It was an interesting week when Elder Melville decided to
write his weekly email in the third person. First-person narratives get a
little tedious to write so he decided to give an attempt at a more unusual
approach.
He felt that all of his emails said the same
thing--"This week wasn't so good but next will be better"--week after
week. The week of February 4 through the 11th was another failure week but he
was much too busy really to notice.
The evening of the fourth, after the Monday letters had been
sent, he and his companion were driving to dinner when Elder C. hit a pothole.
They can be difficult to avoid in the state named after the first president,
but this one was particularly disastrous.[1] First came the
kalunk-kalunk that was the hitting the
pothole--then the more ominous swiswiswisswis followed by the completely
bothersome gunkgunkgunkgunk as they drove down the road before pulling off to
examine their flat tire. Elder C. could not figure out how to utilize the
jack--something was weird about it--and
Elder Melville was even more ignorant about pretty much everything so he
did not even try to figure it out. The members with whom they were having
dinner picked them up and then assisted with the tire change after their meal.
On Wednesday Elder Melville and Elder R. went and got the wheel fixed and they
are still waiting for Discount Tire Co. to call saying they have the tire in
(the missionaries as of this date are driving on a loaner tire from the store
which works fine).
But the reason Elder
Melville went with Elder R. is another interesting account.
Back to Monday...
Some elders from the
other district in the zone came and played dodgeball for P-day. One
companionship[2]
spent the day with Elder C., and on their way back up to their area took Elder
Melville's backpack, in addition to their own, since it was identical. Elder
Melville's scriptures and <i>Preach My Gospel</i> were in the bag
so he had to borrow other copies for a few days. The elders had come down with
a member who works in their area, so on Tuesday Elder C. and Elder Melville
went to take the backpack from the car the member drives. Only that day the
member had driven a different car and they didn't know it. So the next day
Elder Melville went with Elder R. to the right car. The backpack was in it but
the car was locked. The Colville missionaries told Elder Melville that it would
be in the same car the next day but that the member would leave one door
unlocked. Rather than use up miles to acquire said backpack, Elder Melville
called the sister missionaries to pick it up on their way home since it was in
their area. They picked it up and asked for a ransom of a crown that said
"Queen M."[3] to be exchanged Saturday
evening but Elder Melville surprised
them on Friday morning with a much more utilitarian ransom of a baptismal
record they needed.
Back to Monday again...
Elder C. became sore after playing dodgeball and went
to bed sore.
Progressing to Tuesday...
Elder C. woke up with a headache and sore muscles and
therefore slept in, which made it difficult for Elder Melville to have the
willpower to get up, but he did anyway. Elder C. did eventually arouse his
faculties[4] and was able to conduct
district meeting that morning. The two missionaries stopped for a meeting with
a silly old lady but she was sick and kicked them out after they gave her a
blessing.[5] They went home where Elder C. lay in bed, with a
temperature over 100. That evening they went to the place of the zone leaders,
Elder G. and Elder R., since Elder G. didn't feel well either. Elder R. and
Elder Melville worked that evening and then stayed the night in Mead which was Elder Melville's area.
While Elder Melville and Elder R. fixed the tire, the sickos went to the doctor
and later learned that Elder G. had mono and Elder C. had pneumonia--which led
to a multi-day exchange that will last until Friday, February 15.[6]
Elder Melville spent too long on the computer and began to
run out of time as he shared his account of the week. It was quite an
experience and he wished he could have given it more justice. He hopes to be
able to through snail mail but he doubts he will because of the various
events happening.
[1]
Don’t complain about potholes not being fixed in Utah until you have been to
Washington.
[2]
Elder E. and Elder D. Elder D. was notorious for being “apostate”—in the
mission sense when he was on his mission, and the literal sense once his
mission was finished.
[4]
See Alma 32:27.
[5]
Sister Stubbs. I think she had recently been reactivated and we were teaching
her. She wasn’t rude in “kicking us out.”
[6]
It ended sooner than that.
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