#86 Henderson Zhǎnglǎo (Elder Henderson)

Hey everyone this week has been both really crazy, slow, sad, and still absolutely wonderful. The biggest thing that happened this week was our companion, Elder Henderson, got sent home. This was probably one of the hardest things I have ever had to witness (except for childbirth yuck). I had to watch this Elder go through the motions of realizing he is going to be sent home. I have some thoughts about this but I will share them later. The big highlight of the week is when the family we are teaching (the Adame family) came to church yesterday! This was super awesome and the ward members just absolutely loved them and took them in! All we have to do now is to get them married! We also got to teach one of our favorite families (the Greens) on Thursday! They are super awesome and we are trying to get them to come back to church. They are members but brother Green feels like he gets weird looks due to his tattoos. Anyway we are working hard on these two families right now. Sadly we have not been able to meet with our new friend Patricia as she has been sick with a toothache, but hopefully we can set up something this week. 

 

 

The weather here just went from perfect to too hot again due to the Santa Ana winds (it is just this dry hot wind that blows in from Mexico). Anyway besides that the weather here is pretty much just blue clouds and sunshine all day. It is also really cool that essentially everyone here drives one of my favorite cars, the Mustang, that always makes me happy. Now I would like to talk a little bit more about Elder Henderson. 

 

 

Elder Henderson was truly a wonderful missionary and I hope to have him back soon. I had to watch him go through the pain of realizing his best two years was to be cut short due to the mistakes he had worked so hard to overcome. As I watched him struggle through the week I noticed his greatest fear. Sure he was depressed to go home, but he was terrified of facing his friends and family. He knew that no one would quite look at him the same way, and everyone would know him as the missionary who came home. Elders, Sisters, friends and family. We need to change the stigma around missionaries that come home. These poor missionaries already feel a phenomenal amount of guilt for being sent home, they do not need the added guilt of knowing everyone else knows. When someone is drowning why would we row our boats up to them and hit them with our paddles? These missionaries don't need your judgement. They need your love. They need help and support getting back out. Please, I would encourage you all to reach out to those who you have judged or turned your nose up and reach out a loving hand. 

 

 

On a more funny note here is a good story for the week. It is tradition here in Camarillo that new missionaries must purchase and finish a Jack In The Box Munchie meal, This consists of two tacos, one burger, lots of fries, and enough calories to kill a small elephant. I am proud to report that I proudly finished the munchie meal and almost threw up after haha.

 

 

Here are some pictures

1. Farewell Eggs Benedict (Thanks to my dad for teaching me how)

2. Our farewell pumpkin

3. This awesome van we found titled the "Ministry Machine"

4. The Munchie Meal

 

 

Love you all!, Elder Larson