Scrumdumpetyumptious

Holy crap it's been a while...

I am currently serving in the Meridian East stake. My comp, for a second transfer, is Elder Antonio Martinez - a white-washed mexican and a stud muffin. By the end of this transfer, I will have been in this area for three transfers - something I've yet to do on the mish - totaling fourannahalf months. Since I've been in this area we've had two baptisms - Josh O and Trevor L. I've lived in two different places since I've been in this area - the first in an apartment 2 miles out of my area, the second with the Christensen's a quarter mile out of our area. I cover three wards - Frontier, Ustick, and Cloverdale. Frontier has the best membership, Ustick has the most work, and Cloverdale has got the most cute girls. All our wards are very supportive and there are excellent members everywhere as well. We are fed every night by a different family and our wards take turns each week. I've put on 5 pounds since I've been here, making a total 25 pound gain since I've been out. It's funny because my clothes are starting to shrink... It's kinda aggravating but I make do. I have discovered I love yogurt and ranch dressing - even though I prefer "undressing"... yes. I like my salads naked.

This past Thursday was kinda lame. Three people we're had indirect connections to have died within the past week. The first, a close friend of one of our favorite families had a brother die. The second, a kid we know, whose best friend's mom is an eternal investigator of ours, had his dad die. And finally, one of our less-active members had a foster brother who died.... Makes me grateful for the Plan of Salvation!

Fathers' Day was pretty rad. In all three sacrament meetings, because we're over 18, we were given Daddies' Day goodies with all the dads in the congregation. I had twice the goodies because Elder Martinez is on a diet. Scrumdumpetyumptious indeed. 

Fathers' Day this year was a little different for me... I couldn't shake the feeling that someday I'll be the dude with the wrinkled faded tie whose kids scribbled all over it as a Fathers' Day gift from years before. Someday I'll be the guy taking a screaming baby from sacrament meeting. Someday I'll tag team with an extremely attractive woman, namely the future Mrs. Ehlers, at 2:00 in the morning over kids who've had nightmares or puking their guts out or a baby that won't sleep. Someday I'll be the dude in the middle of the road teaching his kid how to ride a bike. Someday that extremely attractive Mrs. Ehlers, after a hard day's work of taking kids to the library, the dentist, the doctor's office, Chucky Cheese, the park, baseball practice, or whatever will come home and will have convinced herself that her kids are not hers by saying, "Do you have any idea what YOUR son did today?!" I'll be the guy who takes an extra job that starts at 2:00 in the morning to help support my family, and the same guy who comes home before his family wakes up with donuts and chocolate milk for the kids and a Diet Coke with a little bit of ice for that extremely attractive and lovable and awesome future Mrs. Ehlers. I'll be the guy who teaches his boys how to treat a woman right by the way I treat their mother. I'll be that guy who has to get an unbelievably good attorney to keep his sorry butt outa jail because he blew the head offa some stupid kid who was trying to date his daughter before she was 24.... Yeah. I got to thinking a lot about being a dad, a father, a husband someday and I'm kinda nervous. I'm super fetching stoked but still a little scared... It'll be good though.

Yesterday we got a new alligator by the name of Noah. He's 11 years old and smarter than a high school senior. His mom is an inactive member - also a humorless ice maiden in desperate need of a good something - and after seeing all his buddies be getting baptized he said he wants to also. We got to the part of the lesson where we talk about the Book of Mormon and he started in by saying, "Yeah the Book of Mormon. I don't get why so many people are so opposed to it. It's not gonna replace the bible or anything because it supports it. The Book of Mormon is just there to help people better get to know who Jesus and God is and help them better understand." Duuuuuude....suffer the little chillins to come unto me, for of such is the kingdom of heaven. I quote Rocky Balboa's trainer, the first one, the Jewish guy, "He's an ANIMAL!"

Speaking of Rocky, there's this quote my comp carries with him everywhere and reads every morning:

"Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place and I don't care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard ya hit. It's about how hard you can get it and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done! Now if you know what you're worth then go out and get what you're worth. But ya gotta be willing to take the hits, and not pointing fingers saying you ain't where you wanna be because of him, or her, or anybody! Cowards do that and that ain't you! You're better than that!"

Yesterday in church I heard one of the best talks I've ever heard. I don't think you'll agree because you weren't there and I don't think I'll be able to convey the awesome by the way I explain things. This guy gets up there to speak after his wife and he's from Russia (everybody's Russian!) and he gets to talking about his conversion story. He grew up when Russia was still the Soviet Union and so he's had to deal with communism. He said - and this is IN sacrament meeting - when he was taking the missionary discussions he noted that the gospel was kinda like communism! The difference is in communism if you don't obey you get shot but in the gospel if you don't obey the commandments then God is sad but he still loves you and he won't strike you down or burn you or destroy you or anything like that. He also got talking about the time before he was a member when he'd go out and have fun with his friends, and having fun in Russia means getting drunk. He remembered he'd hang out with his friends after he was a member and obeyed the word wisdom and see how silly his friends would act when they were drunk, and he used to be the same way... The KICK I get outta this is there's a guy up at the podium saying "Yeah I used to do stupid things and drink and get drunk BUT I found the gospel and it saved me. There's hope for you if you're struggling too." I appreciate and respect that guy and I'm sure there was at least one other person in the congregation who needed to hear what he had to say.

I would also like to note that had it not been for the priesthood, exactly 8 years ago I'd have begun my duty as a daisy-pusher from 6 feet under. Thank God for the priesthood, modern medical science, committed emergency responders and nurses and doctors, my loving family and friends near and far, and the gospel.

Mom - voting season is approaching and I want to know if I need an absentee ballot. Also, could you send me that brownies-from-scratch recipe we used a lot? Sullivan has a new 9X11 pan she'd like to use and I told her I have a sick brownie recipe.

Also a couple of Sundays ago there was an older woman who approached me and said she had worked for the church for some 30 years in Salt Lake City and she used to know a fella by the name of Jack Ehlers.