today that it was Elder Cook who pranked them and they still didn't believe us for a moment because of how convincing he was. As he's told me himself multiple times, Elder Cook enjoys sowing chaos. I have no doubt that he will continue to be a good role model.

We've had a really good couple of days teaching the people in our area. There are quite a few whackjobs around, but also a lot of good, honest people searching for the truth. We need to get to bed soon and I've already written way more than I really had time to, so I don't have the time right now to get into all the details. Next week I might talk about Justin, the epic tatted-and-pierced out former inmate whose mother is a member of the Biltmore Ward, or Leon, the crazy guy who smoked and talked to us on his porch for an hour about Jupiter and the outer planets orbiting around a secret black star and Jesus being a false prophet, or the new convert Teresa whose husband Paul is a flat-earther and interprets every line in the Bible as 100% literal, or the nice Baptist couple Abbie and Ryan who we had my first actual lesson with, or the wacky extended Navajo family we taught who asked all sorts of strange questions but seemed interested. I could go on for a while. But it's cool to see how fast the work moves out here. The Phoenix mission is supposed to be pretty busy and active compared to a lot of the other missions in the US and Europe. If I can tell you nothing else, it's that there's never a dull moment. It's nice to feel like I'm doing something noble and I get fulfillment out of serving people. I know that there will be harder times ahead, but right now I am motivated and even excited to see where things go next. We've already met a whole bunch of new 'Friends' (investigators) and secured a bunch of visits for this coming week.

Next week's email will probably be much shorter and more focused on the people we're teaching, but I hope you enjoyed this one. Wish me luck in my endeavors. I really appreciate everyone who responded to the last one, and I want you to know that i treasure each email I'm sent.

Yours Faithfully,
Elder C. Calder