Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Third Times a Charm

Moms and Pops,

So, as the title suggests, what can you think of that I've been "plagued" with at least two times before now on my mission? Well, if you guessed Poison Oak, you are correct!! We did some service in some one's backyard that was very wooded, we were clearing underbrush and whatnot, and the lady said that she had all the Poison Oak removed... well, that's not true. Once again, I have it everywhere. IT IS ABSOLUTELY MISERABLE! When I found out that I had it (on Friday morning) I immediately went and bought bleach and 2 tubes of cortisone (which are all empty now, I bought a few more and they are empty too, 4 bottles in total). That morning I have myself a bleach sponge bath, that sucker BURNED like crazy! Of course I didn't do straight bleach, I blended it with water, and the rest of that day was just miserable... It is on my face, my neck/jaw line, both arms, both legs, and behind both knees... fun times, huh? Funny note though, I have permission to not shave! So, I've been growing out my beard for the first time since I had something to grow! It is pretty gross... haha I've been growing it out since Friday. It is very patchy... but I got some good stuff on my chin! Other than that, it isn't too pretty... On Friday though, i called the mission nurse and she got me hooked up with some prescription prednisone which helps a lot... so, I got hooked up immediately. Like you, pops, because of my infirmities, I couldn't enjoy General Conference as much as I would have liked.

I HATE POISON OAK! I hate being so stinkin allergic to it! Ughh!

Anyway, how about general conference! Despite my plague, I received a lot of good inspiration and revelation on my life! I had 4 major questions that I had prepared. They were pretty general though, they were: 1. What direction should I take my life (career wise) after my mission? 2. What should my priorities be? 3. and 4. How can I continue to glorify God more fully. The talk that provided me with the most revelation to my questions that I had was Elder Christofferson. It was great! I loved that talk. Also, other favorites of mine were Elder Holland (as usual), Elder Bednar (as usual), and President Monson's Sunday morning. Of course many many of them stood out, but those ones come to mind first. It was awesome! Now that I'm older and can understand what is being taught, I am so much more involved, and time passes by SO fast! These past 2 days have gone by in the blink of an eye. I remember when I was younger and watching G.C, it was just drudgery, but I didn't fully understand at the time. I'm grateful for the added knowledge that I have now that helps me learn. Weird to think that the next G.C. that I will be at home... crazy! My mind is continually blown that I only have about 3 months left, that is way too weird. Oh, what are your thoughts on the age change for missionaries? That blew my mind! Holy cow! There are going to be a TON of freshman girls at BYU in the next year, should be interesting! :) This is God's way of taking away my competition! haha! Either that or He is giving me a great opportunity to find a RM wife... either works for me. Not that I think about that a lot anyway.............................................

The new shirts that you're trying, the Gold Bond ones or something like that? I think Gold Bond is some kind of baby powder, but it's something like that. It's a good shirt to use, they'll be good for the winter when it's colder, because these shirts are a bit thicker. As for my birthday, don't go crazy... ties, and some snacks would make me perfectly happy! As for Christmas, with only 2 weeks after that, I would say just save the money. I mean yeah, send me some snacks or something, maybe a tie or two, but save the money. I don't want to receive a bunch of things and have to haul them home with me. When it is time for me to come home, I'm going to give away a lot of things, like my bike, ties, shirts, etc... I want to come home with light luggage. When I get home, then maybe we can have our own little Christmas in January or something... give me $75 to the Nike outlet or something, I'd have a blast!

As for the work, we just dropped 7 investigators the other day... they were people that we haven't seen in weeks, and people that are avoiding us. The one referral from the MTC who was super solid dropped us as well, so... that, along with the plague has made for a very trying week. It has been tough. But, through the trials, we learn patience, faith, and trust. There is not really anything more I can do about my skin disease, but just wait it out and endure... good thing a lot of talks focused on trials and whatnot, huh?

So, we received some sad news yesterday... Elder W's grandfather passed away. He took it pretty well actually. He had about 15 minutes of just crying it out, but after that he shifted his mind and was good to go. He has a lot of faith. It made me think of if Gma passed away while I was out here... I would be devastated... I love that "sassy old pup!" I've been telling her, in about every letter, that she needs to take care of herself so I can see her when I come home! So, that was some sad news that we received this week...

Sounds like sports is doing great! Except the Browns... sometimes I wonder if they like to think. I guess not... frustrating! But the Colts won! Who is their head coach?? So good to hear about OSU KILLING Nebraska in the conference opener... So excited for them! And BYU... their offense has been pathetic the past year or so, that score 6-3, was like a baseball game score... Sorry to hear about the Cardinals... They can come back! at least it's not single-game elimination.

Can't believe that there is only 2 weeks left in this transfer. Where does all this dang time go! I'm up and going 16 hours a day, every day, you think that it would seem like the days are super long! But, they aren't... time just gets faster and faster. It is also increasingly easier and easier to get unfocused... If I hear a good song in a restaurant or see a glimpse of an interesting movie, it is hard to bring my mind back from thinking about how much longer I have until I can do those things again... But, that internal battle continues. My comp says that I seem to be doing very well with controlling my "trunkiness."

Anyway, I love you both very much. I hope that you were both uplifted and enlightened from General Conference and that you received some great guidance. Remember, it isn't enough to just think of ways to change, we need to ACT! Hugs and Kisses XOXO Also!!!! This is probably the first letter in MONTHS that neither of you mentioned my pup!!!!!!! I need an update on that furry little critter! Please and thank you!

Love,
Elder Edwards

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