Transferrrrssss...

 

We had transfers this week and now it's time for some change. I'm staying in the beautiful land of Foley, but this time with a new companion: Elder Daw. I don't know a lip about the dude, but that's what the whole transfer will be for, right? I haven't met him yet, he'll drive down to Foley tomorrow with Elder Bobadilla's new companion so I'll see him then. That's 3 whole transfers with Elder Peterson and it's been a whole lotta fun. He's hilarious and goofy as heck. Doesn't care what people say about him, he is 100% his full self. Super knowledgable about the gospel, I've always found comfort in that because I had no clue about really anything about the church I was raised in at the beginning of my mission. Guess that's what you get for skipping Sunday School half the time.

Woops. Sorry mom. 

 I love Elder Peterson, he's taught me so much, but I feel like I've reached a learning end with him and now I'm just ready for something new. All I know is that Elder Daw has been out for about a year and a half so he has a lot of experience under his belt. I'm so ready for what he can teach me with a resume like that. Anyway... what else. Uhhh, oh yeah. I've mentioned before that our mission does devotionals every Tuesday-Friday through Zoom, yeah? Well they're fantastic and kinda scary. They pick a couple missionaries beforehand to prepare a 5-10 minute spiritual thought and then, during the Zoom meeting, they also pick a missionary to do a story-time of a story in the BoM or New Testament. That's right on the spot, talk about fricken spontaneous. So yeah, we need to be on our toes otherwise that's public embarrassment in front of the entire mission. Yikes. 😳

 I've been studying a lot and a bit of my study time is put towards reading "Jesus The Christ" and that book makes my head hurt. It's a great book, don't get me wrong, amazing actually, but who ever wrote the dang book uses a lot of big boy words. The dictionary app on my phone has become my best friend ever since I started reading this book and my vocab is for sure expanding. So if you tell me your secret superpower is that you can talk to extinct animals and I say it's superflous; I think it's completely useless. 

Anyway, I'll let you know how the new comp goes. Let's hope for the best, yeah? 

Love y'all,
--
Elder Batman

A Lot of Changes

  I don't have a lot to report on regarding the mission life in quarantine, or what our District Leader Elder Bobadilla calls "incubation", but we did just receive many announcements regarding what is to be expected in the near future. First I want to tell you that I am happy believe it or not, even though this situation is not the most desirable thing ever. Somehow our spirits and attitudes are looking up. I mean hey, I get to have the missionary story about being in-active from church for a few months in the mission field. Definitely has been the most unexpected missionary experience I never thought I would have. What a story for the kids.

   Real quick I think I should tell you guys I know how to spin a basketball on my finger for at least 20 seconds. I also know how to bridge shuffle cards. Yeah, I'm getting pretty skilled. Girls, girls, one at a time please. 

  Alright enough joking around, here's what we were just told by our Mission President via Zoom with the whole mission:

- An estimated 10,000 missionaries will be reassigned to missions in the U.S and Canada. There's only 124 missions in the U.S so you can imagine the chaos. Currently in the Alabama, Birmingham mission we have 160 missionaries. That number will increase to 291 missionaries within the next 3 transfers or 5 months. This will probably guarantee I'll be getting a new companion next transfer. 

- We originally had only 10 zones, but then we moved down to 5 huge zones. Now we are going back to 10. We potentially will open 60 new areas and or double the amount of missionaries in an area. 

- As far as new missionaries go, they will come at the exact same pace as usual. The only difference about it is that since temples are closed worldwide, some of the new missionaries won't be endowed when they come out. They'll receive their endowment in the mission field once the temples reopen. 

- Our time for the missionaries currently in the field has not changed. I will still serve all 24 months of my mission unless the 2nd Coming of Jesus Christ happens or another worldwide pandemic storms the Earth. 

- You may be wondering, how do you get housing to fit all those missionaries coming in? President noted that we will be using extended-stay hotel rooms because the church has a hookup for some hotel businesses. Of course they do. 

- And lastly, President Allred also joked but really hinted that the Prophet and Elder Bednar may make a visit to our mission in the soon coming future. 

Alright, that's all I got. What a weird time to be a missionary, I say it everyday. 

