Have you ever heard that song? Of course you have, it's only playing on every radio station ever every five minutes. All right...I admit it. I like a song that's popular right now, even if it's Katy Perry of all people. SHHHHHHHHHH!! Don't go screaming that around! I've got a reputation to uphold, you know. Got to be the non-conformist kid who hates all songs that anyone else likes. Anyway. I like that song, and I've been using it as an inspiring running song. And hey, I got 5 miles today and about 3.1 yesterday. Not bad, especially considering my pesky cold (which is so much better today! Thank you, Lord, and benadryl. Oh! And my dad, who told me to take allergy medicine for a cold). So, this blog has nothing really to do with Katy Perry, sorry to disappoint. She doesn't really fit the missionary mold, if you ask me. I just needed a "snappy" title, and I'm feeling inspired, which I also feel when I hear this song.
Right. Feeling inspired.
I'm one of those members of the church who doesn't go home wiping their tears of joy away as they sing hymns merrily all the way. I know it's true, but I'm not that emotionally expressive about it, you know? That's not one of my spiritual gifts, and to be honest, I get jealous on occasion of people who are more open about feelings pertaining to the Gospel. Sometimes I struggle for that reason to feel anything, and I have to remind myself, you know, with this mission-thing coming up, that feeling is a big part of the work I'm doing. If I don't feel it, how can I expect investigators to seek the feeling of the Spirit? I can't, in short. The Lord speaks to both the heart and mind, whether or not we are inclined to one over the other.
Well, I got a letter from the MTC the other day. Been getting a few of those over the past couple of weeks. Did you know the MTC president changed?? Now it's this man named Gordon B. Brown. I don't know much about him, but I'm pretty sure he's amazing. At least, I hope he is, MTC prez and all. In the letter, there was a bulleted list of things I need to get done with my time ticking. One, flu shot (done!), two, get your MTC address via your LDS email account, a reminder that only one vehicle per missionary gets to enter through the grounds to drop you off, oh, and, uh, watch these three videos. I've either done or knew about the other stuff, but videos? What? They're three episodes of what they call The District 2, and I really had no idea what they meant. District. That sounds mission-related.
As you may have surmised, they were mission related, but they weren't at all what I was expecting, which is why I'm here now, telling you about them. Basically, The District 2 is kind of a reality tv show of missionary work. Perhaps reality tv is a bad comparison, as the real thing is full of filth, and you find these online, but I mean in principle. As in, unscripted, following people around. Real people. Real missionaries. It's a catalog of a mission district in San Diego's experiences. There's three elder companionships and one sister companionship that they cover. They really could make a reality tv show, I think. Haha. There were times I was hanging on to every last word, shaking the screen and saying, "PLEASE MR. RODRIGUEZ (who was Asian, and not Mexican, as you may have expected!)! PLEASE SAY YES TO BAPTISM!" Some investigators looked promising, and then the missionaries would say one thing, and that was it. That was part of the "real" aspects. They showed the missionaries making mistakes. Totally innocent mistakes, but you saw it happen, and you felt their shame when they realized. Oh man. People just DESTROYED them on occasion. But there were lots of happy moments, too. I felt the Spirit very strongly, and I almost cried alongside with the people. They all were very real--had their own issues, besides serving a mission and working with investigators. One elder had cancer. One sister lost her brother during her mission. These are just a few of the many stories told.
It changed my perspective. I went into this whole thing, not sure what to expect, and I finished those three episodes with a different view of the work I'm about to commence. Ukraine will probably be a bit of a different adventure in comparison with San Diego, but I think I've been shown a realistic version of missionary work. I know I'm going to fail. I've always known that (not quite the same as tasting it, though). But I know there will be success. If not with investigators, than with myself. Those men and women were so spiritual, and I loved to watch them grow. The videos were about 38 minutes each, but they covered substantial amounts of time, I think. I loved when the investigators knew. Obviously, you couldn't be there, but you could still feel their joy. Oh, it was amazing. I hope I can give that to someone in Ukraine. If not, I hope I can at least strengthen the people there, baptized members or not.
I want to make a positive impact for Christ every day.
I'm going to give every single day of that year and a half my best. Of course I'll make mistakes, experience disappointments. But I know that through the Atonement of Christ and the Holy Ghost, my efforts can be consecrated unto God for the good of His sons and daughters in Ukraine.
They deserve everything I have. I cannot wait to fulfill the Lord's prophecies about the Latter-days and become a better servant unto Him through the sanctification of serving a mission.
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