Surf's Down: The Rise and Fall of Big Z

"Z was everything. I mean, Big Z is surfing, you know?"
-Cody Maverick, Surf's Up

Well.... What to say about this week. It was hard-  really really hard. It feels like someone changed the difficulty setting on this game from 'hard' to 'master mode' this week. And you'd think that it would have been a whole lot easier to get by considering how the week started... But let's just jump on into it shall we? Alrighty then, here we go.

Last Monday I think it was, shortly after I got my emails and such out for the week, we finally graduated from bikes, to car! How did that happen? Well, pretty simple really. Elder Tyler, another missionary on Kauai, was training a new missionary and that new missionary had a nervous breakdown of some kind and long story short he's no longer on his mission. The aftermath of that involves Elder Tyler moving in with the zone leaders until he could get a new companion. Which means, they now had two cars and only needed one. We gladly accepted the unused car as our reward, a shiny gray Toyota Corolla, and we dubbed him with the honorable title of "Grape Kun" until we decided on "Big Z" a few moments later. Z helped us out on an insane level. Thanks to the car that we named after the Surf's up penguin of the same name, we became one of the most productive companionships on the entire island. We already were anyway, despite everything. But I was so grateful for the blessings of having a car. Suddenly entirely new areas that we couldn't get to before in our area boundaries were opened to us. Including a new neighborhood and an entirely new town! We got so much done it was crazy. But then, two days later, we got a call from the zone leaders. It was time for Big Z to leave us. We got a taste of hope for a moment before being kicked back into the dirt.

I miss Big Z.

Rest in peace old friend...

Also last Monday Elder York bought the strangest thing I've ever seen. It's called the "Disco Potty" and it does exactly what you'd imagine it does. I have pictures, but I just thought it was funny that this is where our food budget goes. I didn't buy anything from Ross. I hate Ross. But I will be buying some more flex glue this week for some repairs to a few things. You'll get those pictures next week. This week is transfer news and I really hope that I get to stay with Elder York. He is awesome and I've loved getting to work with him. Especially considering how well we work together. We're really good friends and that's evidenced by the sheer amount of in jokes we have. One of those involves Elder York screaming "Science!" as loud as he can every morning. It's hysterical. I'm not sure as to what's happening with him, but I'm 95% sure I am staying here. That said, it takes about 4 days to get mail here. So as of Monday, December 10, you can still mail stuff to my actual address. Everything after that, hold off on sending until next week. The mission office is crowded as heck this time of year, so if you send it there I won't get it until January. Just wait until I either confirm my current address or give a new one. Again, pretty sure I'm staying but you never know.

And of course, then we were back on bikes. By the end of our week on bikes we were both basically dead. We saw Walt again, and that went well. Chuel, our friend from Africa, actually made it to church this week which was awesome and exciting. It feels like all of this work is paying off. We did the math and determined that we have been working 80 hour weeks. If any of you are familiar with karoshi, that can apply to people who work 60 hours or more. After church on Sunday, I collapsed during personal study and slept for almost 2 hours. I felt awful for doing that, but I felt more awake after the fact. It's good that the Lord watches out for us because 62% of our time is spent biking. Do the math on that one and you'll see why we've been so tired. Anyway, it's all worth it in the end. We're now working with a guy named Alan and another dude named Gaylin. We have had a blast surviving out here alone, but we're great friends and we love working for the Lord.

That's all I can think of. I have no need for sleeping pills because trust me, falling asleep is no longer a problem. It happens all the time now. This is the real reason we scream "Science!" at each other.

Stay awake. Stay alive.

I miss Big Z... 

-Elder Rogers

Picture of Big Z

A quote from his Eulogy:

"Today, Kekaha lost one of its legends. Big Z took his final drive this morning. He was last seen driving toward Kapaa, on the wet side of Kauai. Friends of Z gathered shortly after his death, to remember, and celebrate his life."

Extra pictures:  Elder York and his Disco Potty.  

Also we made mashed potatoes and they were good.  #TasteOfTheWildInspiredDish