Hey!
How's it going?
It's been yet another crazy week in the TLM.
Thanks for the cooking ideas. We've been asking around and we got some more. The other day, we had sauerkraut and wieners, which was a nice change from the regular penne.
And how can you have 26-degree days?! It's only April! Not only that, *we're* having 80-degree weather...
That reminds me, we got to help Brother Mortensen trim some trees and bushes in his backyard this morning. He took us to Taco Villa for breakfast, and then we sawed away and carried away branches and tall grass stalks. Fortunately, there was a cool breeze all morning. It also felt humid, so there may be some rain today.
Also, we got to go to the Temple on Thursday! The Mortensens go every Thursday morning and they invited us. Elder Northey hadn't gone his whole mission (20 months or so), so we definitely had to go. We thought they go through each week, but it turns out that they work there those mornings. They've been working there every since the temple opened. It's amazing every time. I'm starting a list of how often I get to go and when. This week was my fifth time. I also re-read that little booklet by President Packer, "Preparing to Enter the Holy Temple". It's cool how the temple is yet another good fruit of Joseph Smith; testifying to his calling. Also, it's yet another thing that he definitely could not have done on his own.
On Monday, we drove over to Amarillo to close another apartment. All the neighbours knew the missionaries and were really friendly to us. Elder Northey used to serve there, so we visited some people that he knew and went to a small diner that sold giant breakfast burritos. Oh, and we took some pictures of some really big feet.
After what I think was three weeks without the time/chance to do proper grocery shopping, we finally went to Wal-Mart and got some food. Even after all that, I didn't get that much. But this is the first time I bought hot dogs on my mission. That was cool. Also, Elder Northey picked up a George Foreman grill in Amarillo that he left behind and made some burgers. That was good.
And, I'm not sure if I've told you, but Elder Philpot has been so excited the last few weeks that he was teaching someone who agreed to be baptized on his birthday. Sister Jarrett, serving in the singles' branch, had the same thing. Turns out, their birthdays are on the same day! I thought that was pretty cool. That, and Elder Rasmussen gets to give some birthday beats. We'll probably help him.
Last weekend, President Robison went to a mission presidents' conference in Arizona. He said it was good and he came home with some ideas from the conference and from the other mission presidents. He asked us to pick him up from the airport Sunday evening, so we decided to make a big sign that said "President Robison" on it and hold it as if we were the valet parking. Sister Robison suggested that we make a big "Welcome Home President Robison!" banner, as if he were a returned missionary - if we had more time, we would have done that.
Despite going to the wrong airport exit (how were we supposed to know that tiny airport has more than one exit!?), he loved it. Before he arrived, a stranger walked up and jokingly said, "Thank you; I'm President Robison". Another walked past us, met the person there to pick him up and after she asked him how he was, he said, "I'm fine. I'm definitely not President Robison, that's for sure". Maybe being a valet is more fun than it looks...
Umm... anyways, that's all I've got this week. Tomorrow, we're speaking in sacrament meeting in Brownfield.
I'll talk to you later, and hope that none of us get the swine flu.
The Church is true! If you don't believe me, go to the temple.
I love you!
-Elder Brandon Wong
Something I wish I knew before my mission: what sauerkraut tasted like.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Saturday, April 18, 2009 - The Travels of Wilbur the Pig Head
Hello!
How's it going?
Glad to hear about the good weather you're having. We've also been having some interesting and good weather. More on that in a moment.
First of all, a lot of my pictures won't make sense unless you have the story behind it. Either that, or the other parts of it were taken on Elder Northey's camera. With the two of us together, we probably take more pictures than any other companionship in the mission. It's a good thing that I got that hard drive, since I've collected over 13GB of pictures and especially videos from him alone (and that's just what he took since coming to Lubbock on the same day I got here). I'd send it to you, but... it's over 13GB and we have no space for that. Although, I think I will try to send a few cool things.
