Week 26: Service, Art, and Counsel

Connor, with comp Elder Jolley, plus roommates

Dear Family,

Welcome to Yakistan. Or Crackima as it's also lovingly nicknamed. Yakima is known for three things: Apples, COVID-19 ... and COVID-19. Soooooo yeah, were still on heavy lock-down.

What we can do is service though, and we do quite a lot of that. From moving families into the ward to cleaning out backyards to helping out the Salvation army, we do a ton of service, which is nice. Aside from service we make phone calls, have Zoom meetings with members and make content for the WYM Facebook page.

I've been in Yakima for almost a month now and I'm navigating this new environment well, but for the first couple weeks it was pretty rough. I experienced a lot of mood swings and some really dark days. Days when the sun shone on the earth but not in my life. Those days made functioning hard. I struggled to eat well, to study, and to find motivation to do anything. After having several of those days in a row I decided to talk to one of the mission counselors about it. We've worked together (over Zoom) to help me navigate better. This quarantine is rough and missionary life looks different - perhaps more than it ever has before. I don't think we need to suffer more than necessary (if we can help it), and my experience has taught me that reaching out to others is a great way to get some help on your side.

I'm the unofficial barber of the Yakima Zone, which makes for good social interaction; everyone needs a haircut. Well, all Elders do. I've done 37 haircuts now. I'm getting better and better.

I'm working on finding new ways to do missionary work, mostly though art and crafts because that's what I'm good at and there's a lot of that on Facebook so it has potential to be a great thing.

My Spanish is coming along well. (thanks Duolingo!!!) Yo necesito usar mi celular para cartas! 😁😁😁

Welp, that's about it, we aren't really teaching anyone right now, so pray for creativity to flow and new people to be found!

Love and hugs,
Elder Craig

Week 15: Speakers and Yard Work

Dear Fan Club [I mean family],

This week was pretty smooth. We've been teaching people over phone calls and having many Zoom meetings. The work moved forward at the speed of WiFi!

As a mission we tuned into the YouTube Live Fireside with Hank Smith, John Bytheway, and Meg Johnson. It was very touching and super insightful. My biggest takeaways were when one of them (I think it was Meg Johnson) said that gratitude is the greatest weapon against sadness, despair, fear, depression, and negativity. Truly, gratitude is a life-changing power that we can choose to have.

I also loved when one of them (I think it was Hank Smith) talked about what happy people do. He said happy people surround themselves with happy people, try to be happy, have deep conversations, listen to happy music, exercise, take time to unplug, get enough sleep, meditate, pray, and spend money on other people. These things, especially unplugging, are things I'm going to work on and I think we all should too. (Not that you're not happy,... I mean, no, yes; I do think you're happy... Okay, you're happy!... Geez...)

My favorite thing that John Bytheway said (besides his Barney Fife impression) was when he illustrated what to do when trials come. 1 Nephi 11:17 I know that God loveth His children, nevertheless I do not know the meaning of all things. Nephi starts with what he does know. Goes back to his foundation. And then he can tackle any question or doubt or trial of faith. We can do this too.

We also listened to a podcast with Scott O'Neil talking about basketball and his conversion. (For those of you who, like me, don't know who Scott O'Neil is, he's the CEO of the 76ers... apparently he's a big deal, pardon my ignorance, Scotty.) These are some thoughts I had while listening to the podcast: Life is long. People say it's short, but it's long. It is meant to be enjoyed and experienced; not endured, not suffered through, not survived. Give things time -- tough decisions that need to be made, bridges that need to be built, healing that needs to take place, projects that need to be completed, places that need to be seen, and words that need to be said -- because there is enough time. But don't let a moment slip by that could be spent loving, giving, sharing, cherishing, and being with the people you love. It was a good podcast.

Spring is coming and service is happening. We did three hours of yard work on Saturday and it felt AMAZING. The sun on my neck, the dirt on my hands, the sweat on my brow and the blood on my finger (wait, what??), nature has this way of rejuvenating the soul.

Have a great week and hopefully this pandemic thing wraps up soon.

Love and hugs,
Elder Craig