Email ochenta y tres

March 19, 2018 

So on Friday, my sister Erinn, got married. Friday was probably one of the toughest days emotionally on the mission. The adversary was definitely working pretty hard to get me discouraged. It all started at 3 am. I woke up and my stomach was really hurting, like I was about to throw up. I don't think I slept at all from then until 5:30. So for a couple hours all I did was lay there and think "Dang, my sister is getting married today, and I'm not going to be there."

When 6:30 came around, my stomach still felt super uncomfortable, and I did not want anything to do with starting the day. Now I've gotten pretty good at finding the motivation to wake up and stay awake for the vast majority of the five or six hundred days I've been out, even on the toughest of days. I've had days where I feel I am quite literally dying of sleep deprivation, and somehow I get on my knees and pray, and then I start working out. Once I get through those first couple sets, I'm good to go. But until then, the struggle is 100% real. Friday morning I was done. My stomach hurt, I was dead tired, and thinking about how the whole family would be together, except for me. I told Elder Alonzo I was done. I jumped back in bed and slept until 9. I kinda justified to myself that it was fine since I didn't feel well. But really I knew I didn't feel bad enough to stay in bed.

Then I got out of bed and got ready just in time for weekly planning at 10. Weekly planning went way later than it should have because my head wasn't in it. At 4 o'clock Elder Alonzo said he was done being in the apartment. I was done being in the apartment too, but I didn't feel like going out and working either.


Some of y'all may remember from my first email since I got to Dardanelle, I told the story of us contacting a golden referral named AN. Well she told us not to come over without messaging or calling her first. Well, after many calls and Facebook messages, and no response, we kinda gave up on her for a bit.

Well on Friday at 4 o'clock, in the moment in my mission when I have least felt like doing anything, I
felt a prompting to go visit her. She's a good drive away and lives in the middle of nowhere.

We went and were able to visit with her. Turns out she's read over 30 pages of the Book of Mormon. We had a great visit and she's really interested still. She just had some problems with her phone, and that's why we never heard from her.

Time and time again, when I've felt the worst on the mission, the solution has always been to go to work. I wanted to share that story and my testimony that this is God's work. I don't have much time today, we went to Mount Nebo and spent most the day there. But I know this church is true. I'm so grateful for what it's done for my family. I love my family with all my heart. And I love all y'all, have a wonderful week!

Haha all the photos I have from this week are from a service project,  had to borrow some clothes. I was dressed like the kid in the Sandlot haha