I'm Michael Jordan

It was a wonderful week. My companion and I spent the rest of last Monday in our apartment. I spent four hours writing letters (and am still behind!). Tuesday, we had Zone Conference. It was wonderful! Our Mission President, President Lewis, was so great. He spoke on a few different subjects, but it was always so easy to relate everything to me. It felt so personal, so inspirational. I was surrounded by 100 missionaries, all eager to learn. There were four missionaries there from Wisconsin as well: Elder Crager (Lake Geneva), Busselberg (Hartland), myself (The Great Land of She-Bo-Bo), and Sister Oliphant (Madison). We were all very excited to talk all about home with each other. I do miss home (deep sigh).
Zone Conference focused on Becoming Converted, and we used Elder Dallin H Oaks October 2000 General Conference address. I loved it. We each wrote a talk, and I was eager to prepare it. I love the topic of conversion, because it is so personal, and so deep. It is between ourselves and God.
After Zone Conference, I once again went on exchanges to Lodi 3rd. I love it there. It seems as though all the members are huge BYU football fans. The bad thing is that I got a flat on another missionary's bicycle which caused me to wipe out in front of a speeding Waste Management truck. (No worries, I jumped clear and the bike skidded out of the trucks path.) I lived to see another day!
Which was good, because on Thursday, I had my first baptism as a missionary. Elder Busselberg baptized a 10 year old who recently moved into our area and lives right next door. Then, on Saturday, I baptized 3 members of a family who also recently moved into the area. It was beautiful to be a part of this. I have grown to love these people over the last 6 weeks, and will be saddened when I move away from Lodi.
Friday night, the power went out in much of Lodi. I was having fitful dreams anyway, but the screams from next door when the lights went black didn't help at all. I was groggy when I got up, and spent all morning helping our Ward Mission Leader move, then went on to yet another move. It was an exhausting day, and our whole apartement went to bed early that night.
I walked into church the next day and prepared for the morning meetings to find out that the primary class was celebrating President Monson's birthday. I approached the teachers and informed them that it was my birthday as well. They gave me a slice of cake that would have tilted over the leaning Tower of Piza... I could not even finish it!
One last thing: I have a story. At an undisclosed location (not my area), a companion and I decided to do our laundry at another missionary's apartment, encouraged to do so by our Zone Leaders. They were driving us over when they informed us that they would not be able to pick us up because they would be heading out of town after they did their laundry (at yet another missionary apartment). We thought this would be fine because one of the sets of Elders who lived there have a car. Well, they left early, and we were left without a ride. What could very well be a longer story (hard to believe, right?) shall be abbreviated; we ended up walking home without our laundry in a sloppy appearance that included Pumas and Vans for shoes, only one of us with a name tag, and also only one brought a belt. We were hoping (we didn't think praying would be appropriate) that no one would spot us for what we were, but less than five minutes in, 2 people had already called us out as missionaries. It was long walk home...
Well, that is about it for now (I think). I'm just getting into the War Chapters in the Book of Mormon (SO EXCITED!!). Thanks to everyone who wrote, and my letters will slowly make their way back to you.
Elder Strawn
8267 Deseret Ave
Fair Oaks CA 95628

I don't love cats (Mom's title, not Gavin's, because Gavin's was lame and had nothing to do with the post.)

I will tell you of a cat. He is a nice cat, but he was feeling a little down. He had begun to not hold down any of his food, and would sleep more than usual. While the missionaries were at his home, his brother sneaked over, due to everyone's attention being on our sickly main character, and widdled all over our friendly neighborhood missionary's wonderful Northface back pack. Yes, it smells of severe cat pee now. To end a sad story with an even sadder finish, our poor cat friend passed away Friday night. The missionaries were called over and the human servants to the cat asked them if they would pray.
So I think that means that I led a eulogy for a cat. It was a sad time, though (not simply because of my back pack). I will be getting my back pack cleaned with vinegar.
Also over by that family (who lost their cat to an early demise) Busselberg and I saw an individual on a long board. He was very relaxedly going down the street, and I thought to myself "I wish I could just have no cares, go about with an easy life, not worrying about-" when my thoughts were cut short by a slight crack. I looked over to see this individual go flying as his board hit a crack in the sidewalk, and he lays out and road rashed his side. I then thought "I gotcha, God. I will focus on the work."
Speaking of the work, SO GOOD!!!! There will be more on that next week, because I do not want to give anything away.
There was a welcome home potluck for two missionaries from our ward this week. One served in Jackson, MI, and the other in Tokyo. The one from Jackson tracted (where missionaries simply walk around and talk to everyone and knock on doors) into Brett Favre... and did not have any idea who he was. He also met Karl Malone. Pretty cool. The food there was great, too.
I am making fairly good progress on the Book of Mormon. I know that if I read 10 chapters a day, I will read the entire Book in a month. That is only about 20 pages a day, which is not at all hard when it is a novel, but scripture is different. It is a bit harder to keep my eyes open, but I am also underlining and taking notes, and that stretched the time out a little bit at well. I hope to read the Book of Mormon all the way through at least twice a year, and maybe even more often as a missionary.
Tomorrow, we have Zone Conference. For those who do not know, the church is pretty well organized. A congregation, an area where the members meet every week for Sunday service, is called Ward or a Branch, depending on the size (ward is larger). Many wards (and/or branches) make up a Stake. There are over 2700 stakes in the world. The missionary work is split up throughout the world in 341 missions, with over 50000 missionaries. Each mission is separated into Zones, and then Districts, and then area. I serve in the Lodi 1st area of the Lodi 1st, English District in the Lodi Zone. There are 13 Zones in my mission. So, getting back to the point, we are meeting with 4 Zones tomorrow. It will be agrand ol' time, but it means that the rest of tonight, I will be setting up our church building to house 150 missionaries and leaders. So Fun!!!
A big shout out to Brian Curran and Libby Wissing, as well as my co-workers form Associated Bank. I got letters from them this week. Also got a package from the Palenskes. What I now know is that it takes at least 10 days for letters to get from you, the sender, to me. Both BC and Libby's letters were written in very early August/late July. So please forgive me if I am slow to respond. I just may not have gotten it yet.
I love my family, my friends, this gospel, this work. I love my Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost.
Take care, and God bless.
Elder Strawn
8267 Deseret Ave
Fair Oaks, CA 95628
gavin.strawn@myldsmail.net

