Letter from Tacoma #84: June 5, 2017

Hey Family!

Sounds like the Summer fun is beginning! I'm jealous, but it's still fun out here, too!

On P-Day, we went to Gig Harbor to shop and hang out with the other missionaries. We all went down to a public beach on Fox Island, looking for crabs, enjoying the scenery, skipping rocks, and just fooling around. A few of us, including myself, didn't have P-Day clothes with us, so some of us were walking the beach in white shirts. Since it was Memorial Day, there were a lot of people on the beach, too, and a few of them gave us some strange looks.

We had a good time, but all day my stomach was giving me trouble. By the end of our time at the beach, I felt like I was going to throw up. It was later in the night that I realized that I had caught a stomach flu. I took the rest of P-Day easy, but at the end of it I still wasn't feeling good enough to work. So we stayed home the rest of the night. I called Sister Blatter and she gave me a few tips to feel better, and I went to bed early... or at least tried to. With the aches and the upset stomach, I could not fall asleep at all. So, I laid in bed, literally watching the night go by in half-hour intervals. I was like, "Gee, so this is what having insomnia feels like... it sucks."

Tuesday morning came, and I still didn't feel good, so I slept most the day. I'm sure Elder Stuart was pretty bored through the whole time we stayed inside while I rested. Literally did no work. By the end of the day, my stomach was feeling better, but I still felt tired and weak. This feeling continued on through the rest of the week, but progressively diminished as well.

Throughout this week, after being miserably sick and wishing for relief, I decided that I would focus this week on becoming happy again. And as luck would have it, all the right talks and people just seemed to jump in my path. The first of these was Elder Nelson's talk: Joy and Spiritual Survival. He talks about how all joy comes from the Savior, and as we truly believe in Him, we need to 'lay hold of the joy set before us'. He also noted how saints can be happy in every circumstance.

The next tool was a CD that Dad had given me, which I regrettably had not listened to before. On it was a talk by George Durrant, called, 'Number One Christian'. I love his enthusiasm! I enjoyed the talk, about happiness that comes through simple acts, and these simple acts stand us apart as christians. One line in particular caught my attention, though I can only paraphrase it, "A happy Forever is composed of happy Now's". If we want to be joyful and happy in the future, we can make it happen by starting it today, being happy and joyful over what we have now.

He also talked about enthusiasm, getting enthused at the start of the day, and I decided I'd work on that, too.

With all of this counsel, as well as other study focused on joy, I put into practice what had been taught. And I found as I went out and worked with this mindset, with a prayer that I can feel joy in my heart, I found it. I found it as I did the work and did my job out here: Inviting others to come unto Christ. Nobody accepted any of our invitations, but each time we walked away, I could proudly say that I had done my best and took great joy in that fact.

That was another thing I had learned through studying. In President Uctdorf's talk, 'Fourth Floor, Last Door', he mentions the attitude of the missionaries there as so:

"But these two missionaries had faith, and they were committed. They had the attitude that if no one listened to their message, it would not be because they had not given their best effort." 

I love that attitude, especially since out here, there are a lot of people who generally just don't want to listen. It can be discouraging to have so much rejection and prejudice, but at least with this attitude towards the work, I will not have the greater sorrow that would come from not reaching out to someone who was willing to listen.

I learned a lot this week, and I made a substantial effort to be joyful and enthusiastic through it all. As I sought joy in the Lord's work, I found it; and that made this a great week.

A few highlights!!!!

We saved a cat out of a tree while knocking! 

Here's a couple pics from P-Day on the beach!

I Love you all! I'll let you know what our transfer calls are this week!

Thanks for reading!

-Elder R. Austin Moe

Wa-Tac Missionary