Speaking of the pig's head: I'm not sure if I told you about it yet; I thought I did. Anyways, back in December, when Elder Hewitt was still here, he was having trouble walking, so he asked Elders Pugh and Bringhurst to run to Wal-Mart for him and gave them his card and a list. When they got back, Elder Hewitt was in the other room. The two were putting the groceries away. Elder Bringhurst pulled out of one of the bags with a big pink thing, vacuum-sealed in plastic, and quickly stuffed it into the freezer. For a moment, I thought it was a turkey. They finished really fast, said bye and ran out the door. Elder Hewitt came out and looked over the receipt. "Cookies, chips, ... hog's head? ... oh, no!" He ran over to the freezer and there was a giant pig's head staring him eye to eye.
We all had a big laugh, took pictures and everything. Then Elders Pugh and Bringhurst gave it to one of the Sister missionaries in Roswell who used to be a vegetarian. Ever since then, it's been passed from freezer to freezer. Eventually, Wilbur (that's the pig's name now) made his way back to us in Lubbock and we gave it to the same Sister who was transferred here last month. Then we decided that Wilbur needed to see more of the world.
On Wednesday, we drove down to Abilene to close an apartment there. Elders Sosi and Allred had the keys to that place, so we stopped by there to get it, but not before they got a mystery package. We packed Wilbur into a box with ton of shreddings (that box has a prank history of its own), dropped it on their doorstep, rang the doorbell and ran off. After they took it in, we managed to walk in just as they were about to open it. Long story short, they loved it and Wilbur's being passed around in Abilene. (Do you know how many times that thing has been thawed out and re-frozen?)
How does Survivor at school work? And to answer your questions: I didn't get the card with the missionaries, but I got the one with the camel.
I'm not sure, but I think the record for time [served] in the office is 11 months. Elder Johnson (not the one from Canada) said that his trainer served in the office for several months, went back into the field to train him and then went right back to the office after that for the rest of his mission. President Robison wants to change that; he wants people in the office for less time. Elder Rasmussen has the record for shortest time in the office: barely two months! I love serving in the office and I think President knows that. He always asks to make sure we're doing alright and so on.
When I leave the office, I only hope I'll have enough time each week to send my pictures home. That's why I'm trying to keep it up to date now. If I fall behind, I'm going to need to have plenty of space on my memory cards to hang on to them, at least until they can be sent. I have more pictures of my time in Lubbock than the rest of my mission combined.
We have almost no meat. Right now, the only meat we're getting is from McDonald's. That, and the pig's head, but there's probably a ton of poisonous bacteria in there by now. We also have six pounds of ground beef which we bought for hamburger helper, but we haven't had the time to actually make it. Allotments do carry over to the next month. Somehow, I have about five months' worth built up. Just kidding. I wish. Even if I did have a lot of money, what would I buy? We have very little time, and we have no oven. When we go shopping today, we're going to get cheese and hot dogs.
And yes, there are certain kinds of people that are more likely to be home during the day, when the missionaries are out tracking. That's part of the reason why President Monson said that there's no substitute for a member-oriented missionary program. Where are all the "cool" people? Duh, they're at work, making a living, providing for their families, etc. Who else is there but members of the church?
Anyways, as we were leaving Abilene, it started to rain a bit. All of West Texas was getting some moisture. We started driving home and we heard that Lubbock was starting to get hail. Down the long road, on the horizon and in the middle of the blue sky, we saw the darkest clouds you ever did see. We finally reached them and it was raining hard. Then, further up, we saw tons of cars stopped on the side of the road. As we were wondering what that was all about, the truck started getting pelted by golf ball-sized hail. We stopped too, but only for a minute. We kept going and the rain really picked up. The hail hit the mission home hard. It punch holes in two of the three skylights in there. No one was hurt, though.
Last night, there was a ward talent show. We couldn't go because we were having dinner at the mission home, but it's a good thing we didn't. Elders Craven and King just told us that they went and they were asked to come up to present something - totally unplanned. They went up and sang this really dumb song. They were pretty embarrassed.
We also had interviews with President yesterday here in Lubbock. He did them slightly differently this time. Each companionship rotated between being interviewed, to being trained by the zone leaders, to being trained by the assistants. It was pretty interesting.
