Day 50-I and My Father are One-5/17/06

Fifty days since I left Oklahoma. That's a milestone. Or at least a mild milestone. Today is p-day. I've got some time now. I'll finish Bro. Clark's lesson that I was talking about back on day 22. We were asked to play a game about answering questions that we would encounter in the mission field. Our group was asked: In John 10:30 the Savior says, "I and my Father are one." Explain how we know that Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father are separate beings.

There are many choice scriptures in the Bible to explain this question. Frankly, it's almost too easy. First you reference Matthew 3:15-17 or Luke 3:22, when Jesus Christ is baptized and Heavenly Father says, "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well-pleased." You just say, "God the Father wasn't pleased with himself . He was pleased with His son.

Now, if they wanna play hardball, they'll say, "Well, Jesus Christ was just God made flesh. When he was crucified, He returned to God and they became the one trinity-God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost."

If you quote Acts, that's just not fair. It's too easy to answer if you reference Acts 7:55-56. Plus, there is a better scripture that gets to the real meat of the issue. The Garden of Gethsemane. When Jesus Christ is praying to the Father, he asks, "if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; not my will, but thine be done." So either there is a split personality "Gollum-thing" going on here or Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are two separate beings.

You don't want to say, "You're wrong". You should have the attitude, "Let's see what the scriptures say."

The scripture that explains what John 10:30 and all of the other, "I and my Father are one" scriptures mean (and there are a lot of them), is in the same book as the book in question. John 17:21..."All may be one; as thou Father art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that thou hast sent me." Jesus Christ is talking about his apostles and how they can be one in the Father and in Jesus Christ. A Zion people. One in purpose. He's not asking that the apostles form into one mass. The apostles wouldn't join God literally. That just wouldn't make any sense. If that were true, in heaven there'd be only one huge God comprised of all of the people who had faith in Jesus Christ. You can see how logically God the Father and Jesus Christ being one person kind of falls apart.

John 17:21 is such a good scripture because it explains in beautiful simplicity what is meant by, "the Father and I are one" verses. "As thou, Father, art in me and I in thee, that they also may be made one in us..." He is saying that we are one in purpose. Anyone, it doesn't matter who, can choose to follow the commandments and walk the straight and narrow path to be one with God. That what Jesus was saying. That's what he was praying for...that we could be like Him and be one with the Father.

Well, that's enough for today. In a future journal entry, I want to talk about one of my favorite topics, "Faith without works is dead." This question was brought up by S. who said in our first meeting back on day 26. She believed that we are saved through grace by faith like it says in Ephesians 2:8-9 "and not by works, lest any man boast." Faith in Christ is all you need to be saved, according to what some people believe. I want to delve into this the next time I have some free time.

Day 49- It didn't start with Joseph Smith, but it happened to him-5/16/06

Today was a very good day. We had 4 "member present" lessons! One in a member's home. That was S. We watched "The Restoration" DVD. Afterwards, S. said, "Wait a minute,"...That is her phrase. Doesn't it say in the Bible that nobody can look at God the Father and live? How did Joseph see God and not die?"

We gave her Exodus 33:11. "God spoke to Moses face to face as a man speaketh to his friend." It answered her question, but I wanted to show her one of my all time favorite seminary scriptures. I'm only sorry that I forgot about it when we were teaching her. After we left I thought, "Oh, why didn't I show her Acts!? Acts 7:55-56. It shows so many things. Stephen is talking to the people. He looks up into heaven and sees God the Father and Jesus Christ. It tells us that a.) God the Father, or rather Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are two different people; and b.) God the Father has a body. He had to have one or else what was Stephen looking at? He saw God's right hand and the Savior standing next to Him. and c.) He saw our Heavenly Father. Someone looking up into Heaven and beholding two personages. It didn't start with Joseph Smith, but it happened to him.

Day 48-Exchange of Doom II-5/15/06

Exchange of Doom II-Just when you thought it was safe to enter the mission field

I am exhausted. I take it back. No word can truly describe how tired I am.

This exchange was Elder Oram and me. I like Elder Oram. He has a lot on his plate now with his companion bed-ridden and recovering from the hit and run bicycle accident. He keeps trying to do missionary work by going on exchanges with members. One member takes him to appointments while another stays with Elder Bailey. Elder Oram is a missionary that I would not mind being paired with as a companion.

Today Elder Oram and I spent the afternoon in Reston. Not a lot happened there. With Elder Bailey being out of it, Elder Oram has not had much of a chance to find new people to teach. We went around trying to contact old potential investigators. We did not find many.

Around 4:50pm we went back to the Reston apartment so Elder Oram could pick up his stuff. We had a dinner appointment at 6:00 at a members home, a teaching appointment at 7:00 and then another one at 8:00pm.

Here is what happened: We left at 5:10 and biked along a bike trail. After a while, Elder Oram, who I now lovingly refer to as Magellan, stopped his bike and pulled out the map. The time is now 5:50pm. We have been able to stop and talk to several people and hand out pass along cards. We have 10 minutes to get to dinner and Elder Oram says, " Elder Pierce, I think we have gone the wrong way."

