Dear Everyone,
Wow, it sounds like a lot is happening now. of course, you kind of have to expect that when you are so close to the end of the school year. Even when you're not in school, the whole wold seems to go into a nuclear meltdown from the middle of May to the beginning of June. The same thing is happening up here with all of the members that we are working with, and it can be kind of funny to see all of the different expressions on everyone's faces. The best one are the seniors who are just graduated---they have this excited, glazed look that says, "No more school!!! ...Now what do I do with my life?"
I've got a feeling I will have a very similar expression in about five weeks.
Moving on. This week was really good. It wasn't a particularly busy one, but we were able to see several people none the less, and i was able to meet a lot of the members that we will be working with while i'm here. Then, we met and spoke with s good number of less-active members in the area. One of them, a Brother Shiner, sounds like he would get along really well with Dad. We had a great chat with him about all of the different dynamics of Kuna, what businesses would help it expand, some work that he was able to do with the Mayor and crew in calling different companies to expand in this direction, and a lot of other stuff like it. He's a really good guy, and the reason that he told us that he doesn't come to church is because he felt that he got too involved in his callings when he was going, and it was taking him away from his wife and kids. Along with that, his wife started working more, including on Sundays, and they both decided that they didn't want the TV to turn into their babysitter. So, what we have to do is help him understand how to balance life with church a little better, and how to use the good priorities he already has to do those best things in his life. I think that it will go well, and he already said that he is going to come back to church---we just need to get it to happen sooner rather than the later he is planning on. Too much later, and the habits are too ingrained to break free from without a lot of effort, effort that wouldn't be nearly as great sooner.
We also got to go around visiting people with a returned missionary sister in one of our wards, a girl named Danielle. (Question to all females reading this; at what age do I more properly use the terms young woman, woman, lady, etc, as opposed to girl? I'm having a really hard time figuring that out, and I always feel weird trying to, especially with those who are around my age. Thank you for the help!!) She got back from the Baltimore mission back in January, and she's really cool. She's very personable, easy to get along with, and willing to help with whatever needs to be done. In all of the homes that we visited with her, she clicked with the families almost instantly. It's really nice to be able to have a member willing to help us like that, especially because we frankly just can't do it without the help. I can't count the number of times the simple fact that we wear a name tag has gotten doors shut to us. Having someone there, especially a sister wearing normal clothes, is much less intimidating, and we were able to get into every home that opened the door. It was a refreshing change from the usual.
The other thing that we have done a lot of is walk. We are serving in an area that is around 5 x 13 or 14 miles, which consists of a few subdivisions clustered together in one part, and the rest separated by several miles. We generally end up walking at least an hour or so between each area that we work in, which of course cuts in a bit to the number of people that we can teach. Honestly, though, I kind of like it. I like having the time to get to know my comp a bit better, and to learn the area. I've only been here a week, and I already know most of the streets and locations of the families that we work with. It's also nice to know that I'm at least getting a little bit of the exercise that I need, and that it's time that is working toward helping someone else. Now, I would definitely accept a car if one was provided, but again, it's been kind of nice. Besides, the car that would be in our area is currently being used by the sister missionaries in our district, and for good reason. Yes, their area is much smaller then ours (1 x 3 miles), but they live over 7 miles away from the edge of their own area. That makes it a little hard to work without a steady way to get back and forth. They should be moving closer soon though, so we will have to see what ends up happening from there.
I think that pretty much is the highlights from this week. Thanks for all of your letters, and for the prayers and things that you do for all of us missionaries. They are needed, and appreciated.
Love and Insanity,
Elder Stuver
P.S. Tell Kevin Boyer that I say hi! Sorry to say, I only recognize the name---I can't put a face to it. Still, always good to hear about another UCASian.
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