Well, we have to go. Hope everything goes well.
I love you!
-Elder Brandon Wong
Something I wish I knew before my mission: how to cook and eat a pig's head.
How's it going?
Glad to hear about the good weather you're having. We've also been having some interesting and good weather. More on that in a moment.
First of all, a lot of my pictures won't make sense unless you have the story behind it. Either that, or the other parts of it were taken on Elder Northey's camera. With the two of us together, we probably take more pictures than any other companionship in the mission. It's a good thing that I got that hard drive, since I've collected over 13GB of pictures and especially videos from him alone (and that's just what he took since coming to Lubbock on the same day I got here). I'd send it to you, but... it's over 13GB and we have no space for that. Although, I think I will try to send a few cool things.
Speaking of the pig's head: I'm not sure if I told you about it yet; I thought I did. Anyways, back in December, when Elder Hewitt was still here, he was having trouble walking, so he asked Elders Pugh and Bringhurst to run to Wal-Mart for him and gave them his card and a list. When they got back, Elder Hewitt was in the other room. The two were putting the groceries away. Elder Bringhurst pulled out of one of the bags with a big pink thing, vacuum-sealed in plastic, and quickly stuffed it into the freezer. For a moment, I thought it was a turkey. They finished really fast, said bye and ran out the door. Elder Hewitt came out and looked over the receipt. "Cookies, chips, ... hog's head? ... oh, no!" He ran over to the freezer and there was a giant pig's head staring him eye to eye.
We all had a big laugh, took pictures and everything. Then Elders Pugh and Bringhurst gave it to one of the Sister missionaries in Roswell who used to be a vegetarian. Ever since then, it's been passed from freezer to freezer. Eventually, Wilbur (that's the pig's name now) made his way back to us in Lubbock and we gave it to the same Sister who was transferred here last month. Then we decided that Wilbur needed to see more of the world.
On Wednesday, we drove down to Abilene to close an apartment there. Elders Sosi and Allred had the keys to that place, so we stopped by there to get it, but not before they got a mystery package. We packed Wilbur into a box with ton of shreddings (that box has a prank history of its own), dropped it on their doorstep, rang the doorbell and ran off. After they took it in, we managed to walk in just as they were about to open it. Long story short, they loved it and Wilbur's being passed around in Abilene. (Do you know how many times that thing has been thawed out and re-frozen?)
How does Survivor at school work? And to answer your questions: I didn't get the card with the missionaries, but I got the one with the camel.
I'm not sure, but I think the record for time [served] in the office is 11 months. Elder Johnson (not the one from Canada) said that his trainer served in the office for several months, went back into the field to train him and then went right back to the office after that for the rest of his mission. President Robison wants to change that; he wants people in the office for less time. Elder Rasmussen has the record for shortest time in the office: barely two months! I love serving in the office and I think President knows that. He always asks to make sure we're doing alright and so on.
When I leave the office, I only hope I'll have enough time each week to send my pictures home. That's why I'm trying to keep it up to date now. If I fall behind, I'm going to need to have plenty of space on my memory cards to hang on to them, at least until they can be sent. I have more pictures of my time in Lubbock than the rest of my mission combined.
We have almost no meat. Right now, the only meat we're getting is from McDonald's. That, and the pig's head, but there's probably a ton of poisonous bacteria in there by now. We also have six pounds of ground beef which we bought for hamburger helper, but we haven't had the time to actually make it. Allotments do carry over to the next month. Somehow, I have about five months' worth built up. Just kidding. I wish. Even if I did have a lot of money, what would I buy? We have very little time, and we have no oven. When we go shopping today, we're going to get cheese and hot dogs.
And yes, there are certain kinds of people that are more likely to be home during the day, when the missionaries are out tracking. That's part of the reason why President Monson said that there's no substitute for a member-oriented missionary program. Where are all the "cool" people? Duh, they're at work, making a living, providing for their families, etc. Who else is there but members of the church?
