Langley

It’s been a really interesting week up here in Langley. I brought my journal to the library so that I didn’t leave out any weekly highlights.

When I became a missionary, I expected lots of hardships and challenges. I knew it would really test me, and that I’d fight my share of monsters and giants. Naturally, as I gain experience, I’ll develop more feats and skills, gain more power, and level-up, as it were. What I didn’t know, however, was that at a certain level, I would gain an animal companion.

Those of you with limited knowledge of roleplaying games may, understandably, be confused, so I will elaborate.

On Thursday afternoon, Elder Smith and I went to visit a family in a rural neighborhood. This family had a small dog in their front yard. Following our visit, we decided to talk to some of the neighbors. As we walked to the next house, we turned to find that the little dog had been following us. The dog followed loyally behind us as we knocked on several doors along the street. As we’d walk up to doors, it would just follow us and sit next to us as we’d talk the home owner. It was our genuine animal companion. However, the core rulebook, which is to say, the Missionary Handbook, did not allow pets of any kind, and houserules were not an option. Eventually we returned the dog to its home by placing him in the backyard and closing the fence.

We’ve seen some extreme kindness from all kinds of people this week; on Friday night, we went to a gas station to find a cheap dinner. As we ordered our inexpensive gas station food, the manager pulled us to the side and said “Anytime that I am here, you two eat for free.” He then offered us a variety of food from the gas station. In case you’re wondering, he is not a member of the church; he’s actually Muslim, and his generosity made the rest of that night a lot brighter.

Similarly, Saturday afternoon, as we were walking to lunch, a member from another ward pulled over and drove us to Fatburger, which he paid for, then he dropped us off where he found us and went on his way. We’d learned that many years ago, he’d served a mission in Las Vegas, and he was always offered food, so anytime he sees hungry missionary, he feeds them.

Not everything has been perfect, of course. On Friday, we had 5 appointments set up with people that wanted to learn more about the church. 4 of them fell through, and the other had to reschedule, so that was disheartening.

It’s been rather difficult being this far north in winter, especially after Daylight Savings. The sun sets far too early; on Saturday, we were in a rural neighborhood, simply inviting people out to the Christmas party that the ward is having. It was about 6:30 pm, but the sun had long set. As we headed back to our car, a police officer approached us and said “Isn’t it a little late to be knocking on doors?” Apparently somebody called the police because we were inviting everyone to a party really late at night. But, again, it was only 6:30. The sun is working against us.

Until next week!

-Elder Reynolds