I'm gettin' too old for this schtuff!

To start my post this week, Elder Holmes is, by now, enjoying the wonderful feeling of walking around in shorts and a t-shirt, swimming, and watching movies. He has returned home having served faithfully from August 4th, 2010, until he left the Sacramento Mission on August 9th, 2012. He has been released, and he will be missed. Taking his place in our apartment is Elder "Cowboy" Christensen from Moroni, UT. He is the same size as me (except for the legs, where he is skinny and I am broad), wears a cowboy hat to every service project he does, and has a half dozen lassos. He has three pairs of boots, and the same number of Wranglers. He has a thick drawl, as well. It is so much fun.

Getting to the goings on in my mission, I was in the YSA (Young Single Adults) class this past Sunday. We had been teaching it since I arrived, but this day, the teacher asked one of the YSAs to teach it. So the lesson was on charity, and it was great. We were learning, participating, having fun... great time! A little more than half way through the lesson, the instructor asked us how being charitable and helping others makes us feel, so I threw both my thumbs in the air and said "Like Siskel and Ebert!!!" You could have heard a pin drop in there, so I continued somewhat tentatively "Two thumbs way up?" Again, no one responded positively, although one kid did cock his head to the side at me. I said, in a mockingly angry tone, "You guys are way too young!" A few of the returned missionaries tried to tell me that they were older than me, but I refuted those claims pretty easily when I showed them my Drivers License. It is now less than a fortnight to my 23rd birthday (not that I am obviously excited for it). Thing is, everyone thinks I'm 19 cause I'm a greenie. If it weren't for the fact that I was on a mission, they would all think that I was 15 judging by my maturity. It was a moment that made me feel like a thirty year old (not that there is anything wrong with being thirty!).

Well, this week has been... hot. The temperature was over 100 every day this week, and even got as high as 108 according to one person we taught and did service for. We did sooooooo much service this week (anything to get out of our white shirts and ties!). We did some hedging, trimmed some bushes, mowed and edged, painted, pruned, carried furniture and lifted equipment up and down stairs, emptied a storage unit, rearranged an apartment, hung up a mirror, clocks, and bulletin boards, did some electrical work, and finished the week off doing 2 Eagle Scout Projects. Cowboy lassoed my companion at one of them while he was hiding behind a pillar. We dug up a bunch of bushes that people would allegedly violate laws behind (illicit substances, illicit acts, building nuclear bombs, peddling pokemon cards... heinous crimes!!!), and replaced them with smaller and much more prickly bushes. I have planted these bushes back home, and I HATE them. I have cuts and tears all over my hands. It was still a ton of fun though.

We have also been teaching a lot. Our work was slowed because Buss didn't have a bike this week, but we were still successful in our efforts to get baptismal dates for 5 of our investigators. We are so excited. There had been little progress in our area for quite some time, and we have seen true miracles in our lives recently. The families and individuals that we are getting to know, growing to love, are so wonderful and eager to learn and change for the better. 

A strange occurrence that took place this past week was that Busselberg and I agreed to not buy a car unless it was American or German in make. I do not know why exactly this happened, but we determined that if we did this, and convinced 5 friends each who would then convince their friends, etc., that we could save the American car industry (or supercharge the German car industry). We were talking with a woman this week, and she was adamantly upset at how many of the things in her garage were from China. She was shaking with anger about it. I think that inspired us a little. 

