Year Down, Year to Go

At Johnny Rockets with Elders Ghiya and Heath

Greetings,

This week has been all right. We had some things going on, but I just have found very little fulfillment in anything.

Monday night we played a board game as a district, Tuesday was my year mark since reporting to the mission. Wednesday was Pioneer Day, and we had the day off. So instead of going and doing something, my companion wanted to play board games, so we did. During lunch, Elder Allison (my district leader) and I went to Johnny Rockets (a burger place in City Creek), because I had been invited to go out and celebrate my year mark with the rest of my incoming group. Elder Allison and I got there, and no one else was there. We waited about 20 minutes, then decided to just go in and get food. So we sat down ordered, and had a great time. Two other companionships eventually showed up and they sat in the booth next to us. I got a picture with the other 2 who showed up from my incoming group (included below). Later that day we did a hike up Ensign Peak as a mission, then had a BBQ at President Fenn’s house. Elder Alverson (now just Mike) came which made me super happy, I enjoyed spending time with this dear friend of mine for the evening. Elder Lane was sick Thursday morning, so we stayed home, and I was able to get some much needed sleep. We went in after lunch time, and did nothing in the office at all (as per the norm), and then I drove Elder Lane to his doctor appointment. Friday we went to the Salt Lake Temple as a mission, and that was really nice. I felt peaceful while I was in the session, and even though it was fleeting as soon as we were out of the temple, I still appreciated the small amount of peace that I had felt while there.

This week in my study I have made it to Mosiah 8. I find it interesting that Limhi and his people remained in faith in their course, even after they felt that Ammon was the answer to their prayers. Ammon shows up and Limhi and his people rejoice in the fact that the Lord has heard their prayers. But they still had to continue in tribulation for a little bit longer. This is interesting to me, because they had been praying to be delivered from bondage, and here was their answer, right? Yes and no. It was their answer, but it wasn’t quite time. They still had to go through everything else before they were finally delivered from the Lamanite. 

This is comparable to us. Sometimes we feel like we have been given an answer, and we might rejoice in that answer, and then we realize that we aren’t exactly delivered from that trial yet. So what do we do? We do our best to keep faith that the answer we have received is what will happen, but we keep doing our best to make it through the trial at hand. We must keep asking in faith to have strength to be able to make it through the trial for however long we must still endure it.

I know that the Lord answers our prayers, and sometimes in unexpected ways. Sometimes it is a nice calm feeling that touches us for a moment then leaves, sometimes it is a random person who shows up and tells us that he can help us escape the Lamanites who are holding us and our people captive. Other times it is in a much more personal and obscure way, like the clouds looking just a certain way when we look at them (that is a story that I will save for another time, most likely at my homecoming), or a soft breeze on a hard, long, hot day while working outside in the sun all day long. I am grateful that we are able to receive answers to our prayers, and that they are oftentimes the most personal thing for us. That is the beauty of personal revelation. It is personal. It is communication from our loving Heavenly Father to us. From literal Deity, to me, and you and all of us. And it is in the best way for us. The most personal way for us.

I love this gospel, and no matter difficult, or challenging things may be, I know that God loves me, and that He loves each of you. Even if it feels like the lights are completely out, they will come on again someday.

Love,

Elder Bartholomew

At BBQ at President Fern's with Mike

Some pen art I drew while I was having a really rough night.

Dull Week Pt III: Revenge of the Dull

Hello all, 

This week has been pretty dull (again). Not really anything happened this week that was particularly noteworthy, or fun. Except for the classes I taught this week. 

So once a week, the elders all attend a night class. It is split into two nights, and then split into two classes each night. So everyone attends with a group of elders that is roughly ¼ of the mission. So about 25 elders or so. Well in the last 6 months, I have felt that something needed to change. I had that thought back when I was in Help Services in the Family History Library. I wanted to try and figure out a way that we could have smaller groups for the classes, to have more of a discussion than a lecture. I wanted to get more people to participate and be comfortable talking about the gospel, because we never get to teach anyone about the gospel outside of ourselves, and then most elders don’t get an opportunity to teach, or really participate. So I came up with an idea to change that. I had the thought (that I will attribute to the Spirit because of the outcome), that we could do smaller breakout groups. So we could split the missionaries into groups no bigger than 10 people in a group. Well when I was assigned to serve in the zone that I have been serving in currently, I brought this idea to my new zone leader, and my district leader, and the other missionaries in the zone and the assistants. We have been trying to work on this for 4 months, and had some pushback from one elder, who ended up getting transferred after my first two months in the zone, and then we were able to actually work on this idea, and this week we implemented the idea. So Thursday and Friday nights, we held these classes. 

