Elder Oliver Rigby: Week 95

When those jaws open wide and there's more jaws inside, that's a moray (eel)

I tried so hard to come up with some kind of witty one-liner using the term "pharyngeal jaws" but I think I bit off more than I could chew. Lame human teeth. You win this time, morays.

Hey all!

Man, eels sure are weird. Anyways, missionary work. Marvin got baptized this week! His service was so special. As missionaries, we're called to find those who are looking for light and truth, teach them the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, and help them receive baptism by water and by the Spirit, but with how often we get moved around from area to area, being able to do all three with the same friend is a little more rare. Elder Larson and I are two lucky Elders to have met a man like Marvin.

In other good news, our friend Kelsey from my last area just chose to be baptized as well! She's the young daughter of a friend who chose to join the Church of Jesus Christ while Elder Perry and I were in the area who had a little bit of decision anxiety over whether or not she wanted to be baptized just yet but overcame her fear of water to make a special promise with the Lord. Thanks to Kelsey's courage, she can now receive the full cleansing power of Jesus Christ's atoning sacrifice and always have the Holy Spirit to be with her. Go Kelsey!

Some other random things that happened this week included the third instance in my mission of 911 beating us to someone who referred themself to the missionaries through social media (one out of those three got baptized back in Fort Smith though so it's cool) and knocking the single most convoluted apartment building I've ever dared to step foot in. It was the Zelda water dungeon of all Zelda water dungeons: five stories of two ancient brick buildings that someone decided to combine way back when and didn't mind the fact that the floors of the two buildings weren't at the same heights so it was more like eight half-floors of apartments with at least fifteen different staircases spread throughout the narrow, winding, low-ceilinged hallways. It was super fun to knock, though, and we found a lost church member from Mexico and a young family that really wants to join us for church this week!

Thought: 1 Nephi 18:3

And I, Nephi, did go into the mount oft, and I did pray oft unto the Lord; wherefore the Lord showed unto me great things.

At Galatia's baptism and confirmation a couple of weeks ago, one of the speakers invited her to find a second copy of the Book of Mormon and dedicate it solely to highlighting as many references to the Holy Spirit as she could find. I was really struck by that invitation and decided to adopt it for myself, but instead of marking references to the Comforter, I felt guided to mark every instance of gratitude and praise given to God. Looking for things to be grateful for has been such a huge help in staying near the Savior and finding joy in the work. It's easy to focus on negative things - the weather heating up, the cumulative fatigue of twenty-two months of a demanding calling, or the fact that, despite it being for literally the single best reason possible, pushing into other people's lives to share the gospel of Christ with them is still very, very uncomfortable - putting in righteous work to deliberately seek the positive things in life has to me been a key channel for Christ's light to change my heart and transform my as a missionary from dutiful compliance to affectionate obedience. God loves you! You are His child. Ask the Savior to help you focus on these things and your request will make His day.

Love you all!

- Elder Rigby