Elder Junk's Washington DC South Mission Blog: 10-23-17

Mail:

Elder Carson Lewis Junk

Washington DC South Mission

5242 Lyngate Court

Burke, VA 22015

From: Carson Lewis Junk [mailto:carson.junk@myldsmail.net]

Sent: Monday, October 23, 2017 3:01 PM
To: Kathy Junk
Subject: The Typical Junk Move

Hello everyone! It has been an exciting and emotional week. This week I have really missed everyone and thought about all of you so much! I think it is partially due to Halloween coming up and it is the first real holiday I will be experiencing out here on the mission. Nonetheless, it has been an exciting and memorable first week for Trainer Junk and Elder Miller. We have been working hard and have seen Heavenly Father's hand in all of the small blessings this last week.

First off, on Tuesday the trainers had to be at a meeting an hour early at the Centreville Stake Center. We had a great training from President Huntsman on how to train and his Top 10 list of important things to remember while doing so. We then went through the routine of calling up the brand new missionaries and having the trainer come up afterwards and give him a hug! My trainee (son) is Elder Miller! Elder Miller is the man. He's from Bountiful, Utah and has moved around a lot in his lifetime. He is easily the kindest and nicest kid out there. Truly, he has a kind and soft spirit for the people here in Woodbridge and a sensitivity to the spirit. I am thankful to have him as a trainee and I will be learning just as much if not more from him than he will from me.

I gave Elder Miller a memorable first day he will never forget. Elder Miller's bike was coming in the mail on Wednesday so on Tuesday, we were walking around trying to get in contact with some potential investigators and knocking doors. We were working hard and having a great first night. When I got back to the apartment something horrible happened. Somewhere while walking along the highway, the keys attached to my belt had fallen off and disappeared. We were locked out of the apartment the first night and I hadn't even realized it until 9pm at the apartment door hahaha. This is what I refer to as the typical Junk move, something that happens regularly to Elder Carson Junk. I didn't know what to do so I called President and he said to spend the night at the Zone Leaders place. That was fine by us but then we got a call from the maintenance guy over our apartment and he said he would come in clutch and let us in. Alright, great no worries. We call The Zone Leaders and tell them not to worry to come get us and they can go to sleep. Around 10:40pm, Elder Miller and I start worrying the maintenance guy is bailing on us. We call back the missionaries and take them up on the offer to spend the night with them. But reminder, missionaries go to bed at 10:30 sooooo no missionaries were answering us and we didn't know where we were sleeping. Finally the maintenance guy got there at 10:50 and we were saved. Elder Miller was super kind and we just laughed about it. Our Christ like attribute as missionaries we are working on is "patience" so I tested his the first day as a missionary.

Training is hard but the best thing possible for me. I have been pretty homesick and under a lot of stress. It has nothing to do with my great companion. I think I have been pretty hard on myself expecting perfection when in all reality, I still consider myself a very new missionary. I have to do a lot better at not getting lost in comparisons and comparing my area to other missionaries. The thing I can do is continue to try my best and give it my all and not get so down on myself! Elder Miller and I are working hard. We are doing our best and talking to EVERYONE to preach the gospel as much as possible. It is truly amazing watching my companion get pumped when we see someone we can talk to. That is one thing I love on the mission, talking to people and testifying to them about the gospel. I have loved that my companion is excited to talk to people and take on the challenge himself! The work is great. Thursday and Friday night I was so dead that right when we hit the pillow I was out. There is not much more satisfying a feeling!

We got to teach my main man Kong who is our best friend around the area. He is always working out at the Leasing Office Gym right next to our apartment so we always go in and talk to him. We finally taught him on Saturday and bore strong testimony of The Plan of Salvation. Kong is from Cameroon and is an awesome guy. If it wasn't against the rules, we would be working out with him every morning because he said he wants to be our personal trainer. We had an awesome lesson and we look forward to teaching him more.

It has been a great week. I love all of you and am thankful for all your prayers and support. I have been focusing a lot on repetance in my studies lately. I know that faith is the first step in repentance. I would challenge you all to look at your faith and compare it to the Sons of Mosiah. Would you be able to be locked away, starved, and naked in prison and after being let out immediately start preaching the gospel and giving thanks to God? I know it would be tough but I love the story of them being let out of prison by Ammon and King Lamoni and them staying strong through their tribulations and immediately acting. 1. Faith 2. Repentance 3. Action! May we all remember to turn to our Savior through the hardest times because that’s when we need him the most. Stay Strong!

Love,

Elder Junk