Week 103-...I'm really coming home, aren't I?

Well... This week just flew right by, and I can't even pretend it didn't feel like it.  I was standing on a hill today, looking at the Calgary skyline, just thinking, "Man... I'm gunna miss this."  I'd imagine those aren't feelings that'll go away. :P

...Before I start, I have something to confess: I haven't seen my camera in three days. O_o I know I had it on Friday, and probably again on Saturday... But not since. :/ I'll search around the apartment and do some deep cleaning! It's just unfortunate because I actually had some great pictures from last P-day...

...We went crawling around in the secret tunnels under the Stake Centre. :) The Mandarin Elders took me for an adventure through the hidden crawlspaces under the fridge in the kitchen and elsewhere, spelunking. It was so sick!!! :D  If I find my camera, I'll send them... Next week... I guess that's the last time I can pull that card haha. *Shudder*

The day following was a Zone Training Meeting, and a good deal of it was focused on how to proselyte on Facebook... It's been a hugely hot topic in the mission for the past two transfers, and I haven't mentioned much about it since it won't really affect me.  President came around last month to talk about it in Zone Conferences, so we all got really excited- But about 45 minutes into his training, someone asked a question, and he responded, "We'll have to think about how to fix that- After all, we won't be rolling this out for another month or so." ...Aaand instantly 6 of us in the room deflated and stopped paying attention. :P  Anyhow, the training on Tuesday was still pretty good: We went to meet with the Stake President and Family History Centre Director to talk about all of it. I've already offered to be an online member-present if the missionaries here need someone. ;)

Wednesday was pretty cool: Elder Jacobs and Elder Thomas picked us up, then we went to Mount Royal University to see how many copies of the Book of Mormon we could hand out in 25 minutes.  We prayed that we'd be able to hand out 25, then went to work.  Elder Thomas and I handed out 18, and Elder Jacobs and Cuad gave out 8 for a total of 26.  Miracle!!! :D We definitely said a prayer of thanks for that!!  Then we met a member and the Mandarin Elders at a restaurant for supper, and he'd brought a Chinese friend with him.  That was pretty cool.  She came to our ward on Sunday. :)

Thursday was a specialized training from President and the AP's to train District Leaders on how to be... Well, District Leaders haha.  Honestly, the format and content were neither overtly helpful nor informative, and, in a lot of ways, they kept contradicting themselves.  Supposedly the training intended to address and fix the negative stigmas that surround leadership in the mission, but, in reality, it ended up enforcing the negative stigmas. ...I'm so done with mission politics.

Luckily, we also got to teach Cindy and Debbie that night! :D Elder Gibbs and I taught portions of Lesson 4, and Cindy's super-solid: Never any concerns with doctrine.  Debbie's very much the same, but... Apparently, when she came to church for the first time Super Bowl Sunday, the member sitting next to them on the pew didn't let her and Cindy take the Sacrament, and she felt discriminated against and denied the opportunity to come closer to Christ. :/ We spent a lot of time addressing this concern, and it seemed to help... But Cindy came by herself on Sunday.  We were extremely glad to see her, but she said she couldn't convince Debbie to come... Please pray that she'll be able to overcome that concern. 

Friday... I think it was pretty uneventful. Except for the phone call we had with Sister Paul that night during planning.  She's a less-active member married to a non-member, and they both just moved into the ward. We asked if we could visit her the following day, and she responded with a rather lengthy explanation about how she was comfortable with missionaries coming, getting to know them, and sharing a message, but that, in the past, that always turned into the "discussions:" And, having been a member of the Church forever, she knows quite a bit about the Church, and her husband's not interested.  So if we were to come knowing that background, she wouldn't mind one bit.

So we went for Breakfast the next day. :)  It was really good- they accepted our invitations to the ward party, to have visiting and home teachers, and we got to share a message about how Captain Moroni fought for families and how the best way to fight for our own is to be sealed in the temple.  I asked Sister Paul afterward if we met her criteria accurately, and she said we had and were definitely welcome to come back. :) Stellar!

This day was pretty rough for me, as I'm sure it was for my family... The other Elders were really kind to me, though, and Sister Buchanan had been a living angel in delivering a care package to me the day prior, so it wasn't all so bad.  As I knelt to pray that night, many tears were shed for many reasons, but I made it through, so thanks for all of the prayers on your end. :)

Sunday brought Cindy, Angel, and Brother Wilson to church.  That morning at about 9 AM, Brother Lawlor, a counselor in the Bishopric, had phoned us, informing us that this Sunday was usually High Councilman Sunday, but he'd forgotten we wouldn't have one this month to the ward conference next week.  So he'd neglected to arrange for speakers. Guess who got to give talks? :P  Haha. It was a very sentimental experience to stand at a pulpit on the same Sunday I had two years ago when I gave my Farewell.  I talked about family, Cuad talked about being shepherds, and Brother Lawlor spoke on the sacredness of Hymns.  All in all, it wasn't bad!  Our supper calendar really filled up afterward. ;)

That brings us to yesterday: One of the biggest disappointments a P-day could bring.  I'd been planning for three weeks to take President and Sister Nicholas out to a fancy restaurant, but the other people coming with us backed out at the last minute, and we had to cancel.  We'd also planned to go to the temple for Family Day, but, due to the indecision of the people involved in the first section of this paragraph, we missed the sessions... And there were no emails due to it being Family Day. :/ Huge let-down.  Luckily, the Spanish Elders took us to the mall with them and I found a Canadian version of Cinnabon, so it wasn't all bad. Target was going out of business, so I went and looked at all of the games I'll get to play with y'all. :P

Aaand today brought District Meetings and International Pancake Day. ...That's pretty much been my life... I hope my emails aren't becoming insanely boring. :P  My email time has been immensely spiced up by watching Annie's wisdom teeth video at least 6 times!! Haha, I love her. :) 

As far as the phone goes... I think I'd prefer a black iPhone 6?  But do I need a new phone? I'm pretty sure that after two years of Samsung Rugby II's my iPhone 4 is going to be a pretty welcome sight haha.  I have seen some of both the 6 and Plus around, and I feel the 6 is more up my alley.

The missionaries going home with me... Well, there are 23 of us. And only 12 coming out to replace us.  I don't know which of those 23 Sister Almeida would be going to see, though- I'll have to check my list again. :P

As far as the 28th, I haven't heard anything from the people I asked, so I'm going to say go ahead and plan what you'd like? #hesitant #ihatethespotlight

Well, I still need to email President... I love you. :)  Have a great week- I'll do what I can to do the same!

-Elder Jared D. Larsen