Week 13- To my family and friends

Aloha 皆さん!

Honestly, as I sat down this week to think about what I should write I was a little bit stumped. Usually, when I sit down to write my weekly emails I have too many thoughts that I don't know what to write down. But eventually, as I sat down and reflected, I was able to think about something that I wanted to talk about for quite a while. I've touched on this topic quite a bit throughout previous emails but I've never really dedicated any time to it. But I wanted to talk about the importance of families and friends, and how much I care about mine. Yeah, this one's going to be long.

I feel like it's a little bit too early for me to be trunky, but I am going to blame that on the Christmas season. Do not worry, I do not plan on going home. I love the mission, and I love the work but that doesn't mean I don't miss the people I love and care about. Before I left on my mission throughout my school years growing up and in college I never really understood how much I cared about my family or my friends. I was always raised to be independent, which meant being able to live on my own without any worry. When I left for college I was extremely confident in my ability to not get homesick, and I never really did. I always missed the food or the weather but I never missed my family or loved ones as deeply as I do now. I guess the mission has changed my perspective on those that I care about, ever since coming on the mission I realized how much my family and my friends mean to me. Something I regret is not spending more time with my parents or my siblings. I miss being able to hug my mother and my father and I took it for granted. I miss my siblings and all my cousins, my aunts and my uncles being able to talk to them and spend time with them and love them. I miss all my friends, those from high school and college, and those that I gained along the way. I feel as though that while being on my mission my perspective of the time I spent with those that I love and care about has changed and I feel like it was sort of wasted. I was brash at times and didn't pay much attention to my actions or thoughts when talking to those I cared about. At least that's how I feel, I don't know what they may think. And something that I hope I get the opportunity to do when I come back is spend more time with them, because there's only so much time that we have together at least in this life. Honestly, I think this topic came about this week because this past Sunday I had a talk and one of the wards that I cover. The talk was nothing special, the topic was about how we use the Holy Spirit as our guide. The topic was not one of my strong points, and I actually think that I did not do quite well in that talk. But as we entered the building for church, and I sat on the stand looking down on the ward, I saw a familiar face. I saw Auntie Aimee and Tex.

For those of you who do not know the Lifferth family was my home away from home throughout my college years. I love them so very dearly. The bishop of that Ward was actually a very good friend of Aunty Aimee and Uncle Ryan's. I didn't like the topic, so I didn't necessarily tell them that I would be speaking, but I guess the bishop and his wife did. I honestly wasn't expecting them to be there, but I was so overjoyed when I saw their faces. I ran up to them and said hi, Tex looked so different from when I last saw him. And we talked for a bit but after that, I couldn't keep my emotions in check. I had to call myself because I was about an inch away from just bawling in front of the entire ward. Anyway, I gave a talk and apparently it was good according to other people. But I was able to spend some time with people that I care about and I was able to talk with him and hug Auntie and dap up Tex. I even got to talk to Zach a little bit. Which was interesting. But it was such a blessing that I was able to see them again because they were one of the reasons why I was so excited that I got reassigned to the Orem Utah mission. I felt so blessed to have been able to see them again, and it made me realize that even in the short amount of time how grateful I was to see them again. And that goes for all of my family and my friends. Being on a mission has helped me realize how much I truly value each and every single one of you. I value the experiences, the memories, and the time that I was able to spend with those that I care about. I guess I didn't realize it until I could not spend that time as freely as I was once able to. I am so grateful to be on a mission, don't worry I am happy and I love being a missionary. But I also wanted to share these experiences and my thoughts and feelings with you all as a reminder. A reminder to those who are still able to spend time with their friends and family, to cherish that time. A reminder to those who are on missions to keep in mind the importance of reaching out to your family and friends. And a reminder to those who are struggling whether it be with their friends or with their families or their loved ones that those relationships are important and you should cherish them.

Alrighttt highlights

There's not that many highlights this week. Honestly, it's kinda been rough this week but I'm not here to talk about all the negatives. The mission will have its trials and also its joys. I'm a big boy and I'm thuggin' it out. Don't worry too much :)

-Temple sesh

-The Lifferth visit

-Pday Golf

Temple session:

We got to go to the Mount Timpanogos Temple this past week as a zone. Honestly, it was so fun and was a big highlight of the week. Helped me really focus and refresh for the rest of the week. I enjoyed it a lot and was glad we were able to go.

The Lifferth Visit:

I already talked about this a bit but just wanted to say I was super grateful for Tex and Auntie coming to see me. Was definitely THE highlight of the week. I also bet Zach that if I can run 2 miles within 12 minutes by the end of my mission he'll go to church AND the temple EVERY week. So imma get to training he better be careful. But I'm also glad the bishop is their friend because I might see them again during a dinner appointment, with Uncle Ryan's yummy brisket. I feel so blessed.

Pday golf:

We went golfing this Pday. We live on a golf course (kinda) and we're able to go golfing because it is in our area. It was super fun even though I SUCK at golf. Hopefully, I'll get better someday in my life because it was super fun to do with everyone. It's a super expensive sport to get into though so I need to watch the amount of hobbies and interests I have LOL. I'm gonna be broke when I grow up.