Hey Guys,
Because these past few days have been hectic, I haven't had the time to keep my journal up to date and it will take some catching up but I will send ya' what I have so far...
March 15, 2012
Then, this afternoon we had a lunch appointment with Brother L. Well, it was a lunch/service project afternoon. We helped him move a lot of his stuff from his kitchen to another apartment that is bigger right across the courtyard of the place that he owns. That man is the most quirky and unique person I have ever met and he pulls it off completely. He is like in his 50's and he is a cook and has run for county office and worked in the music business and is just a cool dude…different, but cool at the same time. Every time he sees us he yells "Eldrrrrrrrrrrs!!" It is pretty hilarious actually. Just another example of someone that the Lord has put into my life to help me learn and grow. He is a great example of just loving life and laughing all the time and joking and not taking anything too, too seriously. He is comfortable with his different-ness and is just who he is without reservation and no matter who is around. He is also one of the best tri-tip chefs I know.
March 17, 2012
So this morning I ended my exchange with Elder P. and it went really well. Probably the most effective PPI I have ever given which is a big deal because I feel like maybe those are a weak point. Kinda hard to tell because I haven’t had too many. We talked a lot about the importance of leading with love and being confident that the Lord needs you right where He has put you.
Then went to lunch with Sister Kelly. She is so great, always looking out for us and making sure we have what we need. Then we had to go back to the office to grab the van because we are closing an apartment on Ocean Park soon and need to get a lot of the furniture out of it because we are also opening a different apartment in the South Gate area. Pretty much load it up and Monday we will drive it to the new location and dump it all there. So we were trying to get the fridge in first because it is the largest thing that we have to move (and of course this apartment is on the second story of the complex). We unplugged it, walked it out from the wall and saw that there was something else attached. It was the ice maker. So there is this cord running from a spigot in the wall to the base of the refrigerator and another cord running from the base of the fridge to the top where the freezer is and the ice maker obviously is. So, Elder M. squeezed back behind the fridge to unhook the cord because he is smaller and fits easier than I do. We couldn’t pull it out any further because the cord to the ice maker was not very long, so he turns the facet thing as far as he can and then starts to unscrew the bolt from the cord and a little bit of water starts to leak out…
We just figured that it was the left over in the hose/cord thing just dripping out so he continued to unscrew and with one more twist of the wrench, the hose shot off and water was pouring into the kitchen from this spigot…I am not talking leaking, we are talking fire hose pressure spraying him in the face and shooting all over the kitchen…ice cold water too, I might add. Of course it took us both by surprise and doused us both (thank goodness we were not in our whites). I run around the apartment while Elder M. is trying to plug the blasted thing with anything he can find. This kitchen was filling up with water and it was not the cleanest because there hadn’t been people living there for a few weeks now and they left it in shambles so dusting under the refrigerator was the last thing on their to do list I am sure. I ran back into the kitchen with the only towels I could find which required me to strip the ironing board of its covering and unpin the towels that covered the board and by some miracle from above Elder M. had managed to screw the hose back onto the spigot, temporarily lessening the leakage.
We tried calling the manager, we tried calling the water company, and all they did was send us in circles with different phone numbers and finally we just decided to do it the old fashioned way and knock on the neighbor’s door and ask for help. Praise be that the neighbor we picked is a contractor and does his own plumbing! He came over and helped us get it turned off all the way..the problem was that it hadn’t been removed in so long that the washer that was originally there was completely corroded and gone and so he needed to bring out his special tools to seal it off and stop the leak. Luckily, we used the towels to soak up the water and had set bowls out in the kitchen to catch the spewing geyser that was springing from the dusty behind the fridge area and there was no water damage but to be quite honest I thought the minute the Old Faithful Geiser shot outta there we were done for. We were going to flood the whole complex and be killed for it. Thank goodness Heavenly Father has a sense of humor and it only took some ice water to the face and an imminent repeat of Noah and the ark to humble us enough to ask for help!
Later, we came to the office to meet with President about the upcoming MLT. Pretty much the gist of the meeting was that the mission needs to hear about lesson plans and using time wisely because we still aren’t getting it all the way. But because everyone is burned out on hearing about that stuff, we are going to do a training on baptismal interviews . . . I really think there are a lot of missionaries who justify sitting in their apartments and doing detailed "planning" or wasting time in the car driving around. We just need to accept that a mission is difficult and meant to make us grow and then get out and work!
March, 18, 2012
Later, Brother H. came with us and we had a good lesson with P. about trials and how life brings tough times but it means the Lord knows that you can handle them and has some growing for you in mind. The highlight of the lesson was when we were walking out the door at the end and she asked when we could come back. Usually it is a struggle to contact this woman and she avoids us so her desiring more is a good sign that she felt the Spirit and is understanding the importance of these things.
Dinner with the Smiths, a young couple from Orange County who are really high energy and fun and just a great couple feeding the Lords Servants; blessings be upon them. When I am older and feeding the missionaries, I hope to remember what they really want. They want to be able to get in, make friends, eat, share their message, get a referral, and be handed leftovers to be put in their fridge on the way out…and they want fruits and veggies. I don’t care where you are serving, those things are what every missionary hopes for out of a meal appointment…if you are reading this, please take note :)
After dinner we raced back and began work on MLT…it is finally starting to come together as we have done a lot of praying and have mixed in some other issues and topics with the baptismal interview stuff. It is going to be a March Madness Theme and we are doing a bracket and stuff, it will be pretty sweet.
Well, those are the haps for the week, minus a few. Looking forward to some time to think and pray. Isn't it incredible how a conversation with our Father in Heaven can just heal all feelings of being overwhelmed and self doubt?...Well, that is what I am counting on right now. We just need to have a talk, some Father-Son time.
I love you guys and I love my mission. I am excited to be able to work out of this funk and see what Heavenly Father has planned for me to learn from all this...testing patience is my guess, but only time will tell. I want all of you to know that I am more sure now than ever that God lives and He loves us and that Joseph Smith was a prophet.
Make it a great week!
Love,
Elder Molinaro
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