Cracked Ribs?!!

Hello everybody!

 

This week has been super crazy!!  Elder Kilgore and I went on splits this week with our ZL's.  Elder Munson, who's famous for his rather aggressive hugs, was with me in Somerville.  True to form, he sneak-attacked me while I was in bed, and gave me an especially vigorous hug; so vigorous, in fact, that he bruised/cracked a rib of mine.  So it's been a pretty painful week, but not anything debilitating.  I've had to adjust sleeping posture, sitting posture, and workout regimens in order to avoid too much pain.  But life is going on with few real issues arising from it. 

 

We also had a mini-Missionary this week.  His name is Joseph Parker, and he moved to New Hampshire from-you'll never believe this-Cedar Hills, UT.  He lived right next to Evan McDaniels, Jordan Christensen, Spencer Bagley, and Josh Miller.  The odds are pretty good that we hung out and stuff as littler fellas.  How cool is that?!  It's a small world in the Church. 

 

We have continued working with our members to encourage them to do Missionary Work.  This has gone pretty well, and two members in particular have gone CRAZY!!!  One member has invited over 20 people to Church in two weeks, and 8 have accepted.  Another has found one investigator for us (one we've already been working with), helped with both of our current investigators, and provided us with another two potential investigators.  It is amazing to see their lives being blessed like they have been.  They tell us that the Spirit is with them in their lives more, they love others more fully, and they just feel happier.  I have experienced similar blessings in my life as a full-time Missionary, and it has been truly wonderful!

 

I came to a great realization this past week.  I was a bit frustrated with my seeming lack of progress.  There are certain goals I've set and aspirations I've made that seem out of reach because of the lack of progression I've experienced.  I began a serious study as to the cause of this, and couldn't find anything.  So I started a fast to couple with that prayer, hoping for an answer.  After about 5 hours of fasting and prayer, I felt what I thought was an answer: read the words to "Come Thou Fount."  Well, I was in the Church, and there's not exactly copies of "Come Thou Fount" in abundance... But I needed to go into the Library for some materials for District Meeting, so I walked in, and there was a pamphlet open.  I curiously looked at it, and behold-it was "Come Thou Fount."  The only words on the page were "Oh, to grace, how great a debtor daily I'm constrained to be."  Then it hit me: I've been rather ungrateful and prideful lately.  I haven't expressed my thanks to my Father in Heaven in the ways and as often as I should.  I also found myself relying on me and my knowledge, rather than applying myself to constant study and prayer.  I have made relatively few new doctrinal discoveries, and I've really just been coasting.  Now, in order to meet the goals I've set for myself, I'm going to need to stretch myself to the point of breaking, and I'm going to have to do that over and over and over.  I'm going to have to wallk into the apartment and be absolutely exhausted at the end of each day.  Oddly enough, I set a goal to fail at least every other week.  I want to push myself so hard that P-Day is a welcome day of rest and rejuvenation.  So I'm probably going to relate a lot of failures and frustrations in the future, because I'm pushing myself and learning all along the way.  Unless I specifically say that I'm ready to quit, these experiences are something I'm working for and trying to create.  I want to make this Mission something that shapes me into the man I hope to become afterwards.  "We become what we want to be by consistently being what we want to become."  This will involve lots of stretching and breaking, but "he who doesn't make mistakes makes nothing."  Until I force myself to become better, I will never live up to the potential that God has revealed to me that I have and can unlock.  Look forward to hearing my failures and accompanying success stories and lessons learned, because they're gonna be great! :) 

 

Love y'all, and have a good week!!