January 22, 2013

January 20^th was a sad day for the Patriots. They should have made it. Too bad. Anyway my birthday was just fine.  We're over two different Wards so on Sunday I had church from 7am to a little after 4, then two dinners that night. We stay busy, but most of it is doing service and visiting people more than teaching a lot of lessons. People feed us like crazy. The other two guys don't really get up on time, and our mornings have been pretty open, so I've really been getting into personal study and taking a whole lot of notes. It’s a good experience. I mostly just feel like I'm on constant splits with the Elders as a Priest again though, the Missionaries I'm with had been companions since a few months ago and they know each other really well.  They were both serving in one of the Wards that we're over before I came and they were combined, so everything is either Faiese's Ward and investigators or Roberts' Ward and investigators and I'm pretty much just along for the ride. So they have the phones for each Ward and make most of the calls and appointments. Plus I can't drive since that takes some extra paperwork at the Mission Office. So I just follow directions and go where they tell me to.

I've only ran once since I've been here but I didn't time it or anything, I think I'll do that next time. Hopefully I can get it down to every morning. With as much as we eat here I'll need to if I'm going to stay even close to in shape.

I don't think I'll ever get to do any work in the temple, I think they're pretty strict about Missionaries only doing a session twice every year or so. I think we're headed up there later this week (maybe even today) just to walk around the grounds with an investigator. I'm not really sure. And the no tracting thing is just something the Church is trying out and they happened to pick this mission to do it. People just aren't too happy anymore with us knocking on doors and most of the neighborhoods around here have pretty strict no soliciting rules. Since just about everyone is loaded. Except for the 25% or so of the population that’s homeless. 

The house we're living in is probably 30 or 40 years old, maybe more, and its easily multi-million in value. Everything is insanely expensive here. Pendleton (the guy who lives there) used to work at Lockheed and did work on the nuclear submarines. He actually worked on the missiles themselves and making sure they fire right and everything. It’s pretty crazy stuff. His wife died a while ago though and nothing has changed in the house since then and pretty much everything in there is pictures of her. It’s pretty sad.

Anyway I need to go, talk to you guys again next week.