Week #28

Hey, I wrote a poem.  Here ya go:

Some people like to judge success

By how far in front of others they can get

But I'm willing to bet

That distance doesn't equal happiness.

Hmmm, I'm not really sure what else to write.  This week has pretty darn monotonous.  Actually, not really monotonous.  The best way I can describe it is like making a smoothie, made throughout the course of an entire week. You throw in your berries, which are sweet and good but when blended up they can't really stand alone.  Throw in a banana to thicken it up, to the point where everything kind of runs slowly and you can't really even tell that the blender is mixing except for the ugly noise that it's making.  Then you have to pour in some milk because it's too thick, and you kind of get a steady flow of things.  And then it's time to throw in the ice, which you would sooner not do, but you have to.  You put the ice in, and at first it doesn't change anything, until it slides down to the bottom and wacks the blade, making the entire liquid jump and making your ears hurt.  If you're not careful, the top comes loose and spews smoothie everywhere, but if you keep a lid on it, it stays nicely confined in its little pitcher.  And then, when the time comes, you can take off the lid and pour it out and savor it's deliciousness.  That's what a mission feels like.

Forgive me for speaking in parables.  If there were real words to describe what a mission is like, I'm not really sure what they are.  Hopefully my smoothie analogy made sense.

Pretty much the entire week was spent making plans for these films that we are going to make.  We begin filming this week after the long and arduous process that Elder Burnett terms "pre-production".  He's very professional.  That step of the process is super important though, so hopefully it gives us a smooth filming schedule for this and the upcoming week.  My guess will be not, simply because nothing good ever comes easy.  There have definitely been some frustrating moments, but it all seems to work out for the most part.  For real, this project we're working on must be inspired, because it's a miracle that this film is being developed by four natural men who have very different personalities and idiosyncrasies.  I think the hardest thing about my mission so far has been developing really good relationships with the people that it is most vital that you do so.  I've always done pretty well in social situations where I only have to spend a short period of time with people, but it's surprising how hard it can be to love someone when you live with them.  I'm definitely going to need to get that one worked out.

We had a really good visit with the Harris family this week.  Brother Harris played basketball all  over the world, so he told us stories about playing in Colombia, Australia, Syria, and some other places, which is super cool.  They have a legit family and are working to get to the temple, so I'm super excited for them.  We also visited with Brother Rod Gorby, a single member who is a recent convert and an organ-playing genius.  It's always fun to go to his house and listen to him play the organ with the scent of burnt veggie-burgers in the air.  He's a great guy and really loves the church.

Well, that's all I got.  I'll be sure to send you the video when we're done, but it might be kind of a while. Patience.

Sincerely,

Elder Jon Hendrik Vawdrey