Anyways, as we were leaving Abilene, it started to rain a bit. All of West Texas was getting some moisture. We started driving home and we heard that Lubbock was starting to get hail. Down the long road, on the horizon and in the middle of the blue sky, we saw the darkest clouds you ever did see. We finally reached them and it was raining hard. Then, further up, we saw tons of cars stopped on the side of the road. As we were wondering what that was all about, the truck started getting pelted by golf ball-sized hail. We stopped too, but only for a minute. We kept going and the rain really picked up. The hail hit the mission home hard. It punch holes in two of the three skylights in there. No one was hurt, though.
Last night, there was a ward talent show. We couldn't go because we were having dinner at the mission home, but it's a good thing we didn't. Elders Craven and King just told us that they went and they were asked to come up to present something - totally unplanned. They went up and sang this really dumb song. They were pretty embarrassed.
We also had interviews with President yesterday here in Lubbock. He did them slightly differently this time. Each companionship rotated between being interviewed, to being trained by the zone leaders, to being trained by the assistants. It was pretty interesting.
Well, we have to go. Hope everything goes well.
I love you!
-Elder Brandon Wong
Something I wish I knew before my mission: how to cook and eat a pig's head.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Saturday, April 11, 2009 - Starving with Aliens
Hey!
How's it going?
We've been really busy the past little while. I haven't had the chance to do emails for a long time! I checked the "Sent Items" folder and it says my last one was on the 21st of March? Is that true?
Well, I have some catching up to do. I might repeat myself, since I've forgotten what I wrote, but don't worry.
Transfers had come and gone. Elder Johnson has been moved to Odessa, and Elder Philpot is now with Elder Rasmussen and they're living with us at "Chief's". He [Elder Philpot] was serving in Plainview, TX just before. He came out one transfer after me (in fact, he was Elder Rasmussen's MTC companion! Now they're serving together again!), yet he's been in the Lubbock zone his whole mission. There's a lot of missionaries that have hardly moved in their entire mission. I'm kinda glad that I've been able to move around and see more of the mission.
Also, we got four new missionaries from the MTC. One of them was delayed for medical reasons. He had really high potassium levels. Don't ask me how. Anyways, he came a couple days later. It was the first time I did a new missionary orientation as the finance guy. It was a lot shorter, but it was fun since I got to give them their credit cards. We also took them to go bike shopping. It was funny. Since there was about nine missionaries leaving, half of them wanted to sell their bikes, but only two of the new missionaries needed one. Everyone kept lowering the price to make a sale, and eventually, one of them won at $150 for his used bike.
We also said goodbye to the departing missionaries. Because we no longer have the party van, we had to help take all nine of them and their luggage to the airport. I knew almost all of them and it was tough to say goodbye.
At the transfer site, we had a lot of people come through Lubbock, either passing through, or getting off.
We also opened a new apartment in Snyder, TX. Sister Bingham and Sister Jones were sent there to re-open the area. So we hauled a trailer full of furniture, unloaded it, got all the paperwork signed and all the money delivered. The next day, we opened an apartment in Odessa. Elder McKeen and Elder Beesley were sent to cover West Odessa, TX. So we drove with the trailer to Snyder to deliver a check for the application fees and then to Odessa to unload. We did a lot of driving; Elder Northey did a lot of driving. Note: if you get to design a house or an apartment, MAKE SPACE FOR A COUCH TO GET IN THE DOOR! It took us half an hour trying to wedge a couch in the door and around the stupid corner at the same time, before we decided that it wasn't possible. We even scratched up the wall in the process. Let's just say that a washer and dryer never would have been an option.
But now these two companionships are all settled in and already doing great work. Then came closing apartments. More on that later. Anyways, by the time we got back, we were tired. Thank goodness for Sister Robison who fed us the leftovers from the meals for transfers. Seriously, we knocked on their door with a tired face and she didn't let us leave until we've eaten something. We should go more often. Just as a side note, it's cool doing big errands like that because we get our meals paid for with our office cards. Since we're on the road, we can't eat at home and it costs too much to eat out, so it's paid for. It's tithing money, so we always go for something cheap, like McDonald's; but still cool. Even so, that doesn't hold a candle to Sister Robison's cooking.
