It Ain't Easy!

As missionaries of
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints we do not usually get to pick where we go or who we are assigned to as a companion (unless, of course, your married then you remain with your spouse). Therefore, chances are you may struggle with getting along with someone you don't know. Now to some it may seem easy. You both believe you are serving God and that God is love. However, the reality is your personality or your way of doing things doesn't always match up. Some may take different approaches to sharing the gospel. Some have habits that are annoying. As Seth's father I can attest to having a companionship where neither one of us liked the other. Later on, under new mission leadership we were reassigned as companions, again. This time, this guy I couldn't stand, changed my life because I thought I wasn't good enough for college. He said I was and he was right as I later graduated with honors.

Monday, August 11, 2014

Dear Parents, Mom and Dad/Dad and Mom,

My moods have fluctuated this past week and I am just managing with my companion. In some ways, we are in a standstill and other ways we can function. I was able to talk during a recent lesson that we had, so some progress. In other ways, I noticed that I get extremely sad and quiet when in big crowds. Well, as I figure, I was happy, trying to talk and learning to talk. Now, I honestly feel that opportunity has passed. I am trying to figure out what to say to my companion. We have some differing opinions. Like recently, should we push an appointment back for a meeting or not? We already said no to the meeting, so the district leader put it on another day during a time when we had an appointment scheduled with a less active. I am opting to go to the appointment while my companion on the other hand wants to keep the meeting and push the appointment back. I figure people are more appointment than some meeting. I am just going to have to bite my tongue and let that happen.

I honestly hate to complain. I had plans not to, but when that upset me, I just need to vent a bit. I hate it though.

Yes, I got my medicine. I am pretty sure that the Allertec will last more than three months as it should cover 365 days, plus or minus a few pills. 

I called the mission medical officer, because that is what I figured I should do (after injuring my back). Well, I have to take ibuprofen three times a day and ice my back at the same time. Then, Wednesday, I have to call her again and then I will have to do exercises to strengthen my back.

My days are up and down. Like I said, my moods fluctuate during the day, just depending on what happens. Monday, he had a doctor's appointment, so I got to drive past Richmond. Well, we got lost on the way. He could not use the maps to well, so he opted to call this service that tells us lots of information, such as weather and directions. It ended up that he got upset over it. I mean we were in Henrico, VA, which he was telling the service and it asked, "Do you mean Henrico, North Carolina?" I just looked at the maps and was able to go where we needed to. Well, I planned on reading a few Ensigns and just focus on that. Got into the waiting room and an old episode of Bones was on the television. Well, that made focusing a lot more hard. Later that night, we tried to find certain people and had some success.

Before I explain Tuesday, I must explain this one thing. We have 950 miles to use- it is what we are allotted- and I have been a little adventurous with our miles. I have been driving into the country, which is beautiful, but risky on miles. Tuesday, we went into Petersburg and then, got lost in Dinwiddie. Same thing as Monday happened with the maps and trying to find our way. As a result, on Wednesday, while I was working on the progress record, he bought a GPS. Again that day, we tried to find certain people, but in Chesterfield County. Then, we had correlation. We have an assistant ward mission leader now, which is great. We had an actual correlation with our ward mission leader. It was good.

Thursday, we again tried to find and see people. His GPS arrived and he fiddled with it, inputting the ward roster into it by hand. That took a while. Friday, same tactic with GPS. We talked to one of our potential investigators who still wants to talk to us. He wants to buy us dinner some time and likes us. Hopefully soon, we will be able to teach him. Saturday and Sunday, we did the same thing.

Now, I know that you are probably wondering why we are not finding. Well, he does not like to tract and I am not sure he is able to with some issues with his knees. (Plus, as he and the ward mission leader agree, it is ineffective.) As of right now, it is a painful process. He wants to organize, which is a bit hard for me. I feel like I have organized. He wants to make the work I did with the ward roster "cleaner."

