I can't believe that it's been a year. I really and honestly cannot believe that this much time has passed already. It's absolutely mind boggling to think about. It feels like a whole lifetime ago, but also like it was just yesterday. Well, I guess this means that I'm over the hill now! Wahoo!
This week was really solid. Elder Johnson got here last Monday and we just hit the ground running. We've only been together for a week, but it feels like he's been here forever. He's a great kid, a really hard worker, and one of my favorite companions so far.
Due to the nature of how missionary-ing goes, we did a lot of service this week (again) ((but that's not a bad thing)). We helped a member in the ward unload a small mountain of woodchips into their backyard (complete with sassy commentary from the local 9 year old).
Another service opportunity we had was with a project called Play Corvallis Play. What they do is place painted pianos throughout the city of Corvallis for two weeks for anyone to play. It was cool to be able to bring some of the joys of music to the people. Also, pianos are super heavy and I do not plan on going into moving them as a profession.
The coolest service that we did was at the Philomath Frolic and Rodeo on Friday and Saturday. Now, for a small town, Philomath sure knows how to have a hoedown. (Is that what it's called? I'm no expert. I think I've touched a horse maybe like three times). There's a member in the ward who's on the city council or something like that who's in charge of the whole shindig, so he hooked us up with jobs there. Elder Johnson and I manned an entrance; talking to everyone, handing out flyers, and checking for tickets/wristbands for the show. It was a great way for us to get some exposure and talk to some people that we probably wouldn't have any other way. On Saturday night, after our shift was over, they let us watch the rest of the rodeo. It was a fun way to end our week out.
Piano playing Cowboys aside, we also were able to do a lot of good work with the people here. Our ward has made a very strong push to have missionary work become a priority for the members. It's fantastic because Philomath is so small, that everyone we knock into already knows who we are and has talked to us before. This way, the connections with the church for these people become more personal when someone they know introduces them to it. We're really working hard to get the area chugging along in the right direction. It's been a slow process, but it's still working.
I stumbled upon this quote that I really liked that explains it well.
"Whenever you feel like giving up, push yourself to do one more step and continue to do so again and again. Cling to whatever you can find at the moment. And when time passes, look back and you'll see that the few steps you took have all piled up and become a whole path" ~ Quotable Guy (I don't have a reference, so if I just quoted Hitler or Kid Rock or someone I'm so sorry)
Truly, the small and the simple are the tools the Lord uses to build his kingdom. Even the smallest and simplest of people can be instrumental in the work of salvation. That gives me a lot of hope.
Also, I ate an infant sized burrito. It was delicious.
Thank you all so much for all the thoughts and prayers and support. It really means the world to me to have people that are there for me, so when I say "This one's for the boys back home" it actually means something. Work Hard, Play Hard, Sleep Hard, Drive...Hard? Basically do everything hard. You can do hard things. I believe in you. Go get em tiger. Who am I talking to? I'm rambling. I'm going to stop the email now.
Keep it 300.
Love 4 Ever,
Elder Jensen
PO Box 765
Philomath, OR 97370
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| YeeHaw! Get it? Because we're at a rodeo. Ha! (wow I'm terrible at captioning pics) |
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| Philomath Rodeo |
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| A proud dad with his baby burrito |
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| Modern Art? |
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