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Elder Oaks Visit on my Birthday! |
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August 4th - Well, I feel really bad because I haven't written for such a long time - I feel even worse because such cool things have happened since the last time I wrote. Well, let's head back to July 22nd... I TURNED 21 YEARS OLD! I'm freakin' old. I'm now a real full time adult back in American law. It's crazy.
I think this was my most special, never again to be repeated, Birthday ever. Why? Because I spent it w/ an Apostle of the Lord. That's right, Dallin H. Oaks from the Quorum of the 12 was on his vacation here in Italy and decided to stop by our mission.
We knew about it in advance, but had to keep it on the down low because only a handful of missionaries were getting the opportunity to meet him. He came in that Sunday morning at 11,00. We met him at the train station & then brought he and his new wife back to the mission home. We sat and chatted while he told various funny and inspirational stories about being an Apostle. Then we ate lunch, and he and his wife signed my b-day card (Woo-hoo!)
After lunch we held a private Sacrament meeting in the upstairs of the mission home. After a couple missionaries gave talks Elder Oaks said some words about the Sacrament. He shared some interesting insights into the Sacramental prayers and the different covenants we make w/ each prayer. He basically pointed out that more is required of us in the prayer on the bread, and a more complete promise is given, while the prayer on the water asks less, and gives a less complete promise. He explained that this could also be applied to the idea that the more obedient we are, and the more we commit ourselves, the more blessings and benefits are promised us. To bear the celestial glory we must abide a celestial law.
After Sacrament we went to the Padova chapel and he held a conference for the nearby zones of the mission. I didn't really understand much in a very deep way, because I was translating for the few Italians that were there. But I do remember him saying be FULL-TIME missionaries because that's what you're called to be. I also remember his testimony which was powerful. (He also mentioned that in his personal study of the scriptures he had found that some parts, spiritually, are "pretty thin gruel"... namely the old-testament. He said that is the only standard work that he doesn't read straight through. He also said that he finds some parts of the BoM the same.)
After the conference, Elder Ditto and I drove him and his wife to Venice to their hotel... well we ended up walking from the parking space for over 40 minutes to the hotel. After arriving (a bit sweaty from the trek) they invited us to eat dinner w/ them. [Yes I went out to dinner on Sunday w/ an Apostle]
It was a great B-day dinner. Even though Elder Oaks was tired he shared some deep insights into the state of the world and a few scriptures. One in particular was a statement of Christ to Peter - that "Satan desireth you, that he may sift you as wheat." He explained that this made reference to Satan's desire to make us all the same - like an army of unthinking robots and that he goes about it in the name of fashion, popularity, media, and being cool.
We then parted ways after dinner. (An interesting side note: Elder Oaks asked us to say a vocal prayer before eating. He said he barely ever prays in public, but felt that we should do it on that particular occasion. I wonder why.)
The biggest thing I realized during my time w/ Elder Oaks was how normal he was - he's just a normal man w/ a personality and quirks. But I could definitely tell that he was an Apostle of the Lord when he spoke w/ the Authority of his office.
- Funny Story: Elder Oaks swore us to secrecy before telling this story. It was when he was new in the Apostleship and Elder McKonkie was still alive. They had recently discovered his sickness and he was undergoing treatment. At one point, they met each other in the temple, both in the robes of the Priesthood and Elder Oaks asked Elder McKonkie how he was doing... w/out saying a word... Elder McKonkie jumped up in the air (in the temple in his Priesthood robes) and clicked his heels together. And that was it. Elder Oaks said Elder McKonkie was "Gay...in the sense of the word before it was corrupted by society."
This last month we have driven the Jensens around for interviews - it has really caused the work in our city to crash, but it's been good for us to get to know them better. This last week we got to go on scambi for the 1st time in a month. We went to Pisa, Piombino, and Livorno. It was great. We had some awesome experiences - it was deathly hot and we got some major sun, but it felt great to be involved in some REAL missionary work again.
Yesterday we had Zone Council. It was organized a bit differently, but it went really well. We didn't have a whole lot of time to prepare, so it was kind of winged, but our addestramenti went really well. In fact Elder Soto who usually criticizes our training said they were the best A.P. addestramenti he had ever seen. That's a real compliment coming from him.
I made the mistake of counting how many weeks I have left when I saw the calendar the other day. 9 weeks now. I never thought that trunkiness would be a problem, and it's not like I'm slacking off. I just find myself thinking of the future and what awaits me after the mission often. I'm trying to stay concentrated, but it's tough. I'm excited, and also a little scared - I love the mission, but it'll be nice to move on to the next phase of life.
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