Blog Post #59: Like a Most Improbable Dream

Dear People,

Yes, it is five months too early to quote that movie, but it fits perfectly to the insanity that came about this week. Let me give you a play-by-play of it.

Monday- After e-mail we hung out at the Church with half of our Zone (10 missionaries) for a little bit because we have cheap fashion stores here. They all bought Poopy Pants


which I didn't have enough money or interest for. I'll probably get some as a souvenir. My companion and my District Leader (Elder Goo) were hanging out talking with people, when all the sudden Elder Goo got a text saying that his companion (We'll refer to him as... Sugar Baby) is now my companion! We immediately went grocery shopping together, to celebrate the happy surprise.

Tuesday - A typhoon (think minor hurricane) locked us in the house for half the day, and after that we had a pot-luck lunch before our District Meeting. We had homemade pizza, Chocolate Ha'aupia Pie, Spam-n-Eggs, Cheesy Goulash Sandwiches, and mangoes dipped in caramel! It was delightful, and I ate way too much!

Wednesday and Thursday weren't actually special.

Friday - We had a lady randomly call us, screaming at us that she'd been locked out of the Church and wandering around for 2 hours with her baby. We weren't sure who she was, but we went to meet her anyways. Turns out, she had shown up half an hour early for English Class, and then tried to go into the Catholic church next door. She couldn't get in, and tried to call us, but we were teaching a Gospel lesson and couldn't answer. She decided to go on a search for any other "Wan Tau Kok Lane" in the area, rather than double check the name of the Church she was at. She was LIVID by the time she got to us, but luckily one of the Missionaries at English Class is a local, so he calmed her down.

Saturday was nothing special, except that we found out that...

Sunday - Ward Conference! The short version is we had to scramble to call everyone we had invited to Church to get them there at the right time. SUPER bothersome, but we managed to get some people seated quietly. Our Stake President, the leader of the 5 congregations in this area, gave a powerful talk on the importance of following Christ, and I LOVED it! He's a great man, and I'm glad that he was not only able to speak yesterday, but that I was able to understand what he said!

So now, I'm with Sugar Baby. He's a surfing lifeguard from California that had to do Witness Relocation to Riverton, Utah to escape from the drug cartel for resuscitating a guy who'd they'd tried to drown, which guy ended up testifying in court and getting the leaders of the ring thrown in Federal Prison... Or his mom got a new job in Utah; I'll let you decide which story is true.

He's pretty funny, and likes to do little kid insults...
Example 1: Why don't you go sit in the snow and get cold... And eat a broccoli?
Ex. 2: Well, you should just put yourself in that book.. and... and shut it!
So our atmosphere is always light, but fairly focused, and we're happy to be together. He'd been living with me since he was "born" into the Mission, so it was cool to be put with a new companion that I already knew!

OH WAIT! I almost forgot!

I met an Apostle of the Lord last Friday! The members of the Quorum of the 12 Apostle like to travel around visiting Missionaries, and Elder Niel L. Anderson came and spoke to us in the Area Office building.

I took 2 pages of notes on just his talk, and at one point he asked us about scriptures we like in the Book of Mormon. We would say a chapter, and with pretty much zero thinking time he would tell us his feelings on it. We came to the conclusion that he's got the entire Book of Mormon memorized, and I wouldn't be surprised if he's got most of the Bible in his head, too.

It was amazing to hear him speak; he's got so much in common with other 62 year old men, and a lot that isn't so common. He's from southern Idaho, but he travels the world testifying of the Savior in a way that only 14 other men do. He has tons of connections in the world, but few people are so globally spread as him. I'm a little bummed I didn't get to know him better, but Missions get visited by Apostles every year, so maybe I'll get another chance soon!

I love you all, and I am so happy to hear about all the marriages that are taking place! My favorite red-head is getting ready to be Sealed in the Temple, and I am SO excited for her! I just love how life goes on, no matter what happens in the world!

I love you all, and I hope everybody has a great week!

Love,
Elder O'Gara