I wrote a letter to you recently on one of my better moods. I plan on sending also a follow up letter, after more thought. It is about something that is honestly keeping me attached and sane. And my great news that I have is that I finished Doctrine and Covenants. I am so happy, because now I am able to study the Old Testament. That made me happy.

All is well and will be well.

Love,

Elder S. Todd 

(Okay now, if you read his letter you can see how troublesome life can be for a missionary.  a lot of energy is spent learning to deal or not to deal with the person assigned to you. And even though names have been mentioned in this blog no one should take it personal. This is how life sometimes, or even more often, can be as a missionary in any part of the world. And don't be fooled by the Broadway musical the Book of Mormon because you won't see these two dancing through Colonial Heights anytime soon.) 

Getting To Know People In a New Area

July 21, 2014

Dear Parents, Mom and Dad/Dad and Mom,

Another transfer is drawing to close. By next week, another transfer begins. This weekend we did receive calls. Yep, indeed, my companion, Elder Avison, is leaving. I do not think I even mentioned transfers in my last email, so I am glad you are keeping track. Who knows, maybe I will get my medicine tomorrow, but I really do not know. It looks like the work is moving forward in Lemoore. I am excited for that, because well, it is a thing to be excited for. And changes seem to be happening over there. It is sad to hear about Mrs. Rhoads, even if I had issues with her; she had good qualities. I am a bit surprised with Dr. Rosa, but life changes. I am also a bit glad that I am remembered over there.

This week was slow, but fast. It really has blurred together. Some good things have occurred. So, last week, I mentioned my watch. I went to Target and they told me that they no longer do any kind of watch work. They showed me different bands that I could select of which I then said no and left. I could have gone to a jewelry store and fixed it then, but I figured that cost a bit too much. I gave myself some time and found a way to fix it. I took a thumb tack and it pushed out the necessary pins and I did the necessary work. I was able to fix my own watch and now it is closer to my arm. It is not so loose anymore. The rest of our P-Day we played Monopoly and Clue. The evening of the Monday, we tried looking for less actives and found one that we could return to visit.

Tuesday, we decided to find some more less actives in Colonial Heights. Some people were not home. Finally, we knocked on this one person's door. She has been less active for a while due to transportation issues. Her son just turned eight and she feels that they (herself and her son) need the missionary lessons. Her son also wants to be baptized. I was quite happy that we found somebody and that we have somebody to work with. We worked on the details for the baptism and got mostly everything established. There were two people who would be shaky on whether or not they would make it. I made plans to ensure that those two had back ups just in case. One of them was the talk on baptism and volunteered my companion as backup. It took me a while to get to sleep that night, because I had been coughing. As much as I am not feeling sick, I have a deep cough. Other than that, I am healthy. 

Wednesday, we made the program and it was good. We went to the church to make copies of the program. I decided to review my previous work of listing in which county, or city limit, people lived in, using the church's tools. (My last project on that of creating such a list involved using maps). There were several corrections that needed to be made on my end. Meanwhile, my companion was making copies in the library and had to use the restroom. Well, he left the car keys and church keys in the library and the door locked behind him. We decided to trek through Petersburg in order to get to our place in Colonial Heights. We figured we would get our keys later that night. Thankfully, my companion rectified the situation and somebody bailed us out. We tried seeing some people that day as well, but it did not work out. We did not have correlation either. Our ward mission leader was at work; the bishop asked us if we are having correlation. We told him no. The bishop, as far as I can tell, knows of the situation of correlation. 

Thursday, we finished making necessary corrections on the ward roster and then tried to see some people. It did not work out so well either. We had an appointment, which we took attended. As we were coming up, a person approached us. She had talked to missionaries before and wanted us to come by. Funny thing is, the street she lives on was a place we had been planning to tract. We are definitely going to tract that place when we can and hopefully, we will be able to stop by to see her. 

Friday, we did weekly planning. I was trying to stay focused and come up with ideas to help this area. My companion was distracted. Planning took a bit longer than normal, but whatever works. We went to bed early that night, because we had to get up at 4 to make sure the font was going to be filled and warm. I fell asleep quickly until the phone went off. It took a while to fall back asleep. 

