Hot! Hot! HOT!!!

Indeed, it has been a raging inferno here in Poway for the last week or so. We have a thermometer in our car, so every time we get in, we check to see just how blazing hot it is. Usually it's sat in the 100's for the last week or so, and the humidity is blowing my mind. Every time I get out of the car, my LEGS and BACK start to sweat. Sure, everything else has started sweating as well, but my LEGS and my BACK are the things that start sweating last of all. It's horrible. Not to mention that I haven't been sleeping well for the last few weeks. Last night, I woke up in the middle of the night, and I felt like I was marinating in my own sweat. Our A/C is probably the wimpiest piece of junk I've seen in my life. We had it on since around 4:00, and our apartment was around 20 degrees hotter than outside when we got home at 9:30. Oh my gravy it was hot last night. I had some weird dreams.

Wednesday was interesting, and I really can't remember the whole of it because of a slew of problems that came up this week. We set up the day well, with a good number of things to do, and then everyone started calling and telling us that there was this and that and the other at this time, that time, and this time, and all of a sudden, our whole day had turned into an explosion of ink in our planners. So Wednesday was stressful.

Thursday, we did some planning and stuff, and the day went...mostly smoothly...but there were still a bunch of problems and misconceptions going on that caused a lot of confusion and chaos. Same story for Friday.

Saturday, there was a baptism for two investigators of the Sisters A and D. They had invited two of the branch missionaries to share the Restoration as part of the intermediate bit of the program, and they didn't show up. So Elder M and I had to do it. Then a bunch of white people showed up, among them was our Area Seventy, which added a bit to how well we taught the lesson. When we got up to teach, we both had the impression to teach three points of the lesson: Dispensations and prophets, Christ's earthly ministry, and the Restoration of the Gospel. We taught those three, and only those three, making specific emphasis on God wanting to speak to all of His children, and the Spirit was strong. Afterward, a bunch of the white people and our Area Seventy came up and said that even though they couldn't understand us, they felt the Spirit. And I wonder if maybe that's a part of the Gift of Tongues. Maybe you can't portray ideas or concepts in a language that one understands, but they can feel the power of what you say.

That same Saturday was the leadership stake conference, and the adult stake conference. Elder M was invited to help translate at the leadership session, so we got invited to go to that session. It was mostly all focused on the Law of the Fast, which interested me, and I actually got a really strong impression to teach my children, (sometime in the distant future), to pay fast offerings when they're really young. Maybe just 10 cents or 50 cents, but teach them that it's to help some other little boy or girl that doesn't have any food or water. They even taught that principle, that there is no age limit to paying a fast offering. I thought about that for a bit that night. The adult session was alright, and was focused on the hastening of the work. President and Sister S came and talked a bit. I don't know why, but I don't feel as personal of a relationship with the S's as I did with the C's.

Sunday, we went to the Stake Conference general session, and there were some very good insights given there. Elder M ended up having to translate again, so we sat in the High Council room and watched it on the TV. After that, we had lunch, and went out to find people. After all of the sessions, I wanted to find the members from Dos Picos in Ramona, but I only found them after one of the sessions. I really hope that I get to see them again soon.

(Oh. Side note. No changes in the Spanish District for transfers. We're all staying, so that's nice.)

Something that I noticed in my studies this last week was in Alma chapters 40-42. I started reading them, (having read them many times before), and something popped out at me this time that I'd never noticed before. I began counting and highlighting every time that Alma says "my son" to Coriantumr. Yes, Alma is chastising Coriantumr for leaving the ministry and going after the harlot, but even with all of this going on, he still makes the effort to let Coriantumr know that he, Alma, still loves him as a father and friend. It's the same with the Lord and us. We break a commandment, and He feels sorrow. Then, He leads us back, sometimes with a chastising hand, but always with the love of a tender parent. I then compared it to Mom and Dad, and found that the model holds sure with them in my life. I did stupid stuff, but even with a chastising hand, they always "show[ed] forth an increase of love". So thank you, Mom and Dad, for being such loving and tender parents to me.

Last week, we did indeed go to the temple. It was a good lesson on a lot of things that I'd been missing, and my soul feels refreshed and rejuvenated. Hmm. I just noticed that I waxed a bit eloquent in this email. Sorry 'bout that. I guess that I shou' do somthin' 'bout dat. BLEHH. Anywho, that's about it for this week!

Love, Elder Crook