And we’re back! Happy Monday—whatever association Monday holds for you. It has its nasty reputation for being the taxing start of the week, but it’s funny that it simultaneously stands as the missionary weekend, excepting missions with different p-days. I guess I fall into that last category as the day I don’t have any assignments is Sunday, making that kinda sorta p-day minus the dedicated laundry and shopping. It also means I get to complain with most everyone else about Monday being the start of the week. So, when I say Happy Monday, I really mean- *sobs*
I’m coming up a little empty-handed this week in terms of events. As far as service mission stuff goes, the Global Services Department has not ceased to exist, nor has a cataclysmic event changed the course of all that goes on there. Oh! One item of news is that I was chosen for a committee to organize an event this winter. I’ll wait till then to spill details about it, but it’s exciting!
The Road Home...has also resisted nonexistence! *party horn* In addition to the usual responsibilities there, I got to assemble school kits for the children during the latter half of the shift. It seems that new projects pop up all the time there, which I really appreciate. Hopping back on the topic of “usual responsibilities,” i.e. processing donations, I have a comment that I meant to share last week but am recalling now. Making sense of women's clothing sizes makes college level physics look easy. I even knew of their reputation before, and they STILL made me question the Euclidean model of reality. They’re just numbers with no rhyme or reason to them! And it’s a miracle from on high when the scaling is consistent between brands. AND once you think you understand the numbers, you confidently pick up another article only to read “Medium” on a size that very much does not look medium. Absolute madness! Someday I’m going to think I have it all figured out, then discover a tag with Egyptian hieroglyphics where the size should be. I’d take calculus problems over this any day. 😆
Thursday featured a cool experience. It was a bit of a rough morning for various reasons, and I was wrestling with an upsetting question about prayer, which, by extension became a question about revelation, which added to a broader theme of struggles developing my relationship with God and pressing forward in the path I'm on. These things do tend to have a bit of a snowball effect. Primary vs. secondary questions aside (see BYU devo "Stand Forever" by Lawrence E. Corbridge), interrelated and interreliant topics can sabotage each other just as much as they support each other.
My start to my assignment that morning was a bit sluggish, and I had to cut my grumpy musings short to attend our weekly devotional. Just beforehand, I sarcastically thought, "Oh and I bet this devotional will just directly address the unanswerable questions I'm facing." These meetings have actually had convenient relevance to things on my mind before, and I was doubting that would be the case this time. Either sarcasm has prophetic power or God just likes messing with it, cause what was that meeting's topic? An in-depth discussion on prayer. What topic did they follow up with? Revelation. And in that discussion they cited Elder Holland's devotional, "Cast Not Away Therefore Your Confidence", a dedicated message about sticking to the path you're on where you have had experiences with God. After hearing the discussion and listening through the full recording of Elder Holland on my own, my questions still weren't answered, but the mere fact that they had been referenced did more than I thought it could, no less in such a timely way.
A couple friends came up from Arizona to visit this past weekend! Just two months ago I expected to have to wait over a year to see them after my mission, but in a slightly surreal turn of events I'm able to see them as a missionary! It was a joyful reunion and a privilege to enjoy.
My last note about stuff this week is that I got to sub in primary again, and for as much as I like to overcomplicate the gospel at times or talk myself blue in deep discussions, I do really enjoy taking basic principles and illustrating them with some silly object lesson that pops into my mind. Though they can be difficult to rein in, the antics of the resident gremlins have enormous entertainment value. There's a lot going on with 10 in one room (probably not as much as there could be, so I'll thank the Lord for the angelic assistance He's most likely providing).
I was flipping through my study journal and I found a quote from a fellow missionary I shall end with.
"There's a difference between something that hurts your pride and something that hurts you. The latter is not of God." (Elder Olive)
And I'll add, the former does not threaten you, as venomous as it seems. Like running through the barrier that leads to Platform 9 3/4, we will flinch at first, but come out on the other side in a better place. That takes humility and surrender, and it is something I'm hoping to make a greater part of my life.
God be with you,
Elder Tolman
Pictures:
Reuniting with a lovely group of people.
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