Week 8/104

May 2, 2016

Hey Everyone!

So, Elder Holland's pretty cool.

Before he showed up, all the missionaries in our mission were standing
and waiting to have a mission picture taken, talking with each other.
As soon as we saw the mission president's car roll in to the parking
lot, every missionary fell silent. This may or may not be obvious, but
he had a spiritual presence that kind of just envelops the whole room,
yet at the same time feels so individual that you cannot deny the love
he has for me, and truly every missionary. Being able to shake his
hand felt so personal, and that solitary action confirmed the feelings
of his love I felt before. We then spent the next two hours listening
to him, President Toone, and Elder Lynn G. Robbins of the Presidency
of the Seventy tell us how much they love us. They each spoke
separately, but it was all the same message. Elder Holland talked
about so much, but it all centered around his feelings toward
missionaries. "The one thing I cannot live with," he was almost
yelling, "is a return missionary who turns his or her back on the most
influential two years that I ever experienced!" He then turned it
around and said, "No missionary was affected as much by his or her
mission as I was. Every return missionary has the opportunity to say
that, but in my case, it's true." Then he smiled. He has such a talent
for "reproving betimes with sharpness . . . then showing forth
afterwards an increase of love to him [he has] reproved". (D&C 121:43)
One of my favorite things I took away from that was that God called
every missionary for who he or she is; He will take you as you are. I
love that thought!

You know, of all the things I thought I would see in my first
transfer, I did not think that Elder Holland would be one of them. Nor
did I think I would see someone slaughter a live goat. But they both
happened within the same week! We get a knock on the door in the
middle of our studies from Sister Catmull, whose barn/apartment we
live in. The first thing we here her say is, "Do you guys want to see
him kill a goat!?" After the four of us responded with a resounding
"uhhh...", she responded with "it's a guy thing, right?" We all threw
on our shoes and went outside to watch Brother MacArthur, a member in
our ward who is from Ghana, brandishing a big knife next to a goat
who's just lying on the ground, calmly contemplating life, next to a
roaring fire. The next ten minutes consisted of a screaming goat, red
grass, and charred fur. I won't get into too much detail, but it was
gnarly. No pictures, either. Just use your imagination.

Thank you all for your prayers! I can feel them bearing me up.
Love,
Elder Grover



P. S. See if you can find me!