Transfers
Hey! Guess what?! I got transferred to the complete other side of the mission!!! I am now in Kamas Utah.... haha I love it so much! It’s a lot like Preston, Idaho I think. It’s so green and pretty here. I’m about 20 mins East of Park city. In fact, Park City is in my zone! It’s so cool out here! It reminds me a lot of the Nelson cabin for some reason. But yeah, I’m in Kamas, Utah. Our area covers Woodland to Oakley or something like that. It looks a lot like the area that the Utah house is in. I really love it. We are in a car again, so I’m submitting a big music wish list for ya! Thanks!
Members
The people here are so great to us. We get so much food from the members. I miss feeling hungry sometimes, hahah. But it’s so good. The members here really have sooo much respect for the missionaries.
Companions
My New Companions are Elder Hernandez from Mexico, Elder Torrez from Mexico, and Elder Ferrin form my MTC district. Elder Torrez and Hernandez are such good teachers. I’m really learning so much from them. They are such good missionaries. I’m so glad to be in this area with them. They are improving my Spanish so much because they don’t talk in English, hahaha. And they are such funny guys! Man they are so funny. They are really hard workers and we have so many people to teach here, and there is always something that we can do because of their hard work! I’m really trying to learn as much as I can from them! Elder Ferrin has his Visa, so he leaves for Mexico sometime this week, so we won’t be double working the area anymore. This makes us even busier! It’s crazy stuff! But I love it so much!
They have me participate in teaching the lessons so much, and a lot of the time, I won’t even know that I’m teaching the main part of the lesson until we are at the door. They are really improving my ability to act fast. They’re also so dedicated to studying. Elder Torrez gets up at like 5 a.m. every day so he can get more time to study. He knows the bible so well. It’s so fun to hear is bible bashing stories. My companions are really teaching me so much. I’m so glad to be here.
The Area
We are within 45 mins of Salt Lake. Being on the other side of the mountains is like living in a whole other world. It’s just so pretty and amazing. The people environment is so great. There is so much love for the Elders. Everybody has so much respect for us, it’s incredible.
Learning Lessons
I am really starting to understand Mosiah when he says that it is not expedient for man to run faster than he is able. My whole time in the field I have been trying to run like a missionary who has been out for more than a year, which is like trying to swim a 500 after one week of swimming—you’re gonna get freaking tired, and it’s gonna be one of the worst experiences of your life. All the stress from that was really making things difficult, and I wasn’t really happy with being on a mission. But then in personal study I was just reading about how God’s whole purpose for us is to be happy. Everything is meant to make us, his children, happy. And I have just been slowing down and trying to learn and not do. God has blessed me with teaching skills, but I just don’t know how to be the missionary I want to be. My mind is a lot more closed when I’m stressed out and that was really interfering with the spirit. But in being with my new companions, I have learned that the mission doesn’t have to be stressful and you don’t have to go a million miles an hour. Just be calm and happy. The spirit while guide you to where you need to go. I have trusted only myself way too much. I have been relying on myself so much, and that is a foolish thing to do when you have the all-knowing source on your side. I still have to work hard, and some things are going to be hard. But it’s important to remember that I’m in the learning stages of my mission.
It’s basically required of me to make mistakes, to embarrass myself by telling everybody “estoy bueno” and not “estoy bien,” (estoy bueno means something different, like something you wouldn’t expect to hear form a missionary. But I’ll let you figure out what it means to Spanish people…haha). And the other day in a lesson I told the people I have 7 kids instead of 7 brothers and sisters, hahah. It was funny. But God’s whole intent for us is to be happy, and Paul says God loves a happy giver. So I’m just still working hard while really changing my approach to the whole mission life because things have been a lot better since I have done that. It has really made such a difference, so I challenge everybody to just find the joy in every moment. Make every moment worth talking about and remembering. I promise that it will make a difference in your life. Pray for it. And if you’re not praying, start praying. That makes a big difference in itself.
Other Insights
Family, please, please, please (!) strive to have Family Home Evening, Family Scripture Study, and Family Prayers. How can I teach and require this of other people if my own family doesn’t follow? I promise that the Gospel of Jesus Christ can fix any problem with time and enduring. Always strive to have a cheerful attitude. Everyone believes that we have every reason in the world to be unhappy, but really, we have so many more reasons to be happy. We chose to come to this earth because we knew it was the best option that we had in the pre-earth life. We did have a choice, and we knew there were high risks to come here. Nut there was also the highest reward possible. So please, please, please do your best to unify the family and I promise you just as I promise many people every day, that this gospel can heal any wound—no matter how deep. But only if we permit, so open your door to the light and gospel of Jesus Christ. We levitate how much happiness we have in our lives, we choose our path, and we choose the intensity of the light in our path. So, flip the switch and stop wandering in the dark. Get over yourself and live to your full potential of happiness as sons and daughters of God. We are Queens and Kings of the most high God and the highest kingdom of them all.
Closing
Family, Glen, Katie, Jacob, Hanna, Paige, and Sophia: I love all of you so much. If I didn’t show that before my mission, or if you doubt just a little that I love you, then shame on me and I’m sorry. I promise that I’m working on repenting of that. So family, please open the windows to heaven and lighten your path as much as possible. I love you all so much; I really do. And much of the time I’m disappointed that it took me being separated from you to realize how much I love you, but I really do love all of you, and I hope that you can feel my love for you just as I feel your love for me.
Strive to make the gospel more relevant in your lives. I have met so many people out here who were members but then allowed themselves to lose their faith. And they lost their faith because of their choice to not do the simplest of things like pray and read the scriptures. I promise the happiness that can come is limitless. I have seen the difference in all kinds of homes according to how they live and apply the gospel. Don’t get caught up in the lies that you don’t need to do these things because remember that Satan teaches a man not to pray!
