Glorio

I realized just after Conference that Alex only has 1 more Conference to go without us. Or us without him!! I am very grateful for all that he has learned and for all he has come to realize as he is becoming a man. It is a rough thing that these boys do for the two years they are out. I am very proud and I can only imagine the homecoming. I am sure that our Heavenly Father also feels the same for us as we are are here struggling and trying to become worthy to be in His presence. What a homecoming that will be as well! For all of us! I, too, glory in the work of God.

This has been a cool week.

Conference for missionaries is pretty much the biggest holiday there is. Christmas gives us about three hours of monkey-painting non-working time. Conference gives two whole days, because the place we watch conference is far away so we can´t come home to work between sessions. We barely got in a lesson after Sunday sessions.

We didn´t have a ton of lessons, but one we had was super good.

Quote from my week report:
"We met again with a man who is buried waist-high in the Book of Mormon, this time with his wife. He had read (and noted a few questions) the assignment from our last visit and a chapter we gave him in our first contact with him that he hadn´t read. We talked of what the Book really means, including baptism. He said that it was difficult for him to accept a new book after the Bible, but also that he had a difficult time not believing the truths he found in the chapters. We re-explained a little to his wife so that they could read and pray together.

Fernando, for that is his name, is a psicologist and is fascinated by the question of whether human beings are basically bad or good. We showed him Mosiah 3:19 and he read with his mouth slightly open. "Ah, si," he said."

There´s a big motion in the mission right now to do everything about the Book of Mormon (that was echoed in conference), so we do, and it works. The Book seems to attract people who are interested and scare off people who aren´t ready. My trainer, now the assistant, said once that the Book of Mormon is the "Great Filter." If you think about it, it is as much for us as for personal people at home. If they read it and accept it, they will not get filtered out.

On the shaving front I´ve been now secretly mootching off my companion and Elder Lowry, and using my own super old blades that are only slightly better than grinding the hair off your face with a band saw. My face has been happier. At least I have no acne. There´s not enough intact skin.

That was a poor place to put that part.

We have also been watching some DVDs the Church has made to show what good missionaries are like and how to plan and all that. These missionaries are states missionaries in Texas or something who have super-packed all-reference car-and-bike missions. One starts seeing them and thinks, "Wow, we are not that good. We don´t have twenty people in church every week. We definitely do not teach fourteen lessons with members in them a week."

Then comes up this scene where they do a contact. They barely knew how to do it. All at once I started to become really grateful for where I am. We fight on the ground level here, with getting our ward mission leader to come out with us and go to meetings, to doing hundreds of doors and contacts on the street. I love my mission. Elder Burk and I work like fiends all day at 95 degrees, usually only spending an hour or two indoors a day. I glory in that I was counted worthy to work so for Him. My trainer once said that he thinks sometimes that you shouldn´t freak out if you have no baptisms for a while - perhaps that span was neccessary and some missionaries may not have been able to handle that stretch without success.

The Apostle Paul says "glory" as a verb a lot. In Spanish, verbs are always one word. My word this week is "Glorío" - I glory. Glorío that I can be here making this happen.

Our investigators that we do have are also very delicate and difficult. Keeping just our attendence up is a full-time work. Let me tell you, though - how great is our joy for one who is baptized, or reactivated, or finally in the temple? Better than any other.

I just found out today that one of my favorite investigators (through a Melipillan member I ran into on the Metro... somehow) was married and baptised and now is the secretary of the Young Men´s program. That is something, isn´t it. You´d have to be me to get that entirely, but it is something.

Have you ever watched Mormon Messages? They´re good. The music from Moments that Matter Most I would like to have if it´s an artist.

You really should find The Lower Lights. I think you´d like it. It´s pretty folksy. This song I put in is an offering. Maybe Jake and Abby can sing it someday.

I really am doing a lot better. As long as I can eventually resolve my face issues I think I´m fine. The only worry now is there´s a shortage of Zone Leaders in the mission. That scares me a little. Did you know that there are only three groups of missionaries after this change ahead of me? Frightening. I´m afraid my generation is going to have a lot of leadership responsiblity.

Elder Burk and I are finally starting to find a sane medium. Everyone does stress differently, and his was being insanely intense. Mine is being very quiet. So things were just uneasy. But we´re figuring it out.

I´m now working on a highlight audio reel of the Book of Mormon for people who can´t read. I need to work on that.

Trust God. Love each other.
Elder A Conrad Crist