Chapter 26: Service Aplenty

Service at Rose's with the Black Mountain Elders

Alas! A dense week of tales to tell, but not enough time or brainpower to put it into words. Elder Meilstrup and I joke that we were briefly transferred to a service mission, because across Thursday, Friday, and Saturday we had SEVEN service opportunities, most of which popped up out of nowhere and all of which were quite involved. Each has many delightful details, but I'll settle for mostly just listing them.

• Weeding for a woman named Soroor, who was a referral we received. As we worked, she told us her intense life story of coming to America, and she took a lot of interest in why we were serving missions.
• Moving hundreds of chairs and setting up tables in preparation for a Days for Girls womens conference and service project. It was held in the stake center, though it wasn't sponsored by the church, and it had a good nonmember presence!
• Helping a friend of the Black Mountain missionaries move. 

  

  Elder Tausinga found a captain's hat as we helped a friend move.
  He promptly promoted himself.
  
  

• Pulling an absolute forest of gigantic weeds and attacking some rose bushes along a downhill slope behind a member's house. They provided some homemade lemonade from a tree in their backyard, and it was marvelous!  



Some intense weeding on the slope beside a member's deck

Intense!

• Returning to that same backyard where we picked oranges last week! We got to the last of the oranges and then picked a bunch of grapefruit. 

• 

  Grapefruit tree
  
  

• Picking lemons, trimming, and weeding for Rose, a neighbor of the same members we picked oranges for. It was funny, we had been trying to plan that service for quite a while, partially because Rose was nervous about having us over, but as we worked, she asked her member neighbor, "When can I have them over again?"  

Flowers in Rose's backyard

Many other highlights beyond the service:

• On Saturday evening, we had what I don't know how else to describe than a "party lesson". A family in our ward invited both us and the Black Mountain elders over for dinner, and they invited two other couples in the ward as well. We ate in their super fancy backyard and had a lesson around a fire where many great insights were shared.
• Our youth made a great showing for sports night on Friday evening, and they brought a new friend! We got to play ultimate frisbee on a park atop a hill, and the sunset was beautiful. 

  

  Tree & sunset
  
  

• We went on exchanges with the Black Mountain and Scripps Ranch elders.
• An inactive member made it to church on Sunday! I was also last-minute assigned to give the opening prayer in sacrament meeting, which was a delight, and Elder Meilstrup shared an articulate testimony of simple truths.
• We had a powerful miracle lesson on Monday evening. While deciding what to teach, the topic of prayer occurred to me, but then I began to dismiss it because I've had a lot of personal questions about it and I assumed it was just my mind saying "I wanna talk about this!" However, Elder Meilstrup independently brought up the very same topic, and we found out a little later that a member of that family was really struggling with their testimony of prayer. The discussion that night was deep and genuine.

Lastly, today was transfers! I'm moving to Imperial Beach with Elder Rhodes! Many heartfelt goodbyes were said on Sunday. There's so much I could say, but I'll leave it at this: I going to miss the Peñasquitos Ward! Each member has been such a blessing to me over the past four and a half months.

Saying goodbye to the Hiltons

I'll leave you with a scripture. D&C 88:67-68.

"And if your eye be single to my glory, your whole bodies shall be filled with light, and there shall be no darkness in you; and that body which is filled with light comprehendeth all things.

Therefore, sanctify yourselves that your minds become single to God, and the days will come that you shall see him; for he will unveil his face unto you, and it shall be in his own time, and in his own way, and according to his own will."

The mere focus of our eye can change the whole of our being. Through our eyes, God can pour light into us.

God be with you,

Elder Tolman