The response was wonderful! In my group I had a couple of companionships who I have never heard talk in classes, and have never heard them talk about the gospel. I was worried at first that I would have to try and get people to participate, and that it would end up being a lecture. But I was so wrong! Two elders in particular, Elders Balls, and Arndt, talked the whole time, and were absolutely engaged in the discussion, and it was awesome!!! They brought so much to the conversation, as did the rest of the elders actually. After the class, I had a couple of the people hang behind to thank me, and give me feedback about this new style of class that we had. 

The response was unanimous in asking for more of these classes. The elders felt like they wanted to participate more, and that their comments were more valued. They even asked when the next class would be.

This was the best thing to hear! I talked with the other five group leaders, and all of them had similar experiences. They found that there was more participation, and that the spirit was stronger in the small groups as in contrast to the big class setting.

It's a very gratifying thing to have your idea implemented, and see good success in it. I don’t have a lot of gratification while here on the mission, so it was wonderful to have some for some of my work for once. After four months of preparation, and going back and forth on things, and then getting approval from President Fenn to try these, then to hold them, and having such good response has really been nice. 

Tonight we are going to the Pioneer Day Concert at the Conference Center. That should be good.

Hope you all have had a good week, and I hope that this next week is even better!

Love,

Elder Bartholomew

Dull Week no. 2

Hello again!

Life seems to never change around here, but that’s OK, of course, because I am serving the Lord.

On Sunday, I decided to feed another companionship, and I made the best Hawaiian food I could. We had teriyaki chicken on rice, with mac salad. I thought it turned out well. I wish I actually had dishes to serve people from, because I had to settle for gallon ziploc bags.

On Tuesday Elder Allison went to a concert in the Brigham Young Park. It was the BYU Mountain Strings. Good country and folk music. It was maybe the best part of this week.
On Thursday we had mission conference, and it was really good. Afterwards I had a meeting with my mission president and that went well. 

That's pretty much it this week!

Love you all, and hope that you have had a more interesting week than I have!

Really Dull Week

Some dudes climbing the temple or something. It's wack.

Happy late 4th of July!

This week has been all right. More of the same routine. 

We didn’t do much, really, but on a personal note, I made it to 185 lbs this week, which means I have lost about 50 lbs since I started the mission, and 20 of it has been in the last 3 ½ months. So that’s pretty good. 

We didn’t do much for the 4th of July. We didn’t have to go in to work, which was nice, but we didn’t really do anything otherwise. We watched Hidden Figures, which I enjoyed. 

Friday was a pointless day, work wise, but I had a good meeting with my mission president, which was nice.

That’s really all for my week. Just like every week, I did nothing and sat in an office all day.

Love,

Elder Bartholomew

Another Week

This week has been super super long. We didn’t really do much. 

Saturday was the Manti Pageant trip and that was pretty fun. The temple was awesome, and I was very grateful for the chance to go to it. The Pageant was…… man it was yep…. I am grateful for the chance to see it end. It was good to be out of the office for a day, and I even ran into my aunt and her family down there which was a pleasant surprise.

The rest of the week was not really anything until Thursday night when we had a fireside about the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, because it was the 175th anniversary of it happening. There was a really cool feeling there, and I was grateful for the chance to learn more from President Fenn.

Friday during lunch, Elder Lane and I went out to celebrate his 20th birthday at a restaurant called Tucanos. It was really good, but man Elder Lane can eat a ton! Friday night, the Training Zone had a BBQ at our Zone Leader’s house up in Bountiful. It was tons of fun, and a really good break. It was so nice to get out of Salt Lake again. I’m getting really sick of the city, and especially sick of temple square and the surrounding buildings.

But oh well! Life moves on and we keep trying! 

Love you all and hope you have a great week.

Elder Bartholomew

This is what I made for Sunday dinner. 
Maybe the single best pic I've ever taken!

Elder B & his aunt

Happy 20th Elder Lane!