Love y'all

--
Elder Batman

Still In This Mess

Days in quarantine are like days going by in solitary confinement, you don't know what day it is or how much time has passed. It's been one of the weirdest experiences of my life trying to stay sane and disciplined during a time like this. I'm still in great spirits and trying my best to have a good attitude, safe to say that none of the Elders I'm staying with have tried to kill each other yet. We are all just trying to do missionary work while playing a different game on a different map. I've resorted to an email every two weeks because of the lack of cool stuff happening in this mess, here's what I got for the last two weeks:

-We contacted a few members trying to give them a spiritual thought or two. That's been a tough one for sure, not a lot of people answering. I'll get back to you when something happens there. 

-Got a referral who wants to have us do a Book of Mormon read with them, we're getting that setup for this coming week. 

-Lots and lots of cards game. That will always be a constant activity happening, we all enjoy it here. I know I said last email that we are starting to get sick of them, but that was a lie. We are still grinding them out whenever we can, which is a lot. 

-Finished my first toothpaste tube on my mission, so that's pretty awesome I guess. Getting close to the deodorant stick being done too, now that'll be a special day. 

-Did you know there are 410 bathroom tiles in the men's restroom at the church in Foley? Well hey, now you know. I counted. 

-Oh yeah, it was my birthday yesterday which was on Easter, that was a little different from the daily routine. I got a call from our mission president in the morning saying happy birthday as well as a call from the AP's who sang it to me. Also got a cake made from one of the members in our ward because our ward is amazing. I did open my presents earlier in the week because that's when I received them, they were all wrapped up in a box. I got a Batman tie, a box of Sour Patch Kids and a hair cutting cape and apron because I tend to do that a lot on my mission for other people. Anyway, it was a great birthday, thanks to all who did anything for it. 

- I'm kinda feeling like writing something spiritual, so here ya go. My mission president refers to this current predicament that we are in as our own "Personal Liberty Jail." If anyone has read D&C section 121-123, they know that Joseph Smith was going through some of the worse of the worst. He prayed continually to Heavenly Father for help and comfort during such a time, and in this moment, one of most beautiful scriptures is spoken by God to Joseph Smith saying "My son (And daughter), peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment. And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes" D&C 121: 7-8

The key phrase there is to 'endure it well' and if we do that God will pour a blessing on us that will shape us more and more into what we can become. Trials are imminent, you can't escape them, they will happen. "Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction." -Isaiah 48:10. God is forging us into what He knows we can become through hard, tedious and crappy situations. We must endure them well, they are for our good. 

Alright, I'll hop off my soap box and stop writing this email. Catch you guys in 2 weeks.

Love y'all 

Elder Batman

The Fallout

 You're gonna have to forgive me for my laziness in writing an email last week, I've just been so busy with doing absolutely nothing I couldn't fit it in the schedule. 

Okay, I shouldn't say "nothing", we have been doing something. I guess I should mention first that our mission is completely quarantined and not permitted to leave our apartment. Luckily, I get the luxury of being able to go to the church to enjoy the wifi for Facebook and calling the fam. But yeah, we've been given the Fallout treatment, acting like the world is completely infected and dangerous. I mean, it is dangerous, don't get me wrong, but its blown a little bit out of proportion. Like the other day at Walmart, I made a stupid joke about the world ending and this woman heard me say it and said "This isn't a joking matter. It's real s***." 

Oh 😳, okay. My bad.

I'll give a run down of the oh-so productive week real quick:

- We just work with technology as much as we can and it has been hard, I'll be honest. It is difficult trying to communicate with our investigators because they are already busy with caring for their own families at home trying not to die by the dark plague. We're giving it our best, but it's been rough for sure.

- So many fricken card games, holy heck. Exploding Kittens, Unstable Unicorns, Goat Lords, etc etc. There comes a time when you've played enough of all the games you have and I feel like we are getting very close to that point. Only so many games you can play before it becomes not so fun anymore. We will preservere. I'll let you know now, I can shuffle cards and do the whole bridge thing really well now. 

- Pretty much just staring at my hand. 

