From the trench.: Best Day Of My Life

Saturday was fun. Elder Barlow and Huish got swarmed by hornets while cleaning out this lady's shed. Elder Barlow got stung on the ear and it turned SUPER red and swelled up a lot.

We took pictures at an AWESOME sunset (thanks to all the smoke in the air) and a random cat walked up so I did what any normal person would and grabbed it for the picture. Pics below for the mortal forearm damage which ensued.

There was a "pioneer day" neighborhood breakfast which we got enlisted in to pull this handcart around and give kids rides. The leisurely handcart ride eventually turned into a race back and forth across the field between the two handcarts we had. By noon I was DRENCHED in sweat. The kids loved us though so it was worth it.

We've been visiting this one family since the first week I got here. They stopped going to church when the pandemic hit and have just now started coming back.

Guys, it has been incredible to watch the transformation in their home as the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ were reintroduced to their home. Their kids get along better, and the Spirit is felt so much stronger there.

They found a new home in another city last week, so we met with them for the last time and that was pretty bittersweet for me. Their new place was a lot more ideal for them but we wouldn't get to be their missionaries anymore. :( Their 12 year old son took us on a walk around his apartment complex and introduced us to all his friends like the old lady who grew sunflowers outside her door and showed us his secret fort inside a massive blackberry bush. I taught him a couple last judo moves so he could protect himself from ninjas and badgers at his new house, then we said goodbye.

THAT. Was. The. Worst.

This is one of those times I'm so grateful I got reassigned to be in Boise Idaho for this time though, because I'll get to come back and visit these guys pretty easily again after the mission! It's been such a cool experience to actually see the gospel improve their relationships.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC TRAVEL UPDATE:

My mission in Santo Domingo West is officially open! Last week my trainer, Elder Cattani, went to our mission so people are going back! All of my visa work is done except for the apostilled birth certificate, which is taking a long time to get for some reason but as soon as it's done they're pretty much buying the first plane ticket they can get to ship me outta here 😳 CRAAAZY stuff!!! We'll see if I even last the transfer!

In light of my possible imminent travel plans, my primary assignment has been to teach as many people as possible how to use cameras, lighting, sound and video editing programs to make cool videos. We've had trainings with at least 6 companionships this week, and I've been blessed to watch them progress in their abilities. It is SO SATISFYING to teach someone else how to do something you love and then see them takeoff with it. I'm very proud of the rising generation of missionary filmmakers in this mission 🥲

Oh, also I was on a podcast. These guys asked me if we could come on their show where they talk about theology, culture, Christ and other deep topics so we got permission from our mission president to be recorded on a 90 minute episode with these guys! Honestly it was such a good experience. The hosts of this show are a comedian and a journalist, which is actually an incredible combo. They were very well spoken and respectful, we met with them one time off-mic just to get to know them and we had a suuuper good discussion on the purpose of life and what happens to us after we die. I kinda wish we'd recorded that conversation because it was really deep and I think more enlightening for listeners – the conversation we had on the podcast was interesting too but it was more of us debunking myths about the church and less time was spent on the more important points of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Still fun though! I'll give you guys a link when it gets published!

We had mission conference again, but this time we tried streaming the whole thing across the mission over the course of a few days. So our mission president traveled to each zone a different day, and everyone else just watched the Livestream on zoom. I put together a crew to run a camera and some microphones so it would look buttery smooth… and ran into a LOT of problems along the way. We didn't have a perfect Livestream until the last half of the very last meeting, but holy cow I learned SO much from that experience. It was stressful, difficult, a lot of stuff went wrong – and it was friggin awesome.

Stress is good for you. It teaches you really fast and makes ya feel alive.

One night a cat followed us back to our apartment so we invited him inside and gave him some ham. He was super well groomed and seemed to know his way around the house so we assumed he's one of our neighbor's. We named him Marty (after our mission president) and officially made him the unofficial 7th member of our district.

After we all got done cuddling him (and collecting any diseases he might've had) we put him back outside and he hasn't been back since. I'll let ya know if he returns tho.

One thing that stood out to me in my studies this week was the story of Christ raising the daughter of Jarius from the dead. I especially love it as depicted in the artwork here:

I love this picture because it depicts Christ showing mercy to a desperate family in need. Jairus and his wife are waiting anxiously at their young daughter's bedside, who was pronounced dead by all who were in the home moments earlier. Christ took her by the hand and blessed the girl,

...I say unto thee, arise.

And straightway the damsel arose, and walked...

It's interesting that Christ didn't choose to heal the girl in her sickness immediately by just commanding it to be done where he met her father. Instead He went out of the way of His normal ministry, walked through crowds of people and even asked those in the home to depart so that He could heal the girl individually.

One of my favorite titles for Christ is The Master Healer. Like the girl in this picture, Christ - our Master Healer - comes to us to heal us individually.

As far as I've learned, in my study and personal experience with the Spirit and seeing how the gospel affects people for good, I can testify that the gospel which Jesus Christ taught in the Bible and Book of Mormon can help anyone live a better life than they'd have without it.

Because of the great love I've felt for many individuals and families like the one we just said goodbye to, I can see that there are forces in our world which we don't fully understand. Feelings of love, joy and peace are felt in a distinctly different and stronger way while learning of and following the example of Christ.

You can find those same feelings in all their pure goodness when you learn about Christ, who he was and what he taught. When you listen and learn from Him, you can feel that love which he has for everyone, including yourself, when you follow His example.

Random final thought that just came up: the other day I was walking out of a big youth church meeting thing and the president over that area was walking past me when I said hi to him. He asked how I was doing, I said "good" or something lame like that. I asked how his day was going and he said, "it's the best day of my life." I asked why, what happened? He shrugged,

"Just is."

I was a little taken aback and thought holy cow that is the best response I've ever heard. Today really is the best day ever because you know more than you've ever known, seen more than you've ever seen and you've had all of the best experiences of your entire life up to this point. Best day of my life indeed.

I love you, God loves you, and there is a LOT to learn about yourself from your Creator. :)

Keep living your best life!

Love,

Elder Juanhijo

1) Air conditioner feels nice