Zone Leader Conference was on that Friday [March 27th]. We went with them to the usual breakfast at IHOP. Still so expensive, but the "country sausage browns" are really good. I also got to talk a little bit with Elder Larson and Elder Valenzuela, two new zone leaders. This transfer, they split the Midland and Odessa zones. These two are the leaders of the Odessa zone. And get this - they're both really young missionaries. Elder Valenzuela came out about 11 months ago and Elder Larson, about 6 (he's still in his greenie area and serving with his follow-up trainer!). President is showing that he really values good missionary and leadership traits over length of time in the field and experience.
On Saturday [March 28th], we had our mission audit. Two "Melchizedek Priesthood holders" from the stake (as prescribed by the audit rules) came and went through all the receipts, all the checks and all the records for 2008. Then President Robison came and they interviewed him. Long story short, we passed....and they gave us Krispy Kremes.
On Sunday [March 29th], we went to the Brownfield Branch again. We're probably going to go more regularly. Testimony meeting consisted of five people, all over 60-70 years old, getting up and giving their life story or conversion story. There were almost no gaps the entire meeting. After church, we went back to Lubbock where the Fourth Ward was having a Linger-Longer. This was the first ward activity they've had in a long time, but it was a success. There were a lot of people (it's a big ward - contrast that with Brownfield: 10 vs. 100), and lots of food. I enjoyed that.
We also visited Brother Smith, a member from Hobbs, NM, who was in the hospital and in need of a blessing.
The next week were zone conferences. We weren't travelling to those, but the Hansens were; so they can meet all of the missionaries. Also, our mission got a "hardware upgrade" from Sprint. All of our cell phones were being switched out for new ones. I guess that was just part of the deal that the Church has with Sprint. Elder Hansen gave out new phones and everyone now has rectangular indestructible bricks. No joke - Elder Northey and I got our hands on an old one that didn't work properly and we dropped it down the staircase in the office from the fourth floor. It just bounced at the bottom and it was still completely intact.
I also got a haircut from Sister Sybrowsky (the ward mission leader's wife). She sharpened the blades on the clippers, so, unlike last time, it didn't pull any hair out. She did a really good job.
Elder Philpot had an appointment with Dr. Farrell. He needs to lose weight. When they were done, Dr. Farrell commented that Elder Northey should lose weight too. They agreed to help each other lose a few pounds. The next day, Elder Philpot and Elder Rasmussen went to United and saw a special: 3 half-gallon tubs of Blue Bell ice cream for $11. They each got three. They finished it in that week. Elder Northey, not one to be outdone, went to United and got his own. I'm thinking it's hopeless. Meanwhile, we're still just as busy; so I'm missing meals here and there, but I got a 3-pound tub of Virginia Peanuts at Sam's Club to leave in the office. I've had several all-peanut meals since then.
Speaking of Sam's Club, we went back to stock up again. They ran out of macaroni, so we got penne rigate. ...penne and cheese just isn't the same as macaroni and cheese. It doesn't cook right, and after what seems like double the cooking time, the inside is still hard. I miss macaroni. I've also discovered what a canned salmon-mayo sandwich is like. Despite the stink, the picking out the bones and the disgusting look of it, it tastes pretty good. I'd have another. Also, Elder Tripp introduced us to a place called Smoothie King. They make smoothies from fruits, milk, ice cream, etc. and add protein or whatever other stuff a health place sells. Even though it's only liquid, it can actually fill you up for a while.
General Conference was great. We watched one session at a member's house, two at the Stake Center and the rest in the office. It was really special watching conference with the temple visible right out the window. I especially liked President Uchtdorf's talk in the priesthood session.
On Monday, we had a clean-the-storage-units project. The whole Zone was there. President Robison was there. We pulled everything out and he told us what to keep. It really needed a cleanup. The rest (couches, etc.) was destroyed in the funniest way possible (jumping on it, hammering it, throwing it). Afterwards, we went with the Assistants to the Lubbock city landfill. Going to the dump was actually a lot more fun than I would have expected. It's a giant pit in the ground, just outside the city. We just drove into it, threw whatever we had on the ground and the tractors pushed it away, ready to be covered in dirt to become a mountain. Then we took that opportunity to get rid of whatever garbage we had in the truck. It was cool - throwing garbage out the window *wasn't* littering!