Alright, that's kinda all I got. We are allowed to watch a select few Disney Movies and a lot of Church movies, so that's fun and all. We definitely expect to be in this scenario for a long time soooooo, til next week.

Thanks,
--
Elder Batman

Just About That 3 Month Mark

  In 3 days (the 18th) it'll be my official 3 month mark, how dope is that. Definitely hasn't felt like I've been here that long, time whips on by when you're out here. I guess that's just what the mission does. But as far as this week goes, I'm gonna be honest, I don't got a lot to report on. Here's what I got:

-Did our Animal Shelter Puppy Barn service as usual, but this time came with a little twist. Animal Shelter lady comes up to us and goes "We have a different assignment for you today, one that'll be a little unorthodox." I walk in this room to see what monster dog they want us to tend to, and it's a freaking pig. This little guy is about the size of a puppy, but not exactly a teacup. We put "Chester", that's his name, on a leash and took him to the puppy play field. All little man does is eat grass, doesn't even care to be playful in anyway. He especially hates when you pick him up, lets out a banshee's squeal. Freakin' Chester, still gotta love him. Oh, and he was only at the shelter because his owner got arrested so they just shipped mister Bacon to the puppy barn as a place of holding until they figure out other arrangements. Lucky us. 

-Due to this whole Corona Virus situation our entire world is dealing with, no one really wants to see us. Members and people we are teaching are kind of in disbelief on how we are still allowed to proselyte in person. Because of this exact reason, we are in the works as a mission on figuring out how to use technology to our full advantage. It is very likely that Elder Peterson and I will be told not to leave our apartment by our Mission President (just my opinion), so we gotta tech-up. Also trying to get some baller board games to make it a little more enjoyable. 

-Fortunately for us, members are still feeding us every day even with all this.  Blessings on blessings. Went to Cici's Pizza Buffet 2 times this week, once with a member and once as a district for P-Day. Absolutely delicious. Also got fed some of the best meat loaf and banana pudding I've ever had by the Vasko's. And beans, beans are starting to come around to me. I haven't liked them too much before my mission, but now that I've had them oh.... 9 times now, the tastebuds become a little more happy about them. Trying to think of other things we ate this week... oh yeah, ribs. I've had so much ribs in Alabama, it's ridiculous. They're very good usually, but it feels like just about every meal. Alright, enough about food. Next bullet point.

-Also did some service at the Salvation Army this week, always a joy doing that. Not even being sarcastic. I love that beaten down thrift store. The ladies who work there are always so kind and funny, I'll talk to them all day. We also get to just screw around with whatever random object we find, hence the picture of Elder Peterson with the mannequin arms and legs on his body. I've gotten real good at using a tagging gun and hanging clothes, I'm getting weirdly fast at it. 3 people just quit actually so I have no idea how they are gonna manage that whole situation because I think only 3 people work there now as far as I've seen. Whatever, we'll still keep coming every Saturday and help them out the best we can.

Alright guys, we'll just have to wait and see if next weeks email is all about my quarantined life or not. I'm not really sure which one I'm hoping for. Board games and deep doctrine diving while on house arrest sounds pretty fun, not gonna lie. 

Missionary work is definitely very odd and awkward right now, but we make due with the cards we are dealt. 

Love y'all

--
Elder Batman

• 
  

One of them “Weird Weeks”

This week is another one of those weeks that have Zone Conference and a Temple Trip. I look forward to weeks like this because it's a change in our daily routine and it's super nice to talk people in my zone. Sometime missionary work can feel a little repetitive, but that's alright. Weeks like this help with that. I'm going to stick to bullet points this week about weird interesting stuff that happened:

- I don't think I mentioned last week, we went to the Beach for P-day. Yeah, blast and a half. The weather was like 75 degrees and partly cloudy, absolute money beach weather. Obviously since we are missionaries, we can't go in the water since "Satan works in the waters" or whatever, but that's alright, just the sand will do. We played some volleyball with the whole district because the beach has nets setup, also played some 3-hit kill with a volleyball, and some ultimate frisbee. To top it all off, we played some spikeball and that game is so fricken fun. I'll definitely play some more of that when I get home.

