Elder Connor Anderson: 14th P-Day (7th in France)

Hey, everyone! This was an interesting week, but not necessarily in a good way.

Last P-day after we went to the art gallery with Alhin, Alhin took us rug shopping under the direction of Elder Asato who really wanted rugs for our apartment. Apparently, the mission will refund us for any "household" items bought, but they have to be under 40 Euros. Well, all of the rugs under 40 Euros were HIDEOUS! Anyway, he found two rugs that he liked that were 20 Euros each and he wanted me to buy one of them while he bought the other. I'll put the pictures in the google album to share with you. Tell me what you think LOL! I promise I have a lot better taste... These were all ones that he liked haha.

The next day was the same as most days last week... We didn't have anything planned and he just wanted to sit inside. Honestly, I am so done with this laziness. I came up with a list of things I needed to buy again, and reluctantly he went. Maybe this is the way to get him out, but it's still not doing missionary work which is why I am here. The funny thing is that on this night he said, "we need to step it up this transfer".... It's literally all you, buddy. I'm doing everything I can. What makes it funnier is that his bad behavior continued the rest of the week. Can't wait to see when this "step up" is going to happen.

On Wednesday Elder Asato said that he was really tired and needed to catch up on sleep. Yeah, he woke up at 11... I honestly don't know how anyone would still need sleep if they slept in that long, but somehow he does. So, therefore, he didn't want to do anything today because he was too "tired". SO, I brought out cookie mix from America that my mom sent me, and I said that I wanted to bake them in order to get him outside with me to get ingredients. He proceeded to pull out all the ingredients we needed from the pantry. They were all expired and moldy. No way am I putting anything like that in these cookies. I didn't know what reason I'd give him next, but... Lo and behold, we didn't have a cookie sheet to bake them on and that's what got him out.

Thursday was probably the most interesting day this week... The typical things happened in the morning (i.e. Elder Asato sleeping in till noon), but we had our weekly rendez-vous with Alhin at night. Recently, Alhin has gotten a bit creepy with me and Elder Asato. He just compliments us a lot and gets really close when he talks to us. He also stares at me pretty often and that's definitely something that makes me uncomfortable. Anyway, Alhin's also been a lot happier since his baptism and wants to see us more. We don't know how to feel about this, because we love him and we want to help him stay active and happy with the church... But where do we draw the line? So anyway, we still go over once a week and it's just been getting weirder each time. This week he cooked a very very German meal. Literally like 6 different types of meats and mountains of sauerkraut. Oh well, now I can say that I've really eaten a German meal. But yeah, on top of that Alhin was a little creepy still and it was just a bad night. There was actually so much sauerkraut too, that I almost threw up. Then we didn't get home until super late.

The next day we again didn't have any plans, but Elder Asato was more than happy to get out because the dinner last night made both of us gain like 6 pounds haha. Anyway, we were out for about 2 hours which was the longest we've been out recently and I loved every second of it. I could have stayed out all day, but of course he wanted to come back. I even bought myself a delicious burger at this "American" 50s Diner in town and Elder Asato reprimanded me for it. He told me that I can't be "foolishly wasting money like that... that was a 10 Euro meal"... Let me tell you one thing, Elder Asato, that meal was worth every penny! It was so good. I highly recommend it to everyone visiting Epinal haha. So dumb that he doesn't let me spend my own money. Who does he think he is? Oh well, at least I got out more. This day was going bad, but then a member called us to give her a blessing and then she payed us back by buying us pizza and cake. HOW SWEET! I love the members here with a passion and she made the day so good for me and helped me feel the spirit.

On Saturday, Elder Asato actually wanted to go out finding! I was thrilled, for I have been pushing him to do so for weeks! Anyway, upon getting outside we realized literally no one was out! It was pouring rain, but we were in downtown Epinal. A little bad weather can't stop literally everyone from shopping. Why was no one out? All the shops were closed (literally, all of them... Even the pharmacies and important places) and we probably saw about 10 people on the street total for a whole 45 minutes. We later found out that it was because it was a holiday, Armistice Day. Since there was no way that we'd have success doing this, I suggested that we try porting (going door to door). He refused to do so because he hates it. So basically the one day that he's actually willing to work is the worst day of the week. That was a bummer.

Sunday was decent. I gave another "parfait" sacrament prayer en Francais and I understood a lot of the Sacrament talks. So there is a lot of improvement in my comprehension. The members of the Branch are as nice as ever, but Alhin is maybe a little too nice haha. After church, however, Elder Asato had a terrible headache and took some medicine which knocked him out for several hours. He literally slept until nighttime and then played on his tablet until 3 AM. No wonder he sleeps in so late. He goes to bed as late as possible!

Today was decent. I had to secretly run to the dumpster outside the apartment to throw away most of our "moldy/expired" ingredients while Elder Asato was showering so that he'd let me buy new ingredients. I just told him we were out of different food items and when he tried to prove me wrong, all the boxes/containers were EMPTY. HAHAHA. My scheming is great! After we got out and bought a few things, Elder Asato received a phone call from the Mission President! YES! He was basically interrogating him on why our statistics in Epinal are so low. Definitely, the phone call he needed to get, because now he's scared for Zone Conference and thinks the President might transfer him out because he's not accurately training me! BEST PHONE CALL EVER. Something had to be done! And Elder Asato just said that he wants to go Porting on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday! Yes! We have at least 3 days this week that he's willing to work. Now I just have to find a way to keep his motivation up. Maybe the best way is through phone calls from the Mission President? Haha. Hopefully my next companion is better. Only 5 more weeks of suffering LOL.

Again, I want to touch on the power of prayer. I've been praying so much these past few weeks, because of the circumstance with my companion. Even though most of the days have been overall bad, there has always been a light at the end of the tunnel and I really think it's because God has been looking out for me. Don't get me wrong, I'm still pushing for better days and doing everything I can to have them... But God makes the bad ones a little better. The people in the town, the members, other missionaries, etc. Every person I talk to on the bad days with my companion just make me happier and are really what keep me positive. I'm so grateful for that. God's love is so real and such a blessing.

Thanks again for all of your love and support. It means the World to me. Especially when my weeks have been pretty rough recently. I'm so blessed to have you guys in my life. Please email me whenever you get a second. I love hearing from each and every one of you! Until next Monday!

Love, Elder Anderson

The food Soeur LaForge bought us after her blessing