First P-day in Arizona

So it turns out we do get a p-day this week, which I'm totes excited about, because the past few days have been cray cray! (Don't edit any of this 21st century lingo out of the blog posts. I want people to think I'm hip.)

After waking up at 2:45 AM Monday morning (I wanted to wake up at 3:30, but my roommates were jerks), we were shipped off on a bus to the SLC Airport for an 8:30 flight to Phoenix. I hadn't even been out for 2 weeks and it still felt super weird to listen to songs in the airport McDonald's that weren't hymns.

President and Sister Sweeney were waiting for us at the Phoenix airport, and yes, when we were got outside, the first thing we noticed was that it is H-A-W-T hawt in Arizona. Luckily, the church is true and is able to afford vans with very good air conditioning.

Our first stop was the Mesa temple. President Sweeney had some snacks for us, but I was very disappointed when I pulled a water bottle out of an icy cooler to find out it was one of those midget half-sized bottles. I drank 3 of them. Since the Mesa temple is where Grandpa Arvo and Grandma Ruth were sealed in, and it was the one-year anniversary of Grandma passing away, it was a very cool sight to see. Of course, we only went inside of the visitors' center, which has a lot of the same stuff as the Salt Lake vistiors' center, including a Christus.

Then we had lunch at the mission home (southwestern food, of course) and went over various legal forms and whatnot. Then we split up and got to do some real-life proselyting with some of the experienced missionaries. I ended up in Pierce Park with Elder Dunn, who is a very awkward soul, but in a funny, hipster kind of way rather than an embarrassing, agonizing way. The very first people I ever proselyted on my mission were this absolutely plastered drunk couple who were splashing each other at the drinking fountain. I don't remember the woman's name, but the guy was named Raoul, and he started out friendly, saying "It's our Mormon friends! The Mormons were very kind to me while I was in jail and while I was in prison." (this is all in a mumbled, slurred, Hispanic accent, by the way). The girlfriend saw we had free pamphlets about the restoration and excitedly took one from me. But then Raoul went off the rails trying to grill us about the conflicts in Islamic countries why excommunication is okay, and trying to tell us that God hasn't spoken to anyone in over 2,000 years. His girlfriend got fed up with it and ran off to make sure their puppy was okay. It felt like we were talking to Raoul for forever, and it sucked because all of this questions made no sense (even though he thought he was super smart), and we could barely tell what he was even saying. His girlfriend came back though and said she read the whole pamphlet and wanted to come to church though. Elder Dunn gave her a card with the mission office's number, and I gave Raoul a Book of Mormon because even though he said he's read from it, he didn't have a copy of his own. Anyway, for the rest of the night, everything smelled and tasted like his beer breath, so that was nasty. Pretty crazy for a first real missionary experience.

We didn't really talk to anyone else in the park. We tried talking to some teenagers, but they told us to go away, and as they did so, smoke came out of their mouths and we realized they were holding joints, so...

But Elder Dunn assured me that our time in the park was not usual at all. Most people are sober and very friendly he said. We stayed the night in the mission home and met at the church the next day to meet our first in-field companions.

My companion is Elder Dunham, from a town about 20 minutes south of Pocatello, so he's my second Idaho companion in a row, and he's actually a really cool guy. He's been out 18 months and obviously knows his stuff when it comes to missionary work. It seemed everyone we saw at the transfer meeting had to tell me that I was getting the best companion, so I'm really excited.

We are serving in St Johns, Arizona in the mountains where it is about 20 degrees cooler than Scottsdale, so there was much rejoicing when I found that out. St. Johns was a four hour drive from the mission home, and there are seriously fields of cacti on the way. I've never seen so many in my life. Then it all turned into pine trees at some point, and that's nothing new. St. Johns has a population of about 4,000. We drive a car, and apparently most of the work here is all referrals, so this is a great place to start out.

I also found out that we are going camping Friday night with the boy scouts to help convert some fourteen year old and we're giving talks in church on Sunday, so those are some interesting ways to break a new guy in.

I don't have a new address to send mail to, because the mission home will forward it all to St. Johns for us, so if anyone wants to mail anything (which is always lovely), they can send it to that Arizona Scottsdale Mission address.

I guess that's about all I have to say for now. I attactched picture of me and President Morris, since we're related and all.  Then, you know, pictures of the temples. I'm pretty proud of that one with the flower.
 

 

I love you all, and remember the church is true!

<3 Elder Holladay

Here's picture of my MTC district at the temple. From left are Sisters Webb and Lower and Elders Baumer, Rosenbalm, Carr, Ashcraft, Swaner, and Holladay.

Then there's one of mine and Elder Allred's name tags

 

 

 

 

My camera died before I could get one of me and Elder Denham though, and I haven't charged it. Next week!

and a sweet view of the mountains we saw on the drive to St. Johns last night.