Saturday, we got up at four and did our business. We crashed at the Petersburg apartment and it took a lot longer getting up that morning. I got ready and it is about 7:40. It took a while for my companion to get around, only because he forgot a few things back at the other apartment. The baptism of our investigator went well. My companion gave a talk on baptism and I gave one on the Restoration. Everything was excellent. Afterwards, we enjoyed the celebration of Pioneer Day. By eleven, I was tired and by noon, I was done and a bit exhausted. After gaining some rest, we left the Petersburg Apartment and went to the office. The Petersburg apartment is going to be closed down soon and we found some things that we needed to do. That is going to be some work that I will get to do. We found a person who is less active who recently moved in. We introduced ourselves and got to know her history in the Church. It is another person we can work with. And then that night we received the calls. I am staying while my companion is leaving. 

Sunday, I had been talking to the new elders quorum president. This Saturday, we are going to triple splits to meet less actives in the ward. I also talked about aiding in home teaching. I did that in the hopes of eventually establishing exchanges when we have people in our investigator pool. A new ward missionary has been called and he is male and can drive. I am excited for that. That means an ease on miles and a third male. 

This past transfer I have been trying to organize this area, because there was a lot to organize and a lot of things that needed to be done. Necessary procedures were done. I have been working around my companion, because, as much as I like him, it is hard to push him to do things. He is willing to work, though. I am excited, because there is a chance that this area now has begun to go forward. I mean, we now have different less actives to work with, a new potential, and future plans that will be meted out. I am hoping that this new companion will be the aid that I need. It has been a bit frustrating at times, because things do not work out. Then I read Doctrine and Covenants 84:40, "And any man that shall go and preach this gospel of the kingdom, and fail not to continue faithful in all things, 

shall not be weary in mind, neither darkened, neither in body, limb, nor joint;and a hair of his head shall not fall to the ground unnoticed. And they shall not go hungry, neither athirst." That for me was a big realization that I have been at least trying to do the right things. We have been blessed in different ways this past transfer.

All is well!

Love,

Elder S. Todd

P.S. Say hello to Grandma for me! It would be cool to write down her stories.

A California Delicacy?

July 21, 2014

Dear Parents, Mom and Dad/Dad and Mom,

(Seth's mother and father took a trip to Salt Lake City where his sister lives. His mother attended a retreat with about 240 other mothers of missionaries. Together they spent time with his sister who works at Olympic Park in Park city, Utah.) It sounds like you had a lot of fun. I imagine it was a lot of fun hearing about

Salt Lake City LDS Temple

missionary work from different people. I am glad you two had a lot of fun. I am glad you got to enjoy "Music and the Spoken Word." It is so fantastic! I love the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and no, it is not because I nearly listen to it every day. It is just amazing.

I am glad to hear the dogs are doing well. My week was up and then utterly crashed down in a spiral. I found my planner Monday night, which was good. I am glad to have found it. Not much really happened on Monday, anyways.

Tuesday, I had a little fun. To our surprise, we had district meeting on Tuesday. As I was getting ready for it, I remembered we had something in our cupboard. A few weeks earlier, I found some dog treats in our little downstairs closet. It was a surprise and having no clue what to do with them, I put them in the cupboard. Well, Tuesday, I put them in a plastic bag; they are meat looking treats and do not look too edible. My companion was quite aware of what I was doing. The treats smelled like what they are supposed to (dog treats), which would have given it away. So, I put some chicken spice on them and the spice was so strong that it removed the odor of dog treats. We go to district meeting and our district leader and companion show up. I told them about this California delicacy called Mexican Meat Nuggets that I received in my Hump Day package. (Sounds appetizing, doesn't it?) Now, they did not have a funny reaction, but to my surprise, they were willing. Once I told them about this delicacy, they willingly ate it. It took no goading or extra persuasion. The district leader ate it first and I quickly burst into laughter that I ran out. His companion followed after the district leader and later complained that he could still taste them. I did tell them what it was that they actually ate. The district leader told me it was not the first time he ate dog treats.

