Ramos Mejia- Week #49

I'm a House Elf

Hey Mom and Dad, and others…

That is crazy to hear all that news about Elder Nelson and all; also I am glad to hear that the California trip went well. My week was pretty eventful, so sit back, read carefully and try to keep up, because I only have an hour on this thing.

So long story short, I haven’t been having the best couple of weeks, and had a few problems with my companion. The zone leaders were about ready to kill him and I had to play mediator to calm things down, and have been labeled as the most patient Elder in the zone, possibly mission, by them and others, including good old President Benton. Needless to say, with this huge torment of disappointment, frustration, and downright not having a good time, the Lord once again showed me in my life that his Arms are extended towards me. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said it perfectly when he said, “"Every time we reach out, however feebly, for Him, we discover He has been anxiously trying to reach us!" I can honestly say that is true, and I didn’t realize it until after the fact, when I looked back on how things have played out. Needless to say, I was pretty excited and anxious to have my interview last Wednesday, and I think it is safe to say that in the 40 minutes I was in the room with President Benton my life changed, or at least my outlook on life, and how I look at situations. He first congratulated me on the work I have done with Elder Latorre. He said it was no coincidence that he is with me, because there are few Elders that would be able to teach him how to work, without offending him, or causing conflicts. I have always been a pretty laid back guy, so I didn’t think much of it. I just talked more with him about everything on my mind basically. Every single little thing…and he listened…and then blew my mind with his advice and authority with which he spoke. I felt like I was sitting just talking with Dad for a while, which was exactly what I needed, and then it slowly changed into speaking directly with the Lord. I literally felt like I was in an interview with Jesus Christ, and you can’t ask for anything more than that. I can say that my testimony of the importance of Priesthood Leaders skyrocketed in that meeting. He was able to discern my thoughts and feelings, when I myself couldn’t express them in words, and then told me exactly what I needed to hear. He said that he had been praying for me all week, and he didn’t know why. So I came out of there pretty alleviated. Only to have my world rocked again not even 12 hours later…

So we leave the interview, and Elder Latorre and I work for the day and then that night, Wednesday, we get a knock on the door at about 10:20, 10 minutes before bedtime. It was the Assistants, and they wanted to talk to me. Horror struck my heart…I literally thought somebody in the family died…because you don’t just get visits like that so late.

Elder Pollock looks at me all serious and says, “Elder Gilmore, how are you?” They never speak in English to us…I am expecting the worst at this point. “We have a message for you from President”.
Me-“What happened?”
Pollock- “Well, Elder Harper is leaving the offices, and President has chosen you to take his place as Secretary!”
Me-“But Elder Sabey is secretary.”
Pollock-“There are two; you will be Secretary of Materials! Congratulations.”
Me-I don’t want to go to the offices…but ok…wait…who is my companion?”
Pollock-Elder Sab…
Me-“ELDER SABEY IS MY COMPANION!!!!! YEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH ! When do I leave?
Pollock-as soon as you are packed.

So yes, I have not been in Merlo for a week. We have to leave right now, but I will write more in the afternoon, because we have to leave…but we are in the offices and have computers! It is pretty sweet.

(part 2)

So yeah I showed up to the offices and started my work as the Secretary of Materials, and Elder Sabey from my BYU ward/MTC district is my companion, it is nuts. Basically the best way I can describe it is through a Harry Potter analogy, obviously. Let’s say that the mission is Hogwarts, Dumbledore-President Benton, the teachers-Zone leaders, District leaders- Prefects, Missionaries-Students, and now what I am, an office elder …basically we are the behind the scenes missionaries. Before, I never knew how the copies of the Book of Mormon or the pamphlets, or the materials we needed magically showed up at our meetings…but now I do because it is my job. I have a huge inventory of every single church thing you could possibly want…and that is why, the only comparison you can make to my job is…house elf…yes, I am officially a house elf of the mission. I will officially take over on Monday when transfers end/start. Other than that, I am just trying to learn everything that goes on here. People say that being in the offices stinks because you can’t work all day…but we will be changing that. Pres told us that Elder Sabey and I are in here to revolutionize how missionary work is done in the offices…and I plan on doing it. I walk around with a pen and paper all day because President Benton shoots out quotes like none other. I will start a weekly quote list.

This week’s quote is: “If it wasn´t for women, we´d probably all be living under bridges. Except there would be no bridges, because we probably wouldn´t bother to build them."Haha he is sweet.

Well that is about all the time I have for this week. I will be able to give more details next week. This is crazy because I never thought I would be an office elder. I am sure it will be a great opportunity to learn from President, and it was a real pick-me-up just when I needed it.

Well, I will write more next week.

Love, Sean