Thinking that we have gone too far, we head back to where we started. When we get there, the exit that we are looking for is not there. Elder Oram's not phased, though. He says that it is probably just a little bit further. So we press on, going back a ways until we come to an exit. Problem: it's not on the right side of the road. We take it anyway just to see where we are. When we get to the road, we realize that now we are going the wrong way. Our dinner was further away than it was when we started. The time is now 6:10pm.

We know that we can not conceivably make it to dinner and still make it to our appointments on time. We decide to stop and eat somewhere and call our dinner appointment to let them know. We ended up eating at Subway.

That wasn't the end of the "fun". We also got lost on the way to our first lesson. "The shortest distance between two points is a straight line." We didn't do that. We followed the Herndon Pkwy. instead of going on Eldon Street. As a result, we made it to our 7:00 appointment at 7:15pm. It really helped me to build my testimony, that I was going as fast on my bike so I could share this message with this family. We apologized for being late. The mother asked, "Why do you do this? Why are you out here as a missionary? What is your purpose?" I couldn't have asked for a better set-up. I told her: "My purpose is to invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end."

So today wasn't all bad. I can't wait until tomorrow, though. Elder Buttars will be back. When I am with Elder Oram, on the other hand, I get more of a workout. My legs are still throbbing.

Oh, yeah, we made it to our second appointment on time. They weren't in. Just my luck. All this biking, I'm gonna have legs like Champion. (Tripletts of Bellville)

Day 47-Mother's Day-5/14/06

W.'s son T. is recovering from surgery. He's doing very well. W. and J. came to church today. I think J. enjoyed it. He said he wants to come back next week. It's now 4:33pm in Virginia. I just finished my first call home after being away from my family since March 29, 2006.

When talking with S. yesterday, I mentioned that as missionaries we get to call home on Mother's Day and Christmas. S. said that surprised her. She said she knew that we were big on family. She said she was amazed that we could not call home every day. I tried to explain that it was so we could focus more on the work and not what is going on at home. I now realize how true that statement is.

Hearing their voices, I realized how much I miss my family. Writing letters home is fine because I don't feel like I'm right there. If we called home even once a week, guaranteed more missionaries would go home early. Hearing your families voices does something to you. At least it did something to me. I don't know. Every missionary is different. Some might get homesick by reading weekly emails. All I know is that I do a lot better at writing letters.

Day 46- Mother's Day Eve-Teaching Moments-5/13/06

Today was a pretty good day. Right now, all I can think about is calling home tomorrow. I know I'm supposed to feel excited, and I am. It's just that I'm excited like a two year old who knows it's Christmas tomorrow. He is excited. He is just not really sure why. I know I get to call home and I'm excited. I just don't know what to expect or how to feel.

Met with S. today (40ish mom investigator). We didn't talk long. Maybe about 30 minutes. Believe me, with S. a half an hour is a short meeting. We talked about her past. She grew up in an atheist family but found Jesus at the young age of 12 and has read the Bible ever since. When she was 18, her friend, who was a member of the church, gave her a Book of Mormon. Thinking that if it talked about Jesus, it must be good, she took it. When she brought the book home, her mom flipped out. She said it was a devil book, the Mormons were a cult, etc. I could go on. S. was surrounded by atheism (her dad and step mom) and religious fanaticism(her mom). There was damage done. She is still wary about the Book of Mormon. We are meeting in her LDS neighbor's home on Tuesday. I can't wait.

We also taught a young man from China by the name of J. He lives with two other men from China. There names are M. and V. They are so awesome. I went there all set to teach the first lesson. We hadn't been there 5 minutes when he raised his hand. "What's your question?" , I asked. "What are your souls?" he asked me. I realized at that point that we would not be talking about Joseph Smith that day. We started from the beginning. In times like these, it's best to lead with the Plan of Salvation.

We answered their questions about Jesus Christ. All they knew about Jesus is what they learned from watching Mel Gibson's "Passion of the Christ". We told them about the importance of the Atonement. We watched a movie with them called, "Finding Faith in Christ" in Chinese with English subtitles. J. wants to come to church with us tomorrow. His room mates said that they were too busy. We'll keep trying.

Well, Mother's Day is tomorrow. I can't wait!

Hit and Run

Day 43-P-day-Today the other missionaries and I are at the park. There's a volleyball court, basketball court, and a large oak tree. I'm sitting under the tree writing in my journal, listening to classical music and watching the other missionaries play sports. I feel very relaxed. I'm going to go ahead and write some letters home. Well, I ended up playing some volleyball at the zone activity. That was pretty fun. If left to my own devices, I don't think I'd ever play a sport. No, you've just got to ask me because it is not in my nature. I like to sit in the shade, listen to music, read, write, draw. That's the life.

Day 44-I got a taste of what I can expect this summer in the humidity department. Going out today, it felt like swimming with your church clothes on, only no water, just the humidity. The water in the air was so thick. It also rained again. Really hard this time. Our dinner appt. took us to TGIFridays. I had a great dinner and dessert. It was called Oreo Madness. It was yummy. It started raining as soon as we sat down. By the time we left it was pouring.

We also got in earlier than we should have. None of our evening appointments were home. The only people we did talk to tonight, we did not plan on. We went to see W. and T. T. is going in for surgery tomorrow morning. We gave him a blessing that all would go well with his operation.