The Mormon Tabernacle Choir

The rest of the Tuesday was spent driving to go see people. We had received a few weeks ago a referral for a lady who wanted a German Book of Mormon. We received the referral, but no Book of Mormon (however, with the referral, we did receive a German, "The Family: A Proclamation"). My companion ordered the book and we got it on Monday.

Tuesday, we were driving to her house. On the way there, a bird flew into our car; no blood, just a plume of feathers. We knocked on her door and she let us in. She did not say much, but she was in pain due to a recent dental procedure. We were not able to talk much. One more note, our phone speaks to us in Spanish (it reads the words), it meows at us when we receive a text, and it moans at us to get up in the morning. While we were there, somebody sent a text, so our phone meowed at us. The lady was surprised, because she thought her cat just meowed. We had to briefly explain. Later that Tuesday, we had dinner at a member's with our investigator who is being baptized. It poured (rained) in sheets while we were there and the power threatened to go out. It was a really good time.

Seth's sister

Wednesday, I was a feeling a bit sore from working out on Tuesday. I pushed through it and worked on some more. It hurt a lot more afterward. Well, correlation did not happen due to our ward mission leader being at work. He called on Tuesday, because he wanted to hear from our district leader, whom he previously challenged. We received dinner, which ended up giving me a stomach ache. It was the beginning of the end.

Thursday, I woke up, extremely sore from previous brilliance of working out when sore. It hurt to move the entire day that occasionally my muscle would tense up a bit. My throat was also sore and I began to take ill. And my stomach was fine for a while. I was so exhausted from doing little things. I took three naps that day, because I was that exhausted. Our dinner that night gave me a lot of cough drops and Vitamin C supplements. They said I looked terrible. When I got home, I crashed. I drank water a lot in an attempt to relieve my muscles from their burden.

Friday, still sick, no longer sore (just a little), and my stomach clear. We helped somebody move and it was simple. We did not finish that day. We had lunch with those people and they gave us bread, Kraft American Cheese (aka the infamous fake, plastic cheese)(It is just Seth's way of describing processed cheese where we buy the real California cheese.), and some meat. (Cheese, when bitten into, should blend with the other layers of cheese, but rather, it should still be recognizable layer different from the other layers of cheese. Also, cheese should be compliment, not the only thing you taste.) A member later took us out to eat at some Mexican restaurant. I do miss good Mexican food and this was somewhat close to it. I enjoyed it.

Saturday, I still had a sore throat and it hurt to swallow. The Target Daytime stuff gratefully numbed my throat. We finished the move, which consisted of moving furniture and them still packing along the way. And then, something sad happened. My watch got snagged on one of the couches that I had to move. Thankfully, it did not break like I thought it probably should have. No, rather one of the pins for the links fell out, so the watch fell off my wrist. I am currently watch-less and I occassionaly stare at my wrist before I realize there is no watch. I will have to go to Target and have them fix it. It should be an easy fix. The watch, to begin with, was really loose, but still stayed on my wrist. In theory, if they reduce the size of the watch by one set of links, they could use one of those pins to fix the watch and I would have a watch again. (Yes, my watch has been loose this entire time. I tried going to Wal-mart, the blessed place I shop cheaply, to shorten it, but they refused to do it, only because I bought it at Target. I had to put it on my left hand, so President would not get his fingers stuck in my watch. It happened one time apparently.) The rest of Saturday we spent partially on hunting down a baptismal suit for Alexis. We found one, but have yet to obtain it.

