Lesson 2

Transfer Board

Zone meeting in Lapa

CAKE!!

Tennis on clay!

Hey everybody!

I got the package!! Those fruit nuggets are INCREDIBLE. Thanks for the replacement razor heads and the pens -- those things are like gold here.

I found an Oregon quarter and gave it to Irmã Miquelina (by the way, everybody here seems to go by their first name.. FYI). She gave me a Ponte 25 de Abril Escudo coin (from 1966 I think). I realized that Oregon quarters would be cool to have to give to members. It’s fun to give stuff to members. So next time you send a package or something, you should include a bunch of Oregon quarters.

So I guess this letter will include a brief description of how ridiculously incredible my birthday was last week:

So Chimarrão was really good. The location is so cool!!! We could see down into Lisboa and over Linda-A-Velha into Oeiras and the Rio Tejo onto the Atlantic. It was pretty cool eating churrasco in Portugal, especially since all the servers were Brazilian! CHURRASCÃO

Then we went over a little in Monsanto over to the tennis courts, and we played tennis on clay. It was so cool. Playing tennis felt sooooo good. I felt like a real human being – not a missionary ID. It was funny because a few people said that if we liked tennis so much that we should be careful to not let it make us “trunky.” Elder Croshaw and I were trying to define the word “trunky” today on the way back from getting groceries at Colombo, and we realized that missionaries seem to make it into an umbrella that includes anything you like as an individual. But really, we decided that playing tennis helped us feel at home. What could be a better place to feel at home than on a mission?

In my interview with President yesterday he asked the usual, “so do you have any questions,” and I finally had one! I asked him what he thought about the pernicious philosophy in the mission that “If you’re not having fun, you’re not doing it right.” I realized lately that my experience so far on the mission shows a huge flaw in my psyche, that I somehow believe that whenever I am happy or comfortable that I am not working hard enough. He referred me to the story of when Laman and Lemuel were on the boat over to the Promised Land. They “made themselves merry” so much that they became rude and lost the Spirit. Just think of how the First Presidency and Apostles probably behave themselves in a group situation.

Friday was transfer meeting and we got Subway wooo. More on transfers shortly (and you don’t want to miss it!)

On Saturday, I finally realized that the Office has been the best thing to happen to me (baptisms and etc are for the benefit of others) on the mission.

While having one of our many incredible kitchen conversations, it came to pass that Elder Croshaw and I expounded unto Elder Hobbs the greatness that really is the Office. We even taught it to him as a lesson (with all the Preach My Gospel teaching skills, committing him to look at the transfer board with us when the time came):

Basically, God is our loving Heavenly Father, and he created this world and His plan so that all of his children could be happy for eternity if they chose to follow it. He gave us the opportunity to serve as missionaries to bless our lives and the lives of others.

The office itself blesses missionaries. For the mission, this place is where the reference sheets get done, the bills get paid, the Caravela (the transferly newsletter in which we include a “wicked sweet” picture) enlightens the whole mission, we all get pizza for zone conference, etc. The office even is a blessing for the unit of office elders therein.

The good news of the office is brought about in dispensations. A dispensation is when a new office elder is called into the office, and the magic of the mission is revealed unto him for four transfers.

However, as a necessary part of being alive, we all had to fall. That is definitely true for office elders. They fall from the normal duties of a missionary, and have to work with the sweat of their brow to have time to leave the office. But this fall was necessary, and it introduces the office elder into a world where he can learn to understand the magic in the mission, as well as gaining the ability to differentiate good from evil in the mission (such as sending in your reimbursements only when they are approved versus requesting sacred tithing money unnecessarily).

The magic of the office, however, is on a whole new level that transcends that of the regular missionary. It is finer and purer, and the regular missionary, even though he frequents the office or lounges in the office on transfer day, cannot understand. The magic of the office is in the Transfer Board, the Mission Office System, the bill paying, the referral sheets, the trips to the bank, driving to your area, receiving packages the day they arrive into your hands in the office, etc. This magic is something the regular missionary cannot comprehend, even though he or she will comprehend such things later in life. The office elder gets this magic revealed unto him in the mission, even before he goes home.

Only the office elder can accept these blessings, and they must be completing their duties to the best of their abilities. To be an office elder, though, you must take upon yourself the name of either Executive Secretary or Financial Secretary. Once you take upon yourself the name of your type of office elder, you accept the office for the incredibly magical place that it is. It brings peace and joy that endures all the malice and hate from the rest of the mission. Comments such as “You guys got home at 10:00?? Fubecas!” lose their sting, because you accept the fact you are an office elder, and you had to have a late lesson because that was the only time you had to work in your area. Taking upon yourself the name of office elder (especially Financial Secretary) is a great blessing for those worthy of the title.

After your time in the world of the Office, you go to post-office life, which is the time between leaving the office and resurrecting back into Babylon. With the knowledge you have gained in the Office, you have so much advantage in this world that is to come.

Resurrection, Judgment, and the Glory of the magic all follow post-office life. Judgment follows by those who discover that you served in the office, but you will retain the magic that you gained in that time that you lived in the office. Once taking upon yourself the name of office elder, you claim and lay hold upon all the promised blessings for time and all eternity.

No joke.

We are going to give this lesson to Elder Cobb tomorrow night.

And.

TRANSFERS.

Elder Prince is going to Seixal to serve with Elder Daley from my group.
Elder Cobb (from the group below mine) is coming to serve with Elder Hobbs.
Elder Rindfleisch is finishing his mission as AP.
ELDER STOTT IS COMING IN TO REPLACE HIM AS AP!!!!

Do you have any idea how crazy awesome this is??? Elder Hobbs AND Elder Stott with me reunited in the same house. All we need is Elder Blackburn.

Elder Baldwin finishes his mission tomorrow, and he would have been going home with Elder Stott in January. He’s released honorably, three transfers early.

That’s about it for today.

I love you all, and I hope everything goes well.

I’m out of time.

ELDER LOBO