Week 18: I eat dog food - Bentonville, Arkansas

It was delicious.

Buckle up y'all, it's a long one. I'll put the photos at the top for yall who aren't heavy readers:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/2sk1refRidSszyYk7

Hey all!

The work goes on! I'm adjusting to leading the area and Elder Kemp's learning more and more as we just put ourselves out there and work. Our ward's hosting a chili cookoff and trunk-or-treat this Saturday so we've been contacting inactive members and new friends like nobody's business. Hopefully, someone we've talked with will make it there and remember that the Church actually isn't so bad. I'll let you know how it goes next email. 

● Quick Updates:

- Stopped teaching Brycen, our friend on date for baptism, as he simply would not keep commitments. Nice guy though. He'll get there someday.

- Put our friend Jennifer on date for November 25th! She didn't show up to oue AR meeting tonight but she's got a lot on her plate so we'll work with her. 

- Went through the ward roster with the Elders' Quorum president, President Blair, to make a list of all the inactive/struggling families we could try to find through. Our current strategy is focusing on specific struggling members and knocking their neighborhoods in-between visits.

- The ward really likes us here and we really like them too. Allen Ranch will always be my homedawgs but Bentonville First makes a great home away from home. 

● The People of Bentonville:

- Visited our elderly friend Sherri and talked Bible talk with her. She gave us some prayer cloths and a pocket cross she made herself. She's one of my absolute favorite people to visit and I think it might be because she reminds me of Grandma Rigby :') 

- Shot the breeze with Officer Kenny, a nice policeman who pulled up and made small talk with us. He was born in Malaysia, moved to San Francisco, went to college in France, and joined the police force just out of civic duty. Certified cool human. 

- Sat outside an inactive member's house waiting on our ride for so long that a police officer (not Kenny unfortunately) pulled up and asked if we were good. The other Elders aren't always very good about driving us home on time...but hey, we all have our weaknesses. 

- Got absolutely confounded by the first Japanese speaker I've met in the four months I've been on a mission. More on that later. 

● Culinary Adventures:

- Biked to Harrison's on a prompting after our plans fell through and went out to ice cream with him. He's a nice guy even if he doesn't want to join the Church right now. 

- Scarfed down sushi in a dignified manner at a fancy sushiya with the Fitzgeralds and Brother Trudo, a cool young dad in our ward. I mentioned I liked Castle in the Sky while we were getting to know each other and just like that, Pandora's Box went flying open. Noah went off about anime out of nowhere and asked us some questions that caught me so off-guard that I couldn't keep myself from laughing, which immediately made me feel bad. Noah's a super cool dude, I just was totally not expecting to see this side of him. We learned Brother Trudo plays Legend of Zelda and is watching One Piece with his wife too, so that just automatically makes him a chad. 

- Brought Luis a burger from Braum's after he staple-gunned his hand at work and didn't wanna go to the hospital. We're not doctors, so we served how we could I guess 

- Ate breakfast with some senior missionaries at the USA Cafe. It was beautifully patriotic, from the wall of Presidents to the WWII propaganda to the Guns n' Roses and Journey blasting over the speakers. Even my food tasted like freedom.  I rate it  out of 10.

- Smashed a delicious dinner at the Keoghs: garlic/applewood pork chops, a rainbow of baked veggies and squash, ice cream for dessert, and a great spiritual thought to boot. 10/10

- (Two weeks ago) nibbled some dubious leg meat at the Mendiolas' when we celebrated Serleen's birthday with her Islander friends from Pohnpei. There are a TON of Pohnpeians here. Like, we literally have the highest population of Micronesian people outside of Micronesia and they all just chill in the Ozarks because we wrecked some of their islands with nuclear testing so we let them immigrate here for free. 

- Prayed to find a meal because we didn't have one planned tonight and lo and behold, we accidentally visited a totally active couple, the Williams, who kindly offered us dog food. To be fair, they feed their two Great Danes cooked rice and beans and broccoli, so it was really good dog food. 

● Random Stuff:

- The chapel in the dark is a serious vibe.

- Saw a guy we met at an addiction recovery class play a fantastic piano solo after everyone left. Hearing someone who struggled with so much pain and anguish throughout his life playing something so hauntingly beautiful with such complete devotion had me way shook. Another certified cool human. 

- Completely rearranged our apartment and I love it now. I have my own corner with my bed, my desk, my closet, and my bathroom all in one area. I didn't realize until we finished moving that this is the first time in my whole mission I actually feel like I have personal space again. Three cheers for real-life Animal Crossing. 

