I'm here now, we've been in Torrejon doing a district activity, we played basketball, it was nice being able to run off some steam like that, really, really needed it.
You said that everyone is wondering how I'm doing? I'm breathing, and that's about it. This past week was very, very hard on me. I became really irritated a few times this week and I just wanted to run away. It's exhausting, there's no time to take a breath at all. It's really, really tough, Mom. The assignment that we received, to open up a new area has been tough--it's supposed to be, though. It's been a tough transition, it's definitely going to be a transfer of learning. I'm having to learn how to be more diligent, more PATIENT than ever, just more Christlike in general.
There were a few times when I'd just get really frustrated at my companion, he has great intentions with everything he does, he is very, very obedient--obedient in ways I never even knew were possible. We RUN to the apartment every night to be in by 10pm, we can't eat breakfast until we've showered, we have to work out for exactly 30 minutes every morning--he pays real good attention to all of the details. I can't even go to the bathroom during studies without having to interrupt him and ask him to watch me walk to the bathroom (not kidding, only times when you can be away from your companion is when you're in the bathroom, or in an interview with President). We always have to be in the same room at the same time, it was never like that with my other companions, just as long as we were in the apartment together. It's all good, though. Sometimes I need him to slow down to let me breathe. It wasn't like this with my other companions, and I thought that we were always super obedient missionaries. Disobedience to me would be like sleeping in, going to bed late, leaving your companion, things that are clearly disobedient. This is a whole new level, and it's been really tough to adjust. Just need to grit my teeth and get through it, though.
Need to forget myself more, and get to work. There's a quote from Ezra Taft Benson that goes something along the lines of ¨The greatest secret to missionary work, is work! If a missionary works, he will get the spirit, and if he gets the spirit, he will teach by the spirit, and if he teaches by the spirit he will bless the lives of others and be happy.¨ So that's what I'm going to focus on. No matter how tough it is. It's hard to love going out into the street just to get rejected, that's happened A LOT. It's tough, but missionary work is tough and I just need to accept the fact that that's the way its going to be, need to adjust, adapt, and develop more Christlike attributes.
So yeah, struggling right now, but going to work on getting better and make a plan.
Congrats on all of the new callings in the household, that will be good for all of them. Congrats to David on the mission call to Brazil, too! Tell him that he should have put his visa application in a week ago! Haha, get on it quick! Brazil is IMPOSSIBLE.
MOM, I LOVE YOU SO MUCH.
I'm sending some photos from the week. We had a zone meeting and I got a chance to meet up with a lot of the missionaries I met last year.
Elder Larsen is in there, he's in my zone, can't even tell you how happy I was to see him.
Oh, I actually have gel for my hair now, too, so the next photos I will send will be a bit better.
In one of those fotos I sent you is a really tall elder, that's Elder Ward. He's the elder that was in the train crash last year, he's a STUD! He and I are really great buds already. He went to Bountiful High, and he knows the Fowlers--he went to Senior Prom with Audrey Fowler. Just thought that you'd like to know that!
His dad is a doctor in Bountiful, and he knows Dr. Cope, too.
Elder Koeven