Monday was such a fun preparation day! We had a good morning, did some shopping and whatnot and then we went out to IKEA! I had been looking forward to this for a solid week or so and it did not disappoint! There were about 9 elders and friends just walking around IKEA and hanging out and it was such a fun time. I definitely spent some money on food. Anything that reminds me of America is something I am down for. It was such a fun time I laughed so much and it was so happy! We had a chill night and just walked around town, talked to people, and did studies. At night I tried a simple fix on my bike (or so it seemed) and before you knew it it was 12:30 in the morning and your boy probably did more damage than good. Looks like I got a trip to the bike shop tomorrow. I wanna become my own bike mechanic, so I wanna learn all this and trial and error is a part of that process.
Tuesday was chill. We had the first District Council of the transfer and it was lit! We had a great talk about visions and goal setting and I'm so excited for this district to fly high and become better missionaries this transfer! We, of course, had a big rain coming home but thanks to my new cycling cap I bought recently the rain had nothing on me! I got some laughs from other missionaries but I stand by my cap and the powers it holds. As for my bike, after spending 200 kuai (6 bucks US) I replaced my shifting cable and we are back to normal! I ought to find a book or something about bikes and read that first. We had a nice McDonald's dinner with a friend of ours from another city and then did our studies at the end of the night. A super awesome highlight of the day was buying Dr. Pepper at a store! The nectar of the God's has been found. I'm not quite sure how giving up caffeine will go this transfer.
Wednesday was awesome!! Elder Yang and I enjoyed a day of finding. We were able to invite 20 people to develop faith in Christ! That is the President's goal for us, having 20 invites a day and I can proudly say now that I have done it, this is the first time I have ever hit 20!! It was awesome. Despite 20+ rejections I felt so happy! We did have English Class today as well and I was really proud of my spiritual share. We were talking about cooking and for the spiritual share I had all my students download Gospel Library and we read some scriptures together and talked about the recipe to finding out the Book of Mormon is true. I invited them all to start reading and since they all have it on their phones now they hopefully will!
Thursday was a special day. We started the only exchange we will go on this transfer! We grabbed lunch with the Zone Leaders and the Sisters in the area and then we switched and I left with Elder Fei'eiki to go to his area. We had a good day talking with people and studies. We also had a lesson where the investigator dropped us. The man reminded me of people in 鳳林. A great man but just confused and isn't able to recognize the truth. We also had a scripture reading class that the missionaries put on. We read and talked about some chapters in first Nephi and it was fun! It was a busy day and very warm also. The heat is getting pretty crazy. I'm baking like a toasted cheeser!!!!
Friday was a good day. We woke up and did our planning and personal study and then went and worked out. I had a great run on the track nearby. I did a 5k like normal and I was just trying to make it through since it was super hot and I forgot water (not my best move). I looked at my watch after the first mile and was blown away because I felt like I was taking it easy, and that first mile was 6:35. My second mile was 6:45 and the third and change was about 7 something. The last bit was hard because the heat started getting to me. I'm very proud though, my fitness has improved so much and I've been blessed immensely. As for missionary work today we switched back companions and then did studies, weekly planning, and then contacting and it took up the whole day. Days like these go by very quick.
Saturday was a good day! Quite an interesting weather day too. We woke up to clear and sunny skies and by the time we left the apartment after lunch the clouds were looking very ominous. We still pressed forward and after about 10 minutes of riding, I pulled off and told Elder Yang I had a feeling to go back home. At about this time we started hearing some thunder and as we were biking back home it started raining very heavy and the lightning and thunder were right on us. The thunder was so loud I felt it shake my whole body. It was actually a little frightening but thankfully we got home quickly and were able to do our study inside and out of the elements. I'm grateful for the spirit and the direction it gives. I sometimes wonder what would happen if I hadn't heeded a specific prompting and now I know that I actually don't want to know what would happen. I'm just grateful for the guidance we receive on a daily basis to keep us out of bad situations.
Sunday was pretty chill. We had 2 investigators come to church and also had 2 lessons as well! Very grateful for those blessings and hopefully this week we can see more. Other than that, the day was pretty much filled with studies and getting other things done. It's crazy but I never thought a mission would have so many days where it's just studies and other things. I had always thought it was out street contacting and knocking all day every day but it's definitely different. I also painted parts of my bike yellow. With the Tour de France going on right now it's only fitting to do it yellow. I may never wear the yellow jersey but I can have a sweet yellow bike!
Elder Heber Chase Ciminski
謝希伯長老