- Played a five-minute round of Dungeons and Dragons with Snoop Dogg. Yup. Facebook Messenger's got a DnD-themed Snoop Dogg AI now. That's the Metaverse for ya. 

- Donned my wet helmet and rode 20+ miles on my kid-sized Specialized bike this misty October afternoon. What a day. With the visibility being as low as it was, today felt like we were playing on low rendering distance in Minecraft. 

● Storytime: 

When we knock doors, we look for anything, ANYTHING, to start a conversation on and when this lady answered the door it happened to be her work uniform for a ramen shop. I was like "hey that's cool, you work at a ramen shop? I actually speak a little bit of Japanese" just kind of expecting to make a fun little connection before moving on to our message. Instead, she responded with 「へー、すごいで！」and my brain simply blew a fuse. I hadn't heard actual Japanese come out of someone's mouth in like six months and was just flabbergasted that someone in the state of Arkansas actually spoke it. Needless to say, my recovery from that revelation was far from smooth and after a long moment where I was supposed to likewise respond in Japanese turned into an awkward silence, she marked me down as your average Duilingo using anime fan and moved on to say in Emglish that she wasn't interested. We'll get 'em next time ️

● Spiritual Thought:

"Be 100% Responsible" by Lynn G. Robbins

Audio: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Fpi0JbVmx1l_0LW7_TAnzBcs3p-hPXQH/view?usp=drivesdk

PDF: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FnHg5obwE5t52c1yRWau7_4OYAxLykdx/view?usp=drivesdk

and

"Beware of Pride" by Ezra Taft Benson

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/1989/04/beware-of-pride?lang=eng

In "Be 100% Responsible," Elder Robbins uses Dantes from the Count of Monte Cristo as a fitting example of anger being a form of negative devotion: as Dantes devotes his newfound freedom and wealth to his selfish desire for the proximate justice of revenge, he abandons the ultimate justice of God and sinks to the same level depravity of the men who took him from Mércèdes in the first place. While the reader initially cheers on the wonderfully devious Count of Monte Cristo, they eventually realize that he has abandoned that which he loves in pursuit of that which he hates. 

This week I've been working on patience and humility with a missionary in our apartment that I don't get along with very well. I struggle to see why he acts the way he does but, well, I've also realized that I don't want to let my frustration over our differences consume the limited time and energy I have to love and serve God and His precious children.

I don't want to be the kind of person who wastes his life away being angry with others. Anger, and just about every sin in my opinion, comes from pride. Pride leads us to think we know better than God, and that is simply wrong.  

Now, this commentary comes from a 19-year old kid in Arkansas, so take that for what it's worth. If you want to hear from someone who actually knows what they're talking about, listen to those talks up above or, better yet, read the words of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Learn who He was and is personally and you will someday reach a point where you "...have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually" (Mosiah 5:2.)

Elder Rigby

P.S. you made it to the bottom! Thanks for reading all this mess. Have a wonderful day, you wonderful person, you. 

Week 17: Objective: Survive - Bentonville, Arkansas

Title goes out to the real ones on this week.  If you know you know.

Hey all!

I'm low on time but I wanted to at least send something out because my last email was filled with so much grungy missionary angst. In short, I'm alright! I know God loves me, so I'm here and I'm not planning on going anywhere.

This transfer has been humbling so far. I've found that I have a tendency to try to shoulder the whole burden of missionary work in this area all by myself. In an effort to surrender myself to the Spirit, I'm working on sharing that weight with my companion Elder Kemp and especially with the Savior. I've learned a lot and I know I'll develop a ton of life skills from this, but most importantly, I'm learning to more fully rely on the Spirit.

 On that subject, two (slightly difficult to access) talks that I've absolutely loved listening to are:

1) "You ARE Receiving Revelation" by Loren Dalton 

and 

2) "Quit Worrying About It" by David A Bednar.

These two messages really changed my view of personal revelation and how exactly I can better listen to the Holy Spirit in my daily life. They're kinda tricky to find but a quick Google search might do the trick. If you're a missionary and don't have easy access to the internet but want to give one or both a listen, just email me and I'll send 'em over. 

