February 27, 2023

From Ben - Walking With the Wolf

Elder Smith and Elder Pendleton made their way down the sidewalk, walking side by side towards the campus. 

Immediately noticeable to any passerby was the stark height difference between these two missionaries.

Poor Elder Smith appeared but a 10 year old child to his 6'3" partner

The tempature that day was frigid, Elder Smith wearing both his long-johns and sweatpants, not wanting to risk getting the chill.

Elder Pendleton forgot his toque, so his ears took a blow as the brisk air continued to blow. 

The night before, the assistants to President Stacey, Elder Pendleton and Simmons, arrived at the Batcave, ready to begin an exchange with Elder Smith and Mercado the next day. 

As they continued down the sidewalk, Elder Pendleton looked over and asked 

"Elder, how are you?

Elder Smith pondered the question for a quick moment, and replied.

"Well my Elder, all in all, things are going well. And when there are any challenges, I myself am usually the culprit"

"Yep, that is usually how things go" Elder Pendleton replied. 

As they talked, they saw a man cross the road, walking in their direction.

The Elders conversation ceased as they both prepared to stop the man, Elder Pendleton, being the first to reach out.

"My friend! Do you have a short moment?"

The man stopped, looking slightly confused.

Elder Smith hopped in

"My friend and I are missionaries for our church, just sharing a message of hope. Would you be open for us to share some of it with you?"

The man looked at the two Elders, a slight grin, looking somewhat amazed.

"No, I'm not interested" 

Used to such replies, they hailed the man a good day, and continued walking. 

Elder Smith continued the conversation

"You know Elder, I think one of the lies that Satan usually gets me with, is the lie that my decisions hold less influence then I think they do. I often believe that I can't make as much of a difference as I think I can, then, I get comfortable in that fact"

Elder Pendleton, with his characteristic enthusiasm replied,

"Elder! You have so much influence! Especially as a Zone leader. You don't understand how much of a difference you can make. For better or for worse, you are an example to other missionaries and can really change the level of excitement and faith for them"

The conversation stopped again as they neared the bus stops beside the campus. 

They talked with the people there and found little success, but enjoyed the small conversations they were able to have. 

Because of reading week, campus held far less students then the usual, but they were able to talk with the few stragglers that stayed behind. 

They entered the campus and walked through its 

aesthetic halls until they found a small corner where they could hold their companionship study in relative quiet. 

Elder Smith took out his little adventure notebook and his Book of Mormon, and Elder Pendleton relaxed on the other side of their study table. 

They talked for a bit, reading both standards and a safeguard.

"Elder Smith, do you have any particular questions for me, about anything? I'm here to help out" 

"Well, Elder, one question I'd love to hear your thoughts about, is how to stay at a high level of performance or excellence consistently. I'm pretty talented at floating, and staying comfortable, and once in a while, I feel the pull and excitement to put forward exceptional effort, but, those moments are often short lived. I want it to become more constant. How do you do it yourself?"

"That's great question" Elder Pendleton began with a smile 

"Elder Smith, I have had it confirmed in my soul that I am a son of God and what my Father in Heaven wants me to become. I know who my Father is. I know His character. 

Those truths have been imprinted deep inside me, and they provide lots of my drive and purpose"

Elder Smith thought that was a really special answer, and felt a genuine appreciation for the Elder sitting across from him. 

He'd definitely felt similar confirmations for himself; he knew he was a son of a Father in Heaven who loved him, but, he often forgot what it meant to have that identity.

That his Father had great plans and purposes for him and his growth. That he needed to become more like his Father, more like his Savior. 

"Pause for a second" Elder Smith cut in "I gotta write some of these things down." 

He reached into his pros bag, pulled out the only pen he could find - a neon orange Muji pen - and recorded some of the feelings and thoughts that had come to him.

               --------

Yep, I got to on an exchange with Elder Pendleton.

This is the Elder that lived in the Batcave last transfer, but did got called to be the assistant this transfer. 

In a previous email, this was my description of this Elder

Then finally, we've got Elder Pendleton. 

I don't understand this Elder yet. 

Elite is simply the best descriptor word for him.

Before his mission he played AAU basketball in California, which is intense and is incredibly competitive. 

He doesn't try to impress anyone, and is reserved in a lot of ways. 

But, without saying a word, you know this Elder holds power, skill, and capacity. It's the wildest thing. 

Indeed, this Elder holds skill power and capacity. 

We call him the Lone Wolf because, in all accounts, he doesn't rely on the opinions of others to dictate his life. 

It was great to talk with him again and learn from him. 

It was reading week this week, so we had to get creative in our finding efforts as the students were home with their families, leaving the campuses barren. 

Security at Limeridge mall, the mall we often go to, also caught on that missionaries were inside, and suggested we leave. 

But! Despite the complete stop of our usual finding locations, we found alternatives. 

Love you each! 

Hope all is well! 

- Elder Smith

1) Small source of income while on the mission? 

Maybe 

2) Had to take advantage of the mirror while we had it

3) The district, amen

4-9) A conversation from I guy I talked with a year ago. 

A Sister in the district messaged him and the convo didn't go to stellar, so I chatted with him for a bit. This is just a snippet

From Dad - One of Those Weeks

Dear Ben, 

This last week had had its ups and downs. 

Friday night became a climax for us. We all had big plans. It started as plans for the dance and all the school friends were primed to go. Then we remembered that we had purchased Anastasia tickets from Sam’s roommate. It was decided that Abby would take Garret instead of going to the dance. Initially this worked out because Megan would give Mia a ride to the dance. Then one by one others chose not to go until Mia had no ride in. 

Mom and I had originally scheduled to go to the temple on Saturday but due to some conflicts and hair appointments, we switched it to Friday night. Through a series of miscommunications and a busy day at work for Mom, we didn’t realize that we had forgotten to email Abby and Garret the play tickets until we were half way through our temple session. So what started as a reverent and and enjoyable session became a commitment we couldn’t leave in time to save the attendance to the play.  Mom felt terrible and the accumulation of being sick, forgetting the tickets and busyness at work and school crashed down on us and caused  us to pause and assess our resilience. 

Abby and Garret and Mia were very forgiving and we will all be fine but it reminded us they life is full of challenges and they sometimes jump on you and try to suffocate you. I’m so grateful for the gospel and for family that provides a foundation on which we can rebuild after the storm. 

Mia, as she related in our call last night is loving foods and construction class. We’re enjoying some of the delicious benefits!

Abby is starting to think about the future and the adulting that comes with it. Hard to believe she graduates in a couple of months. 

Last week for FHE we debated whether and how relevant FHE still was for our family and concluded that though it may look different, having an intentional time set aside to spend with each other to talk about spiritual things and have fun together is still valuable. Moms proposal to remove the song part was voted down :)

So this week, Garrett joined us for a very enjoyable FHE. We embarrassed him by making him the spotlight and the girls gave an excellent lesson about the youth program and we took time to set goals in the areas of intellectual, spiritual, physical and social.  Mia shared the epiphany she had the night before that by setting and achieving goals like this that it will help her become like the savior. Amen to that.  

We capped off with a game of UNO and a nice chat with you. Thanks for staying in touch!

Love you lots.