Welp, my first transfer has come to an end. Because transfers end and start on Thursdays, our P-days are on Wednesday the week of transfers so people can pack and leave if they are getting transferred. Me and my trainer (now also district leader) Elder Harper are staying, but the Elders across the street are both getting transferred to different zones. I’ll miss them because they were a lot of fun and we worked a lot together with the area, but I am excited to get to know the two new elders who will come and take their place. At times this transfer seemed to go at a crawl, and at other times it seemed to not even have happened it went by so fast. I have learned a lot, but I still know there are many more things I need to improve on, and I am very excited to get to work in the future!
Late October and November means two things in Ohio: 1) it’s getting colder and snow is on the horizon, and 2) football is starting to really pick up. The transfer started sunny and hot, and now its ending cloudy and cold. Go figure, it’s time to break out my heavy coat and gloves for the winter. Most of the ward members here in Mansfield know me as the “BYU Elder”. They talk to me about Zach Wilson and Dax Milne doing well and go on to talk about how Ohio State will win the Big 10 and the playoffs. I try to keep my mouth shut because I know if I get into a big discussion about football we wouldn’t have time for any spiritual thoughts we had planned to share with them.
On the subject of spiritual thoughts, mine this week comes from a talk. It’s an oldie, given by Paul H. Dunn, in April 1972, titled, “Know thyself, Control thyself, Give thyself.” In the talk, he recounts a story from that colossus of clout, even Babe Ruth. The Babe had been struck out two previous times by the left-handed pitcher, Bob Grove. Each time he was struck out, he walked to the dugout amidst the jeers and taunts of the crowd. In response, he would tip his cap and give a cheery smile. In the 8th inning, the opposing Athletics were leading 3-1. With two runners on base and with two strikes already counted against him, the great Bambino knocked the final pitch right out of the park, sealing the win for the Yankees. When Babe Ruth trotted over to home plate, he gave the exact same smile he gave when he struck out the previous two times. In the face of defeat and on the pedestal of great victory, he maintained a strong faith in his abilities.
How important is this faith to a missionary like me? I’ve left more voicemails than I can count at this point, and having the faith and confidence to keep on giving a cheery smile in the face of defeat is difficult. But, in our lives if we have the faith to keep on going with that cheery smile and humility before the Lord, we will have that great home run, and will be willing to go through hundreds of more strike outs for another home run.
Stay safe everyone, love you all.
-Elder Watson
Picture: For district council, all the elders from Mansfield decided to part their hair down the middle. From left to right: Elder Griessman, Elder Durfey, Me with hair freshly buzzed by Elder Durfey, Elder Harper, Sister Hatch, Sister Packer, Elder Waite, Elder Dansie, and Elder Mahe