Week 49

There were a lot of meetings this week due to having both General Conference and Zone Conference. As a result our missionary work suffered a little bit and I don't have much to report, but we had an enjoyable time and I wrote down a lot of notes. 

Will I ever look at those notes?

...perhaps not. 

But I have been making a conscious effort of trying to take better notes instead of just writing summaries of everything that is spoken about, focusing on what speaks to me the most during a talk. It not only saves me a lot of writing, but it also makes my notes much more enjoyable to look back over later. It's a principle our mission employs regularly during Zone Conferences and other meetings, the leadership make the summaries of everything that was talked about available later (the "Large Plates") and we are encouraged to make a smaller, condensed personal record about things the Holy Spirit teaches us (the "Small Plates"). This being after the manner of the plates of Nephi in the Book of Mormon; he wrote a longer and more involved history of his people that focused on specific names/ places/etc, and then a smaller record containing his sermons, spiritual experiences, and the writings of the prophets.

I have found that when I worry less about recording the event and more on listening to the feelings and impressions that I get, I have a richer experience and I record things that I learn more from as I review them later. Sometimes that means not writing down anything for a particular talk, but that's okay. I can always rewatch it with a fresh perspective or a new question later and get new direction. 

- - -

Thanks to everyone who sent an email, I very much enjoyed them. I didn't have a ton of time to write today but I figured I'd send what I was able to get down. As D&C 66:6 wisely counsels, "...inasmuch as you can send, send".

Yours Faithfully,
Elder C. Calder

- - - 


We went to our Bishop's house to watch a couple of sessions of General Conference. While there I had the privilege of using possibly the most advanced toilet on the planet Earth. This smooth, ovoid Commode of the Future senses when you close the door to the bathroom and automatically opens. The seat is heated (you can adjust the temperature on the control pad attached to the wall, not pictured here), and when you're done it will flush and then close automatically. I'm pretty sure it has a bidet in there somewhere as well but I couldn't figure out how to make it work. 

We went to a fruit-picking service with a charity called Be Fruitful. The volunteers were very kind and thanked us profusely for helping them out, but what they didn't know is that I had ulterior motives. They thought we were there to help feed families in need, but actually I just enjoy picking fruit. It's a simple but satisfying thing to shake branches and pluck hard-to-reach citrus from the branches until the tree is nice and empty

A photo from my suit-shopping excursion last week. Here I am pictured with a suit that really caught my eye, but sadly the employee that was helping us informed me I probably wouldn't be able to fit in it so I settled for this other blue one

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