I got a call from president a few days back and he told me that I will receive my companion, Elder Jolley, tomorrow. I am a little sad to leave Elder Cardenas, but mostly excited to meet Elder Jolley.
Yesterday we had the baptism of Oscar. I was super surprised how smoothly things went. The water worked, everyone was happy, there was a visitor in the ward who could play the piano 100x better than me. It was great to have a Sunday where I can actually go to a class and learn something. I usually am running around during church giving blessings, setting up lunch, making sure investigators are comfortable, filling the baptismal font, making sure the sacrament is ready, and so on. It was good to have a chill Sunday. The baptism of Oscar was real good. I gave him the only baptismal clothes that would fit him, a white jumpsuit, and he refused to put it on because he "looked like a telly tubbie" in it. We negotiated for about 5 minutes and we agreed that he would wear the jumpsuit if he could put a white shirt over the top. Thank goodness he agreed. I always love the feeling of baptisms. It's just so warm and reminds me, in the best way possible, of primary for some reason. Oscar was so happy, and you could see it in his countenance.
This week was real good, but really different and hard. Up till this point in my mission I have had companions who have been totally easy to get along with. Elder Cardenas and I didn't really have that same fluidity together. I have always felt and believed that I can get along with almost anyone in the world, no problem. To clash a little with a companion was a totally new and foreign experience for me. It taught me so many things, the most important being that I have so many faults and imperfections that need work. Elder Cardenas is a great guy and he is gonna be a great missionary. Luckily, we were able to work out our differences, and there is a better understanding between us now. When I talked with President the other day, I told him about my experience with Elder Cardenas and he told me two things that helped me a ton.: 1. "Thinking that the other person is the problem is the problem." and 2. When every Elder is about to go home, he has a final interview with the mission President. In this interview, the mission President always asks, "Which of your companions helped you grow the most?" he said that he is always surprised by the answer that he gets to this question, because almost every time he asks this question, the missionaries tell him the name of a companion that he knows was difficult for them. When we are stuck with someone who is hard to get along with, we are constantly trying to make small improvements that will help the situation. If we make all these small improvements always, eventually we will have made a huge change for the better in our lives. I only had one week and 5 days with Elder Cardenas, but I believe that I learned a ton in this short time and made a change in the way I treat other people. For that reason, I am a little sad to see Elder Cardenas go. But for the same reason, I am a little happy to see Elder Cardenas go.
I love what I am doing, and know I am where I am supposed to be.
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