Awkward Dinner Dates (10/28/2013)

Everybody can let their baited breath out now. I didn't actually go on a date! I'm going to try really hard not to sound like a meanie in this update, because the experience I had was funny more than anything. For TL;DR readers, it's in the fifth paragraph.

Well let's start with everything that's happened so far. Last Monday was really fun. We went up to Pauls Valley to hang out with the elders up there, and afterwards we had dinner at the Hines' home. Sister Hines is a convert of about three years and LOVES to share the gospel! She used to live in the Ada Ward, but moved into Pauls Valley just around the time I showed up there. We've had dinner at her house a couple times, and last Monday was her "housewarming" where she invited friends and members from Pauls Valley as well as Ada. Okay, so THAT was a good dinner date. Not awkward! 

On Wednesday we had our Zone Conference up in Norman. That was exciting! It was Duncan Zone and Norman Zone there. President Walkenhorst and the APs were there and gave a really good training. I absolutely loved seeing people from my old zone! I got to catch up with Sister PFister and all the other missionaries that are serving in the Noble ward. They've had a couple baptisms since we've left, and the elders in Purcell are still working on some of the people that we picked up while I was there! In other news, Norman Stake had a huge boundary change. Blanchard branch became a ward (the elders serving there were in my district when I was in Noble/Purcell), and the Norman ward boundaries got shuffled around, and some of the elders/sisters serving up there have gotten swapped around, so that's been a mess. I hear the Noble ward gained members! Pauls Valley actually lost members, but luckily none of them were in me and Elder Kahawaii's proselyting area ;) Norman Zone is huge now. When I started there we had 17 missionaries. Now there are 27! Crazy. But the work is growing! 

We're still working with Tammy. We were supposed to see her an Tuesday, but she cancelled. We're encouraging them to have us come over more often so Tammy can start really progressing! We've invited her to church, so hopefully she can make it. Hopefully her mom as well! They're a great family, and we've really enjoyed working with them through all their struggles and challenges. Our area is definitely a roughneck area, that's for sure. Other than that things are as slow-going as ever. We are working with a member that lives in a nursing home named Teresa. She's got a couple friends she's working on. Teresa and her friends are a whole nother story in and of itself, so maybe next week I'll get to that story.

Thursday was interesting. That's when the awkward dinner date happened. We were taken to Pizza Hut by a member named Bro. Hill. He's an older guy that reeeeeeeaaaallllyyy needs company. Unfortunately he's single and not......close to getting remarried. He's had an interesting past with women. Regardless, we love him. He's desperately trying to get out of Sulphur and move to Moore or even Utah if he can. He tells us a lot of interesting stories about him in his youth before he was a member. Most of the stories are about women, so they aren't exactly appropriate to share with this audience ;) He's really knowledgeable in the gospel, but man he can talk your ear off!

When we were waiting for our food he kept yacking and yacking about fishing and women and the gospel and Hawaii and yodda yodda yodda. He really admires Elder Kahawaii because he's from Hawaii, and Bro. Hill used to live there. So whenever we visit him most of our conversations are about Hawaii and how much he misses it. Everytime we visit him, he always asks me, "Elder, have you ever been to Hawaii?" "Elder, have you ever gone fishing?" "Have you ever gone hunting?" "Do you know who [so-and-so] is?" I usually answer no to all his questions. You can tell we were raised in different generations. "Nope, never been to Hawaii," "I went fishing...once," "Never gone hunting, but I've shot clay pigeons," "Nope, I don't know who that is." Is my answer. Whenever I haven't done something he's done, he just frowns at me. He's asked me like, three different times if I've been to Hawaii, and when I tell him no, he says "Oh, you don't know what you're missing." Well GUESS WHAT. IT WASN'T MY DECISION TO MAKE. I didn't actually say that, but I wanted to! So I listened intently to his other stories about Hawaii, and at random he says to me "Elder, tell us about where you're from!" 

My reply was a little snarky... "Oh! You want to hear about Utah?!" 

"Well haven't you gone hunting there?"

"...No."

"But every guy in Utah goes hunting!" .......HUH?

"Not all the guys I know."

"What part of Utah are you from?"

"South Jordan, by Salt Lake."

On and on and on.... I love Bro. Hill, I really do. And I really appreciate the fact that he took us out to eat. I take it he really needed someone to talk to. We really were raised in different generations... but Pizza Hut was good!

Hahaha, well that's life. We get trainer calls this Saturday!

Love, Elder Garner

P.S. Please don't allow your next dinner date to be awkward, even if the food is delicious.