Monday, December 10, 2018

10 December 2018

So it's almost time for transfers again, that's  next Tuesday. I have no clue if I'll stay or leave. The other missionaries are all staying stay, but the members are guessing leave, because nobody would have stayed as long as me in over a year. The branch is doing a Christmas gift card thing for the missionaries, and one of the members said that if I leave, she's taking out the money she put in and giving straight to me. I'm conflicted between wanting to stay and leave. I'm pretty firmly a city boy, and Wallace is not exactly a big city. But I love all of the members here, and the people we're teaching.
This Tuesday, we had a great lesson with Tom again about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He seems conflicted on baptism, saying he wants to be baptized within the next 30 days, but also not wanting to agree to a date. It was a really spiritual lesson, though, and he seems to be progressing well. In other news regarding people we're teaching, Michael did something for us this week. We were over teaching about keeping the Sabbath Day holy, and near the end he just looked at us and said, "You guys need a haircut." We said we knew, but wanted to find somewhere cheap. To our delight, he told us that he cut hair and would do it for free. Now, I've received a number of free haircuts on my mission, and always gotten exactly what I wanted, so I wasn't worried at all. In retrospect, I should have, knowing Michael. He pulled out his kit and Elder Martins wanted to go first and said he wanted it short on the sides and a little longer on the top. Well, he got what he asked for, but not what he wanted. Apparantly his and Michael's ideas of what short is are different. So he wasn't super happy with his haircut, but I thought I could get around by that by specifying exactly what I wanted. So, I asked for a 2 on the sides with a fade up to an 8 on top, leaving me with a solid inch left on top. However, you have to take off your glasses when getting your hair cut, so I couldn't see what he was coming at my head with. As soon as I felt him start cutting, my only thought was, "Oh that's not an 8." But the damage was done, and now I have something around a 2-3 on top and even shorter on the sides. At least hair grows back, right? Aside from that, they only news is that Sandra, the wife of one of our people we're teaching, got emergency surgery this week, so if you could keep her in y'alls prayers that would be great. 
In just fun news, we had our branch Christmas party this week. Our branch president's wife roped me into playing clarinet for a game of guessing Christmas songs, which was fun. Sorry, no videos of that. They only had me play a couple of notes at a time. But I did also provide some background music. We were supposed to wear our pajamas, and so we did. Some other missionaries happened to have some, and so we borrowed them. I went with a full candy  cane theme, carrying a big one and had pockets full of little one's to hand out. That was a big hit with the kids, and some of the adults. But it ws overall just a ton of fun. 
The craziest part of the week is the weather. We got hit by winter storm Diego here, which didn't do a whole lot. Well, in the northern  part of the state, they're absolutely covered in snow. Down here in the Southern Kingdom, we got rain. A lot of it. 3 days straight and counting, with temperatures in the mid to high 30's. Being outside isn't the most fun right now, but at least it's not been  pouring. The biggest downsides are not having umbrellas, and our now brutally short haircuts which don't hold heat in very well. But the worst is over, and we can stay inside all day if we want. We have an elder's activity this afternoon where 3 elders are going to do the Andy's Challenge. This is at a restaurant called Highway 55, and you have to eat a 55 ounce burger, a 64 ounce drink, and a basket of french fries in a half hour. If you do it, it's free. If not, it's $30. I wisely opted out. If you're interested, I can tell you the results later. But that's all for now, see y'all! (Pictures will come later.)
Haircut
Best socks I've ever seen
Reindeer we put together
Us all dressed up
And finally, Santa in his restored state. Yes, this used to be super creepy Santa




 Wow they seem determined to make sure that I don't recognize anyone when I come home, a boundary change right before I leave and another before I get home. And don't tell Tom, but Winter Storm Diego just became rain by the time it hit us. We're too far south and too close to the beach for much snow here. However, our backyard did flood rather impressively. It's been in the high 30's and raining for three days straight now, which makes being outside a lot of fun, especially with it being 95% humidity or more at the same time. The moisture just cuts straight through your coats, there's not a whole lot you can do about it. But out of all the crazy weather, hurricane #2 (Florence) was definitely the most exciting. I don't know if I mentioned it, but when I was flying in we tried to go to Atlanta at the same time that Hurricane Irma was hitting. So, I've had Hurricanes Irma, Florence, and Michael all in one mission. And Winter Storm Diego. These should be how I name my kids. That's names for two boys and two girls, not 10 girls though. Sorry. Guess I can't do that unless we get a whole bunch more crazy weather. And I don't think you want that too much.

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