Everything has been going just super fantastic, okay it's been hard, but my goal for this week has been to be positive. I want to tell you a little experience I had that has changed my perspective So every week we have the opportunity to go to the library and familiarize ourselves with mormon.org. I was watching one of the 'I am a mormon' ones about this 19 year old professional rugby player. He was offered this huge chunk of money to keep playing professional rugby but turned it down to serve a mission the thing that bothered me was how happy he seemed. He had given up so much but was happy and I realized that was because he knew all that he has to gain. So I decided that it's not about everything I'm giving up, it's about the gift I have, to give everyone to lift them up, and all I can gain from that. Don't get me wrong things are still incredibly hard and it is an uphill battle getting into this mindset every day, but it has definitely helped me through. So Boom, there's my spiritual thought. So I think it would be a good idea to keep some money on my card every month just for emergencies. Let me tell you a story that will help you understand why. We were playing basketball with a sweet potential named Dontavia, this sweet black 17 year old who balls it up. Anyways the ball was going out so I ran really fast and saved it and slid on my knees and banged both of my knees into to sharp corner. I got cut up pretty bad, when we went home and showed the Zone Leaders my cut they said we should go to the hospital. So the next day we went to the hospital and even with the insurance I had to pay like a 40 dollar co-pay thing and that is a big chunk of my msf which is suppose to be used for food, which we are running low on. So it might be good to keep some emergency type of funds on my other debit card.
Mom-
I sent a letter with some pictures and told you all of the stuff I have eaten and I think you will be very proud of me when you read it. The food here is pretty good! I'm not gonna lie. I have had to try a lot of stuff that is just disgusting but for the most part it is pretty good food. Virginia is so diverse though with all that I eat it's almost like I'm on a foreign mission. Elder Kay and I even tracted into a little Asian lady who didn't speak a lick of English we had to try and communicate using small words and hand gestures. It was quite the experience to say the least. We have dinners every night! I don't think I've cooked for myself more than five times so far, the ward is so good about feeding the missionaries and they just love us! I have to say that I miss my good old home cookin', no one holds a candle to mom's home cookin' :) They are all very nice and super hospitable and you can really feel their love for the missionaries and the work that they do, and it has made things a whole lot easier. That's so cool that you had the missionaries over! It's cool to hear the other side of things, and the effect we have on families.
Here's a little bit from a letter I got from Nick in the mail today:
So you want to know what a day in the life of Elder Kay and Elder Sahagun is like? Well honestly it would depend on the day. Everyday is so different than the next. On Tuesdays and some other days we volunteer at a food pantry. We help weigh and sort food and all that fun stuff. We stop by the Worthen's as often as we can and visit with them. Every Saturday we teach our only truly progressing investigator his name is Robert. We found him one day smoking on his lawn when we were tracting. We've been teaching him for about four weeks now. This poor guy has it pretty rough. He's a schizophrenic, bi-polar,who's done drugs and stuff and he still lives with his mom. He is really nice once you get a chance to talk to him. The last time that we saw him he told us that he had decided to quit smoking and that he wants to come to church this next Sunday so he can really decide for himself if he wants to stick with it. It was pretty cool to hear all that and mainly with him I have learned how to love people not for who they are but who they can become. He has so much potential and I'm so excited for him!! Every Friday we go to a recent convert's house for dinner. The Wagner's, I'm not gonna lie being around that house is hard and and has been a great test of my patience and of holding down weird foods. I'm telling you you'd be so proud of some of the things I've muscled down. One night at the Wagner's was seafood. There were muscles,clams, Salmon, Shrimp, Craw-fish , and yes I tried and ate all of them all and no I did not enjoy any of them. The craw-fish was probably the nastiest. So let me explain to you how to eat these things. Step 1:Take the live craw-fish in both hands with the tail in one hand and the head and claws in the other. Step 2: Pull on each end of the craw-fish until it has separated into two pieces. Step 3:Take the tail end of the craw-fish and suck everything that is inside into your mouth and finally the last and most trying step. Step 4: Chew and swallow. Some of the other things I've tried consist of lamb, peas, carrots, beef stew, and probably a whole lot of other things I can't remember. Oh at one at the houses we had some interesting Mediterranean Food. Man the things I'm willing to do in the service of the Lord surprise me at times.We also go and help out at the local nursing home for people with Dementia and Alzheimers as often as we can. On Easter we went there and helped the old people with an Easter Egg hunt. I pushed this old black lady around in a wheelchair and she would tell me when she saw an egg and I'd push her over to it. After that we did a egg toss with hard boiled eggs. I was surprised at how coordinated some of these 80 and 90 year olds were. Man I love those old folks. They just warm my heart.
Keep writing me letters and praying for me. Let me know what's going on at home.
I love you all so much and miss you. The church is so true, and I'm so thankful to be a servant of the Lord at this time.
I can't wait to hear from you all. Did you notice that? :)
Love, Elder Sahagun
No comments:
Post a Comment