Tuesday, we had district meeting - Elder Northey's first as District Leader. He did a really good job. Later on that day, Elders Craven and King had car problems (their key was too worn down to start the car). A couple hours later, Elder Craig (newly serving in Lubbock - he's from Canada too (and the only Canadian to not serve in the office (yet!))) had his bike stolen, so we had to pick him and Elder Humeniuk up and take them home. On the way home, we stopped at Velocity Bike Shop to order two bikes for two Sisters in the mission.
Thursday, we hooked up the trailer and drove to Ft. Sumner to close the apartment there. It was the first time I had ever been in New Mexico. When we got there, Melton, a local member, told us that most of the furniture came with the place and that he would get someone to clean it. Basically, we had nothing to do there. He gave us a tour of their small chapel (they have 10 active members) after that. We decided that instead of making the whole trip a waste, we would drive on to Roswell where there was another apartment to close. So we did.
My first time in Roswell. That city is famous for the whole alien-UFO thing and they really take advantage of it. Half of the lamp posts have alien heads on top. There is a UFO Museum "and research center" (just to satisfy the nuts). Most of the businesses have aliens drawn all over their buildings. Wal-Mart has aliens. McDonald's is shaped like a spaceship. It's crazy. We moved all the furniture out and spent the next few hours cleaning. Then we drove home. It was a long drive.
When we got back, President Robison told me that he's switching the housing responsibilities back to my position. It was too confusing before, since I'm in charge of paying rent, utilities, etc. and he's in charge of managing leases, starting and stopping utilities... Anyways, now I have to learn yet another thing. After this, all I have to do is learn how to manage vehicles, referrals, and cell phones, and I will know how to do everything in the office. I can't imagine what it's like for President Robison.
Finally, I've been asked to update the mission website. Right now, there's hardly anything and it's been like that since before my mission. President wants a site that newly called missionaries, family or RMs can go to to learn a little about the mission. I was already planing on making something like that for you, but now I get to do it for everyone. If you have any suggestions of things that you think people would want to know, tell me.
Anyways, I hope that's enough for make up for the past weeks.
I hope you all have a great Easter.
The more I learn each day, the more it all points to the fact that the Church is true and it's the way to go.
I love you!
-Elder Brandon Wong
Something I wish I knew before my mission: the value of Virginia Peanuts when you're hungry and there's nothing else to eat.
How's it going?
We've been really busy the past little while. I haven't had the chance to do emails for a long time! I checked the "Sent Items" folder and it says my last one was on the 21st of March? Is that true?
Well, I have some catching up to do. I might repeat myself, since I've forgotten what I wrote, but don't worry.
Transfers had come and gone. Elder Johnson has been moved to Odessa, and Elder Philpot is now with Elder Rasmussen and they're living with us at "Chief's". He [Elder Philpot] was serving in Plainview, TX just before. He came out one transfer after me (in fact, he was Elder Rasmussen's MTC companion! Now they're serving together again!), yet he's been in the Lubbock zone his whole mission. There's a lot of missionaries that have hardly moved in their entire mission. I'm kinda glad that I've been able to move around and see more of the mission.
Also, we got four new missionaries from the MTC. One of them was delayed for medical reasons. He had really high potassium levels. Don't ask me how. Anyways, he came a couple days later. It was the first time I did a new missionary orientation as the finance guy. It was a lot shorter, but it was fun since I got to give them their credit cards. We also took them to go bike shopping. It was funny. Since there was about nine missionaries leaving, half of them wanted to sell their bikes, but only two of the new missionaries needed one. Everyone kept lowering the price to make a sale, and eventually, one of them won at $150 for his used bike.
We also said goodbye to the departing missionaries. Because we no longer have the party van, we had to help take all nine of them and their luggage to the airport. I knew almost all of them and it was tough to say goodbye.