We moved out of Petersburg. So, yes, we are officially in Colonial Heights. They closed the apartment in Petersburg. Elder Medsker made that official. Sunday, we had church, had lunch, and got a free haircut from a member. It was a blessing for the both of us. My companion has not been sleeping all too well. So, we got home about six and had some dinner. He crashed for about three hours before going to bed around 10. We have not been doing too well. However, I have the feeling that this week will actually be better and we will actually move forward. Perhaps this past four weeks was a test and trial of patience. I feel that now is the right time and now is the time to go forward. In fact, we have been blessed with a P-day where we actually have nothing other than a couple of chores to do plus laundry. Things will go forward this week. I am feeling less sick. My throat is no longer sore, although I have an annoying cough that spurs when something "tickles" it.

All is well!

Love, Elder S. Todd

Where Am I? How Did I Get Here? Where Am I Going?

Monday, July 7, 2014

Dear Parents, Mom and Dad/Dad and Mom,

That is quite a bit of updates of what is going on. Well, it sounds like everything is extremely busy in some shape or form. I am happy to hear that the missionary work is moving forward in Lemoore. It has been a crazy week for us in different ways. I am happy to hear how Mom is doing. Glad things are going well for her. Keep it up! I feel bad for my poor dog. The Fourth of July always is a killer for her. Thank you for taking care of her thus far, especially to you Mom. I am glad that she is still alive.

Like I said, it has been a crazy week. We are moving forward in the work; well, at least, we are trying to get it to go forward. Monday, we stayed home and cleaned our apartment during P-Day. We had the funds to buy cleaner and we cleaned the bathroom and other places. I cleaned our vents that looked horrible. We learned that we need to get a filter for our air conditioner. And more recent, I have been putting pictures on the walls. I had another special nightmare on Sunday (refer back to White Oak). 

Tuesday, we knew that we were going to have problems getting around. We no longer have a GPS and we have maps at the apartment. The problem with our maps is that we cannot take them with us and they are hard to use for they have been plastered with maps. We decided to take some time to go to a gas station to get a map. After all, that is where maps of an area would be, right? NO. Not at all. We went to different gas stations and to CVS. Nobody had maps. We went to a bookstore; it had maps of everywhere, but Petersburg and Colonial Heights. We decided to go to the government for help. Well, we had no idea where city hall was, so we went to the courthouse. The courthouse led to city hall where we finally got a map for Colonial Heights. All in time for lunch. Well, seeing as we had one-fourth of our area, we ventured into Petersburg to obtain a map. We went to the library, then to city hall. Petersburg's City Hall did not have a map. They told us to go to the visitor center for a map. We parked near it, not realizing we were near it, and wandered around for a while, trying to find visitor's center. Finally, we went up to someone and asked. We went to it, where we were able to obtain a map. The people were highly excited to see us; they, unfortunately, do not get many people, it seems. We tried seeing a few people afterwards, but nobody was home. We headed to the Petersburg Apartment to pick up something for somebody. I decided to rummage around, seeing what was in the apartment. And, lo, I found maps. And they cover all of our area. It was a bit of a frustrating find, albeit good.

Wednesday, we had district meeting. Our district consists of us and another set of missionaries. We tried a few people in Petersburg, but realized we needed something in Colonial Heights. We got that and worked in Colonial Heights for the time until dinner. We went to the church in hopes of a missionary coordination meeting, but there was not coordination meeting. Instead, we were enlisted to help with somebody's Eagle Court of Honor. 

Thursday, we had interviews. It was a bit funny. I had a nightmare where I had interviews with President and I got sent home for no reason. And I woke up that morning, it was my year mark and I realized I had interviews. So, it was an interesting nightmare to wake up from. I received my package that day. Thank you. It was fun and interesting. I loved the tie. Thank you. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a fun interview. And we had fun at a member's house. These are the members that love to feed us. I am grateful for that. I got to know them a bit. The husband also likes the show Sherlock. He told me the third season was awesome. He also likes Avatar as well. My companion has seen some episodes of Avatar, which I was thoroughly sad about, but also glad that he too knows and likes it. 

 This is my friend Denice from Lemoore. She is receiving training at the Mexico City Missionary Training Center. She will come back to the states to serve in the New Mexico Albuquerque Mission.  She is a convert herself. She knew me from High School. Her mother is also a recent convert. So why give up 18 months of your life to do this. We do it because of the pure love of Christ and His saving grace. We also know that this church is true because of our testimonies through the Holy Spirit.