Day 45-5/12/06 Today was a special exchange with Elder Bailey. First some background:
I've been meaning to write this in here since it happened. I was just waiting until I got more information.

(Day 41 I was in charge, remember) Well, Elder Buttars(my comp.) was with Elder Bailey in Reston. Elder Bailey was going down this hill about 20 miles an hour. All of a sudden, this car pulls out from behind a bush at the bottom of the hill. Elder Bailey slams on his brakes which have been tightened up by Elder Buttars earlier that day. His bike comes to a halt and Elder Bailey goes flying over his handlebars. He hit the car.

This is an account from Elder Buttars: Elder Bailey hit the side of the car with his head. He dented the left rear door pretty badly. He also hit it with his left arm and right fist. The driver got out and was upset about his car. Then he sees Elder Bailey lying on the ground and asked if he was okay. To my surprise, the driver then gets back in his car and drives off!

Elder Baily is rushed to the hospital. Elders B&B are at the hospital from 6:00 pm until midnight.

As a result of the accident, Elder Bailey has been confined to his apartment until he recovers. His companion was getting a little cabin fever. A missionary needs to be out teaching, not sitting around. I'm glad we don't have back to back p-days. It seems like too much time would go by with out anything getting done. Well, that is how it was for Elder Oram. (my comp on day 41) Elder Bailey, who thankfully did not get any broken bones, was sore all over and could not be up and out. So I stayed with Elder Bailey and Elder Buttars went out with Elder Oram. It was still a productive day for me. I memorized some scriptures I need for certification. I still need to pass them off to Elder Buttars. I'm tired tonight. Good night.

Day 42-Together Again and a Testimony-5/9/06

Stand and report. Today I'm back where it all started. I'm reunited with Elders Thatcher, Patton, and Francom, my companions at the MTC. We came together to talk about our experiences we've had in our first 2 1/2 weeks in the mission field. It is great to see them all again. I'm the only one of our MTC group that does not have a car. Elder Thatcher and Elder Francom are both in areas with cars. Elder Patton is in a car/bike area. I'm the only one on a bike. I don't mind, though. I like my bike.

I told my MTC Elders about something that happened to me yesterday with Elder Oram. It was on our way home when we stopped and talked to this man. This was a strange man. He had a big white cowboy hat, a white mustache, very animated moments. He said, "I think it is great what you are doing; sharing the gospel of Jesus." We gave him a pass-along card for a Book of Mormon. He took it and said, "Thank you." We said that the Book of Mormon was a true book of scripture and that he could find out for himself by..." "I don't doubt it," he said. Then he told us, "Ya know, the funny thing about truth? One minute it's here in your hand," he held up the pass along card we gave him, "and the next, it's gone." He snapped his fingers and the card disappeared! He was doing magic tricks with the pass-along cards! He promised that he would call the number and read the book. I wish all of my street contacts were that entertaining.

I also told the Elders about a woman we tracted into yesterday. We knocked on this woman's door while tracting. We told her we were missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She was rather rude to us. She said, "I'm already in a religion." In Virginia, you meet a lot of people in different religions. I'm going to have to start writing them down. Anyway, I asked her what her religion was. She snapped back, "that's none of your business!" and slammed the door. That wasn't a great teaching moment. I did not get to share my testimony with her.

It did teach me how you can know what the true church is like. If your church is the true church, if it has blessed your life and given you hope and joy, then I think you'd tell everyone you meet about how it has changed your life for the better. If someone came up to me and asked me what my religion is, I'd say:

"I'm a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I know that through the answers to my prayers to Heavenly Father there is a prophet of God that receives revelation for the whole world on how we can be more Christ-like and what we need to do to keep God's commandments. The Book of Mormon is a record made and kept by prophets that lived on the American continent. It is another testimony of the love Jesus Christ has for all of us. It is His doctrine. It is His gospel. It is the most complete of all books of scripture. You can learn more about what our purpose on the earth is and what our potential is in the worlds to come by reading the Book of Mormon. I know that Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon through the power of God. He was a prophet of God. The church is true. I could not imagine my life without the Book of Mormon. If all I had was the Bible, do you realize how many questions would be left unanswered? The time I spend reading the Book of Mormon is some of my favorite moments on my mission. I learn so much every time I read it. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Day 41-Exchange of Doom-5/8/06

Who's the Boss? I am for the first time. I'm being left in charge on exchanges. Pray for Elder Oram, my companion for the day. He's being led by me. Elder Buttars is going with Elder Bailey and I'm in charge. I don't have a clue on how to get to people's houses. I've always followed Elder Buttars. to places. I don't know if I can do this. I have their addresses, but getting there is another story. On top of it all, it looks like it's going to rain.

Well, it rained. It wasn't a hard rain, more of a light drizzle. It was the kind of day that was made for sitting by a warm fire, listening to some soft classical music playing in the background, curled up under a big, warm, downey blanket, sitting in a comfy chair by the window and hearing the rain lightly fall outside, reading a good book, some hot cocoa...

It wasn't as bad as all that, though. I learned my area's color code system. I also learned how to find my way around using a map, so that was a good thing. Tomorrow most of the day for me is going to be interviews, I'm told.

Day 40-Stake Conference-5/7/06

Day 39-Uhh...Busy day. Tomorrow is Sunday! Busy day but not much to report.

