Oct 5, 1995
Well, yesterday was Manhattan Day, wow. It’s a cool place. Big. Busy. I went and saw Le Misérables. It was killer and went to the top of the Empire State Building. The night before we spent in Flushing. After our trip to Manhattan, I went to Flushing to pick up our stuff. I got there and waited for my companion to call. They [him and his buddy] were going to have a baptism I thought at 7:30. Well, I waited till 10:00 PM. We were supposed to be in at 9:30 PM and they call and say they were going to the church. Nobody would go with me so, I Holy Ghosted [the Holy Ghost was my companion] it to Woodhaven from Flushing (about 45 min). Then people wouldn’t let us baptize because it was 11:30 PM. So, AP Davis showed up and took everyone home. Wow, it really hit the fan. [ … ] Ouch, scary. So, I answered all their questions. My companion almost was sent home. Today we didn’t get to bed until 1:30 AM and he was on probation today. He did good. He really acts as though he wishes to be better, He’s sending his rollerblades home. And he is watching what he watches on TV. He is actually being nice. Trying not to swear, it’s crazy. I’m so impressed. It’s so incredible how people can change like that, just out of the blue. With the help of a threat to go home (more or less ruin your life). I don’t know what God wants. I told the AP’s I liked Brooklyn though. I wanted to stay. We’ll see on Monday. I know, this is kind of the good bad and ugly about missionary work.
My thoughts:
I remember, Elder [my companion] and his friend Elder [missionary] would randevu every P-Day and take off on their rollerblades. We always suspected the two rebels were going to Manhattan every P-Day (without their missionary name tags). This particular time, it was a mission Manhattan day, which we were able to do 4 times a year (once a quarter). The baptism that was set up was for family members of the woman we had moved the prior week. She had moved to Rosevelt Island between Queens and Manhattan. This was actually part of the New York New York North Mission. So, we were baptizing people who were not in our branch area, not in our mission, and baptizing them at almost midnight. I remember being so frustrated with my companion that I was stranded in Flushing. On one hand, I felt a responsibility to be with my companion. I knew if I didn’t make it to Queens, it was going to be very difficult to get back to my apartment in East New York. No one wanted to be part of this, not even Elder [missionary] companion. So, I left by myself and ran to the train station. While I was running a member saw me. They said, Elder! I stopped and looked at them. They said, where is your companion? I just turned and kept on running to the train station. It was surreal to be riding the train late at night by myself. When I arrived at the church, they were there and the AP’s were en route. Apparently, there was a bishop there at the time who was questioning why the elders were there and who gave them the approval to have a baptism so late at night (11:30 PM). I wasn’t there, but my understanding was that they acted as though they were going to call the branch president to prove they had approval and accidentally called the AP’s instead. If I remember right, this whole thing was initiated by [my companion] and [missionary]. Both [my companion] and [missionary] lost their leadership positions as a result. I don’t recall if the baptisms ever happened.
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Oct 11, 1995
I’m being transferred today. I feel as though a great burden is being lifted. Hopefully not to return. Elder [my companion] is cool, but I wouldn’t wish him upon anybody. Wow, things are going to be good. Now, I’m going Spanish for 2 weeks. In the South Streets and then Dyker Heights for 3. Crazy, who knows about this.
My thoughts:
I was an English missionary, going into a Spanish companionship for a few weeks. I was basically holding a spot for Elder Davis who was an AP, who was going to go back into the mission field for a month or two before he finished his mission. My whole mission was about to change. And no, everything didn’t become easier. Some harder, some easier. But my darkest days were yet to come.