Elder Oliver Rigby: Week Three: I wanna watch Top Gear

*voiced by Clarkson*

"Tonight: Elder Andersen sees a cat, a New Zealander talks about Toyotas, I schmooze with the locals, and the district flies dangerously close to Canada."

"Welcome to Top Gear!"

So a nice part about going to BYU for a year is that I've met an absolute ton of school friends and other homies here at the MTC. So far the list includes Elders Harris, Irish, Calder, Evans, Jones, Pinoli, Stubbs, Thompson, Garrett, Scow, Leonard, Bryan, Munson, Crenshaw, and the one and only Liam the RA (Elder Henretty now) and Sisters Dobbs, Everton, McGarvin, Chapple, Calder, Allen, Pulsipher, Elgan, and Hamilton as well as Sister Masters, Brother Jones, and Shurtleff兄弟 plus Sister Roskelley from my BYU ward leadership! I also see Elder Williams from my flight from Gilbert to Provo and meet other random Gilbertites on a daily basis.

A lot of missionaries have been having trouble getting their passports lately for whatever reason and some Elders in my hall fell victim to the curse too and got reassigned for now from South America to New York City. In response to this news, six of them immediately banded together to perform the single most elaborate improv of a gritty New York crime drama I've ever seen. Fake blood and real tears were shed that night. 10/10.

Okay back to the title. For those of you who don't know, Top Gear is a show where old British guys do dumb stuff in fast cars. It's fantastic. I wish I could describe it better but anything more wouldn't do it justice. If this show sounds even slightly interesting and you want a glimpse inside the head of a teenage car nerd then go check it out. Just make sure you watch the one with Jeremy Clarkson, James May, and Richard Hammond cause that's the OG.

Onto the news:

1. We saw a cat. It's now my phone wallpaper. Nuff said.

2. My district got assigned to welcome in new missionaries last Wednesday and it was super fun. I got to meet a ton of new missionaries including yet another homie, Elder Mitchell Jones, but for a bit my job was just to wave cars in to the parking lot in with an Elder from New Zealand/Tonga named Elder Hala. He was cool and I liked his accent. We talked about rugby, Samoa and Tonga's beef with each other, and how trucks in America are way bigger than in New Zealand for whatever reason.

3. My companion and I got our flight itineraries! We'll be leaving for the airport this Thursday at 4:30am for...Minnesota? That's right folks. Our trip to Bentonville is a 14-hour quest by bus, train, and plane from Provo to Minneapolis to Fayetteville. Wish us luck.

Okay, now the spiritual thought:

One thing I learned this week that I particularly liked is from a lesson we had on prayer. Heavenly Father wants us to strive to really connect with Him, not to just talk at him or give Him a spiritual grocery list. "Think about how much it hurts when you know someone you care about says they're 'fine' when you both know they aren't. He already knows exactly what we need but He wants us to open up to Him, not to just tell him we're 'fine.' What makes prayer special is that it's a chance to let ourselves be vulnerable with our Father."

I'm constantly getting humbled here at the MTC. I'm glad I am, though, because as I've started to see myself grow I've also started to forget Who helped me to get to where I am now. Every trial I go through helps me to turn away from pride and back to God again and again and I'm so grateful for how He always gives me another chance.

Stay cool mi compadres

Elder Rigby