Date
May 2, 2016
Area
Sevierville, Tennessee
Companion
Elder Jeppson
miracles happening
I went to the physical therapist on Wednesday. All I did was a few exercises. It was good, I'm sure I need to strengthen my back, but going to a therapist to do exercises two times will do me absolutely no good. I'm kind of annoyed. And I don't get any time to talk to the therapist or even the aides, so I haven't even told them that the problem is getting worse in my upper back, which it seems like they aren't treating at all. Yes, I try to do the exercises every day at home, but it's not getting better. Anyway, the mission doctor is coming to inspect our apartment, so I'm going to explain the situation to him and see what he thinks.
I don't know what in the world happened to my debit card. I called the mission office, and they never got it. I even asked if it may have come to their office with your name on it, and they said no. So I don't know. But, we got money on our mission cards, so I'm fine for now. Plus so many people have been giving us food and inviting us over for dinner, it's crazy! So don't worry about it for now.
I just got an invitation to Erica and Trevor's wedding! I guess they decided to return sealed in Washington, D.C. instead. I showed it to President Griffin at stake conference because I was really excited. He told me I can't go to the wedding or the endowment session, which is what I expected. That's alright. I'm definitely going to go see them ASAP when I get home. They live in Idaho, so that's no big deal to drive up there.
About Jim, miracles have happened in the past week or so! We met with him on Tuesday. He told us he wants to be baptized as soon as he is physically capable of getting in and out of a baptismal font. He has back problems and severe damage to his sciatic (I think that's how you spell it) nerve. So that was causing him a lot of pain, so much that on Sunday he drove to church and couldn't get out of his car to walk inside. He asked us to come and give him a blessing later that night. We and Brother Gipson (who just received the Priesthood that day!) went and gave him a blessing.
So Jim's big question has been, what happened to miracles? There are so many of them recorded in the scriptures. He saw them in the church history movies, and that's what caught his attention. Well, he texted us this morning and said, "Miracles still exist today. I have been able to move my left leg without the mind killing pain. Thank you my brothers in Christ." Isn't that awesome? He will be baptized as soon as we are able to fit it in with the move and everything.
Aside from Jim, we were blessed with a couple of new Spanish investigators last week, and a few English potentials. Like I said, Brother Gipson was ordained an elder, as well as Micah and a reactivated member named Robert.
That's about all I have to tell you about. Just FYI, I'll probably be at home with Elder Jeppsen on Sunday when we call, because we haven't been invited anywhere that day. I'll get permission to call you beforehand and make some plans. Hey, I had a dream in Spanish the other day! Haha I don't remember anything that happened, I just remember that I was thinking in Spanish while I was asleep, and the word "averiguar" was somewhere in my mind. Oh, and our mission doctor just told me he's going to send me to an orthopedic doctor soon. So we'll see how that goes!
Hey, I want to tell you something that I learned from our stake conference this weekend! I learned a lot of stuff that I took notes on, I just need to decide what to tell you. I didn't really listen that closely to what was being said, because a lot of thoughts were coming to my mind that I knew I should write down. So here's some things I wrote:
"When you have a home of your own, hang The Family: A Proclamation to the World and The Living Christ on your wall. Also hang pictures of your family and the Savior. Make them your pride and joy. Don't make the focus of your home the house itself, your car, running medals, toys, or exercise equipment. Make those things neat and clean, but don't draw attention to them. Don't let anything be the focus of your home aside from your family and Christ.
Also, make your home resemble the temple. Make it feel like you're in the temple. Make it as clean as the temple, or as close as possible. Make it quiet like the temple. Make it a place that people are drawn to, not repelled from.
My kids will need to know that my wife and children are the most important things I have sought after for many years."
That's all I got. Love you, Mom! Have a good week, and I'll talk to you on Sunday!
-Ryan