At the transfer site, we had a lot of people come through Lubbock, either passing through, or getting off.
We also opened a new apartment in Snyder, TX. Sister Bingham and Sister Jones were sent there to re-open the area. So we hauled a trailer full of furniture, unloaded it, got all the paperwork signed and all the money delivered. The next day, we opened an apartment in Odessa. Elder McKeen and Elder Beesley were sent to cover West Odessa, TX. So we drove with the trailer to Snyder to deliver a check for the application fees and then to Odessa to unload. We did a lot of driving; Elder Northey did a lot of driving. Note: if you get to design a house or an apartment, MAKE SPACE FOR A COUCH TO GET IN THE DOOR! It took us half an hour trying to wedge a couch in the door and around the stupid corner at the same time, before we decided that it wasn't possible. We even scratched up the wall in the process. Let's just say that a washer and dryer never would have been an option.
But now these two companionships are all settled in and already doing great work. Then came closing apartments. More on that later. Anyways, by the time we got back, we were tired. Thank goodness for Sister Robison who fed us the leftovers from the meals for transfers. Seriously, we knocked on their door with a tired face and she didn't let us leave until we've eaten something. We should go more often. Just as a side note, it's cool doing big errands like that because we get our meals paid for with our office cards. Since we're on the road, we can't eat at home and it costs too much to eat out, so it's paid for. It's tithing money, so we always go for something cheap, like McDonald's; but still cool. Even so, that doesn't hold a candle to Sister Robison's cooking.
Zone Leader Conference was on that Friday [March 27th]. We went with them to the usual breakfast at IHOP. Still so expensive, but the "country sausage browns" are really good. I also got to talk a little bit with Elder Larson and Elder Valenzuela, two new zone leaders. This transfer, they split the Midland and Odessa zones. These two are the leaders of the Odessa zone. And get this - they're both really young missionaries. Elder Valenzuela came out about 11 months ago and Elder Larson, about 6 (he's still in his greenie area and serving with his follow-up trainer!). President is showing that he really values good missionary and leadership traits over length of time in the field and experience.
On Saturday [March 28th], we had our mission audit. Two "Melchizedek Priesthood holders" from the stake (as prescribed by the audit rules) came and went through all the receipts, all the checks and all the records for 2008. Then President Robison came and they interviewed him. Long story short, we passed....and they gave us Krispy Kremes.
On Sunday [March 29th], we went to the Brownfield Branch again. We're probably going to go more regularly. Testimony meeting consisted of five people, all over 60-70 years old, getting up and giving their life story or conversion story. There were almost no gaps the entire meeting. After church, we went back to Lubbock where the Fourth Ward was having a Linger-Longer. This was the first ward activity they've had in a long time, but it was a success. There were a lot of people (it's a big ward - contrast that with Brownfield: 10 vs. 100), and lots of food. I enjoyed that.
We also visited Brother Smith, a member from Hobbs, NM, who was in the hospital and in need of a blessing.
The next week were zone conferences. We weren't travelling to those, but the Hansens were; so they can meet all of the missionaries. Also, our mission got a "hardware upgrade" from Sprint. All of our cell phones were being switched out for new ones. I guess that was just part of the deal that the Church has with Sprint. Elder Hansen gave out new phones and everyone now has rectangular indestructible bricks. No joke - Elder Northey and I got our hands on an old one that didn't work properly and we dropped it down the staircase in the office from the fourth floor. It just bounced at the bottom and it was still completely intact.
I also got a haircut from Sister Sybrowsky (the ward mission leader's wife). She sharpened the blades on the clippers, so, unlike last time, it didn't pull any hair out. She did a really good job.
Elder Philpot had an appointment with Dr. Farrell. He needs to lose weight. When they were done, Dr. Farrell commented that Elder Northey should lose weight too. They agreed to help each other lose a few pounds. The next day, Elder Philpot and Elder Rasmussen went to United and saw a special: 3 half-gallon tubs of Blue Bell ice cream for $11. They each got three. They finished it in that week. Elder Northey, not one to be outdone, went to United and got his own. I'm thinking it's hopeless. Meanwhile, we're still just as busy; so I'm missing meals here and there, but I got a 3-pound tub of Virginia Peanuts at Sam's Club to leave in the office. I've had several all-peanut meals since then.
