We're reimbursing for a grilled cheese maker??

Bom dia!

THANKS FOR THE PICTURES! Preston is such a stud. I really like the ties.

So I survived one more week in the office. I’m starting to get a little better acquainted with office elder life.

We did some more reimbursements, went to the zone conference in Corroios (across the river) and did pizza, cleaned up, exchanged phones, organized and mailed receipts to England, did some filing, fixed some mistakes of previous financial secretaries (one landlord was paid 300€ instead of 350€ for almost a year), got the oil changed in President’s van, got new name tags ordered, got stuff ready for the Azores zone conference, took the AP’s to the airport, sorted the old phone paraphernalia, arranged transportation money for all the missionaries, paid bills, did more reimbursements, and woke up this morning with some will to live still left over.

Zone conference on Friday wasn’t nearly as bad as the one here in Benfica. Pizza Hut finished the pizzas an hour late, and we got less whining about that than when the pizza was five minutes late here in Benfica. One of the few remaining perks of being a financial secretary, though, is that when we go get the pizza, we keep the few free breadsticks and Coke that come with it all. After all the trainings and everything, I exchanged all the phones. While doing that, Elder Blackburn came up and said I looked really stressed out and asked how I was doing. I was really stressed out, and explaining to him how the easy work of being in the office is the most stressful part of the whole job is really hard to believe sometimes. I’m glad zone conference week is done though.

WARNING: whining ahead.

I don’t think people really try to understand how hard it is to be a called, set-apart missionary and spend the vast majority of the consecrated time doing things like those listed above. To me, the office looked like fun before getting in the office – you get a car, AC, a dryer, an office, more keys, permission to talk to any missionary in the mission when you need to, etc. All the perks seemed to outweigh any monotony there could possibly be. But now that we can’t use cars on P-Day (except to do grocery shopping), there is little, if anything, to make up for everything that gets heaped onto us. It’s hard to feel like a real missionary when you don’t have time to be one. There is no article of faith that says, “We believe that a man must be called of God by prophecy to pay bills and buy pizza.” There’s no escape. Yeah, we are “just as important as any other missionary in the mission.” But what does that mean? Zone Leaders hardly have anything extra to do – a training here and there, fun divisions all over the place, and an extra phone call once a week – but they’re rewarded with a disgusting, overwhelming amount of recognition and prestige in the mission. It’s disgusting how big of a difference there is between normal missionaries and office elders, and where this difference is compensated for elsewhere in the mission, that principle of matching responsibilities with benefits that applies to everybody but the office elders. If we’re actually equal, why is it backwards for us?

Either way, I’ve discovered what seems to be “The Office Elder Complex,” which is that if you can somehow convince yourself that the job is noble and necessary, you probably won’t hate doing it nearly as much. I’m not very good at tricking myself into believing anything.

I know I’m whining a lot. I know. But I would rather that you knew what was going on in my head than trying to trick you. That’s not how I roll.

With all of this, though, we had a street meeting on Saturday which was awesome. We had about 12 missionaries at the Oriente station (FIND PICTURES ONLINE!) contacting people like crazy. We gave out videos, copies of the Book of Mormon, pamphlets – it was a bonanza.

Church on Sunday was really good – I taught Principles of the Gospel about the Word of Wisdom. They had a special testimony meeting for all the members who went to the Madrid temple the last week, and Joãozinho (he’s 13 and ridiculously awesome) explained how his second time in the temple was so much better than the first time – and it surprised me. Usually, the first time we go somewhere or do something is the best, and after that we just compare. With things in the church, though, they always get better. That’s something I’ve really noticed. I also had a good time remembering how awesome the temple was. Even a passing thought about the temple has the power to make preoccupation with the moment flee and eternal peace to take its place.

Monday, I had a division with Elder HOBBS! The Exec Sec area is Benfica, right around the office. It was a blast. I love Elder Hobbs.

I drove to and from our area on Sunday! I parallel parked on a hill. It was a horrible experience trying to get out.

This would have been a really short email if I didn’t complain. If you don’t think I should complain, let me know.

It’s getting better, though. We’re getting out a lot more to Alcântara, and I’m starting to accept the situation. With all the responsibilities that we have, it feels like we should be able to do something about it. But looking at Elder Prince and Elder Croshaw, it seems like the only way to enjoy the experience is to not worry about how well it gets done. I can’t think like that.

ABRAAAAAÇOS

Elder Lobo

PS: Jeff – Didn’t you serve in the office? What was it like?