12/03/2018 Twist it. Turn it. Pop it. Bash it.

Hello people who may read this

Every week is another adventure with the companions' bikes. Since they are both nearing the end of their mission, everything is falling apart. Elder Perkins is keeping his bag together with duct tape. Elder Paopao's backpack is staying together pretty precariously as well. And we had another bike fatality. We got a new tube last P-Day. It didn't last too long. 2 days later it popped. Not only that, but the tire itself busted. So we were walking again. Luckily we did secure a new tire and tube the next day thanks to the senior missionaries in our area, Elder/Sister Davis. They are life savers. 

This week was a rollercoaster with our people. We had a lot of people drop us, which was sad, but we also met quite a few, although it took a bunch of tries for us to actually meet them (they were referrals who would set up appointments and then not be there). Most of the people that are interested in talking to us are 70+ years old. We end up going to quite a few senior living centers. But we secured some good service opportunities with them. One of the ladies who owns one of the senior living places was super happy we were willing to help cause it seems she doesn't have a lot of hands helping her out at the facility. We also met a man who wanted a Hindi copy of the Book of Mormon. Pretty cool. But either way, the hardest part of missionary work here, which I'm sure is true in a lot of other places, is getting the second contact. A lot of people will seem pretty interested and will set up another time to meet us, and then we go back, they aren't there or they're sick or busy, then we check back or call or text later, nothing. And we never see them again. 

I got to experience, for the first time, one of the quintessential parts of serving in the south, the Bible Bash. Everyone loves the Bible in the south. While waiting at a crosswalk two 25-30 year old men walked up to us and introduced themselves as Presbyterian ministers or something and started asking us what we believed in. We would explain something, then they would shoot Bible verses at us, and we shoot back with Bible verses to support ourselves. We talked about having a prophet/apostles, priesthood, the trinity, pre-existence, and so on. The good thing was is that there was no aggression. The guys were courteous, unlike some of the other people I have heard about. It was a very interesting experience. They really liked throwing John 1:1 at us for the trinity, which is a pretty confusing scripture. If people don't believe in the JST or won't subscribe to some of the other insight regarding that scripture, all you can really do is point at different scriptures that paint a different picture. They weren't familiar with Jeremiah 1:5 (with regards to pre-mortal existence stuff). Anyways, I hope anyone else I get into this situation again with is as nice as these guys

On Saturday we got to experience something pretty awesome. The angel moroni was being placed on the Memphis temple. A few of the workers came out and talked to us. They are from the company that makes the various statues used in the temple (Moroni, calves). The Moroni statue was over 8 feet tall and weighed about 280 pounds, and there are many different Moroni sizes, and four different poses (the only variation is what he is doing with his other arm). The process (both making the statue and placing it) took a long time. The two guys we talked to were raised in a basket on a crane, and Moroni was lifted by another. They position him right. Then put him in. The pole that secures him in place, however, was too big and different fit. The men had to come back down, get a grinder, and shave off some of the pole to get him to fit. Pretty anticlimactic, but still a great experience. 

Also, another interesting thing the workers said was that it was the first time anyone had heard of the temple in India when President Nelson announced it last conference. Usually the church secures property for a temple before announcing the temple at conference, but nope. President Nelson had revelation or the thought of the India Temple the day before conference. Nothing had been done yet to prepare for it. Of course this is hearsay, but really cool if true. 

For the day of service on Dec 1 for light the world, we actually got some service. There's a member from Southaven who works at a car maintenance shop here in Memphis. The property has more buildings that the boss owns and wants to outfit to be usable. He wants to lease them out to business and stuff. But these buildings are o o f. Leaks in the ceiling, junk everywhere, mold all over, ceiling tiles growing moss; it looked like a location in a Zombie Apocolypse movie. Anyways, we cleared bags of junk from a few rooms. Apparently the place has been the location of a chemical producing company. I think. Anyways, there were some interesting finds. Federal records from the 1940s in a safe, old adding machines, boxes of shaving cream, bowling trophies (mostly participation), unused wrapping paper, a yearbook from 1974, maps, blueprints, a conveyer belt catalog, and a Ringo Starr "It Don't Come Easy" record (the smaller records are singles, right?). After helping clear out some of that room, we went to a food pantry and helped prepare food to for those in need. It was really cool. We probably fed around 60 people. I didn't get to talk to them much, but of them that I did exchange a few words, they were quite nice. 

We also saw the Christmas Devo yesterday. I really liked Sister Eubeck's talk. What matters most is that we are trying our hardest. It's less important how great it turns out. I also relate to that in that I was not good at piano. Sorry Grandma. 

I also saw Sister Johnson in the choir. Pretty cool! 

Did you see the Devo? What messages did you like?

Pics:

1) can't resist taking pictures of funny Church board quotes.

2) biker gang on the tracks. These tracks, by the way, are in use and really close to the apartment. Train horns in the middle of the night. Not good

3) from cleaning the building. Elder Paopao wrote a message on the board and turned it to face the road. Let's see how many phone calls we get...

4) raising Moroni

5) the Ringo Starr Record. Looks like it could still work

6) the coolest room in the building we cleaned. There were some major leaks in the ceiling drainage system. The ambiance of water drops and the different colored moss growing on the ceiling tiles made for a very cool room, although not one I would want to lease out to other companies

7) last P Day was zone P Day. We played volleyball at painted at the Bartlet Building. We painted scripture stories. We picked the famous Hagoth, the Moana of the Book of Mormon. 

8) the missionaries that showed up to the Moroni lifting.