Sometimes it's hard to "bless them that curse you!"

   Partly as a safety rule, we missionaries have "companions" just like kids that go to the pool might have "swimming buddies." We stay with our companions all day, everyday. It can be exhausting sometimes, but it can be really fun, too.
   Anyway, when you're around someone that much, you have to learn to put aside your differences and get along. Despite common belief, we don't automatically become best friends when we meet our new companions. And for those of you who don't know, we switch off "swimming buddies" several times in the two years of service we do.
   I've had to learn to have patience while I've been out here. But moreso, charity. Charity is a Christ-Like attribute that in some ways is related to patience. It means putting others' welbeing before your own, even when sometimes that person is annoying you! Charity is more than action, it's a state of being and a way of life.
   As I've learned to get along with my companions I have come to have a deeper understanding of my savior and of charity. Christ was the greatest example of it. Even when the people spat on him and hated him and eventually killed him, he allowed it to happen because He loved them and what He was doing would allow them to be forgiven of their sins. He loved the very people who killed him- He loved them so much that He paid the price for them, so they could be saved in the Kingdom of God and have eternal happiness! That price included His life.
   I've learned to love those that persecute me while serving as a servant of Christ, and only in that little way, I've felt some of what Christ endured for each of us! It was hard for me to have that love for just one person- it still is. I can't imagine how hard it was for Christ to do it for every sinner that ever lived- to love each of us enough to suffer in our place so we can be forgiven and live with God again! I'm not sure I could ever have that kind of love, but I am grateful for our Savior, who did! He truly lived and suffered for us so we can be forgiven of our sins and live with God again!

Are Missionaries Weird?

   Do you think missionaries are weird? Maybe intimidating? As a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints I get a lot of funny looks. They range from curiosity and confusion, to hoping not to be seen, and even anger. Some people are happy to see us, others yell out their car door.

   I think people see the Book of Mormon in our hands and the name tag and somehow get the impression we aren't normal. I'd like to debunk that theory. I think you'll find missionaries aren't so weird.

      I graduated High School, and during that period of my life most of my friends were NOT members of the LDS church. I played football. I wasn't good at it. I also tried wrestling, and track and field- same story: not good at them. You can probably tell I'm not much of an athlete! I also did ballroom dance. It was a lot of fun! We hung out at the park, mostly- if I did hang out with anyone outside of school. A lot of my high school friends still call me Ron to this day because they nick-named me after Ronald Weasly from the Harry Potter series (one of my friends was a HUGE fan!).

   Everyone's family situations are different. Some of my closest friends came from very different family situations. You and I may come from different types of homes. I had a close family. Some of my fondest memories are spending time with my mom or dad just talking or spending time together watching TV. Before my mission I spent a lot of time babysitting for my nieces and nephews.
   My closest friends and I were piano bums. We would mess around on the piano at each other's houses and play songs off the radio from artists like Taylor Swift, Relient K, The Fray, Axis of Awesome, and a lot of music from movies- especially Disney classics like Mulan. We wrote our own music. It was nowhere near professional, but it was fun.

   My family went on vacations growing up to places like the Grand Canyon, Four corners, and Disney Land.
   I had a crush on the girl down the street. Twice. I was horrible at trying to talk to them. I got WAY too nervous and generally the first thing that came out of my mouth was the dumbest thing I could think of. (can you relate?)
   I have a FaceBook. I had a myspace. I got on them way too much.

   I like to break into song randomly. So do my parents. I don't like to read all that much- but I'm beginning to like it more and more.

   I have broken my left collar bone, my left elbow, and snapped my left Achilles Tendon. It hurt. I was in Seventh Grade and I'm not afraid to say I cried!

   Do I need to continue???

   So do you still think missionaries are weird? Well, maybe I am, but you see, we're regular joes who have had regular childhoods and grew up in loving homes and we're really normal people. Each one of us has a different story, but we each have had our ups and downs, our adventures and embarrassments. We had to learn our ABC's and 1,2,3's just like anyone. We didn't just pop out of nowhere! We have lives. We have feelings. We have cares, concerns, questions, preferences- just like anyone.

   In the end, we're all children of God, and we're all a whole lot more alike than we think. I was just talking to a man from Ghana, who made similar comments about his race. He said he thinks it is okay to have a sense of pride in one's own herritage, but it is not okay to put others down for it. I think that applies to religion as well. I definitely am thankful to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, but I don't think lowly of others who are not of the same religion. I would hope people of other faiths would feel the same way toward missionaries like me. We have different beliefs, but we are all children of God and He loves us all equally.
   In the words of a well-known song: "why can't we be friends?"