June 2, 2014

This week Sister Wagner had her last District Meeting. This week we have a mission conference (a Holland recap and focus) and the next week is zone meeting...and then shes gone forever! It's weird working in the room with the missionary board and wondering who my next victim is. Poor Sister Wagner...can't even imagine the thought of all the lasts...ah more like a nightmare.

Don received the priesthood yesterday! Happy day! And then I found out that Ali from Belmont is getting baptized this Saturday!! Why does all the fun happen after I start teaching people, dang it! :( Good news is I get to go...I think!

Today we had the coolest experience. We went to the Apple Store to ask them about a potential programming feature for the PVC and the person that got assigned to help us completely by random was the same guy who helped us a while back when we went in. We started talking to him more about the church and our project. We ended up talking for a long time, partly because in the mean time we had to fill out a couple things. We first just gave him a card and i thought "no we should set up a time for a first lesson....but he is on the job..nope just do it." Embarrassingly enough it's been a good while since i've had the opportunity to set up a first lesson apt. Life of living in closed doors all day. It felt really good to ask, and he agreed! He is dating a pastor's daughter and with a million other reasons...one being that we're not assigned to teach people... it just felt better having elders teach him. Conveniently we had the zone leaders (aka PVC elders/PVC babysitters) hangin with us. We had them set up an apt on the spot. It makes me really miss teaching. Really miss it. We are really excited to hear how Elder Bushnell and Elder Rogers lesson goes this week though! It made me almost relieved that I wasn't the one teaching because i'm so out of practice. I hate that feeling - i've never been the best full time missionary teacher to begin with anyway which does help with the out of practice part. But hey, i'm pretty good at being a good member missionary who just refers refers refers..especially these days...someones gotta be good at that part too.

John asked an important (and my favorite!) question: what made you decide to join your church? This can be almost tricky because how can you describe in words something that has completely changed and blessed your life literally for eternity...FOREVER?? I also love the question because each time it gives me a reason to think about why. Sometimes we get so caught up in doing that we miss spirit of whats driving us. "Its blessed my life and brought peace" is pretty lame - lets be specific folks.

Im a member because it not only answers questions but it encourages me have questions - questions like why i'm here, what happens after this life, how do i even get through this life feeling successful? I mean successful. Questions like why does God really matter anyway? Can Jesus Christ's life and sacrifice that people mention sometimes as casually as apple pie really provide true personal meaning for me?  Can it really provide relief from regret? Relief from lack of faith?

See what I mean? Maybe a better question is what keeps you from being a member of the church?

The PVC's 3 "for now" final boards are in process of completion..we just have one more photoshoot! The goal is to get it done before S. Wagner leaves! It was in Hartford this Sunday for an open house - got to see a couple people from Ellington which was fun! They had some other PR boards up and their own church tour....not like the gospel is a competition or anything...but if it was...PVC wins hands down. But...its not :) Its cool, we're still humble.

Keep John and Ali in your prayers this week!

Country Club life is the rough life - but someone's gotta live it. Heres my lemon in a bag so that the seeds dont get on my fresh salmon.
In the background is Danny Ainge's son that we just casually bumped into while we were there. yeah yeah what else is new? 

year mark!
climbing bunker hill!

a little family jog in cambridge!