-Hey Pal! What's your policy on making special orders?
-ALright Buster! That's it! You want a special order? Then YOU make
it! I quit! YOu know I try and I try, but I get no respect from anyone
with vision! That, that's it there's just nothing I can do about it!
-Oh please don't go...
-Ordering! Four pork combos extra bacon on the side, two chilli cheese
samplers a basket of liver and onion rings a catch of the day and a
steak cut in the shape of a trout! ...
- ... ...
-You got all that, honey?
-Three oinkers wearing pants, a plate of hot air, a basket of
Grandma's breakfast and change the bull to a gill, got it!

Wow, that was a tough one. Mostly because that was a tough one to stop
quoting; I'm gonna have to save the next part of that scene for next
time else I'm not gonna get anything else written. Love that movie
though, full of absolute and utter ridiculousness. It's legit. If you
haven't seen this movie and ave no idea what it is... You might not
ever want to mention that to me; it is one of the greatest movies of
all time and I... Yeah... Um... -insert some threat I can't make while
on the Lord's errand- -also insert the sarcasm that always comes from
such threats- ... -insert laugh track if no one laughed at any of the
previous jokes...- I think that covers everything. Anyway! No
particular reason for this one. Just wanted to pick a quote I knew
really well and everyone else would(hopefully) know too.

Well, I'm going to be blunt with y'all. Missionary work is hard. It is
a beast. This is not meant to dissuade anyone from serving a mission,
but quite the opposite. We were given a quick message about missionary
work the other day that was entitled "The North Side." I am going to
paraphrase it. Don't know whom it was originally by... Sorry... Really
sorry. I would cite it if I knew who it was, but I don't so please do
not report me for plagairism. Honestly, don't know why I'm worrying
about this so much. Mrs. Mattson, I blame you. Tangent! Moving on! The
"North Side" as far as I can recall had to do with the label that was
on a certain brand of timber, that labeled their wood as having come
from the North Side of the mountain. The person looked at this and
wondered, why on earth would it matter where the wood is grown? Wood
is wood! After some research, the answer was discovered. Trees that
are grown on the north side of the mountain experience much harsher
climates, deeper snowfalls, and faster winds than those not belonging
to the North Side. Yet, this amount of opposition does nothing to
hinder the quality of wood. Again, it does the opposite. Trees that
have grown on the North Side of the mountain have grown to be many
times greater than those who have not experienced such opposition.
This is another reason why I hope all those who are thinking about
serving a mission and are within the... sight?... sound? either one...
of my words. Do not hesitate to decide to serve. The Lord has promised
that whosoever will lose his life for the Lord's sake shall find it
(citation missing again... SORRY). And it is this promise that I am
holding onto. Everything done here depends solely on the Lord, and
this is one aspect of myself I am developing faster than anything
else.

Time runs short yet again, and I didn't mean to get on my soapbox
there, but... yeah, I felt I needed to say that. To summarize my own
experiences, it is difficult. Working with a native companion has been
like growing on the North Side of the mountain. Yes, difficult, but
blessings will come. We have disagreements when refering to many
things, but the main one has been my humor. I'll admit flat out that
my humor is causing most of the problems, which I don't find out until
later. It is really difficult with this language barrier to be able to
stay positive when my jokes are taken offensively by my companion.
But, I welcome such a challenge. Yes it is difficult, but we have yet
to see how it will turn out. Our investigators continue to make
wonderful strides toward receiving baptism. My area is truely blessed
to have fouund such wonderful souls. Due to many unforseen
circumstances, the dates have been moved, but the strength of their
faith and testimonies continues to build my own.

I realize that this letter is a little less entertaining than the
previous ones, but I hope that some of the words that I have written
will help your lives somehow and in some way.

Although most of this letter was about some of the problems and
difficulties in missionary work, I am doing quite well. The work is
going well, although difficult.
Love all y'all.

Good luck, God Bless, and God Speed.

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