I have tried to learn a few more songs on piano. I thought I had one down, when I moved my fingers up to the black keys, and it just sounded so much better, but the problem is I'm not good enough to play black keys consistently, so I just made it a different song, kinda.

Also, I have taken up roping. Not anything big, yet. Just a small, foot long wood and plastic model bull. I'm pretty decent at it. In addition, there are a few country songs I like now (Dang you, Christensen!!!). We have been running almost every night, and a route that took Elder Leavitt and me 17:03 to run last Tuesday night took Christensen and me 13:53 to run (without a kick, and trying not to speed up at all as we got to the end). I do not know the exact distance it is, but it seems to be about 2 miles. I take this to be good news, because I haven't been in racing shape for a while, so it is good to know that I can still do a 13:23 (with a kick at the end) without feeling too drained at all. What I really want to do is get on the track and time my two mile, because I need some set distance. Our Zone might also begin doing zone sports again, where 20 missionaries come together and we play football or frisbee or basketball or soccer. I am really looking forward to it! Additionally, we now have a bench press bench in our apartment, so we went to town on it Saturday morning after the Service Project (the bushes). I did 5 reps of 185 on the bench, then 16 of 185, then 3 of 235, then 12 of 185, then I did skull crushers, curls, triceps extensions, squats, and pushups, then did 8 more reps of 185. I felt so good!!! D&C 89, baby!

Well, to conclude, I recommend that EVERYONE read the Book of Mormon. The more I read it, the more I learn. I am more able to read for longer stretches of time than I was before. I love the teachings of King Benjamin, the stories told by Mormon, the writings of Nephi and his brother Jacob, the testimonies of these great individuals who humbled themselves before God that they would be able to help others come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored Gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and his atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end (all you returned missionaries better have been able to stop reading and still known what I had written!!!). It is so wonderful to see happiness grow inside others as they learn the things that I have learned. It is also so humbling to see them grow beyond what I can teach them.

My personal testimony continues to grow daily. I love the scriptures and the teachings of our modern prophets. I love the guidance I can obtain through my patriarchal blessing (I never should have waited to get it. It is SO powerful!). I love that through prayer I can have secrets revealed to me and my mind can be opened to the truths that I would not otherwise be able to know. My heart is filled for the people of California. I love it out here.

Elder Gavin Strawn

8267 Deseret Ave

Fair Oaks, CA, 95628

gavin.strawn@myldsmail.net

The hot, the gluttonous, and the painful

To start out, this is in apology to Allison Theune. I forgot to add my birthday wishes to you in my response to the letter you sent me, so here is to hoping that you had a marvelous and wonderful 22nd b-day. (You too, Spencer)
This past week has been quite a time for our mission. I have been on exchanges (where senior missionaries trade places for a day so that they can observe one's conduct) multiple times in the last 8 days. Due to this, I have gotten to see a more diverse investigator pool in addition to working with missionaries that I hardly ever get to see. My appreciation is growing for every ward that I am visiting as a missionary. The members are kind and loving.
Also, my host for dinner last Wednesday night had a small farm. Elder Stradling, my companion for the day, and I braved the 106 degree weather to tour the small area. The Richardsons have a number or Pyngora sheep, a combination of Angora and Pygmy sheep, as well as 20 chickens of three various breeds. They also have some goats. We had a great time and I now, once I get home of course, would like to get chickens. I would eat about 12 eggs for breakfast each day in college and it may be cheaper to just raise my own.
Adding to the gluttony, I put down 15 tacos last night at a member's house. He was excited to have a large portion of the Zone eating at his house, and I out ate all the others. I was allowed to take home a bag of candy for my efforts, adding to the size of my waistline. We also eat at either Chili's or King China Buffet for lunch on Thursdays, and I usually put away 4 bowls of soup and 2 salads at Chili's. I am not gaining much weight, thank goodness, but if I am ever out of a biking area I am going to have to change my ways or change my wardrobe.
Also, last week, mere hours after finishing my long run, Elder Holmes knee slammed into my right thigh as we were playing basketball. I received a deep thigh bruise and could barely walk for the next 4 days, so I spent some time in a car, and then hobbled for a while. To add to my misery this week, my broken collar bone flared up with pain last night. I could not get to sleep before 4 last night.
But, far outweighing the negative pains I have experienced, we have been teaching and they have been learning. One family is doing especially well. They are enjoying church a great deal and everyone wants to get baptized. It is so exciting to be a part of this family's journey. I am so gald that they are willing to and wanting to and eager to take these steps.
As football season begins, I am feeling out of the loop, a little lost, and somewaht sad. But over the last 2 weeks I have been thinking of football less and less and dwelling more and more on what I studied that morning in the Book of Mormon, or thinking about how I can help teach an investigator, or what I can do to be a better companion and apartment mate. I am beginning to change my self. I also like myself better now.
Hugs and high fives to all of you.
Elder Strawn
8267 Deseret Ave
Fair Oaks, CA, 95628