Hi!

Hi!

10 WEEKS AKA 70 DAYS AKA 10% REMAINING.

ACTUALLY THAT STILL SEEMS LIKE A WHILE.

OH N---I'm kidding!

We saw an old man walk in front of a street car, and when the street car tried to pull forward, that man rose his fist in great majesty, exclaiming:

"BWAH."

The driver, stunned, watched helplessly as the man speedily evaded the iron menace.

It's been a legendary week. We've set three baptismal dates with people! They're all awesome! They're also all Persians! One will be with a certain Tony in April, and the other two with an awesome couple in May.  These will be some of the final shots I have before I get home to really grow the church, so I'm trying to give them all I have! They all really want it for now, and so if you could please pray that they make it, that would be great!

We also had five investigators at church this week! We have set a goal for six next week. I want to hit 10 by the time I go home, so we will see!

Lastly, we've set a zone goal to get 30 at church as a zone as soon as we can. We're basing a lot of our trainings off of this goal and we think we will be able to reach it, because the goals the zone has been setting are almost always between 35 and 40.

It's nice to see the hard work paying off (again)!

I would say one change I have felt for myself, or have hopefully experienced, on my mission is the importance of sustained positivity despite difficulties. I think it would do us all well to develop our ability to laugh and smile through situations that do not go as planned. I was honestly really bad at this back home! I think about how many times I would lose my marbles over things that would not have had any long-term impact on me. I think I have gotten better at chuckling in difficult times or in times of misfortune, and I have noticed a difference in my mood and demeanour in such times!

For example, we and some sister training leaders from Heidelberg were on our way to Missionary Leadership Council yesterday, when we realised that the train drivers were, conveniently I might say, on strike. The trains were shut down that we needed to take to reach our destination. We began searching for alternatives, and found a bus-only route that combined 4 different bus routes to get us there-- much more tedious than the normal single train ride it would take to arrive. Then, the first bus in the line was late, so we missed the next one, and botched the plan.  But we miraculously arrived, and were only about ten minutes late. The entire time, every time a new complication arrived, we joked and laughed about it, with a "Haha, wow, this just keeps getting better!" attitude. What could have stressed us all out and caused us to be frustrated was turned into a comical development, and it was far more enjoyable. Either way, we couldn't have controlled the situation by that point in terms of the strike happening, busses being late, and ultimately us being late as a result of everything else, and so we made the choice to joke about it rather than be frustrated.

That being said, it also depends on who you are with. Making light of stressful situations may be an additional burden if done to excess or at all. It is usually good for situations that are both trivial and out of your control. If we cause another person inconvenience or trouble, sincere apologies may come better first, and then lightening up after if people seem to still tolerate you. On the other hand, if somebody causes us a minor inconvenience, it is significantly better for both if we respond with lightheartedness and a "dont worry about it!" attitude. With certain types, it simply might be better just not to be risky at all! Just judge based on the spirit of things. 

Just some things I've thought about. If it's appropriate to laugh and smile in annoying or hard times, let's do so! We might see our lives last a few years longer if we do!

Love you all!

Elder Wallentine