February 3, 2014

This computer is being a STRUGGLE but here I am, plunking away at the keyboard. Can't even imagine the patience required to carve letters into tablets, ya know?

The Book of Mormon musical is coming to the Pantages. So now there are those streetlamp signs for it everywhere. This doesn't really affect us, because it's not like any of the people that we teach will be attending as it a) costs money, and b) is in english-- but I still consider it free advertising, so it makes me happy to see it, blasphemy and all <333

THIS IS THE STORY OF JOSE MORALES, WHO SURPRISED US ALL BY BEING BAPTIZED YESTERDAY.
Haha we went over last Mon night to give him a good "drop" lesson- which we had prepared so well for and we were ready to preach it. Hna Earnshaw said, "We have done you wrong- we have not taught you well because you do not understand the importance of baptism."
"I want to be baptized."
What???!? You told us on the phone last night you needed more time. We talked about this for 20 min!!
"After fasting I feel much calmer."
Apparently, the giant list of Bible scriptures we had discussed on the phone that (vaguely) talked about faith was him telling us that he wanted to develop the faith to be baptised.
"Wait, so one more time, just so I'm clear, you DO want to be baptized this Sunday??"
"Obviously."

?????? Seriously. Hahaha we just looked at each other like... okay. Let's get you interviewed then!

So he was interviewed on Tues night. I wasn't there b/c I was on exchanges (which was great; I adore exchanges. They always get me so pumped to improve.)
And then the whole week, he was still nervous. I was not convinced it was going to go through- he just doubts himself so much.

Come Sunday evening, we had just finished singing our musical number (Hna Hudson had an investigator come to the baptism so she and I sang "whenever I hear the song of a bird" and Hna Earnshaw played. I thought that was cool that she could be part of the program, because they were the ones who found him.) And Jose was NERVOUS. Hno Garcia stood up to baptize him and he just stayed in his chair for a second. The room was really hot because it was packed with all the missionaries from the zone and all their menos activos and investigators. I was like, oh boy.

And he went into the water and I was still nervous. I knew he was still really nervous. But when Hno Garcia started saying the baptismal (what do you call it? prayer? ordinance?)- well when he said the "Having been comissioned of Jesus Christ," Hna Earnshaw and I both felt a great peace. Like, this baptismal service is CRAZY but Hno Garcia holds the priesthood, and he is worthy, and so everything else is okay. We're doing the right thing. The church is true.

When he came up out of the water it just rolled off his face- the expression on which was impenatrable, or some other long word I can't remember in English. A couple elders from the other ward came up to us afterward and thanked us for planning the most spiritual baptismal service they had attended-- and we actually had made an effort to make everything really simple, short, and focused on bringing the Spirit-- so that made me feel good. As Elder Taylor said, "I just wanted to throw a dove in there." That's about the best way I can think to describe it.

SOME THOUGHTS ON SPANISH

As one who does not naturally just "pick up" languages, like picking up a bagel on the way to zone sports, watching myself learn spanish is fascinating. I'll be be first to admit, my language study is probably 15% productive, and that's on a good day. BUT. Some interesting things I've noticed are:

My brain has a switch between english and spanish. If someone is speaking spanish to me on the phone and then jumps into english, I don't understand what they're saying. I don't recognize the words, even though that is my mother tongue. Spanish mode makes me deaf to english. Isn't that crazy?

I've also noticed myself naturally switching to spanish a lot more quickly. When I'm speaking english and you say one spanish word- like a gospel term or even just someone's name, said in a spanish accent, my brain starts thinking in spanish and I have to translate back to get in english mode. Haha it's weird.

SOME THOUGHTS ON BEING A MISSIONARY

I remember trying to be patient when I first came to California, reasoning that one day, it would get easier. One day I would understand what was going on, one day I would know how to be a missionary, one day, my companion and I would have success.

And I was right. That feeling of swimming with your mouth barely above the surface of the water has been gone for a long time now, it seems. But what I think I expected was that serving a mission would not just get easier, but easy. And it's not. I don't think it does. I still have to pray really really hard for the energy just to make it through one day. It takes a lot of effort to study. It still takes a lot of courage to talk to people. I still struggle with discouragement because it is hard to see the fruits of my labors. Miracles happen and then it seems like by morning, they've all evaporated and you have to start again and go find more people.
And the gospel is good and filling and I know this time is precious, but it is still hard. And I think that surprised me. Missionary work is work, and work is work. You know? It takes so much endurance. And hopefully, a lot of enduring well.

BUT MOSTLY, I JUST LOVE YOU
xoxoxxoxo
Hna Simpson