Day 40-Today was Stake Conference. We got our investigator, W. to come with us. He said he enjoyed it and wants his son T. to come sometime. Stake Conference here was different from OK. In fact, it was different from how it normally is here. It was a televised broadcast from Salt Lake City. Speakers included M. Russell Ballard and Thomas S. Monson. I was glad that Washington was able to come. The speakers all gave great talks.

We heard a talk by Bishop E. that I really liked. He talked about death and hardships. This is a subject that I understand but have a hard time teaching it to people that might be facing trials.

He told us of a time he was asked to meet with a couple in the stake whose 5 year old daughter had recently drowned in a pool accident. The little girl went to visit her grandma. While the parents were there, she wandered outside and fell in the pool. The mother blamed herself for letting her child wander off. She and her husband had waited nine years for a child. Then the Lord had blessed them with this little girl. Their child was the reason that she and her husband became active in the church again.

The father was mad at God. He could not understand why the Lord didn't do something to save his little girl. Why didn't the Lord prompt him to check on her to make sure she was okay? Why did this have to happen?

The reason is, God could have saved this little girl. He could save us all from pain while on this earth, but that was not the plan. The book of Job talks about all of the trials that Job went through. How the devil gave him these boils and sores and all manner of afflictions to get Job to curse the Lord. To make him resent the Lord. Job does not, however. He is mocked and cursed by everyone and asked why he does not denounce the Lord that has forsaken him. Job did not enjoy his tribulations while on the earth, but he understood the plan. He was blessed later in his life.

The plan (this is the part of Bishop E.'s talk that I liked the most) was set up by our Heavenly Father who told us that we would come down to earth and suffer pain, trials, hardships, afflictions, and even death. By ourselves it was impossible for us to return to live with our Heavenly Father and receive perfected bodies. Our Heavenly Father then talked about Jesus Christ who would come down and loose the bands of physical and spiritual death. (this is the line I really like)"The one who came down and made it all right." Knowing that no matter what happens to us in this life, no matter what trials and hardships we have, there is One who can make it all right in the end.

D&C 121:7-8 "My son, Peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; and then if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes."

There was a lot more to his talk and many other good talks at conference. If I have time to expound more on them, I will. It's hard to find the time to write a whole talk in here.

Day 38- Zone Meeting Pt. 2-5/5/06

Zone Conference notes continued:

President B. talked about the 4th Book of Nephi and how the rise and fall of the Nephites is described in 4 pages! Read 4th Nephi when you have the time. It's an amazing book in the Book of Mormon.

Verses 3,5,11,13, and 15 in 4th Nephi are all good scriptures about how the Nephites prospered in the land when they did not contend with each other "because the love of God dwelled in the hearts of the people."

There was no contention amongst the people. How critical is the impact of contention against the success of our work? How critical was contention against the success of the Nephites? After Jesus Christ left the Nephites, how long did they remain free of contention? We read in 4th Nephi 24 that in the 201st year something happened. What emerged in the 201st year that began to unravel the peace of the people? PRIDE

What is the connection between pride and contention?

When we are lifted up in pride, we are focused on what we want and contend with anyone who says different. If, on our missions, we strive to do what is expected of us and not what we want, we'll be better missionaries. I'm trying to keep what I want, what is expected of me. Pride is gratifying our selfish desires. Don't be lifted up in pride.

Luke 15:11-32 The parable of the Prodigal Son. Notice where the pride and contention was? The prodigal son was prideful until he ran out of money. He then humbled himself and wished to return to his father not as a son, but as a humble servant. The father, so glad to see his son return home, held a huge party in his honor. When the older son learned that his brother was getting a party, "he was angry and would not go in... (Luke 15:28). He could not understand why his father would celebrate the return of the disobedient son and not honor him for his obedience.

I've always thought that the real point of the prodigal son was the older brother. It's a great story about how the prodigal son humbles himself and the power of forgiveness, but I want to focus on the father and the older brother. Are we like the father who is happy to see his wayward son return promising to be a better person? Or are we like the older brother who still remembers all the bad things his brother did and won't let him forget?

"The Lord has accepted him back. Why can't you?" This is a quote from L. Tom Perry who encourages us to forget the past actions of those who are willing to change.

On your mission the biggest spot of contention isn't arguing with a contact. It isn't getting doors slammed in your face. The most dangerous place on your mission can be your own apartment. When you get inside, you are tired. It's been a hard day of missionary work. You relax, let your guard down. That is when contention can rear it's ugly head. Don't let it be factor for you and your companion. Don't harp on your companions faults. If you invite the spirit of contention, that is when Satan is there with his fiery (lawn) darts. (Elder Pierce draws a cartoon of Satan smiling as he hurls fiery lawn darts at two missionaries. "Elder, I'm tired of you leavin' your dirty dishes in the sink! Wash 'em and put 'em away!" "Oh, yeah, Well, you can stop leavin' your clothes on the floor! Put 'em in a laundry bag!" Don't be like this the caption says. Elder Pierce assures us that he is nothing like this.)

I'm reminded of "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou..."

