Week #21

Well hello Family,

Thanks, Mom, for sending that glasses prescription.  I went and ordered my glasses today: some thick, dark frames that are going to be legit.  Thanks for your help!

So an update on this week.  First of all, I just want to let all of you know that if you were questioning your faith in Mormonism, first of all, stop, and second of all, do not start dabbling in Scientology.  We are currently "teaching" this older man named Randy Whiteman who is a scientologist, and it has really been a strange experience.  So the way scientology came about was that this man, L. Ron Hubbard, decided that he wanted to look at all of the religions of the world and decide what parts of each religion were the best and then combine them into some sort of super-philosophy that was supposed to be all-encompassing, meeting the needs of any individual in any walk of life.  So having spoken with him a little bit, he went on to say how he believes that we are eternal beings who existed before, who will exist after this life, and who have the potential to become like a supreme being.  And the three of us were thinking, "Wow, that's great, because we believe all of that, too."  But here's the rub: Scientology is basically Mormonism without the most important part: Jesus Christ.  Kind of an important element.  We are going to go see him tonight and are going to talk with him about how it is necessary that an Atonement be made for the world, which should be a good conversation.

I don't know if I ever told all of you about this, but a couple of weeks ago the three of us began volunteering at a local ReStore, which is a thrift store associated with the Habitats for Humanity foundation, and that has been a lot of fun.  It's basically like DI, so we find some great stuff in the back.  The things that we find in the back are definitely illuminating as to what kind of culture is practiced in Marianna.  I have never seen so many romance novels in my life, which are basically just old lady porn, fit into a novel version.  Super gross.  But I have found some pretty cool books there that I'm going to send home at some point, probably just before I head off to Brazil.  No visa updates yet, but my MTC companion just got his I think.

We actually are teaching the manager at the ReStore, even though she doesn't know it yet.  We usually work in the back room sorting clothing and home decor and such, and so when Christine is back there with us, we will have good conversations with her and tell her stuff about the church and the Book of Mormon and such.  She asks really good questions, and we hope to more formally teach her at some point, but we will see.  We have her listed as one of our investigators.  It's kind of funny the way that we keep track of our investigators, because we have all these forms that we fill out for each encounter that we have with them.  I bet if people knew that we were keeping such detailed records about them, it would probably be a little bit frightening.  So we just don't tell them.  

I am really enjoying the South, it has been a good time here.  I'm not surprised that the South has been the topic of so many stories and poems because it really is an idyllic place.  One of my favorite things to do is write in my journal how peaceful and laid back and deliberate everything is, but at the same time everything seems to be buzzing.  Life is really simplified down here and it's easier to appreciate the simple things in life.  I am sure that I will come back to visit afterwards.

I don't have too many funny stories to tell you, other than that the other day some old man that we did not recognize pulled up to us in his car and proceeded to tell us that his wife was currently suffering from a debilitating rectal prolapse.  That's about all I've got.

I am glad to hear that everything is going well and I hope that my letter wasn't too long.  Love your guts.

Sincerely,

Jack