Speaking of Sam's Club, we went back to stock up again. They ran out of macaroni, so we got penne rigate. ...penne and cheese just isn't the same as macaroni and cheese. It doesn't cook right, and after what seems like double the cooking time, the inside is still hard. I miss macaroni. I've also discovered what a canned salmon-mayo sandwich is like. Despite the stink, the picking out the bones and the disgusting look of it, it tastes pretty good. I'd have another. Also, Elder Tripp introduced us to a place called Smoothie King. They make smoothies from fruits, milk, ice cream, etc. and add protein or whatever other stuff a health place sells. Even though it's only liquid, it can actually fill you up for a while.
General Conference was great. We watched one session at a member's house, two at the Stake Center and the rest in the office. It was really special watching conference with the temple visible right out the window. I especially liked President Uchtdorf's talk in the priesthood session.
On Monday, we had a clean-the-storage-units project. The whole Zone was there. President Robison was there. We pulled everything out and he told us what to keep. It really needed a cleanup. The rest (couches, etc.) was destroyed in the funniest way possible (jumping on it, hammering it, throwing it). Afterwards, we went with the Assistants to the Lubbock city landfill. Going to the dump was actually a lot more fun than I would have expected. It's a giant pit in the ground, just outside the city. We just drove into it, threw whatever we had on the ground and the tractors pushed it away, ready to be covered in dirt to become a mountain. Then we took that opportunity to get rid of whatever garbage we had in the truck. It was cool - throwing garbage out the window *wasn't* littering!
Tuesday, we had district meeting - Elder Northey's first as District Leader. He did a really good job. Later on that day, Elders Craven and King had car problems (their key was too worn down to start the car). A couple hours later, Elder Craig (newly serving in Lubbock - he's from Canada too (and the only Canadian to not serve in the office (yet!))) had his bike stolen, so we had to pick him and Elder Humeniuk up and take them home. On the way home, we stopped at Velocity Bike Shop to order two bikes for two Sisters in the mission.
Thursday, we hooked up the trailer and drove to Ft. Sumner to close the apartment there. It was the first time I had ever been in New Mexico. When we got there, Melton, a local member, told us that most of the furniture came with the place and that he would get someone to clean it. Basically, we had nothing to do there. He gave us a tour of their small chapel (they have 10 active members) after that. We decided that instead of making the whole trip a waste, we would drive on to Roswell where there was another apartment to close. So we did.
My first time in Roswell. That city is famous for the whole alien-UFO thing and they really take advantage of it. Half of the lamp posts have alien heads on top. There is a UFO Museum "and research center" (just to satisfy the nuts). Most of the businesses have aliens drawn all over their buildings. Wal-Mart has aliens. McDonald's is shaped like a spaceship. It's crazy. We moved all the furniture out and spent the next few hours cleaning. Then we drove home. It was a long drive.
When we got back, President Robison told me that he's switching the housing responsibilities back to my position. It was too confusing before, since I'm in charge of paying rent, utilities, etc. and he's in charge of managing leases, starting and stopping utilities... Anyways, now I have to learn yet another thing. After this, all I have to do is learn how to manage vehicles, referrals, and cell phones, and I will know how to do everything in the office. I can't imagine what it's like for President Robison.
Finally, I've been asked to update the mission website. Right now, there's hardly anything and it's been like that since before my mission. President wants a site that newly called missionaries, family or RMs can go to to learn a little about the mission. I was already planing on making something like that for you, but now I get to do it for everyone. If you have any suggestions of things that you think people would want to know, tell me.
Anyways, I hope that's enough for make up for the past weeks.
I hope you all have a great Easter.
The more I learn each day, the more it all points to the fact that the Church is true and it's the way to go.
I love you!
-Elder Brandon Wong
Something I wish I knew before my mission: the value of Virginia Peanuts when you're hungry and there's nothing else to eat.
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