We're currently teaching two families that want to get baptized. All they need is to be interviewed by the mission president and an apostle and then get First Presidency approval to be baptized! These FLDS people are great and a lot of fun to talk to. Have I mentioned that our Ward Mission Leader grew up in Colorado City? And another older couple knew Rulon T. Jeffs, Warren Jeffs's father. The people are super nice and we love 'em. So that's going pretty good.
There's a kid named Tommy also who had the First Lesson last night, we're kind of blazing through those really quick while he's living with a member. He's pretty solid and that's super exciting.
There's just a ton going on and it's super fun and exciting.
My companion, who expressed to me last week that he would not like his name mentioned in anything, including my personal journal, so we'll just call him "Panda" is another story though.
I have never had a more difficult companion. Ericksons, you're probably laughing because I'm pretty sure for the last week I was in Bentonville I kept saying "Aw, I've been through it all on the mission, I'm not nervous" but holy cow is this kid something else.
I've really had to learn that his idea of patient and my idea of patient are a little different. My idea of patient is to calmly address concerns and talk things out that need to be discussed. His idea of patient is just to not talk at all and stay in his bathroom. There were some good stories this week.
So Saturday. We were at our Ward Mission Leader's house and Panda wanted to talk to him in private. So they did. For about an hour. Then we ate dinner there and the ward mission leader "felt like he should tell us some things about teaching FLDS people" and then pretty much everything was directed at me, which is fine. Basically all he said was be patient. So later, when we were going home, I saw this as an opportunity to open a dialogue about what things we could do in the companionship to get and keep the Spirit and to help us be effective. Well after talking a little, Panda started to interrupt me, and wouldn't let me finish a thought. After a few minutes of this, I stopped the truck and said, "So what you're telling me is that I need to be patient with you, but you don't need to be patient with me?" and he responded,
"I don't have time for this," got out of the truck, and walked the quarter mile home while I followed him slowly.
Enter Sunday. He's not talking to me. At all. I can feel his dislike of me bubbling over. In Sacrament meeting, we sit down. We're in the overflow. He sits down at the end, I sit next to him. He scoots his chair over about a foot. Ten minutes or so later, a family comes and sits next to us. The chairs are pretty close, so I scoot over to give a woman some room. Elder Sandoval scoots over another foot or so, so that he's pretty much in the middle of the aisle now. Won't make eye contact with me. Nothin. I pull the Ward Mission leader aside before third hour, he gives me some advice. Tells me to be patient. So we go through the day. Panda isn't responding to me. Okay, well he would nod now and then. I'll give him that. Doesn't talk in our teaching appointments. At this point I'm determined he just needs time to cool off, and trying to push him to talk is probably going to make him explode. The day ends. On our way back I decide I need to apologize for a few things. I told him that I was very sorry that I had pushed him to talk, and that I was going to try very hard to be patient his way, then he interrupted me and insulted the way I teach.
This morning was about the same. Wouldn't talk to me. Wouldn't make eye contact. I did a lot of smiling at him, which was kind of fun. Then FINALLY when the internet died, he wanted to talk to me. Now things are good? I don't know. He did the same thing last week. He got some good stuff off of his chest, but really nothing is his fault. What I and other people have sort of discovered is that he's extremely prideful, both of himself personally, and his Navajo culture, but he doesn't realize that he's being prideful and selfish. Something's not quite clicking there yet, but we'll get there.
Oh! Hump day is this week. Weird. Halfway!
All right, pictures this week. I'm trying to repent. I'm worried Panda will think taking pictures steals souls or something though, so I don't have anything from Stockton yet.
So the first and last pictures are of what the Bentonville 2nd Ward Elders did to our apartment before I left. They piled all of our furniture in front of our slider so we couldn't get in. Then they took all of our pass-along cards and made pretty pictures. Pulling pranks on missionaries means they're either super awesome or they're super lame...I'm hoping it's that first one.
The other picture is Me, Elder Hansen, Sam the dog, and some family we'd go over every now and then. We really went over just so I could cuddle with their dog and eat pot roast. But they promised to take me somewhere to have delicious rolls thrown at me, so don't tell the Ericksons I said that.
Love you guys, halfway done. Weird.
Elder Christopher Drake
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