Week 8

July 04, 2023

I am really a bad at keeping to a regular emailing schedule! Sorry everyone, it's been a hectic two weeks, not helped by the fact that we had two weird pdays in a row. Last week we had it on tuesday instead of monday because it was Elder Cook's one year mark and we went to the Mesa Temple. We were gone pretty much the whole day so I didn't have time to write.

This week p-day is on Tuesday again, this time because of the Fourth of July. We've been hanging out with our Zone all day at the church. We had a Zone Breakfast that we all pitched in on making, and then had a riveting day playing board games and basketball. Then later in the evening we went to see the fireworks. Ordinarily our pday ends at 6 pm and we're back to proselyting, but since people tend to get drunker and more rowdy on America's birthday the Mission Pres decided we probably shouldn't be out and about. That we decided to use this time to go out and about to see fireworks was perhaps not among our best-considered ideas. We went up on the top of a parking lot to watch the firework show that was going to start across the street in Indian Steele park, but a family of very intelligent people decided to start shooting off fireworks from the roof itself (blocking the road where cars were trying to get down and out of the building, might I add). We kept getting smoke and hot firework fragments falling down on our heads so we decided to call it a night and go back home. As we were driving down the street outside we saw a bunch of police cars pull up, so that was probably a smart decision.

It was a fun day overall though, even if my sarcasm would denote otherwise. It's been a very long and eventful two weeks, but there isn't the time to recount all of it. I've come to a bit of a dilemma when it comes to writing these emails. I really enjoy writing them and reading your responses but they take pretty much my whole p-day to write. I want to give a full accounting so you all know how life's been for me lately, but I also want to be able to just sit back and enjoy some rest and relaxation on those days. The options before me right now are, as I see it:

1. Continue to write very long emails that are polished and hopefully entertaining, but that I often can't finish and only come every couple weeks instead of regularly

2. Write much shorter, simpler emails like most other missionaries do where they just write a little daily log every day and then compile it at the beginning of the new week.

3. Compromise and write detailed, more polished stories but only pick and choose 2-4 of the funniest/most interesting ones and leave the rest out.

Personally I'm leaning towards the third option but I'm open to suggestions. I can't respond to emails except on pday, but I can read stuff that gets sent to me any day of the week. So if you want to weigh in I'd be happy to hear your opinions.

Sorry again that this is such a short update (relatively speaking) and that I didn't talk as much about my experiences. I sent a lot of pictures this time though so hopefully that makes up for it to some extent.

Whatever I decide, more emails will be forthcoming in the future. In the meantime, have a very happy Fourth of July and know that I love and appreciate you. I am

Faithfully Yours,

Elder C. Calder