Hello!
How is everyone doing. Man, I hope things are picking up for Jill in Japan. I bet that she feels like she is in an alien world being so far from home. My advice to you, Jill, would be to take everything in stride and laugh at yourself. Elder Richard G. Scott said something about a good sense of humor being an escape valve for the pressures of life. I know that whenever I am not happy out here on my mission or feel down, I look and see how much I've laughed that day and what I could do to find humor even in the hard down and out times.
This week's fun facts:
-some punk let the air out of two of our tires last PDAY. Apparently we have made enemies with someone that only likes to target our car the night before a fun planned PDAY. Sheesh.
-haha this 20 yr old kid out here in Lacey, he's a member of another ward in the stake, heard through the grapevine that I really like mustaches. Haha the poor kid, spent who knows how long trying to grow a beard in hopes of me diggin it. Makes me think of the end of that one Ke$ha song. Anywayy....
-I screamed at an unheard of decibal and jumped 50ft in the air when I was walking up to the door at my ward mission leader's house. They have a bunch of overgrown plants that cover the walkway so you kind step through a jungle floor. So yesterday, I was walking and I hear the ground rustling by my feet and look down and there is a fat black snake right next to my foot!!!! I scared their dog half to death it started going nuts and barking. My comp was dying from laughing so hard at my reaction. She'd never heard/seen someone get so freaked out over a snake
- Sister Daines and I both spoke in church in the 3rd ward on one of the latest general conference talks from Elder Holland: "Laborers in the Vineyard." I gave it off the cuff again because.....
I found out this last week that I inflamed cartilege in my sternum. I was complaining of chest pain for a few days that would flare up throughout the day and was making it uncomfortable to work. I had called Sister Weaver to see if she could schedule me in somewhere to see a Dr. So you know it must have been legit if I wanted to see a DR. because I DO NOT LIKE THE DOCTOR. The inflammation can be triggered by a lot of things but the Doc thinks that it is from stress/anxiety. I told him that I don't feel particularly anxious about anything or anymore stressed than I normally do. He asked me how long I had been out on my mission, how much longer, I have left and what my plans were when I got home. That triggered pain. So apparently, the lack of sleep, decreased appetitie, headaches, and fatigue have all been tell-tale signs of anxiety. I didn't think I was anxious about my mission ending and coming home. But while my brain may be in denial, my heart couldn't lie. I miss my mission already and it isn't even over yet. There have a been several missionaries that have come come back to visit over the past couple of weeks and their sentiment was the same: home sucks. It's nice and good to see your family and be able to be by yourself and stuff like that. But the sense of purpose that you have as a full-time missionary is no longer when you are released. They have all said that they've had feelings of emptiness and want to be back on their missions. Ay yayy yayyy. I don't feel trunky. I am still able to be dilligent and obedient. I guess the anticipation of an inevitable end is what makes for anxiousness. For the first time in my life, I don't know what's next. I've climbed a 23 yr ladder that has lead from one rung to the next. I guess when my mission ends I'll have to dive off the ladder with faith that God will help direct me towards where he needs be to go next, what I need to do next, and who I need to be next. It's incredibly exciting but terrifying at the same time.
Don't worry about me. I got some anti-inflammatory pills, some scattered sunshine, 4.5 months of my mission, and a a testimony in a God of good things to come. In the words of MJ: ...Don't stop till you get enough. Haha.
-Sister Baylon
