Michael's Mission: One month Down...

Hello! So I have finally found out my memory sucks and I'm getting old and I forget a lot of things.. as well as my companion has now found out I have crappy hearing. Probably from my car, or Blake's truck.. not sure but I always say 'what?' whenever he says something to me. But anyway, I have started to write down, in my planner, the things that happen during the week so I can remember to tell you about them in my email! Well, where do I begin... I have a nice long list in front of me so lets see how this goes... So I got to experience something new this last week. We went to the projects. Like, legit projects. Like, straight up, get shot, downtown, ghetto. A member was feeding us so that's the only reason we were down there. The guy is a super cool guy! But the part that really opened my eyes was when we were eating with him. He's single, with one kid that he has custody of. Elder Hood and I were the only ones with plates. He was eating his food out of tupperware, the kid was eating out of tupperware and the other people in the house were eating off cardboard, or anything they could really find. It was so sad. It was crazy to see the sacrifice people make to feed the missionaries. He's a really great guy, he's been a convert to the church for a year and has been going strong and has yet to look back! We shared a really strong message with him that went really well, so we were happy with the out come. After dinner we got out of there as fast as we could, since it was night time. The next day we had dinner with a crazy lady. I. Swear. She. Is. Crazy! We had some food from some country... I HAVE NO IDEA!! All I know is there was.. I don't even know what was in it.. but she totally called me out and was saying how bad it was that I only eat chicken and burgers and that I don't eat veggies. She literally grilled me for about an hour on how I didn't eat healthy and that all I eat is meats. So I wanted to leave ASAP and never come back. haha It also doesn't help that she loves to talk, and will just talk, and talk, and talk to no end! So there's that... So now its Fast Sunday and I'm serving in a small ward. I think there's MAYBE 10 rows of soft seats.. and they're never full.. I don't think we ever open up the extra seat area. But during testimony time a priest age boy/guy/dude got up and said, "So I know my recent testimony's haven't been very spiritual, or have helped anyone grow spiritually so I'm here to change that today." So I'm thinking 'sweet! Here's a kid with his head on straight and is TRYING to do good'... He starts bearing his testimony about how he was shot at by Police. ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!!! He was saying how he was riding his bike with his sister and they saw a man sitting on a tree stump, they rode up to him and asked how he was doing. The man promptly asked them to leave and to never come back. That's when he said he turned around and he heard the Norfolk SWAT team open fire on this guy.. Like, this is church and all and I'm sure he thought this testimony through, but I don't think you share that with the congregation... Continuing on, he said that basically he was thankful for the man that saved his life by telling him to leave, that, the last thing this wanted criminal did was save him from being shot. Then he said amen. So, I'm in no way judging, but... I mean.. you can decide.. I'm not sure how much I spiritually grew with that testimony. So in good news! :) We went on exchanges, which was awesome! Elder Jameson and I were together for a day! We went downtown to where the harbor is. It's really crazy to see how much of a Naval Base this place is! There are ships everywhere, being built and worked on for war! So we enjoyed the view along with talking to people! Everyone we talked to was really nice! No one really said 'hey get away' or anything like that! They were all really nice and a lot of them, that didn't listen to us, would say how awesome it is that we are doing missionary work for our church. They say that we are the only church they see doing this, so that was cool to hear! Next things next! Soooo, I have found out... I.. suck... at... cooking... I can make some awesome toast!!!!! But the other day we were making chicken, and it's not like I'm horrible, but I wanna become better. So, those recipes you have would be awesome. Also, if you could ask dad how he COOKS meats that would be cool too. I know how to grill meats and pineapple :) I just don't know how you cook it... I need the nitty gritty too.. Like, do I put oil in the pan if I grill chicken? Or do I just put the chicken in the pan and cook it... So, some recipes and how to cook would be nice. We also had daylight savings, which is definitely the stupidest thing ever. Why do people move their clocks? It's so dumb.. I think this has made my decision of staying in Arizona a little easier. So I'm totally thrown off right now.. But I think we are now 4 hours ahead of you? Maybe? I don't know. Along with sacrament being super small, I have blessed every week. Sucks you can't see it, but I am. I promise. The best thing about this past Sunday was... you know how Bishops always fall asleep? Well this is the first time I have seen a Bishop fall asleep during sacrament. So, when we finish passing he usually excuses us. Well he was asleep, so we all just sat there for AT LEAST 10 minutes because HIS COUNCELORS WERE ALSEEP TOO!!!!!!! So, once everyone started laughing (all 20 of us in the congregation) he woke up and said he was "meditating." Sure you were Bishop Robertson... After church we went and taught a new investigator, our first time teaching her and we committed her to baptism. So now we have 5 people committed to baptism. We are still working with one girl and trying to get her baptized with her family, but 5 is a good number since last month our whole zone had a total of 4 baptisms and our companionship has 5 this month! We have one person set for the 28th of this month then three more on April 18th! But I love you guys so much! I miss you guys like crazy! Weeks are flying by and time is just disappearing! At some point it will feel like just yesterday I left, but I'm actually headed home! If one month has gone this fast, and this week went by with the snap of my fingers, this mission will be over in 20 seconds! I also hope you guys enjoy the letters I sent home. I did send Dad two pages, front to back, about troubleshooting my car.. hahaha So if there are any problems he will now know what they probably are. Also, if there are any problems, Blake helped me with the wiring. Not sure how much he paid attention, but he could help. And if dad ever goes and races it.. inviting my friends would be cool. They enjoy slaying tires:) And I'm sure they would be more than happy to try and get you to go out there, as well as go with you! haha Anyway, I love you all! Hope to hear from you guys soon! Love, That one missionary that's in Virginia with the first name Elder and last name Johnsen:)