Hello! Hope the week is treating you right so far. Let the tales begin!
The beginning of this past week stands out to me a lot. Wednesday morning felt very off. Elder Meilstrup and I both started the day off on the wrong foot, and we were feeling the weight of just how many of our goals we were failing to meet. Goals in our missionary work, yes, but also personal goals. Before we left the apartment, I privately knelt down in prayer, saying "I've made a lot of mistakes, and I feel so guilty, but I'll have faith that you don't want me to be angry with myself right now, even though it genuinely feels like you do." Funny how our feelings can so quickly sweep aside the truths God has made plain in His words. He is patient. He is loving. He wants us to recognize we need to improve, but to be gentle with ourselves in that recognition. That afternoon, we sat down at a park to do our weekly planning and tried to sort out our upcoming week. Thinking back on our attitudes over the past week, both of us in turn wrote in our personal goals for the week: "Repent!" When priorities and performance seem to be spiraling in all directions, better to first turn back toward God in humility before turning to the task before you.
The day progressed with a big list of visits in the ward we'd been meaning to get to, with some tracting along the way. Some of these visits ended up turning into lessons on the spot, so we got to do even more teaching than we expected that day. One such example was with Brother and Sister Hamrick. We knocked and they immediately invited us in. We then had a long chat with them in their living room, and when we brought up the topic of scheduling a lesson, they said they'd love to hear one right then. Brother Hamrick proceeded to tell us that his friend Jed would be coming over to install a shelf for them in a few minutes, and that he really wanted to introduce him to us. A story then unfolded. Jed had known the Hamricks for a while, and one day he asked them if they were members of the church. They told him they were, but they were surprised, because they had never talked about their religion around him before. "I could just tell by the way you act," he said. Inspired by that experience and Jed's kindness in general, Brother Hamrick has really wanted to share the gospel with him. Partway through the lesson (which had a special spirit and some cool epiphanies), Jed arrived, and Brother Hamrick greeted him, introduced us, and asked "Would you be interested in meeting with them?" Putting Jed on the spot right off the bat. He said yes! Unfortunately, he doesn't live in our area, but we referred them to some other elders in our zone and got them in contact with the Hamricks. The lesson finished, Sister Hamrick gave us each a small handful of dove dark chocolates, and we took a couple celebratory minutes in the car afterward eating them while listening to "You've Got a Friend in Me" (a funny tradition for when you find a new nonmember friend to teach--even though we won't be teaching Jed, it was a victory in the day).
The very last lesson we taught that evening had SUCH a strong spirit. A sister in that family had specifically walked up to us and asked us for a lesson after we gave our talks a couple Sundays ago because she had been worrying about her kids' testimonies. We discussed how God's words never cease. This firstly means He always has more to reveal to us in general, but it also means He is always trying to communicate with us personally. At the end, we extended an invitation that was inspired by an experience I had in the temple the day before: take some time to imagine a conversation with Christ.
At the end of the night, Elder Meilstrup remarked that though the day hadn't been perfect considering the morning, from the afternoon on it had been SUCH a good day. I replied that in a way, smaller steps of improvement are more comforting than dramatic change. They are a more sure sign that you're making steady progress, whereas sudden "perfection" feels like it could all go away the next day.
A young man in our ward named Jared joined us on Thursday evening. He's preparing to serve a mission in Washington this March, and we loved having him along for the ride. We had planned to take him through a bunch of doorstep visits and a little tracting, but our very first visit turned into a full lesson (which was precisely what we were hoping for), so plans took a turn. We were glad to feel the spirit with that family, which has recently started coming to church more often, and Jared absolutely topped the lesson by sharing his testimony at the end. As an aside, the parents in that family used to model in New York City, and have been selling clothing ever since then, so they have a massive wardrobe. The dad, who still bears the nickname "Hot Thomas", let me pick a flamboyant tie to keep from his massive collection of old fashioned wide ties. I don't know that I'll be wearing it a whole lot as a missionary, but it's definitely a novelty.
Bishop Cannon from my home ward was visiting San Diego for work, and we got permission from my mission president to have lunch together! It was really good to see him, and I'm so grateful for the immense support he has given me leading up to my mission.
Prior to my mission, I worked for a year at SureLoc Hardware, a warehouse that carries door and bath hardware. It was the sort of job that gives you a bunch of information on a really specific thing that people normally don't give a second thought. In my case, I came out of it knowing names for a variety of doorknob models and finishes. Among friends, I turned this peculiar wealth of knowledge into an ongoing game by spontaneously calling out a model, finish, and item code whenever we passed by a door. "Cedar Lever Entry in Vintage Bronze! CD107 11P!" Now, I didn't realize back then how applicable this game would be to missionary work. Why? Because we see a lot of doors out here! A LOT. Sometimes I wonder whether we're getting better acquainted with the doors of San Diego better than the people! (I'm half kidding.) But, this means I've been able to baffle each of my companions with the strange attention I give to the many handlesets, deadbolts, levers, and knobs around us. Now, one day we were dropping by the house of a family in the ward, and after we rang the doorbell I peered down at the doorknob, commented with some warehouse jargon, then did a double take. Across the deadbolt was written some all too familiar branding. SureLoc! Just as I began freaking out about this, Brother Linnell answered the door, and I gave an overenergetic explanation about why his front door had just made my day. He smiled and told a similar story about how a former job of his made him a lot more aware of AC vents. While maybe a little silly, it's kind of fun taking interest in things that pretty much no one else cares about. And you know what? This can totally relate to being a disciple of Jesus Christ. I'll leave it to you to connect the dots 😆.
We had many other great lessons this week that I'd love to recount, but alas, I'll have to leave it there. Let's just say the members of this ward are wonderful, and it's incredible how the gospel is meaningful to so many different people in so many different ways.
God be with you,
Elder Tolman
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| I love the way the palm trees poke out from their surroundings to say hi. |
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