Citizens-
Well well well. Last week was an intense week, I can honestly say it was the fastest week that has ever gone by on my mission, which means there is definitely lots to talk about, so that we shall.
100 Days on the Mission
Well as many of you know, apparently more people than I was even aware I knew, have the knowledge that I recently reached the 100th day of mission. Woot. So yes I did get the package and yes it was absolutely wonderful. That sounded so unmanly. It was sick bro. Anyways, I plan on writing every person back a 3 page letter with footnotes and citations. In other words: I have to serve the Lord so if I only write back to my siblings, don't feel bad, I love all....well most of you. Seriously though, it was a great thing to recieve. And don't feel bad if you didn't write me, I'm sure that you'll feel guilty in a few weeks. However, to sum this rambled mess up, it was a very pleasant surprise to hear from all of you, I pretty much read them all the first night. I don't think words can accurately express the feelings I had. For once that isn't sarcasm. And ,(because I love inside jokes), Brennan and Hailey...keep it up ;)
Craziest Day of Weather...EVER
So I seriously do not underestimate the title of this section. It was a Friday. A nice Friday. Then at 11 am it began to sleet. Luckily we still had time for lunch, when we went out at 12 it was brisk and sunny with no clouds in sight. An hour later it began to sprinkle and out of nowhere it began to dump the heaviest rain. Have no fear though, 27 minutes later it was bright and sunny again and I actually began to sweat because it was hotter. Well about 3:00 it began to rain again in a milder but still heavy fashion. God is a funny man though and around 3:30 it began to hail for about 2 minutes and 12 seconds. After which the sun came back out except for some reason it was freezing cold. At about 5:00 it began to snow.....no joke. Then it randomly stopped and became warmer again and about 7:30 an ice cold rain came. Now let me tell you my real dilemma in life. I love the rain. The problem is I hate wearing a hood because the rain makes your hair so soft and you also feel like a boss. The problem is that I probably will get sick because of it. But to quote Shrek "It is a sacrifice, I am willing to make". Seriously, my hair, so soft.
UKA
So the never ending party continues and it is so terrible for missionary work. Contacting the streets at night is useless because everyone is drunk out of their mind. At 4:00 one day we were contacting a girl and two guys leaned out a window about 3 stories up and started yelling drunk stuff in our direction, well after a short pause they proceeded to yell in unison to us....GAAAAYYYYYYYY. I seriously couldn't help but laugh, sometimes you just gotta have a good laugh at human stupidity. They proceeded to scream "La det snø! LA DET SNØ!", to the English lyrics of that Christmas song that goes "Let it snow let it snow let it snow", in response to the snow that began to fall from the sky. Ladies and gentleman, alcohol.
Missionary Stuff
So this week was way good for missionary work too. Our streak of no teaches continued until Thursday. Thursday we had two good teaches. One was with a guy who wrote himself out of the church but always takes the missionaries out to lunch because it makes him feel good. He wrote himself out like 30 years ago but still has a testimony. Our goal is to get him back active in the church. We have a meeting this week where hopefully we will be able to lay down the law with him. By the way though, the dinner we went to with him, the place had THE BEST gluten free pizza. No joke. Oh man, it was delicious. Friday was awesome too because we got two more teaches and one of the guys is really positive. We found him on the street a few days before and we got his number. He was more than willing to read the Book of Mormon and we also got a meeting with him this week. Overall I won't bore you too much, the work progresses and Elder Leighton and I are both learning to trust in the one who has the power. Things continue to go well and I love it here.
Well...Parting Words
So we had Stake Conference this week and we received it via broadcast. I really reflected a lot during it. You immediately get a new perspective on life as a missionary, and with the subjects of this meeting I immediately began to think about the importance of a missionary in all the aspects present. I realized that as a missionary your love and respect for people in general really increases. The major difference is the respect, genuine respect, you gain for women. Over time I can now see why all young men should serve missions. As a missionary I have already witnessed lots of husbands who neglect their responsibilities as a father and head of the house. As of late I have also realized the importance of a mission for me in my own growth in this subject. The Area Representative in Oslo talked a lot about marriage and even though we are missionaries it was amazing to discuss with the other elders the love we think we should be EXPECTED to give our future spouses. This may be seeming weird coming from a missionary... but the area representative told a story to everyone about how he once asked a man about how the Muslim religion is okay with the arranged marriages, and he was curious how they could work with a person they had never met. The man responded profoundly with the following "You guys marry the person you love...we love the person we marry". My parting words, would be to think about the charity that Christ shows to all, and then think about the love you share to those that are closest to you. Do you neglect your responsibilities? We can all be better representatives of the Savior. His unfailing charity is one way we could all be less like the world and more like Him. There's a lot more I could say but I guess I will leave it there. Clear eyes, full hearts.
Much Love
Elder Shanklin
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