The One That is a Bummer

Elder Weedley is having a rough week.
Here is his e-mail:

well im getting transferred to kokomo and back to english speaking im pretty sad my spanish is finally good and everything was clicking this past couple weeks so im upset but yeah anyway other then that the week was good

Here's the thing.
Change sucks.
And I have found that especially when you are serving the Lord, when you get comfortable and feeling pretty good about life, that is when He stretches you, and pushes you.
God can always see the end result- when we cannot.
These words are not comforting when you are in the middle of change, especially when you were just feeling confident about your current situation.

It's hard on a mom to see her kid struggle, and not be able to sit him down and counsel him.
I get a short window to e-mail back and forth.

My heart has been aching since Monday. I have said extra prayers because I didn't know what else I could do. I worry because it seems like this whole first year has been somewhat of a struggle for Elder Brendan. It seems like as soon as he starts getting some traction, the rug is ripped out from under him. Knowing he is a lot like me has made me worry all the more. I can take and take and take and then one day I am just done. I was hoping that this wasn't the straw that broke the camel's back for him.

So I have fretted. He was transferred, so I don't have a new address to mail him a letter, or a "cheer up" package.

I don't know how to tell him to "hang in there," so I just gave it to God. I have to remind myself that God is a bigger advocate for his success on his mission than I am. I have to remind myself that these changes are going to be for the greater good- they always are. I asked God to help me have this faith. To feel peace that my boy was okay.

But it's been hard. And I was in for a long week. I won't hear from him again until next Monday.

Today I got a letter in the mail. A hand-written letter from my boy. As soon as I saw it, and before I opened it, I told Sam that if Elder Weedley needed me- then Sam needed to just book me a flight to Indiana- no argument.

The letter was five pages.
Five pages of "Mom, I am doing fine. I am so grateful for the way that you and Dad raised me. I hate and love my mission. I can do hard things because you taught me to."

What do you know?
The Lord answered my prayers, and eased my apprehension through the very boy I was worried sick over.
He works in super strange ways.

Here was our back and forth:

The Beach Boys have a song about Kokomo. That means it's awesome.

im pretty freaking sure its not indiana kokomo though

YOU DONT KNOW THAT

They have a bowling alley

well thats good lol

Also Kokomo has a Ross!

well thats really good!!

You are always home wherever there is a Ross.

Also Kokomo is home to the guy who wrote the Clifford the Big Red Dog series

what the heck man thats weird

Lots of weird this week.
Also lots of potential for good.

The One With Elder (420) Weedley

On social media, I am kind of known for my covert photography, and capturing weird things. I am often asked how these opportunities present themselves. I am convinced that I have a permanent freak flag flying, and somehow the universe knows that I appreciate weirdness- so the weirdness comes to me.
Now that he is off on his own, we are realizing that Elder Brendan also has this gift.
Here is his e-mail this week. Pay particular attention to the end. Hashtags are all his.

my week was pretty good i went on three exchanges this week so that was really fun i went with our zone leaders his name was is elder Clark it was fun they teach a lot of Nigerians who are really awesome people but he had a gatorade squirt bottle and they all wanted some so we sat there and sprayed water in there mouths and on them it was really fun lol then i went with elder mcbride and we did some service that was really fun cause it was construction and so yeah and then finally my last exchange i got to go with elder cox who i just love hes dope man and it was really fun we ate at this place called jokamos really good pizza and it was good i loved it ​

​oh also found a bag of weed so it was a good weekend #420 #blazinindiana #elderweedley

As proof of his claim, he sent a picture of the bag of weed they found in the street.
(Disclaimer: the weed was disposed of, and not used. The above photo is just Elder Brendan's natural weirdness, and not enhanced by pharmaceuticals. But can you imagine?!! Me neither.)

And a screen shot of Elder Clark, the cute Nigerian boys and the Gatorade bottle:

I am realizing that I didn't post last week. I wrote everything for his scrapbook and forgot to post here. This is the highlight reel.
I found it interesting that the church is revising the safety standards for all the missionaries in the program:

This revision is happening the SAME WEEK that I get a video clip of Elder Brendan riding on the top of the mission van.

Here is the rest of his e-mail from last week:

hey this week was kinda the same as all weeks i do really appreciate all the american stuff you send i love america but you know that um i dont really remember much of what i did this week yesterday was stake conference so that was great ( insert eye roll) but my spanish is getting better we played soccer on saturday that was fun the new shorts are dope man!​

​i just realized i didnt take any pics this week lo siento i suck lolololol

And our back and forth:

hey i have a request for things mom i come home on the 4th of July next year so i need a ton of american things to wear like sunglasses belts fireworks guns- stuff like this:

Yeahhhhhh that's not happening

What do you miss about Utah?

mountains air people you guys sitting in my cave the bowling alley etc

whoa.YOU MISS THE BOWLING ALLEY

What else? I have nothing here. 

It's like milking a rock! 

What am I supposed to put on your blog.

just put this on it and call it good

That Elder Weedley sure loves 'Murica.

The One With Two Baptisms

Monday was a holiday and I wasted a lot of the day wondering where my e-mail from Elder Brendan was, and then a friend reminded me that libraries were closed and p-day would most likely be Tuesday.

It's kinda embarrassing how much of a creature of habit I am, because this threw my week off a little. It also made me realize how much I look forward to my missionary Mondays.
I will be sad when this chapter of my life comes to a close.

This week was a good one for Elder Brendan.
He didn't have much to say- but the photos speak for themselves.

Elder Wadley and Elder Cepeda had a couple of baptisms!
Two sisters. The girls' mother and her boyfriend are also progressing with lessons, but are not yet ready to commit to baptism.
They found this sweet family while tracting.

Both baptisms were in Spanish. Elder Wadley says that his Spanish is coming along, and he was able to baptize one of the girls.
I love a picture where you can see that a person's smile goes all the way up into their eyes.
This picture (above) is a good one for my heart.

Elder Wadley, Elder Cepeda

This picture is a typical Brendan pic. Nice to see that bathroom selfies are still a thing. He looks good in white, though, doesn't he?
The other exciting news of the week is a new p-day activity they picked up in his area: Foot Golf. Here are Elder Brendan's words this week.

so yesterday was memorial day all libraries were closed um this week was cool baptism was on 27th that was cool other then that pretty normal week except yesterday we played footgolf it was hecka fun holy balls anyways i dont know what to say really it was pretty sick this week foot golf its golf but with soccer balls so you kick balls into hole its sweet

Foot Golf Field

I am not sure if Foot Golf is a real thing, or something they made up like Quidditch? I guess whatever gets him outside and running around. He seems to be pretty excited about it.

Foot Golf Elders

Indiana looks like it is really pretty and green right now.
Elder Wadley hits his one year mark this month. Seems like it has gone by pretty quickly. He has matured and grown...

Rear view mirror decor, Indianapolis

 ...but has also stayed exactly the same.😌