Gov'ner Pappy O'Daniel: "It sounded like he was harboring some hateful grudge against the Soggy Bottom Boys on account of their rough and rowdy past. Sounds like Homer Stokes is the kinda fella wants to cast the first stone. (Crowd Boooo's) Well, I'm with you folks. I'ma forgive and forget Christian. And I say if these boys rambunctiousness and misdemeanerin' is behind 'em,...(it is, ain't it boys?) (uh, yes sir.) Well, by the power vested in me by the great state of Mississippi, these boys is hereby pardoned!" (One of several movie lines that members of our family has memorized)

It was a big day for my companion, Elder Buttars. They asked at zone conference who had been in bike areas the longest. Elder Buttars has been on a bike for 13 months. He got an award for his many miles of cycling. He got a box of Cracker Jacks. His companion (me) got one, too, so that was fun.

Day 38-Zone Meeting Pt. 1-5/5/06

Today is zone conference. I don't know what to expect. My companion says that they are really good. If I hear any missionary tips, I'll write them in here.

The concluding message President B. left us with was "Be One". D&C 38:27 says, "...I say unto you, be one; and if ye are not one, ye are not mine."

What are the fruits of being one? In WWII the German army's blitzkrieg worked as one to take control of France. I thought about Walt Disney's Victory Through Air Power. How the German planes would take down the defenses, thereby opening a way for the tanks to get to the heart of the city. After his talk, I talked to President B. about this. He said that we could learn much from our enemies. We can use our own talents to achieve a common objective. The tanks would not have gotten very far without the planes to clear the way. Just as the planes by themselves could not do it alone without the tanks controlling the ground forces. By using this same philosophy, we can be better missionaries by working together and using our own strengths to help others.

He also told the parable of the bickering brothers. Now, he didn't say it quite like this, but I have Smothers Brothers on the brain.

A farmer had 4 sons. They were a quarrelsome bunch. They were always fighting. "Fight!Fight!Fight!" And they were always bickering. "Bicker! Bicker! Bicker!" And there was contention among them. So the farmer called his sons together and said, "My sons, go and gather me some sticks." They went and brought many sticks to their father. He told them, "You, my sons are like these small sticks. As you go through life you will face many hardships." He gave unto each of his sons a stick and asked them to break it.

After they had broken their stick, he said, "alone the sticks are very weak." He then took 4 more sticks and bound them tight with strong rope and said unto his sons, "Now, break the sticks." They took turns trying to break them. After they had all tried, they said, "Father, we can not break the sticks." "My sons," said the father, "as this bundle of sticks stood firm and would not break, so shall you stand firm through trials as long as you work together!" The brothers resolved to work in harmony and cease to contend one with another. The moral of this story is that if you stick together, you can make a bundle."

President B. asked us what the word "Juggernaught" meant to us. Needless to say, a young missionaries thoughts turned to X-Men. One of them even raised his hand and said, "Juggernaught is a mutant on the X-Men. His powers include invincibility, super human strength and endurance." President B. thought for a moment. "Strength and endurance. An unstoppable force. A juggernaught." That is what we need to be as missionaries. We need to be unstoppable. We must always be engaged in a good cause. We can't be discouraged if we encounter hardships on our missions. We need to keep going.

Day 37-Bike stuff-5/4/06

Today I got some stuff for my bike. It wasn't p-day, but it was on the way home from where we were, so we stopped in and got some supplies. I got a new seat for my bike which I can not wait to try. My other bike seat is rock hard. Not a lot of fun. I also got some fenders for my bike. This will keep the mud from splashing up on me. Just in time, too. I hear we're supposed to get some rain any day now.

Day 36-P-day Pt. 2- The Zoo-5/3/06

I went to the Smithsonian National Zoological Park in Washington D.C. today. First the bad news. I'm gonna need a more permanent camera. Disposable ones are expensive. I ran out of film early in the zoo trip. We saw some bald eagles. I was only two feet away from a bald eagle and didn't have a camera. Elder Buttars said he would make me some copies from his digital camera. We did see some pretty neat animals, though. The cheetahs, for instance, were fun to watch. There was this little red flag, tied to a rope, which went all around the cheetah enclosure. When the switch was turned on, the red flag would zip around the track and they would chase after it. Watching them you got the feeling that they were no different than house cats. I mean, they were huge cats, but still...

We also saw in the Amazon exhibit, some of the strangest fish I have ever seen in my life. Some of them I thought for sure had to have been from other plants. One of them was huge. It was long and had the weirdest head.

We saw the elephants and giraffes. We go to the zoo at noon. The weather was perfect. One of the first things we saw was the pandas. The best this was that it was not crowded at all. The baby panda was up a tree. It looked so adorable.

It was a pretty good zoo. Not as big as I thought it would be. I like the aquatics area back home better. More exhibits. I could sit and watch the fish all day. That is what I'd like to do sometime. Go to the biggest aquarium in the U.S. and just sit, listen to classical music and watch the fish swim by...

Day 36-P-day Pt.1 Can You Speak English?5/3/06

This will most likely be my last entry...today. We are going to the zoo for p-day. We can only go once a mission.

Well, I brought my journal with me. Since we are going to the zoo by bus, I'll have time to write some of those things that I've seen or heard that I haven't had time to write yet.

