Journals

Showing off our neat-o-cool slippers we got for Christmas from the Baggerlys - the couple who fed us Christmas breakfast. Aren't they so cute? The Baggerlys just thought they were so funny.

Hello!

That's no fun that Dad has to work a graveyard shift, but at least he has a place to sleep quietly so he won't turn back into a newt :) That's great that your class went so well. It's nice to have that confirmation to know that, yes, what you are doing is right. It makes it so much easier, because you're not wasting any time doubting and you have that conviction to keep you going even when things go bad. I've had that same experience on my mission. Sometimes I've wondered if it was what I was really supposed to do. But I've had so many little confirmations that I can look back to and give me the reassurance that I need to keep going. That's another good reason to keep a journal. If you don't write down all those little things that happen that are answers to prayer, you most likely won't remember a lot of them and then you won't have that extra help / boost when you need it. I've been really trying to do better on my mission with that. Sometimes I've slacked, but as a whole, I've been better than I ever have in my life at keeping a journal and it really is amazing the difference it makes. Even just on my mission, those times that I have kept a journal, I not only remember that time better even without going back and reading about it, but those times seem so much more meaningful - just because I took the time to make it meaningful and write it down. Same thing with writing down the things that you learn. I've been reading the Old Testament again; it's just crazy, but something really stuck out to me the other day. It's been said that it seems like God in the Old Testament is really harsh, but really, when you think about it, the Old Testament is really a testimony of just how merciful God is. The people in the Old Testament were constantly breaking their promises and covenants and not doing the things they were commanded to do - and yet, every time God gives them another chance. He might let some bad things happen for a little while, but He always delivers them, no matter how bad they've been, when they just stop and remember Him and ask for help. If that's not merciful, I don't know what is. It gives me hope in my own life. That no matter what, He'll be there; I just have to remember that He is.

But anyway, yeah, I got that form too - we call them your "Trunky Papers". So yep, I’ll be coming home on April 23! Oh, don't feel bad like you made me pick the earlier release date - I was already planning on it. Coming home at the end of April just makes so much more sense. That way if I want to do anything for the summer, it will be perfect timing. Yeah, I've kicked the idea around of going with Brian to Chicago. I thought it might be a nice way to transition coming home. Because really, talking to Brian, it sounds like I'd still be keeping basically the missionary schedule and doing kind of the same thing :) And I'll probably need to make some money before I can do anything else... But I don't know if I will, I don't know if I'd really be able to handle it. And will anyone want to buy security systems if the economy is so bad? Well, actually, maybe they will since there is usually more crime when the economy is bad....

Anyway, I really don't know what I want to do when I come home. I want to move on with my life, but I don't know what the next step is. I'll be back where I was right before I left. Except this time Heavenly Father can't surprise me by telling me that what I'm supposed to do next is go on a mission... But I'm glad I did.

This past week has been kind of slow, and very cold, but still very good. We've still got quite a few investigators that we're teaching and that are progressing, but a lot of them are Spanish speaking, so I haven't really gotten to know any of them very well. We met a lady at the nursing home that we volunteer at that is 101 and still pretty mentally sharp. We had so much fun talking to her. She's this cute little old black woman with her southern accent telling us all about her life and how she's so lonely cause all her people are gone but she's got the Lord and that makes everything good. She really liked to hear us sing to her. I want to be that fun when I'm old.

Also, Sister Martineau and Sister Daw were so impressed with my spoon making skills that they wanted me to teach them too... So they've been having fun. I told them how I first started carving on my mission as a stress reliever when I was frustrated with my companion or just the mission in general and they thought that was a good idea and that they might steal my relaxation technique :) Well, I better get going. I sure love you all!

~Melissa