Friday, we were not invited anywhere. So, we worked. We worked during the day, trying to find less actives. Partially successful. We ate dinner at home and worked on the ward roster, also known as Project 2. I am trying to sort out the people in our area to different quadrants to make it easier to know where people are when we are in that area, instead of guessing. When it came to night, we turned off the lights and we used the glowsticks. Sad enough, there were hardly any fireworks at all that night. Nor the next. Nor any time before and after.  The glowsticks are and were great. The blue one was a light to itself. In fact, it woke me up at midnight seeing as it was so bright. I chucked it out of our room and did not fall asleep until two.

Saturday, we did more work, trying to contact people. Then, we had to clean the church. We were assigned that day. After cleaning, we headed over to the Petersburg apartment to get a drink. We were both exhausted. Sunday, we had church. We tried seeing some people and then headed home to work on the roster. I, feeling a bit tired, took a nap, hence I had one of those nightmares that I had once in White Oak. After waking up from that, I began decorating the house with pictures from the Ensign. Then, we had dinner with the members that often feed us and our investigator who is being baptized (now on 25th). We had a great time. We taught lesson 5, which was a first for me and first time teaching a lesson with my current companion. With the help of the members, it went smoothly. We went over the baptismal interview questions.

It has been one crazy week. I am happy that we are going forward, trying to be organized in our actions. I am happy that we are involved with the ward. I am happy that we are making efforts. I know that the Lord is aware of our actions.

All is well! We will go forward and onward!

Love,

Elder S. Todd

Believe You Can Bring Change

June 23, 2014

Dear Parents, Mom and Dad/Dad and Mom,

I definitely expected the call from the former bishop (my parents received a call). I could not recall whether or not the current bishop of Powhatan was going to do something. But, I am glad that they did something and that you asked to be informed about our special investigator. 

 I am in the Appomattox Ward, which does indeed cover Petersburg, Colonial Heights, and other surrounding areas. The unfortunate thing is that we are confined to the two city limits, while the rest of the ward expands beyond that, due to the mileage limitations of 950. Yes, there are the poorer neighborhoods here. (I will not use the slang term, "ghettos," for Mrs. Salgado and for an avoidance of slang.) I know about my bike and other safety tips. Luckily, I am in a car. Speaking of safety tips, I am so excited. I get to train in the next district meeting about the section in the Missionary Handbook called "Physical and Temporal Well-Being." That includes my favorite subject of health and safety. I have plans on doing what I did for my Ted Bundy presentation and fake an injury.

My new address is (address withheld), Colonial Heights, VA 23834-1688. (There are two apartments and this is our mainstay.)  I got it off a box that was left in the apartment and it correlates with the apartment. I would not call this place a safe place to drop off packages. I have been wondering what to do for packages. I could (one) talk to the bishop or (two) have the UPS require a signature. The second option is what occurred in Powhatan. Whenever I had a package, they asked for a signature. But, that option can be rather difficult due to life as a missionary on the go.

I am now in this new area. Monday was filled with good byes. It is sad to leave an area and I actually felt like I was starting to get attached. A lot of things were happening and it felt like things were starting to build up. This is a cause of reflection for me. White Oak, I spent in six months. Prince William, three months, which is the same for Powhatan. I really do feel that I have helped build those areas. I put in my area a lot of effort and new ideas. I feel the Spirit confirms to me that is true. Things are now progressing in those areas. I heard in Prince William that one of our investigators actually came to church. Things were starting to happen when they otherwise seemed they would not. It is amazing to me that there is so much that has been going on since I left. I cannot imagine what will happen next.