I'll relate the story I heard last night from our investigator, W. We visited him and his son in their new apartment which we helped them move into. He told us about his travels. He lived in Kenya until the mid 80's. He came to America and worked in Dallas for a while. He has been all over.

He told us about how the French's reputation for rudeness was on the money in his opinion. He said he had observed that if an American spoke to a French person in English, they would be ignored. That was what happened to W. He was at a French airport and could not find his plane. He asked people for help at the airport, but he did not ask in French, so he was given the cold shoulder. Realizing that he would not get anywhere this way, he walked up to a French flight attendant and asked for help in his native language of Swahili. The Frenchman, not familiar with this language, became concerned. "Sir! Sir!", he said. "I can't understand you. Do you know any other languages? Can you speak English?" (smile) "A little," W. said. Relieved, the flight attendant talked to him in English and helped him catch his flight. A pretty good story, I think.

I like W. He is from Kenya, has a wife and 4 children. Two boys and two girls. His oldest son, T. had his head injury in America. W. is staying here until he gets better.

He's in his mid-40's. He is very intelligent and very humble. A rare combination. I love his accent. He's got this Kenyan accent and this deep voice that makes him sound like James Earl Jones. I also love to hear him pray. He is so sincere and humble in his prayers to our Heavenly Father. He is thankful for the missionaries being in his and T's life. He's thankful for the Book of Mormon and how it talks of the gospel of Jesus Christ and what we need to do in this life to return to live with Heavenly Father. That is the prayer, as a missionary, that you never get tired of hearing from investigators.

We're still working on the concept of Joseph Smith. It isn't that he does not believe the story of the prophet. He just needs to understand his life more. We're taking W. and T. to the D.C. Temple visitors center to an African Heritage Festival after the zoo. Later, I hope to see that new movie, "Joseph Smith-Prophet of the Restoration".

Day 35-An investigator-5/02/06

I really haven't given our investigator S. (40ish year old mom of 3)enough mention. She's great. I forgot to mention that I called her after church last Sunday to set up a time to come over this week. She told me how she had thought about what I told her last week. Her main question, because she had a lot of them, was, "Why is authority so important"?

Elder Buttars telling her about being baptized by the proper authority really shook her up. Last Sunday Sister H.(S.'s next door neighbor) got up and told the story about how she used to live in Nebraska. When there was a tornado warning, the sirens would sound. Really loud. She compared us (my companion and me) to that siren. She said that her friend came to her upset and crying. She said that the missionaries had come and talked to her and she had been thinking about what we said. She said that she only wanted to do what God wanted. Sister H. said that she was worried that we had blown it with this investigator because Elder Buttars talked so bluntly about proper authority. Sister H. said later as she thought about it, she realized that what we had said was for the best because maybe S. needed to hear that bold statement in order to really ponder it and want to know more. Just as you would not pay attention to a "quiet tornado siren", missionaries need to be bold sometimes to get through to someone. Strike a nerve, so to speak.

When I called her two days ago, it was to set up a date for another lesson. I ended up talking to her for 81 minutes. S. told me how she had talked with Sister H. about us on Monday. She said how on Thursday she went to Arby's for lunch. Right as she sat down to eat, she saw 4 missionaries walk through the door. "All right, God", she said, "what are you trying to tell me?"

I was able to answer some of her questions over the phone. She had a lot more though. I told her to save them and I would answer them when I saw her. I want to be careful when teaching her the lessons, though. "Line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little, there a little. (2 Nephi 28:30 and Isaiah 28:10) I feel like a fireman who is asked to fill up a china tea cup with a firehose. If she hears too much at once, it'd be hard to fix. We give her one principle at a time, make sure she understands it, then move on to the next one. It's a lot to take in.

(Elder Pierce drew a cartoon of two missionary "firemen" trying not to fill up a china tea cup with too much water all at once. Drip. Drip. Drip. "Okay, Elder Buttars, gimme a little more pressure...not too much! Just a little".)

Today we are going over to her house to teach some more.

Well, the teaching experience went all right, I suppose. We met in the H.'s home and shared the message of the restoration. We didn't get around to talking about Joseph Smith, however. S. had a lot of questions about the Apostasy that we answered. We'll get more into the restoration next lesson. Ending at the Great Apostasy is a better cliff-hanger than the end of the 4th Harry Potter book and that is saying something.

Day 34-The Bike Lesson-5/01/06

As it turns out, these companionship exchanges are a regular thing. It's 10:30 in the morning. Elder Buttars and I are waiting for the other Elders to show up. Oh, wait, here they are.

The time: 1:30pm. The place: Elder Bailey's(my companion exchange) apartment. I am in a different area today. It's very hilly here compared to my home area. These hills are murder to come up. A lot of fun to come down, though. At least they were...until I crashed. I crashed my bike, but what a glorious crash.

There I was at the top of this hill. My companion had already gone down and was just barely in sight. I started to follow him down the hill. Now, I'm entering into a forest. Picture the moon of Endor from the Return of the Jedi when Luke and Leia are racing through the trees. It was something like that. Elder Bailey informed me later that I was going over 30 miles per hour down that hill.

So, I'm zooming along, speeding down the hill when I look up. My new companion had turned. I was sure of that. The question I asked myself was, "which way?"

