Week 45: Hog Jowls

Just to warn you, this email is probably going to be pretty boring.  I'm struggling to find things of worth to talk about but I guess you won't have to read as much, so that's good.

The first week of the transfer is over.  Elder Taylor is super cool.  He's from Pismo Beach, California and has been out for a year and a half.  I'm learning a lot from him and we are pretty similar.

This week was super long.  We did 25+ hours of finding with almost no success if you look at numbers.  I'm one that doesn't care about numbers.  If I try my best and post all zeros, it doesn't bother me.  I don't base success off of statistics.  I do hate it when missionaries force return appointments on people just so they can check them off.  That should never be your motive in missionary work.

Here's an interesting story.  We were out stopping by potentials last night in a neighborhood in Wildwood.  We saw a guy's profile named Nate and thought we'd stop by.  The gate was closed, so we didn't want to intrude. There was a number on his profile so we gave him a call instead.  We called him and he was super nice.  He told us that he'd be down to meet with missionaries and talk about the Book of Mormon but he's since moved to Virginia.  He's going to college at Shenandoah University.  We told him we'd send his number over to the missionaries in his area and thought nothing of it.  Later, we got a call from the Elders who we sent them to. They're in the Maryland Baltimore Mission.  I looked on the record for their phone number and the names of the Elders, and there it said, "Elder Steenblik".  It's Elder Tanner Steenblik from my home ward.  It was really cool talking to him!  It was almost surreal.  What are the odds that we'd get in contact with Nate, send him to the right missionaries, and have that be someone from my home ward.  It was a really cool tender mercy.  God is truly in the fabric of our lives.

This week, I feel like Ive been more in the south than I usually am.  I've tried "hog jowls" with black-eyed pees, which I can say is the first meal I've had on my mission that wasn't great.  I've met a lot of people who are Florida natives, and someone told us, "If you can cross the creek on a hickory log without it breakin', you've done good."  He was using that analogy to agree with something we said but I honestly have no idea how it applied.  Crazy Southern people man, I love it.

This week we had our first 2 hour Church meeting.  It was strange leaving so early but I thought it was good.  It gave us the responsibility to prioritize the true doctrines of the gospel.  Our Bishop talked a lot about recentering everything to Jesus Christ.  Everything we do, say, and think should have the purpose of bringing us closer to Him.  Brother Campbell, a member in our ward, said something to us a few weeks ago that stuck with me.  He said, quoting something he heard, "A lot of people say that Latter-day Saints are not Christian, and that they don't worship Jesus Christ.  The fact is, they are obsessed with Jesus Christ.  They can't get enough of Him."  Over the past few months, I've definitely seen that in others around me and myself.  I love talking about, thinking about, and studying Jesus Christ.  He has helped me more than I could ever comprehend, and any little bit of understanding that I can obtain of Him is highly sought after.

In closing, this week was pretty boring, but the small things that I noticed throughout my days, bore witness to me that God lives and is aware of an inadequate, oblivious, blonde kid from Cottonwood Heights, Utah.  He loves me and supports me.  I know that to be true of all His children.  Love y'all!

Elder Poulsen

Elder Adair and I

Last family pic

Zone pic

Fishing this morning

Just chillin'

Florida has the most beautiful sunrises

Elder Taylor and I

Week 45: Galatians 5:13-14

I listened to a talk by President Russell M. Nelson.  He talked about "The Living Christ" and how some people don't take advantage of it, or even know it exists.  I took his challenge to read and ponder it.  The last two paragraphs hit me hard.

"We testify that He will someday return to earth. “And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together” (Isaiah 40:5). He will rule as King of Kings and reign as Lord of Lords, and every knee shall bend and every tongue shall speak in worship before Him. Each of us will stand to be judged of Him according to our works and the desires of our hearts.  We bear testimony, as His duly ordained Apostles—that Jesus is the Living Christ, the immortal Son of God. He is the great King Immanuel, who stands today on the right hand of His Father. He is the light, the life, and the hope of the world. His way is the path that leads to happiness in this life and eternal life in the world to come. God be thanked for the matchless gift of His divine Son."

I don't really need to add much to this.  I know my Savior lives, and if I'm here for anything, it is to serve and follow Him.

Elder Poulsen