One of my favorite scenes in the Disney classic ¨The Lion
King¨ is in the third act of the film: Simba has run away from his past life
and tried his best to hide it from his own presence, he´s adoped a new
philosophy, ¨Hakuna Matata¨ and for him it´s a wonderful phrase...but the
ghosts from his earlier days keep coming back to haunt him. Eventually he has a
vision, in which he sees his deceased father in a billowing plume of storm
clouds ¨Remember who you are. You are my son and the one true king. Remember
who you are¨ Mufasa tells his son.
For me, that´s kind of how my week went. Now, don´t get me
wrong, I didn´t adopt a ¨Don´t Care¨ attitude or anything, but every moment I
started to feel like I was finally fitting in, and that my area was becoming
the norm....a truck with a two people in giant Smurf costumes and 7 llamas in
towe would drive in front of the Stake Center. I keep feeling like I
just...can´t fit in (it´s like Middle School all over again) and it´s due in
part to the fact that I´m so freakishly tall. People here have a word for that,
it´s called ¨Gringo¨ and it started making me feel very much alone. Members
would neglect my name and just address me as ¨Gringo¨ or the annoying next-door
neighbor to an investigator would yell at me repeatedly, ¨Gringo! Gringo!
Gringo!¨ And for some reason, it really started to get to me...I mean, I´m a
PERSON, just like anyone else and I was taught in every year of my schooling
that Racism is BAD....
But on Tuesday, I got pretty sad over it all. Why can´t I
just fit in? I said a long prayer about it on the hour long bus ride back to
San Juan. Why couldn´t I just be normal? Why did people point at me and call me
names?
And the words came to my mind ¨You were never meant to fit
in, and as long as you are wearing my name on your chest, you never will.¨
So for the rest of the week, I started to walk with my head
held high,. every person who tried to call me names, I would just offer to
shake their hand and ask them how they were doing...we were put on this earth
to love one another, bless them that despise you!
So that was a fun experience this week.
But it wasn´t all...man, I´ve got a lot to say....
The Zone Leaders called this week and said that every
companionship needs to have a family baptised THIS MONTH...because the numbers
for our zone last month were...frankly, pathetic. Our goal was to have 29
people baptized and 12 families and....the result was 5 people baptized and 0
families. Elder Hernandez and I racked our brains to think of someone who we
could baptized and we decided to go to the house of one of our old
investigators. We taught about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and extended the
invitation to be Baptized to them...and they accepted! We just...need to get
them to church.
That´s the problem with my area, it´s the biggest area in the whole mission so every one of our investigators have a problem with getting to church because they live so far away....but the Lord giveth no commandment unto the children of men save he shall prepare a way for them to accomplish the thing which he hath commanded them! So everything is possible.
One more thing for this letter....we got a call last
night...and we have Transfers tomorrow. My comp is leaving and I get to stay in
San Juan. We don´t know why, but I couldn´t sleep at all last night because
now, I´m the only one who knows the area and I have to teach it to two
companionships of missioniaries tomorrow: my new comp and the people who are
going to replace the Hermanas who went home...
Yaaaaaaaaayyyy....
Hmm...
Yeaaahhh...I´m going to need some divine help with that
task....
Stay Classy America!
-Elder Monson
P.S. no pictures this week, we´re in an internet cafe
that...doesn´t have a USB port only a place for floppy discs...what is this?
1999?
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