Rainbow Motivation (Week 13)

This week has not been my best week, like at all. This was the worst week I've had so far, because I was homesick for most of it, and not a lot of success to show for the week.

After emailing last week, we went back to the flat and had a sweet meal! Not gonna lie, the trio was an absolute blast!

Tuesday was not a good day, I won't even sugar coat that. We went to meet up with President for interviews in Merthyr, and that was good. I met my new companion, Elder Sinclaire, from Sweden, he's been out for 11 months, and he's a pretty cool guy, but I was so depressed to leave Elder Miner and Elder Smith, especially after having to say goodbye to elder Mthethwa just a week before, I was fighting back some tears that night.

Wednesday was a pretty bad day as well. It was the worst day of the mission so far, I was missing Elder Miner, Elder Mthethwa, and Elder Smith a lot and then I just got super homesick. The only notable thing for the day was the first guy we talked to on the streets seemed semi interested. That was a tender mercy, we also had dinner at Royston's house, and that was nice, but it didn't feel the same. It was a hard day.

Thursday was a better day than the previous two days, kind of. We all got lunch and dessert as a district for Elder Miner's birthday. It was hard though because I was sad to say goodbye again to them even for a short time. We did some finding. I decided that I'd talk to at least 30 people in 30 minutes, and that was one of the highlights of my week. We got two pretty decent potentials in 30 minutes, not too bad. After that we met with Axxx, which went well. And then there was a Christmas tree lighting in city centre, it was SOO packed, that was a pretty fun time. Looking back on it, it wasn't too bad of a day, God really helped me through it.

Friday was actually a decent day. We were in the flat most of the day because people were supposed to come and fix up some things in our flat, but they didn't show up so we spent that time cleaning our flat, and working on the area book app thing. We did some finding, with no success. Actually no, it was somewhat successful, while no one wanted to listen to us, we talked to 30 people in 30 minutes again. We gave 30 people chance to hear the restored Gospel, i ain't disappointed! We had volleyball after, which was super fun! And chair soccer! I took some big hits, like twice in the face and running into the wall, but I had a good time. It had its hard points to the day, but overall, it was a good day.

Saturday was actually a good day, I was really happy by the end of it. It started out super slow. We tried stopping by some potential's houses, but no success. After that we went to the church for a baptismal interview for one of the sister's investigators. Following that, we walked two hours to the Robert's house for dinner. We could have taken the bus, but it was a nice day and it was a beautiful walk. The Robert's are amazing, I love them so much!! We went back to our flat after and decided we'd visit a less active, but didn't know which one, we decided on one and started walking, but I felt a strong impression to go to another person's house, their name is the Syyyyy, and middle aged couple. They let us in and we had an awesome discussion for over an hour, they offered to take us to some cool sights soon, so we are gonna work on building a friendship with them. It was a swell day. And thanks to Elder Gilbert, I went to ASDA to get a mega chocolate milk, it's like a litre, for £1.

Sunday was a good day, like a really good one. We went to church, which was good. Dave Roberts gave a talk on what he would do if he were twenty again, and he gave me a shoutout and said he'd be like me. That was pretty funny. We had ward coordination, and then we took the sacrament to someone. Following that, all four of us elders went to a house that apparently was haunted, but in the end all we had to do was say a prayer of comfort and then I gave one of them a blessing of comfort. We all went to a YSA fireside and dinner thing. We had chili, it was the first time I have ever had chili, and surprisingly enough, I actually enjoyed it.  Then we watched "Lord, I Believe" by Jeffery R Holland and discussed it for a long time. The YSA here is so funny, but it's so weird to be with them as a missionary. 

Today has been good so far, we went golfing, and the course was pretty fun. I shot 14 over on 18 holes so I still got game haha. I don't know when I'll golf again, but it was fun, and I felt pretty happy.

I'm gonna do something a bit different, I'm gonna do a spiritual thought first, and then I'll explain why my email is called what it is. Elder Holland gave an mtc devotional a few years ago, in it he said "I am convinced that missionary work is not easy because salvation is not a cheap experience. Salvation was never easy. We are the Church of Jesus Christ, this is the truth, and He is our Great Eternal Head. How could we believe it would be easy for us when it was never, ever easy for Him? It seems to me that missionaries have to spend at least a few moments in Gethsemane. Missionaries have to take at least a step or two toward the summit of Calvary." I love this quote. This is applicable for missionaries and also all of us. Why isn't life easy? It wasn't easy for Jesus Christ, the most perfect person to ever walk this earth, so of course it won't be easy for us. This week was definitely the hardest week of my mission, there were so many times that I wanted to just give up and come home, but I have been able to push through it thanks to the atonement of Jesus Christ. It still isn't easy, and it might not be nice and easy for me for awhile, but I know it's possible. YOU can get through anything in life, with the help of the atonement. He's already paid the price, it's up to us to turn to him.

I've said this before a few times and I'll say it again, the lyrics of Ballidino by Atlas Genius ran through my head during the week, "I believe that there is light up ahead, I can see it through the words that you said". That song has gotten me through so much. 

The title of this email probably makes no sense to every single one of you...except Brad cook. I'll explain a bit. If any of you know Brad's story with his daughter Tavi, you'll know that she loved rainbows. She passed away a few years back, but rainbows have been a symbol of her and hope since she passed. Brad shared this with our seminary class last year, and ever since, every time I see a rainbow, I feel the spirit, and I feel hopeful. On Thursday, one of the hardest days of my mission, we went out to go finding. I was pretty down, but not noticeably down, and then I saw one of the most beautiful rainbows I have ever seen. I was immediately filled with hope, and the knowledge that things will get better, and it felt like Tavi Cook, was with me, lifting me up in that moment where I felt so hopeless. It was one of the most beautiful moments I've ever experienced. And led me to talk to 30 people in 30 minutes. Hence, rainbow motivation.

Don't feel bad for me, things will get better here, I'm feeling better than I was last Tuesday, there is light up ahead, please continue with the encouraging emails, they help me so much and I really need them right now. I really do love you all. Have a "lit" week! I'll try to do the same.

Elder Varner