Memory Lane (long)

Don't you love how the world is so small sometimes? Let me just quickly summarize the degrees of separation as I was blog peeping the other day. Blogs: sister-in-law, click on her best friend's blog, click on blog labeled with the same last name as a missionary I served with in Guatemala. Voila! It WAS that missionary (actually, his wife). Anyway, I've been wondering what this past mission companion was up to. I worked with him for only 6 weeks in the office, but we crossed paths many times. I don't remember exactly, but sometime after he was in the office, he was sent up to lead a zone in Peten (near the Mayan ruins of Tikal). After I left the office and served in another area, I was transferred up to Peten to take his place, so we had the same companion up there. We also served in the office again towards the end of our missions. He was very good at being obedient to the rules and did it in a way that made everyone around him want to as well. The thing about it was that you always had more fun with him following the rules while some felt that you could only have fun doing your own thing. I still regard him as one of the coolest and best examples of church service and obedience I've experienced. In his honor (boy, almost sounds like a eulogy or something, sorry), I offer the following memory. Actually, two stories, both about McFlurries. I don't remember exact words, but hey, this is my memory.

In Guatemala, some comforts of home really make your day. One of these was McDonalds (I know, I just watched "Supersize me", but when you have beans and eggs for breakfast everyday [which I now sometimes miss], McD's is nice). Here, a job at McDonalds is way down on the totem pole, but there, it was a really good, well paying, stable job. Anyway, I digress about third world economics. Our mission president enjoyed a McFlurry now and then and while we were serving in the office, he handed us a 100 quetzal bill (about $12 at the time) and told us to go get him a McFlurry at the McDonalds across the street. So we drove over there and at the drive-in, Elder Fielding (my companion) placed an order for a McFlurry.

I told him, "I think I want an Oreo one," to which he responded, "President didn't tell us to get one, so I don't think I'm going to get one." I was like, "what?"

He said, "He didn't tell us to get one, and I don't want to be dishonest and use his money. I think it's a test of trust."

With that, I stated, "well, if you don't get one, I'm not going to get one. I can't." (said in a voice kind of like when Seinfeld says, "I don't want to be a pirate").

When we got back to the office, Elder Fielding handed our mission president his McFlurry and change (probably about 75 quetzales). President looked at the McFlurry, looked at the money, looked at us, looked back at the money, and said, "where's yours?" Internally, I was saying, "I told you!"

Elder Fielding said, "you didn't tell us to get one and we didn't want to break your trust."

President replied, "you turkeys! go back and get yourselves McFlurries. Your not just my go-getter-boys," to which Elder Fielding said, "we are actually kind of busy and don't want to be late to some appointments we have."

The mission president said, "I don't care. Be a little late. Now go and get yourselves a McFlurry."

This story still makes me laugh. It was funny at the time and I really wasn't that upset over any of it. I look back and love the integrity (and also that we did get a McFlurry).

Another time, we went to the drive-in to get McFlurries and pulled up to the delivery window. We were waiting patiently and all of a sudden, Elder Fielding yelled, "she ate it! she ate it!" He looked at me and asked, "did you see that? SHE ATE IT!" I had no clue what he was talking about. As he was yelling this out (I don't remember if it was in English or Spanish), a McDonald's worker opened the window and he yelled, you guessed it, "SHE ATE IT!" He asked what he was talking about and Elder Fielding said, "she pulled the spoon out of that McFlurry, ate it, then stuck the spoon back in and gave it to that customer (in front of the counter inside)." The worker told him something like, "no, that's her's, not the customer's" or something like that. Anyway, it kind of ended there, but I was just rolling.

Well, thanks for entertaining me in my nostalgic stroll down memory lane. Ok, one last story. At the end of his 2 year mission, Elder Fielding met his brother in Guatemala city (his twin served his mission in El Salvador). As I drove up, he saw him and jumped out of the moving car (I was slowing down) and ran over to his brother. There was a fence there and they started to hug through the fence. I was cracking up, especially since there was a gate 10' away. I said, "Um, do you want to go through the gate so you don't have a fence between you?" That was the last time I saw him. I did see his twin once down in Provo when I went down there for a Utah-BYU basketball game.

Well, I haven't talked to him in 6 years because we lost touch. It's nice to see what friends are up to and that they are doing well.