Half of the elders got to work digging a ditch.
To my surprise, I merited a place on the "semi-skilled labor" team. To my even greater surprise, I discovered that our team's task was to actually build the house. For some reason I imagined it would be more complicated, but we managed to construct the entire frame of a wall in about 4 hours. There was no electricity in the work site, so we worked with pure hand tools.
My primary job was to measure and cut the wood for the "cadenatas", which are inserts that go halfway up the wall, in between the studs, to keep them straight and the same distance apart. (I don't know what they're called in English.) Toward the end, I also learned how to hammer a nail in straight, something that I had never been able to master.
The wall frame definitely wasn't United States quality, but it wasn't bad either for six 19-year-olds in four hours with only hand tools.
Later in the week, our preparation as a stake/missionary choir culminated in three performances: One in the mall on Friday night, one in the town square on Saturday afternoon, and finally in the stake center on Sunday evening. I don't think I've ever played more violin in one week in my life, between all of the practices and performances.
What was nice, and surprised me, is that all of the practices were for the benefit of the choir, not for the piano or violin. I didn't have to practice on my own at all, which was a much-appreciated blessing because I wouldn't have had time anyway, between the other normal missionary responsibilities that we have. All I did was meticulously mark my sheet music, and keep a very sincere prayer in my head during the performances, and everything turned out great.
It rained a tiny bit on Saturday morning, but not enough to dampen our performance or spirits, and it was incredible to note the difference between this performance, and the Christmas activity with President: two weeks of planning versus three days. We had microphones, a real piano (almost), and a foundation of three weeks of practices.
We are teaching a fantastic investigator. Her name is Francisca Flores, and she is the girlfriend of a recent convert that was baptized six months ago. They both lived in the United States for 5 months, and are basically fluent in English and in America's culture, so it's a blast to spend time with them. What's even more enjoyable is teaching Francisca. She is so sincere in her search for the truth, and she has such great faith. We left her the assignment to read part of King Benjamin's address in Mosiah, and she read THE WHOLE THING. THREE TIMES. The rarest person you'll meet is someone willing to keep commitments and put forth their part in the search for truth, but once you find them, it's all downhill. Francisca's baptism is scheduled for the 10th of January, and we are really excited.
It's a joy to serve in this ward because of the fantastic support of the members and the stellar ward mission leader that we have. He is a recently returned missionary. His name is Jared and he is basically my role model. Somehow, he has managed to merge high expectations with a great love for others, something that I've struggled to do sometimes. He plays the piano like a maestro, and loves arranging special musical numbers, and was really excited to get a violinist in his ward. You might get to meet him on Wednesday, because we're going to skype at his parents' house.
Think about any questions that you want to ask me about the mission when we skype!
-Elder Crotzer
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