Hello everybody!
So I'm finally here in the mission field! For my first area, I've been assigned to serve in...San Francisco! Our area covers the south-eastern part of the city. Not quite as crazy as downtown city, but still pretty crazy.So there are great things about being a missionary and hard things about being a missionary. It's definitely been the hardest three weeks I've had in the past month. It's hard to go from doing whatever I want all the time to giving up all of my time to the Lord. I'm basically doing missionary work from the moment I wake up until 9:30at night. It's wonderful to serve, but it's taken some adjusting.
Adjustment number uno- Loving people
The hardest thing about my mission so far has been overcoming my selfishness. I'm not Ebenezer Scrooge by any means, but I'm definitely focused on serving my own needs. I like being happy, so usually everything I do is to make myself happy. As a missionary, I'm supposed to devote my time and talents to helping other people find happiness. It feels super good to teach people the Gospel, but it'll take some time to turn outwards and want to serve with all of my heart.
Adjustment number dos- Staying with the same guy 24/7 for 6 weeks.
As a missionary, I'm assigned a companion. We've got to stay within sound and sight of each other constantly for the whole time we're together, which is 6 weeks. Fortunately, my companion is awesome. His name is Elder Watkins. I know because his nametag says Elder Watkins. He's super chill, and dedicated to being a good missionary. But 6 weeks is a long time...
So these things have been hard. But the blessings totally outweigh the sacrifice. My faith has really been strengthened. I've been thinking a lot about Jesus Christ and His role as our Savior. I've always believed that He is real and that He is the Savior, but as I've learned about Him, taught about Him, and relied on His strength, that belief has turned to knowledge. Every day, I look at a picture of Jesus Christ in my apartment, and I think about Him and what He did for us. I think about how He loves me, and how I love Him. Even though sometimes I wake up and think, "what am I doing here?" I always eventually remember how wonderful this Gospel is. When I teach people the message of the restored Gospel, I feel the Holy Ghost testify to them, and I remember that for two years, I have the chance to help people change their lives. And that's pretty darn sweet.
So since we're San Francisco, we see a ton of weirdos. I have to remind myself that they're also God's children and try to love them. A couple days ago, we taught a man named Derrick. He's a cross-dresser whose main objective in life right now is to find a wife. That was an interesting lesson...We also talk to a few stoned people on the street. That's always pretty fun too.
Last night the elders in Half-Moon Bay got a voicemail from an anonymous dude. The 5-minute long message was basically him telling the elders why they were wrong, that we can't know what happens after we die, that Joseph Smith was a fraud (according to Google, an obviously credible source), and that we've been brainwashed into believing all this. Back home, I probably would have been bothered by this, but we just laughed when we heard it. The man was so adamant in his belief that we've been brainwashed. I wondered what I would say to the man if he were talking to me. I know that what we missionaries teach is true. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet, and that God restored His Gospel through him. I know that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world. Why else would I give up two years of my life to be doing this?
The Gospel is so good, and I know it's true. It's as simple as that!
Y'all be excellent to each other.
May the Lord bless you all,
Elder Gillie
Elder Gillie