Besides that, here's some news from this week:

- Elder Kemp is seriously unfortunate when it comes to medical conditions. Somehow this guy is type-1 diabetic, Celiac, AND allergic to nuts. He accidentally ate a protein bar with peanuts in it this week and while his reaction wasn't too bad as we caught it fast, it totally took us out of commission for like two hours and gave him a stomachache for the rest if the day. Oof. 

- Saw Jeep Guy again in a completely different but equally tricked out Jeep. Nice. 

- Talked to a guy named Fred who goes to a church called The River whose brother, Jason, we used to teach. Somehow we've met Jason, his son, his wife, and now his brother all on separate occasions in different places. Small world. 

- testified of the divine nature of families for probably the first time in my entire life. It was cool. We met with our good friend Jacob, a fellow Christian and brilliant intellectual, and he is pretty firm in his belief in the Trinity. After talking about temples, sealings, marriage, and living with an eternal mindset, I finally saw how the Spirit had orchestrated the whole conversation to lead to one idea: our belief in God is not in a divine Individual after the Trinitarian way, but of a divine Family that we have the potential to draw ever closer to throughout all the eternities. As disciples of Christ declared again and again at the start of this month: "salvation is an individual matter, but exaltation is a family matter."

 

- Went on exchanges on Tuesday with Elder Benson, one of my zone leaders. That guy is just so cool. He's a 23-month missionary on his very last transfer before he goes home and he's just a spiritual powerhouse. Plus, we get along so so well. We nerd out about the same stuff, like the same games, both have a kind of ADHD personality, and even both play the saxophone haha. From brownies and ice cream to Smash Bros, our interests just clicked instantly and it was just a blast getting to work with with such a faithful missionary who I got along with so well. We worked hard and had fun. Good times. 

Thought (it's a long one:)

1) Mosiah 4:27:

And see that all these things are done in wisdom and order; for it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength. And again, it is expedient that he should be diligent, that thereby he might win the prize; therefore, all things must be done in order. 

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/mosiah/4?lang=eng

and

2) "Of Things That Matter Most" by Dieter F. Uchtdorf, a living modern-day Apostle who hails from Germany. 

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2010/10/of-things-that-matter-most?lang=eng

Elder Uchtdorf talks of tree rings relating to times of trial. In seasons of plenty, the tree has much more energy and resources to dedicate to growing and so that year would produce a thick ring. In seasons of drought, the tree uses what resources it has to simply stay alive. 

Yesterday was a "survival" ring on my mission tree. I started off in a dark place and tried to white knuckle myself back to my normal level of missionary operation, but I felt anxious from the moment I woke up. I wanted to be a "good missionary," though, and apparently in my subconcious mind, "good missionaries" didn't stop to consider their mental health. 

Well, sooner or later the dissonance between what I wanted to be doing and what I was capable of in reality aggravated the feelings of anxiety I had from this morning until I was just about ready to break down. I had a real "come to Jesus" moment where I reached out to my mom and just asked for help and we just talked. It helped.

Funnily enough, God always sends His servants to help me when I'm down because that very moment after I texted my mom, a family friend reached out to me out of nowhere. In addition to that, a sweet local service missionary with Down's Syndrome randomly sent me an encouraging message the same afternoon. These small acts of service from these kind disciples of Christ may have seemed trivial to them in the moment but the Spirit knew that they would make a world of difference to me. 

Which leads us to my invitation for this week: 

Pray for and immediately act on the next prompting you get to reach out to someone. If a name pops into your head out of nowhere, don't ignore it. In all reality, it's probably not just from your head. On the off chance it is just your head (it's not,) then congratulations, you have a chance to do something nice for someone. If it's a prompting of the Spirit, however, you may literally change someone's life. 

As you act in faith on the promptings the Spirit quietly presents to you, God will trust you with more of them. Take any chance you get to be an instrument in His hands and your life will feel more whole. You will recognize the voice of the Comforter easier and see more opportunities to love and serve as the Savior would. Plus, it just feels nice.

Welp, hope yall are doing well! Song of the week is Smile by Weezer. Rivers Cuomo is king. 

Catch ya later!

Love,

Elder Rigby

https://photos.app.goo.gl/2sk1refRidSszyYk7

Week 16: Like Zoinks, Scoob - Bentonville, Arkansas

Hey all!

Wow. It's been a week. 

