The week went well. I was able to go on some exchanges this week
with three of my favorite missionaries' friends. I learned a lot from these
elders and had a lot of insight given to past events.
On Wednesday I went on exchanges with Elder Cosgrove in
Fayetteville. It was a great exchange and I overcame a lot. The situation of
the exchange was this; we were on foot all day because it was the end of the
month and the elders had no miles left to drive their vehicle. Fayetteville
is the home to the University Of Arkansas campus. When we got into
Fayetteville we met the elders at the institute building on campus and this
is where we started our long trek. We walked through campus and headed
towards the bus stop to get into town; it was very strange walking around a
campus with a bunch of people my own age that weren't in suits and ties.
When we had gotten to the bus stop we loaded up and headed to our
destination. When I walked onto the bus I was so overwhelmed by walking on
campus and getting onto a bus with a lot of people that I froze and didn't
know what to do. I can normally figure out what to do in most situations but
I have never dealt with a situation like this before on my mission and I was
caught completely off guard. While walking on I was so focused on not
looking scared and lost I gave up my opportunity to sit down in a seat and
ended up standing up in the middle of the row. As we drove off all I could
do was stare out the front window and pray to know what to do. A few moments
into the ride I tried to look around and see if there was anyone that I
could talk to and all I saw were people with their headphones in trying to
avoid eye contact with me. I kept praying to know what to do and for a
chance to talk to someone. We reached another bus stop where there was an
exchange of people getting off and on. I darted to the first seat I could
find near the front of the bus and sat down. I was so relieved to sit down
and get the chance to grasp all that was going on. Luckily I sat down next
to a lady who wasn't listening to a MP3 player. I told this young lady that
I was absolutely scared to be riding the bus and that I had only a small
experience with riding them back home when my friends and I would ride them
to the mall. I don't think that my confession of being scared was the best
way to start a conversation but it was all that was on my mind, so that's
what I talked about. We got to talking a little bit and I found out her name
was Emily and that she knew people from the church. We had a good little
conversation until the next bus stop where Elder Cosgrove and I got off. I
gave her a pass along card and encouraged her to go to the website on the
back. It wasn't the most successful moment of my mission, but it sure did
feel like it to me. These little moments are what I like most about being a
missionary. I like baptisms and I like it when someone is found who is
interested in the Gospel, but moments like these are the ones that really
test me and help me see who I am becoming. It's easy to be a missionary when
you have a suit and tie on and when you have a name tag on that bears the
name of Jesus Christ. These moments help me see what my mission has helped
me become.
I think the leaders of the Church are getting better and better
and this past General Conference is the proof. I thought Conference was
amazing and very insightful, clear and direct. I got a lot out of it and
took some good notes that I plan on studying. If anyone had any questions
about how to get through the afflictions we face they should have been fully
edified after Saturday and Sunday.
I remember reading one of your letter's Mom, which had a
question asking me about what I learned from my Mountain Home, Ar
experience; for some odd reason that line popped back into my mind over this
past week. I went on an exchange with an elder who served in that area just
four and a half months before I did. We got to talking about the area and
what experience he had there and the one I had there. It was very
insightful. He was being trained there by a great missionary and the work
was flourishing with success and with member support. That was surprising to
me because when I got there the area was dead and there was no activity.
What had happened? As I thought about it I learned what it really means to
be a part of a band of brotherhood. A missionary who served there in that
four and a half month gap had made some changes to the way the missionary
work was done and turned off the ward members and leaders to missionary
work. This missionary is a great missionary and is one that I respect, so I
mean no disrespect. But what I learned from thinking about the affects of
what was done because of this elders' choices helped me see that being part
of a band of brotherhood is more than supporting those around you, but also
supporting those that will come in the future. The consequences of choices
made now are going to affect the future in more ways than we realize.
Learning this has helped me view my service in a more serious way. There is
a lot of applications to this principle in my life.
That's all for this week; thank you for all that you are doing
for me! I'm mailing home another memory card this week, so be expecting
that.
Love your son,
Elder Kelly Conrad
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