Monday, August 15, 2016

Week 8: #TAGGED

   No matter where you are in the world, people are going to be punks, it is an unfortunate truth that was reaffirmed to me this week. 
Coker, a fabulous friend
   On Friday we went to the Bakers' house for dinner, the Bakers LOVE missionaries, they are converts of about three years and they pride themselves in the fact that no missionary has ever left their house without getting a picture taken. They live in the valley between the two steepest hills you have probably never seen. After dinner, we always knock from 5-7, it's a mission rule. Towards the end of knocking we realized that we had left something at the Bakers' house, so we had to go back. When we got there the Elders came along to get their bikes from the Bakers' house. A grand total of 7 minutes in the Bakers' house was long enough for some of those punks to realize that our car was in the area.
Tagged!
     As we were walking to our car we noticed these two teenage boys walking slowly past our car, we thought nothing of it until one of them leaned up against it. This made me realize that something was... off. Why someone would lean up against our car was beyond me. So I got a clever little idea in my mind, I figured if I pressed the panic button it would freak them out and they would leave, but I forgot that on new Toyotas you have to hold the panic button, whoops. When the boys realized that we were coming they bolted straight into the woods, and good for them too, because about three seconds later I almost came unglued. 
    Our car in brand new, white and one of the nicest the mission owns. Apparently to two teenage boys that says "Blank Canvas!" Yep, black spray paint is exactly what we needed to make our car just right! or not... Luckily we caught them in time that they didn't get more than a little on the door and the window. We had to call the elders and the Bakers to come help us figure out what exactly we were supposed to do, and then we had to make a long series of calls to the mission and the police to get everything straightened out. Just how everyone wants to spend their Friday night!
Wall of fame
   Luckily we have an awesome bishop in this ward who works on the mission cars all the time, he promises it'll be fine and that he can get it all off without much hassle. I am so grateful for that!
    Too bad we couldn't catch those two boys and teach them the gospel... oh well, it'll be a great testimony meeting someday when one of them gets up and says "My life was changed on my first encounter with the missionaries, I was tagging their car, and they were in a state of panic!"
    The gospel is true, and the Lord protects His missionaries, cars are expendable, but He takes care of His missionaries!
    Have a wonderful week!
    All my love,
       Sister Megan Monson