I'm coming up fast on the fork at the bottom of the hill. Left? Right? Left? Right? I am reminded of the words of Yogi Berra, or maybe it was Yogi Bear. No matter. One of them said, "In life, when you come to a fork in the road, take it." So, I did...

Everything slowed down as I crashed. It seemed like I was in the air for an hour.
What was the damage, you ask? When I crawled out of the thick underbrush, I checked myself for ticks. You can never be too careful...Wait, what am I saying? I didn't check myself for ticks. I checked myself for injuries. It wasn't too bad. Aside from the cuts and scraps along my arms, the only thing that hurt was my right leg. I bruised it. I'm lucky (read blessed) that my bike didn't land on me or me on it. If that had happened, I'd really have had some injuries. Fortunately, the ground broke my fall.

The worst thing about this experience isn't the bruise on my leg. When I landed, I rolled on the ground for a while until I lost my momentum. I got up and I had this big, thick, green grass stain up the left sleeve of my shirt. Elder Buttars informed me that the whole back of my shirt was green also.

In the end I ended up changing into one of Elder Oram's shirts. (Elder Oram is Elder Bailey's companion). Mine is in the washer (shirt, not companion). Elder Oram is about my size. All in all a pretty eventful day.

Day 33-Sunday-4/30/06

So busy. Can't. Write. All. The Awesome. Things. That. Happened. Today.

Busy, busy day. Day of rest, my eye. Not for two years. We helped W. and his son T. move. If you are keeping score, that is 2 moves for me in two days. W. also came with us to church. There are few feelings that I've felt in my life that can compare with sitting next to W. in the Gospel Doctrine class. We learned about the Priesthood, where it comes from, why it's important, and how we can get it.

It was great to watch him paying close attention and taking notes. He learned a lot about the Aaronic and Melchizedek priesthood. T. didn't come to church though. I think he was still self conscience about his head gear. We are going to try to take them to the Washington D.C. Temple Visitors Center on Wednesday.

Day 32-A Good Day-4/29/06

I'm very tired. It seems that most of my entries start out like this. Today we helped a member and her family move. It's just as fun as it sounds. That took up most of our morning. Fortunately, lunch was provided.

The big thing that happened is that we taught a man named W. He's from Kenya. He's been in the United States about a year. We met him about 6 days ago. This is when it was raining. We came by to see his sister-in-law who was not at home at the time. We were dripping wet. He invited us in and asked us to "warm ourselves". We explained why we came and asked if hed be interested in hearing our message about Jesus Christ.

We told him about the restoration and about the Book of Mormon. He listened. He did not ask many questions, but he did understand what we were talking about. We asked if we could come back later and teach him more. He said that would be all right. We went over today to check on him and his son. I forgot to mention his son T. who is in his late teens. He is recovering from a head injury he got when he fell out of a tree. He is in-between surgeries and has to wear a special helmet to protect his head. He's a little self aware of it and is uncomfortable going out in public.

GREENIE MISTAKE that ONLY Elder Pierce in his warped mind would make. I brought up concerns when we were teaching a discussion. We were sitting there reading 3Nephi 11. Elder Buttars, D., W. and T. and me. Oh, dear, I should introduce D. I haven't gotten to know him very well yet. He is a member. He came to visit with us. He's from Ghana and a convert to the church. He has a very strong testimony of the Book of Mormon I found out tonight.

So, anyway, we were discussing 3 Nephi 11. We're going along at a good clip. The spirit is there. We come to the last few verses. 3 Nephi 11: 39-40.

Now, when you are a missionary, you are told about certain questions that you as a missionary will have to find answers to. One of these questions is: "How can the Book of Mormon be scripture when in Revelation 22:18-19 it says, "If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues..." Non-members use this to say, "see, there, it says right in the Bible that you can't have any other books of scripture besides the Bible."

With all due respect, they don't understand the scripture. If they read that scripture in Revelation... (and it is Revelation, not Revelations. Bro. C. taught us that at the MTC and repremanded anyone who added the "s".)...if they read that scripture, I will politely ask them to turn to the book of Moses called Deuteronomy. Look up chapter 4 verse 2. I forgot. I need to set up the background of the scripture. Make sure it's in the right context. This is Moses talking to the children of Isreal in the Old Testament :

Deut: 4:2 "Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it..."

So you tell them, "well, it says basically the same thing in Deutoronomy that it says in Revelation. If you want to follow the letter of the law as you see it, we'd have to get rid of all but the first 5 books of the Old Testament."

They might say after reading, "No Deuteronomy is different from Revelations." They would say Revelations because they don't know to drop the "s". It's different because Moses is telling them not to add or take away from the commandments that God gave them. It's not talking about adding to the Bible being bad." Did you hear that folks? Adding to the Bible not being bad?

So Deut. wasn't talking about the whole Bible then?" I ask. "No", they say. Then I would say, "So, what you are saying is that Moses was just talking about not adding to his book, the one with the commandments. He didn't have a problem with the other books like Psalms, Jeremiah, even New Testament books like Matthew, Mark, Luke, John and Revelation, and so forth?" "Yeah", they'll say. He was just saying don't change what he wrote about the commandments."

"Well", I'll say. "I agree with you" and just to drive the point home, turn with me to Deut. 12:32. This is the Lord talking. "What thing soever I command you, observe to do it; thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it."