- Had our once-a-transfer Temple Trip with the whole Zone. This time was a little different than last time, we got to do an Endowment session and a baptism session. The names we used were from members in our ward, hopefully in the future we can get our most recent converts' names and take them there. Heck, let's get the converts themselves there too, why not. We also had the opportunity to clean the temple after we did our whole sessions. That's an interesting experience, especially when you vacuum everywhere and absolutely nothing gets sucked up because the place is so gosh dang clean already. But whatevs', still great to serve.

- Zone Conference, and this one was a doosie. So many new changes are being implemented in just our mission, no one else is doing this. We have Sister APs (assistant of President), we are making it so there is going to be three Zone Leaders (North, Center, South), we have score cards to make sure people are consistently working hard, District Leaders are going to be taking on much more responsibility, and there's more but that's all I can think of right now. These don't take action until next transfer, but I'l be honest, I'm a little freaked out about this. Change is good for growth, but it isn't really fun now is it? It's uncomfortable as heck and I'm already going through a lot of change as is. It's alright, it'll all work out, just my initial feelings. 

That's basically my week. There's a few more interesting things that happened, but this email is getting long and my fingers are getting tired. Just hope for next week, yeah? The Church is true, the Book is Blue, y'all remember that. 

Til Next Week, 

--
Elder Batman

Lessons on Lessons

Another week, another email. This week has been fairly action pact. A lot of lessons to be done, a lot of lives to be put on the path that leads to eternal life. I'm gonna do some bullet points of highlights through out weeks:

- We got taken to Wahlburgers which is a restaurant that Mark Wahlberg himself set up along side his family. It's pretty expensive for a missionary, luckily a member took us there. My burger was like 11.00$, but the thing is there is no sides with that. Buying fries cost an extra 4.00$. Luckily, our waiter knew of us and what we do and is very grateful for our efforts, so he got us some fries on the house. Cannot complain, the burger I got alongside the fries was yummy in my fricken tummy. The design of the store has pictures of Mark and his fam with a bunch of movie titles that he was in. Super dope. 

- We got pizza delivered to our house 3 times this week. Sometimes members who are on our meal calendar can't take us out, so they just ask what pizza we want. That last pizza we got this week, deepdish large pepporoni from Pizza Hut, ooooooooo. Just another thing we cannot complain about, we're actually pretty excited when something like this happens. 

- We went to the animal shelter and played with some puppies. It's just so cool that we get to do that. Can you believe that? We play with puppies for 2 hours and it's considered a great service to them? Gosh what a life I'm livin' right now. We got 3 different puppies and put them in the same play place. They just chase each other around for about a half an hour, then we go get different ones. Although, there is one downside. I think my sense of hearing is slowly deteriorating the more I go because of how many dogs there are and how loudly they bark constantly. But that's a small price to pay for such a joyous situation, kind of like the Gospel of Jesus Christ. *wink*

- As I've mentioned before, we volunteer at Salvation Army. Well this last time we were there, we ended up talking to this girl named A who showed so much interest in learning more about our church. She's always made comments about how nice we dress as missionaries and wondered why that is. So yeah, we told her. The discussion was so great and full of the spirit that she was in tears. We're meeting with her on Tuesday, it's gonna be a great time. 

- We taught 4 different lessons this week, which is a lot for how small our teaching pool is at the moment. I'm just gonna talk about the 2 that were on Sunday. They were with J and K. K was my first baptism, we just had a discussion about the Restoration once again because of New Member Discussions. We gotta make sure she has this information inside her brain so we teach it all again. She's such a cheerful spirit to be around, but she has some DEEP hard questions. She really knows how to put us on our toes, let's just put it that way. Anyway, we also taught J. He's the guy that chucked his dip right in front of us as soon as we brought up the Word of Wisdom. What a legend. We taught him the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the lesson went really well as they usually do with him. He's so eager to learn more and more, he comes ready with notes and his Book of Mormon and it's just so cool to see that. Probably one of the nicest guys I've ever met, can't really explain him in any other way.

Well, that's my week in a nutshell. This next week is very busy with Zone Conference and our once a transfer Temple Trip. Should be very interesting, I'll get some dope pictures out of it. Anyway, Love y'all

--
Elder Batman