Tuesday, we had breakfast with the bishop. It was the second to last goodbye (the last belonging to the driver). We get to transfers and I learn that I am going to Appomattox with Elder Avison and Elder Brown. Yes, to my own surprise, I am in a trio. Elder Brown is going home in a week from today (his schedule is off for he once was a Washington D.C. South missionary). It is hard being in trio. As much as I love my companions, one seems to dominate in taking charge and other tasks while the other follows and relies. Pretty much, I feel that I have to wait a week before putting in energy. Why? Well, this week was not the best, because not much happened. I have not a clue what is going on. Elder Brown is going home, so he is taking care a lot of things to prepare for his upcoming future. With that, we are pretty much stuck in helping him and also doing work. We cannot split up; we have to be in sight and sound of each other. Mind you, I am not complaining. There is a blessing in what may seem utter frustration. I am observing what is going on and coming up with ideas that can help this area. Not much is happening and the one that relies on others just goes and hopes that things work out. 

Elder Avison is a very dry humor person, who is very blunt. He puts it out there. My task for the transfers ahead with him are to smile. He does not smile and people often wonder what is wrong. Elder Brown is a humorous person as well. I cannot say much else, but he is planning to go into the Navy. 

Tuesday and Wednesday, Elder Brown went to the mission home to go to the temple. Meanwhile, I was Elder Avison and he introduced me to the area and some people. I got to see how he works. I find it important to find his strengths and utilize them. (The more I think about this, I feel like I am scheming, which makes me feel awful. But, I feel tested by the Lord and I am not trying to be full of pride. I am trying to figure out how to make this companionship go forward to help benefit the area.) Tuesday, I met a couple of members and a recent convert. Wednesday, I went to a less active and ended up meeting somebody else along with the person we were trying to see. That person, too, is a member. That member turned our visit into a game show, or so it felt. He asked me these different questions, such as "Who baptized John the Baptist," "What is the meaning of the seven stars and the seven golden candlesticks as spoken in Revelation," "What is the name of the woman at the well," etc. By attempting to answer his questions (I got the second question correct and I was the first of many to get it correct), it showed to the less active and this member that I love to learn. The member was happy that I smiled. We tried to see more people after that visit, had lunch, and saw another less active. It was quite fun to meet that less active, who is sick and cannot come due to illness. Racoons were chattering in his chimney. Dinner forgot about us and, because there was no food in the vacant (yet rented) apartment, all we ate was a spoonful of peanut butter. (Returning to the main apartment later, we ate dinner and, even later, realized there is actual food in the mainstay apartment.) We were going to have correlation, but the ward mission leader did not show up. He has not been showing up for quite a while, apparently. I have been warned about him, too. If he asks me where I am from, the correct answer would be God. If he asks me where I was born, the correct answer would be from my mother.

Thursday, I attended my first funeral on the mission. A member who had been sick had died before I arrived. We had other tasks that we needed to take care of afterward. 

Friday and Saturday, we took care of certain tasks that needed to be done. We tried to visit some people. One person, as we found out, was in the hospital and took an adventure to the hospital. We checked up on that person and made sure he was good. We gave him a blessing. 

Sunday, I was amazed. Imagine this: a sacrament meeting that is actually quiet. Usually, you have the occasional cries from kids. Not this time. It was quiet, though one kid ended up crying. You could actually hear the quiet and the person speaking. I paid no attention to it and then, the thought occurred, It is quiet here. It was perhaps the strangest thing. We again checked up on the person in the hospital. We checked up on a lady who is in a very bad situation. I hate doing nothing, but there is nothing that we can do. She recognizes that. Bless her heart.

Here I am, Monday. Energized, but tired. I am excited for the upcoming future. I have ideas, but I still have observations to make. I do plead for a letter soon. We are in a library- while, yes, nice- that does not like missionaries too much. There is a new library in Petersburg that requires a letter as proof of residence in this area. I sent a letter to Sean, because (one) I had to wish Sawyer a happy birthday for I was unable to get a card in time, (two) thank them for the picture of Reagan, (three) respond to their question, and (four) ask for a letter. I am going to have loads of fun in Appomattox.

All is well!

Love,

Elder S. Todd