The Light Upstairs

email 3/30/09

The lights are out. The water is cold
in the third floor apartment.
Someone made a grave mistake.

Where once did light and warmth abound
All feels like cold cement.
Someone left a bill unpaid.

Darkness invites misery. This enemy is bold
and leaves in its tracks love spent.
Ignored the bill - Now all must pay.

A Help solicited. Our efforts fold
before overwhelming rent.
I asked support - The bill was paid.

My rage is cooled by hot water flowed.
Lights shine from heaven sent.
The price was paid!! The price is paid!!

by Andy Shepherd

I was inspired by another aggravating cold shower in the dark. A poem had to be written. So this morning after shivering my way out of the shower I sat at my desk and rough drafted that out. It was the first and final draft. The help has been solicited and my buddy Elder McClellan, the financial secretary, has already accepted and paid the bill, but we are still waiting electricity to return to our apartment. So my last stanza is currently a lie, or perhaps we can view it as a hope.

I failed to mention in my last email that the apartment is not my favorite apartment in the mission. The smell is hard to remove but we are getting there. But the unpaid bills from months past were beyond my capabilities. I was unaware of them and until last P-Day when I went home and found that our apartment no longer had light...or telephone. But luckily enough we still had water. There are some things that you just have to live through, and only on the mission would I ever get such an opportunity I think. While I enjoy my new ability to say that I have lived in an apartment too poor to pay my bills and had my electricity cut...I won’t miss this experience when it is gone.

We found some pretty cool families this week, seemingly golden. But I don’t want to jinx it so I am not going to get any more into it.

I got a letter from Faith that featured pics from her darling children. You all now have permission to cease sending threats her way from my corner. My righteous anger has subsided.

General Conference this weekend!! Don’t forget to tune in. Living Apostles of Jesus Christ are going to speak to us and a new one is to be called. I am excited because General Conference is really more like a vacation to me. Instead of walking I get to listen to 10 hours of conference in an air-conditioned chapel.

A few days ago I got a phone call from some very upset missionaries that were ready to kill each other. My companion and I had to go and make sure everything was going to be alright. We got there and sat them down for a talk. We asked what was happening, why they called threatening to kill each other, etc... Companion number 1 began telling us about some things that companion number 2 does that drives him crazy. But as he said them out loud he started realizing how stupid he sounded. "Well, I know he can walk faster than he does because I have seen him do it, but when we are walking home he walks a little slower even if we are late...", etc. He said a number of things having to do with how his companion talks, down to the way he closes the door. Companion number 2 isn’t innocent, but companion number 1 had to say all of that out loud to recognize how ridiculous he sounded. Companion number 2 is the senior companion. We asked if they were praying together as companionship. Nope. If they were doing their planning sessions every night. Never. Studies? Nope. We reached a solution very easily. And they reached it for themselves by just talking. All my companion and I did was ask a series of questions and they answered and talked and worked it out. We didn’t say a whole lot, almost nothing. We were there an hour and a half and probably only talked 10 minutes of that time and them the other hour and 20. I learned once again from this experience that listening is a crucial key in teaching. Had we gone in and preached obedience to them I don’t think we would have gotten anywhere. But by listening and making them talk and solve their own problem they were able to come together. I am glad they did because had they really been serious about killing each other we would have had to do divisions with them for a while. But I got to leave and go back to my area for a normal day’s work.

I only write that story for my own reference really. I am planning on putting all the emails I write home in a binder when I get back and I am trying to remember any experiences that are teaching me to be a better listener. Listening is something I always needed to learn to be better at. I have definitely improved on the mission.

This is a boring email now. I gotta go. The church is true. I love you all!!

Andy