Week One In The Mission Field

Wellllll week one down and the mission field and the gun has gone off (in the Cross Country race analogy that is, and in the streets of phoenix near our apartment too now that I come to think about it).

Week one has been a roller coaster ride to say the least. We flew out Monday morning and got picked up by President and Sister Robinson picked us up with the two APs. Then they took us to a church where we got real, actual sandwichs holy cow it was so good. Didn't realize how much I missed real food until I started eating that. Then we went to the Mesa Temple visitors center which was really really cool. Ohh man it was so cool to see everything inside, the Church is really trying hard to create new exhibits and displays for visitors, and I think it's going to be a great asset for investigators over the next two years. After that we headed back to the mission home where we packed for the night, had dinner, had a family home evening with the APs and president, got our assignments and then got sent off to bed.

So the Area I'm in is in the Biltmore Zone, called the Osborn Area. It's in the very bottom left Zone of the mission and in that zone, in the top left corner of it (see pictures to better understand what I'm talking about). To put it simply we're on the outskirts of downtown Phoenix, in some of the poorer, more impoverished areas. Mas o Menos, the poor ghettos of Phoenix. We've been riding bikes, so our areas not too big. It's mostly apartment complexes (usually pretty beat up and run down) small homes or run down gas stations, stores or small office buildings. It's nice because the people here are super humble, all the people we talk to (especially the Latino people) know that they don't have a lot to live off of but do their best with what they do have.

Those are the normal people but there's also the crazy, homeless and unemployed people who we talk to on the streets. They talk to themselves alot, pace back and forth, usually are pretty drunk and are just unpredictable. I don't mind talking to them, but when they get super figity and look like they could just flip out at any moment it freaks me and my companion out a little bit.

The heat. Well it's averaged about 100-115 this past week (yesterday it got down to the low 90s and it was literally the best thing I've ever experienced). When you're riding your bike in the middle of the day, the best way that I can think of to describe it, is to think about the heat that you get after you open up the oven (after 45 minutes of it on 425 degrees) combined with the wind you feel on a fall afternoon standing on the beach at lake Michigan. So it's pretty windy, but the wind is awful because it melts you. You start to get used to it. Like I've accepted that my collar is going to be wet with sweat the next two years, and that my back always feels like I just got out of the pool, but honestly once you do it a few days in a row, it's just whatever. Yeah it's annoying but it's just apart of the work, and so there's no point in complaining or whining.

I think the coolest thing that I've experienced/ paid attention to so far while I've been in the field is how much God's hand plays a roll in our lives, especially the lives of missionaries who dedicate 18-24 months of their lives to serving God. I'll share a few examples of how I've already seen God's hand, just to give ya an idea of what I mean.

1. The Johnsons. So the Johnson family are inactive members, our Ward Mission Leader just got assigned his home teacher and said that in the 3 years he's been in the ward he's never seen them at church. So on Thursday we do splits with ward members so I went with the WML to teach the Johnsons well my Comp went with the Young Men's President to teach an investigator.

We knocked on the door, went inside and chatted a little. They're maybe the most odd, different and unique people I've ever met. Definitely could talk for days about all of the interesting things that happen in their lives. But we were just talking, they asked where I was from and I said Chicago. And the dad got all excited because he served a mission in Chicago. I said no way my dad did too, what years did you serve? He served from June 1990- June 1992 (and if my maths right he got there 6 months after dad left the mission right?) And he said he'd actually heard the name Elder Merrill as a former AP, and as a killer missionary in his own right (props to you Adam). But that immediately made a connection between us, got them comfortable with me, and then allowed me to share a powerful message with them and invite them to church. So the Johnsons who hadn't been to church in 3+ years (and who'd refused to ever hear any messages from missionaries in the past according to the WML) all came to church on Sunday. Pretty crazy huh? Idk, maybe it's just me. But I definitely know that God had some part in putting me in this mission, in this area, with this Ward Mission Leader, so I could visit that house, to talk to that dad who served in the same mission as my dad. I mean the odds of that happening on their own are nuts.

2. Experience number two is a little more simple but cool nonetheless. So we decided to go to the grocery store on Wednesday to pick up some food that I can have (because I obviously didn't have any in the apartment). And we were just walking down the isles about to leave when I realized that I forgot peanut butter for my peanut butter and jelly. So we ran back really quick and almost ran into this lady while we were grabbing the peanut butter.

We said sorry and she just kinda looked at us. And she asked if we were on our P-day, and we figured that since she knew what a P-day is she must be a member, but we explained why we were there, and she kept on just staring at us, and said really softly, "can you guys come visit me, I think it's time for me to come back to church." And it just kinda hit me. Like woah she's inactive, and only acted upon the impressions she's probably been having lately because we ran into her in that grocery store at that time, in that place. Idk call it coincidence if you want, but I know that God plays a much bigger role in all of our lives then we often think. Try to look out for ways that he helps you and I'm sure you can come to realize it too.

Anyway, there's something that one of the members said to us as we were leaving their house after dinner one night. We walked out and of course kinda got hit by the hit, and the member thanked us for everything that we do and said, "Hey just remember that The Church is true even in 120 degree heat, and that's why you've been called to do the work her in good ole AZ"

I love that, and I've used that a lot this week as I've been biking, walking and running (yes my companion was an xc runner in high school so we run 4-6 miles every morning, good times) in this heat.

Anyway, hope you all have a good week, miss ya lots.

Elder Merrill