Agency: Do we really need it that much?

All,

I'm having the time of my life up here. My companion's caught another cold, which will probably turn into a sinus infection again, one investigator completely regressed back into his "wait and see" mode, I'm so tired all the time, and I have less weeks left than most missionaries have months!

HOW am I so happy up here?

...oh yeah. I'm doing the Lord's work, and when I'm serving the Lord, nothing else matters. That's why I'm so happy up here, even with this week falling through and failing miserably. 

anyway, some questions answered, then my thoughts on agency:

We are wondering about your typical day at spiritual work.  What do you do?

Every day is really different. We have our typical list of people that we see on a certain day, and we schedule out where we drive, since we're trying hard to not rack up miles on our vehicle (we average around 2000 a month).

We try to bring members with us everywhere we go, not just because we need the language help, but just because members can bond with people in a way that we never can as missionaries.

And what happens on PDay that keeps you so busy?  Dad wonders what goes on these days.
nothing, really, except for driving time. Anchorage is Sprawled out. Plus, we always have missionaries that want to play board games with us, or something. Occasionally, but not too often, we'll go out hiking or something, but not as much since the weather's been starting to turn on us.

Are the summers really hotter?

YES. I'm DYING at 75 degrees.

Do you still see the fabulous veggie crop growing that you did in POW?

...There weren't any fabulous veggie crops in POW when I was there...

How are summers different there than in POW?

This summer has just been completely the opposite. Last summer, both POW and Anchorage, it almost never stopped raining. It was dismal. This year it's almost never been cloudy. We've jsut surpassed the record for most days over 70 degrees in a row. Last winter was one of the coldest on record, the winter before THE snowiest.

Weather enjoys messing with us.

anyway, I have only 4 minutes left on the computer.

Think about the ability to choose for a little. Sometimes, working with people who are stubborn and don't want to be change, we wish we could take their agency away, just for a little bit, so they could see the happiness that we're offering them. 

THIS IS A LIE OF SATAN

God Loves us. He's given us agency. We fought a WAR over it in heaven. Agency is one of the greatest gifts we have on Earth. It's the reason we're here, to make choices. 

Be grateful for your ability to choose. Don't give it up for anything. Don't give it away for anything, because it's worth more than everything.

30 seconds left.

Love from the North,

Elder Darcey