Josh Mission Email July 13 2026: “Say the line Bart!”
Ok a real full email this week for you guys!
Last week was the 4th of July, and I was way too cooked to write anything super long. Literally. Last week the heat index broke like 115 and of course it was nice and humid out here. Missionary work was pretty tough, we spent a lot of time outside and the pavement just radiates all that heat right back at you. People were super nice though! We were offered water a lot both in public and at people’s houses. I think a lot of people felt bad for us at first, we had a few comments about “They’re making you go out in this heat?” and I guess we could have pitied ourselves as well. Instead, it was a cool chance to testify to people about why we’re out here and just how much this work means to me. We make our own schedules and don’t have anyone breathing down our necks, so when I’m out on the asphalt at 3pm in 100+ degree weather it’s because this work means something to me. And honestly, we don’t even have it too bad out here. My respect has grown for all of you out there in Taiwan, the Philiplines, and Basil. Keep up the good work.
The only things that really got to me were how being out in the heat zapped my energy, and then we returned to our apartment to… that’s right, MORE HEAT. Our AC unit got overloaded trying to cool the apartment down so we got up to a nice toasty 85 in here a couple of nights. Summer nights just stay hot here too because of the humidity, so opening the window just let hot, humid air in. A ton of units broke in our complex, so a technician from some other company came in and basically just flamed our company for having cheap units and told us as long as it’s 90+ they won’t be able to hold us under 75, and if it breaks 100 it’ll just give up again. Not the end of the world, summer isn’t too long. BUT we got permission to drag bedding over to our district leader’s apartment when it gets super hot, so we spent a couple nights at the end of last week with the other missionaries which was fun. It’s cooled off enough for the AC to work again, so all is well.
FREEDOM DAY!
250 in the Nation’s Capital was pretty cool. We went and saw the Nationals play in DC and it was a very patriotic scene. They got wiped, and nobody scored after the first 2 innings, but it was still fun to be there. Afterwards we tried to go to the massive fair, but the line was probably a couple hours long in the scorching heat so we just went back, got lunch, and played some games. Rain ended up cancelling most of the big firework shows, but we got an epic show from the crazy lightning storm as we drove to the other Elder’s apartment that night. And of course, good ol’ Americans aren’t going to let a little downpour get in the way of blowing stuff up, so we saw smaller individual aerials lit up against the lightning which was pretty sick.
This week wasn’t anything too crazy, mostly a lot of bouncing around and improvising. We had a ton of lessons reschedule or cancel throughout the week, so I’ve gotten pretty good at setting backup plans haha. My comp and I are getting along really well, he’s a fun guy. He goes home at the end of transfer, so I’ve been trying to help him battle the trunky demons. He’s still pretty locked though. He’s served in this ward for a while though so people know him really well, and they’re constantly saying stuff like “Wow I can’t believe you only have a month left!” and asking him all about school in the fall which is not helping.
2 fun things:
🐶Dogs. Some dogs love to make a run for it as soon as the door gets opened, and it has varying degrees of success. There were 2 this week that made it out, and they were very different experiences. Some dogs like DeeDee are VERY concerned that we made it to their door, and want to bark and jump on you. DeeDee was a maltie-poo, and weighed like 12 pounds. Barney the bulldog, however, did not. I knocked on an apartment building door just like any other, a woman opened, and out of the darkened room this giant mass came charging out straight at me. Barney probably came up to my mid-thigh, and he was BEEFY. Probably weighs as much as I do. I barely had time to put my hands up to block him from jumping before he crashed into my legs. aaaaand promptly rolled on to his back so I would rub his tummy. I thought it was the end of the road for me, but he was super sweet.
We also met Will this week outside of a grocery store, and he could not believe that we (“Mormons”) were actually real. He grew up in a town of 800 people in West Virginia, and was outside the store selling Jesus shirts and bracelets as part of a rehab program. He said in the facility they always joke about “Do you have a moment to talk about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” and he really wanted me to do it for him. I obliged, but told him we don’t use that one anymore. We had a good talk, I got to introduce our faith and hear a little bit of his life story which was cool. He had a ton of questions about missionary work and was down to read out of the Book of Mormon. I showed him that we have churches all around the world and he was shocked. I asked if he wanted to come on Sunday and he was like “Woahhhhh dude I don’t know man, you ever heard of Jim Jones?”
We said our goodbyes, and walked over to a nearby apartment complex. On the way back, we took the side entrance into the store and I grabbed a pack of those Kool-Aid squeezey bottles. On the way out, I offered them to Will, and he first refused, it seemed like he was taken aback by the kindness. I pressed him, and he agreed to take one. AND ONLY THEN did he get the joke, he lost it and we all had a good laugh. He also then refused to drink the Kool-Aid until I reminded him I had opened the sealed package in front of him and showed him the receipt.
SPIRITUAL THOUGHT 🚨🔥
Moroni 7:37
“Behold I say unto you, Nay; for it is by faith that miracles are wrought; and it is by faith that angels appear and minister unto men; wherefore, if these things have ceased wo be unto the children of men, for it is because of unbelief, and all is vain.” I have been thinking about what it means to have faith a lot this week. Faith is the means by which we grow our connection with God and access his power, so it’s extremely important that we learn to grow and strengthen it. When we teach people about faith, I always emphasize that faith is made up of trust, trust that motivates us to take action. God has promised great blessings to those who do His will, and so when we have faith we trust that those promises are real. If we trust that we can receive great blessings, action naturally follows because we desire the joy that the gospel brings. Exercising faith can come in many forms, and in many ways it’s like a muscle. You have to use it, to push it hard and stretch it in order for it to grow. I would encourage you all to do one thing this week to stretch your faith, and let me know how it goes.
Love you all!
Elder Banks