Not even gonna sugarcoat it—these first five days as a trainer have been super, super hard. I knew it would be an adjustment for sure, but this might be one of the most stressful times of my life right now. Leading an area straight out of training with a junior companion fresh out of the missionary factory all while being one of the five companionships in the entire mission to be on bikes half of the time is just bonkers. My daily activities basically consist of training, planning, coordinating with members and investigators, teaching lessons, knocking doors, wrangling comps, and trying to pull myself together during personal study and time in members' homes. 

On that note, thank goodness for member dinners. The Spirit I feel in the homes of the faithful members here gives me the boost I need to get through the day when I'm struggling. The shoutout of the week goes to the Hacketts, an older couple who fed us in their beautiful home by the forest. It felt special to see the obvious difference in how peaceful their home felt compared to other places we'd been that day. 

It's been a lot and my emotional and mental state has been all over the place. I've been fighting anxiety and depression and hopelessness for the last few days, but! I know in Whom I have trusted.

In Romans 8:36-39, the Apostle Paul writes:

36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 

37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 

*38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 

39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.*

~

I love Jesus Christ. I know He loves me. I want to be more like Him, and I want to share His love with everyone I can. Nothing can take that from me, not even a heavy workload or difficult roommates or any other burden. I know these trials are ways He will help me grow and I know that He will strengthen me to "bear up [my] burdens with ease" (Mosiah 24:14-15) as I learn to more fully live the simple truths of His Gospel. 

Welp, that's about it for now. Here's a few fun things from this week before I wrap this up:

- saw one of the Waltons cruising the skies over Bentonville in a WWII-era warplane

- solved a rubik's cube for the first time ever with lots of help from Elder Powell

- watched my trainee accidentally steal from Walmart and then immediately get caught cause he'd never been shopping by himself before and forgot to scan stuff. Man, the life skills you take for granted when you go to college. 

Song of the week: Panacea by Disasterpeace. Quality piano.

Alright, gotta bounce. Love you guys. The Book of Mormon is legit. The Bible's awesome too. Go give 'em a read and your day will be better every single time.

Hasta luego!

Elder Rigby

Photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/2sk1refRidSszyYk7

P.S. 

Due to the insanity of the last few weeks, I *still* haven't gotten back to some of yall who have written me weeks ago. Thanks for being patient with me! I'll make 'em extra thoughtful. 

Week 15: oh boy here we go - Bentonville, Arkansas

Hey all!

This week, a whole lot of stuff happened. Like a lot. I'm short on time (again) so I'll just jump right into it:

- General Conference! We watched one session with our friend Eduardo and his family and the rest with various church members in our area and it was a blast. Some themes I noticed were viewing life with an eternal (cough cough celestial cough) perspective, how listen to the Holy Spirit and feel it stronger in your life, and being brothers and sisters in our Savior Jesus Christ. My personal favorite line comes from Elder Henry B. Eyring's talk, "Our Constant Companion," on how we can feel guidance from the Holy Spirit more strongly and consistently:

"The key for me and for you is to want what the Savior wants. Our motives need to be driven by the pure love of Christ. Our prayers need to be 'All I want is what you want. Thy will be done.'"

- Transfer calls! This time around, I'm...training!? That's right, folks. Elder Cebollero just got promoted to Zone Leader in the Mountain Home Arkansas area while I stay here in the Bentonville First Ward to train a new missionary named Elder Kemp starting tomorrow! Yes, the Padawan has become the Jedi Master, but something tells me I'm going to learn a lot about humility this transfer...so send some prayers our way, yeah? I know everything will work out if we just follow Christ as best we can, get out of the apartment, and just go crazy. Whether or not we know what we're doing, hard work is still hard work. God will still accept our offering. I know we're gonna see some crazy cool stuff these next few months. 

Fun stuff this week:

- moved furniture for a nice lady who got a frontal lobe lobotomy about thirty years ago. She was wonderfully unique.

- I decided I like sleeping on the floor more so I moved my bedframe out and just sleep futon style on my mattress. Floor gang. 

- Youth Missionary Night: the ward put on a missionary activity for all the under-eighteen youth because they're awesome so we basically just got to talk about why we chose to serve a mission and testify for like 45 minutes. 

- Got a flu shot, then spent 15 minutes feeling for a lego robin hood minifigure at the Walmart pharmacy. 

Thought: 

D&C 112:10.

"Be thou humble; and the Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand, and give thee answer to thy prayers."

Simple as that.

For a deep dive into what exactly humility is, try listening to this talk from last week's General Conference by Elder Joni L. Koch

Love you all! Still working on those responses, so thanks for being patient with me. Elder Rigby out.