March 9, 2015
Well this was quite the week. The weather was
quite an event. It was slightly
dangerous on foot or in a car. It was pretty much an ice skating rink.
It seems we enjoyed a slight warm up but only enough
to make a slushy mesh of everything and have it freeze solid again thus forcing
the closure of schools on Wednesday, including Penn State for the first time since
2008. It might not seem like it, but
State College is approaching the finish line of the 2015 winter that felt more
like the ICE AGE. Ice age is actually a
good description for our winter which brought record cold temps into the
area. The average temperature in February
was 17.1 degrees below the norm of 29.6 (12.5 degrees below the avg.) After a bitter cold weekend, this week we have
the possibility of making it into the high 40’s/low 50’s. It’s enough to be a little bit excited about and
bring out the flip flops…oh wait, missionaries can’t wear flip flops J. Maybe a short sleeved shirt.
Well onto the questions and the adventure.
- How was your week? What were the highs/lows? Well this week was a slightly hard week, but I survived. We went on exchange with the zone leaders which I thought would be fun, but I guessed wrong. Maybe the ZL was having a bad day. I say that because for some reason the ZL that I exchanged with decided to be not so nice. He literally complained about everything I did and had nothing nice to say to me. Before the exchange I thought this missionary was nice. I’d seen him around and heard/seen him at zone conference etc. He does go home in 6 weeks, so maybe he is just super trunky, but whatever…it was not fun at all. There were a few times that I wanted to smack him upside the head, but I used my better judgment and did not. I just kept telling myself that I could survive the day and I’d be back with Elder C at the end of the night. The thing is I was not really doing anything wrong. I guess I was just not doing things the way he liked and how he thought I should be doing it. So we argued a bit and then towards the end of the night, when we had about a couple of hours left, I finally asked him if he had anything nice to say to me. I also asked what it was that I’d been doing all day that was causing this behavior. I told him I felt like he was just ripping me to pieces. His response was, “I thought since you have been out so long that you knew what you were supposed to be doing” and all that good stuff. I said, “does that mean I am supposed to be a perfect missionary” because I felt that was the card that I had been dealt. Luckily, there is a bright side to the day. I guess let me back up a bit before I get to the bright part. He is obsessed with Legos and we saw a Lego sign in someone’s window and he really wanted to go talk to the person and basically tract to find it. I said no to that because we had other things that needed to get done. We argued again about it for a minute and then left. Here’s the bright spot…so we have a guy that is in the process of being re- activated. We’ve been stopping by and trying to get in to visit with him and his active wife (he is pretty much active now). Well we happened to stop by and his wife told us she had been praying for someone to help him. He is bipolar and was having sort of a depressing day. So we ended up giving him a blessing. The cool part is we knocked on the door pretty much right as she said “Amen” to her prayer. Well I am out of time, I will write more in a letter once I get settled down in my new area.
- What’s the scoop with transfers? Are you staying or going? After 4 transfers here, I am leaving State College. I've been 3 transfers in Camp Hill, 4 in Lititz, 4 in St. Marys & 4 in State College...only 2 to go and I'll most likely end my mission wherever I'm going tomorrow. I am kind of sad about leaving, but YaY for new adventures and new memories as I am sure they will be unforgettable too. I really wanted to stay, but figured I was getting the boot because I was getting too comfortable here and loving it. Last week I slowly started having the desire to leave. So really at that point, I did not care if I stayed or transferred. I decided I would leave it up to the Lord and go where He wants me to go. I’m fine leaving. Unfortunately, I don't think I will make it to the DC temple because I think I’m staying on this side of the mission according to one of the APs that I tried to get the lowdown from. We’ll see what happens.
- What about Elder C and the rest of your district? Well everybody else is staying the same except for me and there is an elder going home. I think Elder C may be trio training because there are a few Mandarin speaking Visa waiters coming in. He did not get a call saying he was training though so we don't know. Our theory is that he will be an unofficial trainer and whoever the new guy is coming to replace me will be the official trainer. The reason I think it will be a trio is because who knows when the Visa waiter will leave so if he leaves that would just leave a normal companionship after that. Hope that all made sense.
- If you’re being transferred were you able to say goodbyes & take pics? Not really, I got a few pics. Unfortunately, Penn State and everyone else is on spring break here so a lot of people are gone. Sadly all of them get back after I leave tomorrow. Lucky for me I will be able to see them again here in a few months when we come back out. I got to have dinner with the B family (Christmas dinner) so that was fun. So really it was kind of a crappy week to leave because everyone is gone.
- How do you feel about transfers? I am happy, sad and excited all at the same time. I am to the point where no matter where I am it is all of the same. I’m serving the Lord and I’ll go where he wants me to go so it is not a big deal where I am at. I wished I could have stayed here because we’ve got a lot going on but that usually means time for a change. So it honestly doesn't even matter, really it is all the same wherever you are. However, my heart will go on in State College (that was said in my most beautiful Celine Dion voice.).
- How’s the weather? Has spring finally sprung? Great at the moment. It was 43 when we got off the bus to go to the library and like I said above I think that’s what is forecast for the rest of the week. We may even hit 50 this week which would be downright balmy.
- How are things with your investigators/teaching?
- CC? She is doing well. We had another great lesson with her on Saturday. She even came to church yesterday. She was a little late though because she forgot to change her clock…oops. But she still came, so I was impressed with that.
- Sierra Leone sister? Have not heard anything on her, we are going to stop by again.
- McDonald’s referral? We tried to find him. The address is kind of vague and the member doesn't know a house number. Hopefully we can take him with us next time.
- What are 5 positive things from the week? 1) I survived the snow or should I say ICE. 2) Most likely, I only have one more time to pack after today. 3) Packing is made easy due to the fact that I bought some space bags from Walmart and they work wonderfully. You suck them down with the vacuum and it makes lots of space. 4) I made a great infomercial for you on the SD card which you will get soon. 5) We’re having a heat wave today at 43 J.
- Any
good mealtime stories? We had another funeral
with Sis. V on Saturday for the Elder going home. That was an
adventure. Pictures are to come when the SD card goes home. It
was super nice of her to still do it because her son slipped on the ice
and broke his arm like grandpa did. Luckily, no surgery will be involved
though. Just a nasty break. On top of that she was leaving for
a 20 hour drive to South Dakota to visit her husband and look for a house
there. So she definitely had a full
plate but she still took time for us, she’s a great lady.
- Any mission news/events coming up? Zone conference is at the end of the month and interviews are coming up as well.
Well I can't wait to report to you on my new area. Signing out from State College for the last
time…I’ll miss you Happy Valley J.
Love you,
Elder Muir
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