From March 15, 2016
First off, a welcome to Elder Mann from the Hillsdale ward (the ward
I'm serving in) who is serving his mission in Tuscon, Arizona starting
this week (well, MTC and all that... Let's split hairs here). Also a
request for prayers for the Bell family in the El Cajon Stake and the
Myers' family; Sis. Bell, a longtime member of the stake, passed away
this past week and the Myers' son wound up in the hospital this week.
He's doing fine, but just keep them in your prayers.
This week saw some interesting things happen, but not much in terms of
proselyting. We didn't get any lessons this week (spoilers!) but that
doesn't mean our area isn't progressing! We got to try out some new
apartment complexes this week we'd never been to and gauge where the
people are in general in our area aside from the usual three or four
streets.
 |
| Elder Hawkes challenged his zone leaders to this burrito challenge. If they could finish the first in an hour, he'd buy them a second. They lost! |
On Wednesday the sisters got a new companion, Sister Guest. Sister
Guest has been out since July and will be in my travel group home in
the distant future that's never ever ever going to happen because I'll
always be on my mission right? Anyway... She had gone home for some
medical testing about two weeks ago but it turns out she's all fine.
So she came back and President put her in a trio with Sister Stewart
and Sister Stussi. We had zone meeting on Wednesday and Sister Schmitt
came to that. During accountability she commended the Arabic elders
for their work and told us not to get down about our numbers. "We know
you serve with your whole heart," she said, "And sometimes in Arabic
work you see the fruits of your labors, sometimes you don't, and
sometimes other missionaries see them." That really brought a lot of
comfort to me, especially since I've been stressing myself out over
lack of numerical success the past little while. Zone meeting went
great. Not much else to report on that front.
We're running low on miles this month so we've been walking around a
lot. We were out walking on Friday and got caught in the rain without
our jackets or umbrellas. We were in the middle of doing an hour of
finding activities when it started. Once we were back to the apartment
we threw our pants in the dryer because they were soaked. For the rest
of the week whenever it was cloudy I wore my jacket just in case. It
didn't rain. I was slightly disappointed.
Another thing to note this week: I noticed I'd been really passive in
finding efforts. When we were walking in apartment complexes I
thought, "You know, what if we knocked on doors in here?" So we
knocked on doors in apartment complexes this week!
And it scared me to death almost every time.
But you know what? That's okay! We need more people to teach and this
is one of the ways we'll find them. What's the worst that they can do,
say no? It's helped me get over my fears a little bit and it's been a
lot better overall for us.
Lastly, last night we were walking on Main Street and a Spanish guy
flagged us down from a taco shop. We walked over and asked how we
could help and he just said, "You hungry?" Elder Belnap and I looked
at each other and at him really awkwardly and just said, "Sure...?" So
he bought us food! I'm currently eating the California burrito he
bought me last night. It was awesome! As a missionary, I've learned
never to turn down offers like that. First off, free food. Second off,
it's their chance to serve and receive blessings for doing so. People
in San Diego are awesome.
Since not much happened this week, I can take time to tell you all
that I love being here. I love the people. I love the food. I love the
opportunity to go and work. I love the people that say "No" and try to
trip us up by claiming Joseph Smith was contradictory in the King
Follett Discourse (which I took the time to read this week, as an
aside. Interesting stuff). I love the area. I love El Cajon. It's the
best place on earth!
-- Elder Hawkes
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