Let’s try this one as more of a story, shall we?
(Note: The story is enhanced with the use of pictures. Please see the pictures below.)
“Faith, Trust, And A Little Bit Of Chocolate Dust”
A remarkably true-ish story by Elder Stephen Tanner Burch π
The windswept town of Great Falls, Montana, lay quiet as November drew to a close. With the ushering of December inevitably comes the ushering of the Christmas season, but the spirit of Christmas was still weak. Whether it was from the uncharacteristic warmth and lack of snow or from Walmart’s poor choice of Christmas music, it was a problem that needed to be remedied.
The annual Christmas Stroll in downtown Great Falls seemed to provide just the perfect opportunity for the Christmas Spirit to be brought in with power. And so, the missionaries in the Great Falls and Great Falls East Zones partnered with a local church member to decorate one of his storefronts in a manner appropriate to share #LightTheWorld. But how, pray tell, were we ever to get Christmas Strollers to come and examine the wonderful service opportunity that Light The World offers? The answer to that seemed simple: Free hot chocolate and a place to warm up. ¡Perfecto! And so, the decorating was on! After many hot chocolate mix donations from the ward, many missionary-hours of work, and a lot of frustration (what?), the room was prepared.
Then came the night. Oh, the night. I’ve never been tired after a day of missionary work like I was after this day. (That may have been a lie. I’ve had a good amount of very tiring missionary days. Stories are made better by hyperbole, though, so just go with it.)
After everyone had gotten there, the first bit of hot chocolate had been mixed, and the seven cats had all been herded, we began with a prayer. Elder Davis was then assigned as the designated “tell everyone where they need to be and what they need to be doing so there isn’t totally chaos” guy, and I was thusly designated, along with my counterparts Elder Vargas and Sister Lystrup, to man the hot chocolate table. Oh, this is going to be easy! I thought in the foolhardy words of Episode III Obi-Wan Kenobi. In contrast, I was not piloting a star fighter into battle toward General Greivous’s flagship, but in similarity, I also had little idea what was to come.
The Christmas Stroll began at 5 o’clock, and plodded along slowly but surely for a while. Filling the hot chocolate cups from our two five-gallon coolers and two other coco dispensers was a laid-back process of putting a few cups out there and replacing them as they were taken. It was a fun, stress-free, relaxed time.
And then the people started coming.
Lines began to form. People coming in with families, large groups, as well as individually. Hot chocolate coolers (sounds weird, because they’re job is to keep the hot chocolate hot) began to run out. A dedicated team was assigned to heat large pots with water behind the building, and then bring them in to fill the coolers when it was needed. Elder Vargas, Sister Lystrup, and I had to then empty coolers with tact such that we always had enough hot chocolate to give whilst the next cooler was being mixed. We also had to mix the coolers, add chocolate to taste (quality control), clean up spills on our part and other’s parts; fill cups fast and completely enough; and give lids to those who asked for them, all the while talking to people about Light The World and the room set up immediately across from them. “Have you checked out the room across from you? There’s a couch you can sit on, a photo booth, and a nativity room! We invite you to check it out!” “Did you get a Light The World card? Here is one for you! Light The World is a service initiative that the church is doing...” There were a few crises along the way, such as nearly running out of cups and of cocoa mix, but a quick assignment given to Bro. B to run to Sam’s Club fixed that before it became too much of an issue.
Four hours, much water, many cans of coco, and approximately one thousand five hundred cups later, it was all over. Over a thousand pass along cards had been given, many pictures had been taken in the photo booth, a handful of copies of the Book of Mormon had been given, and a few people hopefully had their night brightened by Light The World. The Christmas Spirit had been felt, and the missionaries in Great Falls agreed that this was exactly what the area needed to bring the warm, fuzzy Christmas feels. And so, with the assignment to clean it all up later, we went home, and Elder Burch went to bed.
Thank heavens. Is Christmas always this stressful?
The end.
— — —
A solid spiritual experience that we had this week happened at church. We have an investigator who has been receiving continuous and relentless persecution since she started meeting with us, at work and otherwise. She showed up at church yesterday, and definitely seemed off. After some prodding, she broke down and talked about some of the things people had been saying to her and doing because she wants to attend church with us. She said the age-old phrase with tears in her eyes. “I just don’t understand.” But what made my heart soar was her next statement. “I might get fired from my job because I went to church today, but I’m not worried. I know that God will work things out.” That, my friends, is faith. Faith, and perseverance. She also said, “Everyone tells me I’m doing something wrong, but I know what I’m doing is right.” What a lesson for us all! No matter what the world says, no matter what people throw at us, the truth is the truth. This investigator understands that, and understands that it is more important than anything else, so she is willing to press forward even when the going is rocky. God bless her soul. There is definitely a lesson to be learned there.
This next week is going to be shot because we have: Preparation day, then we drive to Billings for exchanges with the assistants on Tuesday afternoon, and then we are there until we drive home Thursday after we go to the temple (!), and then Friday is zone conference, Saturday is interviews and Saturday Stake Conference; and Sunday is the rest of Stake Conference. Pray for me.
And, to make up for last week, I have way too many pictures! I will be sending them over a few emails. Enjoy!
Thank you all for your support and all that jazz. You are awesome!
Rock and roll ~
-Elder Stephen Burch π
“It’s alive, and somewhere for us to find tonight...”
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| Elder Lester and I with some cool people with whom we’re working. |
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| Spending the night in the church shed in Cascade. When we are going to work in Cascade for more than a day, we will sometimes spend the night so that we can conserve miles since Cascade is about 25 miles south from Great Falls, where we live. Definitely not the best sleep I’ve had, but exactly the kind thing I was hoping for and expecting when I was called to Montana! Worth it for the story. |
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| Waking up in Cascade, feat. my bed head. |
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| Setting up the Light The World room. |
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| #LightTheWorld bags. Included inside: Cookies, a Light The World calendar, and a challenge to share it with others. Kinda like getting Boo’d at Halloween, but better because it encourages people to give service! |
All pictures here are from the Light The World event we set up for the Christmas stroll. Enjoy!
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