Then all you have to do is point out how in the Book of Revelation, which was written by John the Divine, how he refers to "this book". Explain how "this book" just like in Deut. means the one book and not the whole Bible. Like Moses, John wanted to stress that as long as the writings in his book remained unchanged it would be true scripture. Some people tried to change the writings of the scriptures, adding things to the books or removing things that they did not agree with. He was not writing that message about not adding to the Bible, but only his book.

Why did I talk about this? Oh yeah...so anyway, it says the same thing in 3 Nephi 11:39-40 as it does in Revelation and Deut about not adding to this book. I stopped the lesson to explain what those verses meant. All it did at first was to add confusion. (Greenie moment). But, looking back now, I think it helped to show the importance of the scriptures being translated correctly. My companion requested that I refrain from introducing conflicting scriptures. He's glad that I know how to answer them, but to only explain them if the investigator brings it up.

Day 31-Investigator Hunt-4/28/06

If I don't talk with someone today, I think I'll go crazy! I'm still at Elder Spencer's place. It is 7:35am and I'm eating breakfast. It's starting to feel less like a mission and more like a 2 year long Easter Egg Hunt. (Elder Pierce drew a detailed picture of missionaries out in a field hunting for investigators. "Hey, Elders! I found one!")

You think I might be kidding. I'm telling you if it weren't for the cars driving past us everywhere, I'd think we were in a ghost town. I'm going back to Elder Buttars in a couple of hours. If I don't talk to someone by this evening, I'll go crazy!!!

Well, I didn't go crazy. I talked to some people on the street today. They weren't interested in the church and they did not want a Book of Mormon, but I did get to talk to someone!!!

I'm tired now, so good night.

Day 30-Splits-4/27/06

A mission. Exciting and new. Come aboard. We're expecting you!

Today I went on missionary exchanges. If you don't know what these are, that is where you split from your companion and go with a different companion to another area of the mission.

My new companion for the day was Elder Spencer. I think I may have forgotten to mention this, but my comp. Elder Buttars is my district leader. He has a lot of responsibility. He has to get information every night from the missionaries in our district and give it to our zone leader. Elder Spencer is our zone leader. He then takes the information from our zone and gives it to the mission office.

Elder Spencer is keeping me very busy. I can't help but notice that I am being paired with Elders who wield authority in this mission. Either they are putting me with those leaders so that I can learn from them for when I am a leader, or I need so much help that they can only pair me with their best people. Neither idea bodes too well.

Elder Spencer gets to drive a car. Such are the perks of the zone leader. It was a nice break from my bike to get to ride shotgun. After lunch we helped move these members who are selling their house. After that it was a pretty blank day. No one was home. We kept tracting every house we saw. Everyone was at work. This is a hard area. You can hardly find anyone to talk to.

I'm very tired. I'm spending the night with Elder Spencer and going back to Elder Buttars in the morning. I miss my apartment with the huge stereo system. Five cd changer. Beautiful. Beautiful. I could not bring it with me. I'm just very glad it is there.

Day 29-First P-day in the Field-4/26/06

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood. I'm out at the tennis courts by our house enjoying the glorious spring day with my companion and another set of Elders from our zone. They are running around the tennis courts throwing a football. It's the weirdest thing I've ever seen. They got bored with tennis and switched to football. I thought I'd take the time to write some of the things I saw during my first week in the field.

To tell you the truth, I feel like drawing something. I'm going to make those labels for my cd's. I'll try to write later. (elaborate drawing of a tennis court with Elders passing a football). Sorry, I guess even p-days are too busy to write as much as I'd like. I'll just save this for another day.

Day 28-No, Thank You, We're Catholic-4/25/06

Tomorrow is my first real p-day in the field, but enough about tomorrow. Let's focus on today!

Today my companion and I knocked on some doors. Now the last thing I want to do is to put down someone else's religion, but, well, almost every single member of the Catholic church that I have seen is so short tempered with us Mormons. This one woman told us to get off her property! Anything that is peddled by the missionaries is treated like the plague. I know it's an unfair generality, but I haven't met one person that has said, "I'm sorry. We're Catholic, but we think it is great how you guys go around talking about the Savior". Not one. All we get is a curt, "We're Catholic. Not interested." SLAM!

I'd never do this, but I am tempted to say when they answer the door, "Hello. We are representatives of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and we've come to share a message about-" "No thank you, we're Catholic." You're Catholic?!" "Yes". "Well, admitting it is the first step to recovery." SLAM!

Day 27-Tracting-4/24/06

I'm getting much better at riding my bike. I still have a hard time following the street signs, but fortunately my companion, Elder Buttars has been in this area for three months. He will probably be transferred in 6 weeks. I should know the area better by then.

I'm tired. It's starting to feel like all we do is tract neighborhoods. Not that I mind tracting. It just doen't seem that we get enough doors slammed in our faces. You might think that an odd thing to say and you would be right. The reason I say that is because, for me, it is better than nothing. We are now in the habit of knocking, waiting nicely, nobody answers, we move on to the next house and repeat.

I don't know. I guess what it boils down to is that I want to TALK to people. It's not hard to talk to them about the gospel. Finding them is the hard part.