Where Your Treasure Is

This week was a hard week for a lot of reasons. Life is overwhelming right now just with school and soccer and everything else going on, and it's hard to balance it all. I'm also really struggling with keeping the gospel central to my life. I'm missing church more often than I'm able to go so obviously I'm not taking the sacrament as much as I would like so it's hard to remember to put the Lord first. I'm also having a hard time with friends and feeling like I fit in with the people I'm around. I miss Mikel because he's my best friend and there aren't many people that get me like he does. I miss having someone to talk about everything to and he would listen.

The biggest thing I noticed about his email this week is how different he sounds. He sounds so much more focused on what he's doing and loving it more and more each week. He's not so focused on home and doesn't sound near as homesick as he did, so that makes me happy. :) It's hard though, because the less focused on home he is the less focused he is on me, which is so selfish of me to want him to be like that. But I want him to be focused on what he's doing much more than on me, because that's the whole purpose of him being there. It's just an adjustment, and just like adjusting to him leaving it will take time for me to be okay with it. It's just hard to miss him and not have him say how much he misses me back haha, which sounds silly saying it out loud.

Cool house with a lizard decoration on it

some views of Kimberly

He got to go to Bloemfontein to watch the Bloem Celtics play against the Orlando Pirates. He said it was really fun to go to a professional match, but it still doesn't beat going to a Real Salt Lake game back home. It's funny because they obviously had to pay to go to the game, but then on Sunday they didn't have enough money for food so they ate popcorn for dinner.. good planning boys hahah.

They got to do a lot of service this week which he said was good because it makes you love the people! He got a compliment from a lady while he was working in the garden. Gardens there you use a pitch fork like thing to pull up and break up the ground, its pretty labor intensive so while he was working he ended up forking the whole garden. The Lady then said nah, you cant be from Utah, Utah boys cant work like you do haha. She said he must be from somewhere else to have learned to work that hard without stopping. So he said that was a nice compliment haha.

Popcorn for dinner haha

That's not water.. it's sewage. Nasty!!

There was a section in his mass letter home that I really liked that I want to share. 

"A couple of weeks ago I talked about a FHE activity to write down what you would write to your family in 30 words or less, (try 20 to get the full effect)

I wrote.."Dear family and loved ones. Love God, Serve All, Love All. SMILE, LAUGH, pray and read often, visit temple frequently, together forever. You are never alone. I love you.

this is what I wrote to my family and loved ones in 30 words or less. it shows what is important to you, what would you want your family to know if you were separated from them for years and only got one last chance to communicate back to them"

Isn't that interesting? What would you say if you only had 30 words or less?

He says missionary work is exhausting, not physically but spiritually. He said: "Constantly seeking for personal revelation and divine guidance is exhausting and when you come home you just want to go to bed and morning comes fast. Its definitely the hardest thing I have done thus far in my life. I have learned more than I ever could have back home though. I have learned about myself, people, and God and wouldn't want it any other way. There are still hard days and you miss home and loved ones and all those you left back home, but its so worth it and I know there is still so much more for me to learn and do."

Their two investigators, Deane and Erica, are progressing really well but they just have a few things to overcome before they can be baptized. Deane has a smoking problem and doesn't come to church consistently, and Erica feels that she can still do good in her church but knows that our church is true because of the priesthood. So hopefully they can overcome those things, he says that he is optimistic and praying that change will come to Kimberly.

I miss him like crazy but time is flying! He's learning and growing so much and I'm so proud of him. He sent me the cutest thing in my personal email: "My favorite scripture this week was all of 3 nephi 13, but in particular verse 21"For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."   

it made me think of you :)"

He found a domino's pizza and almost cried! haha

Their chapel

"Eish life is tuff, I feel like me and you have always struggled with friends and feeling like we are accepted and I think its part that it is tuff and part that we always want to be included and we forget that they arnt trying to exclude us its just they go do something and we arent around. I know things will turn out and you will make friends that will last forever, just give it some more time, you are still settleing in to this new world and it may take some time to really find your place socially, scholastically, and in sports.

It honestly just sucks so bad missing you but I see the blessing coming already and it keeps me going knowing there is more in store, I cant quit and stop now, there is so much more for me to learn and do. I love you babe!

Love always

Elder Mookie"

2 Months and Lots of Letters!

Wow, this week has been crazy busy and overwhelming with school starting and having to figure out how to balance that, soccer and living on my own all at the same time. It's been quite the adventure so far and honestly I'm exhausted, so I feel bad that this has been pushed to the bottom of my to-do list. Not that it really matters because I don't even know who reads this and I really just do it for myself haha :)

Well, we've made it two months! It feels like a long time looking back but in reality it's gone by really fast. It's helped that I've been so busy with all the things changing in my life. Mikel said something amazing in his mass letter home and I really want to share it because it's so relevant to me, people my age and everyone preparing to get to this point in life:
"Wow how crazy is life? To all my friends and the people my age back home, isnt this insane!? in two short months most of us have either gone on mission, or are about to leave on a mission. Have gone to college, or about to leave to college. That means most of us have or will be soon moving out of our parents house and be on our own. Crazy how fast time flies and how old we feel and how much it sucks to get old and lose your friends and say good bye. One thing I've come to notice though is I'm so happy! Life is tuff, but life is good! This critical time in our lives is to either go on mission, to go to school or to even go and start working is a pivotal point in our lives that will set up the rest of our lives! Sure saying good bye really sucks but the good far out weighs the bad. I have learned so much in these two short months of being on mission. I've learned a whole heck of a lot about who I really am, what I believe, what I stand for, what my goals in life are and so much more. I love being on a mission and just serving, Your calling is to SERVE and that's whats important, not if you baptize anyone or this or that but if you went out and served the people and loved them with all your might, mind, and strength! So all you going through these major changes in our lives.... of your friends leaving, look at change as a thing to help you grow. "the more things change, the more they stay the same." I know that God has a plan for all of us, Its not easy, and sometimes not even fun. I can promise you its worth it. That this time in our lives is for us to learn and grow far more than we could have ever done back in our little circle of living. Where ever you are, on mission, at school, at home or at work. Go and do. Go and do whatever you can and learn and laugh and grow!"
How is it that he always says exactly what I need to hear, even if it's not directed at me? Wow I love him.

Exploring the boarding for treasure

came up empty handed

He finally got all my letters!!!! :) I was so happy! 4 letters from me, a few from my little sisters, a bunch from his family and his greenie package with lots of notes and letters from friends and family. He seemed so happy to finally get it, two months without mail is a long time on a mission! Haha :)

Mine and my sister's letters and notes :)

all of his letters! The senior couple joked that he stole the whole mission's mail 

Elder Jena wanting to steal his mail haha

Greenie package! Hey I wrote that :)

He's the cutest. That's all.

Photobooth pictures have been our thing since we started dating, so I decided to send him one every month :)

Some of my letters and souvenirs and such 

It was the end of transfers so they got a new Elder, his name is Elder Razafindrakoto and he is from Madagascar. He speaks Malagasy and French but doesn't speak much English, but Mikel says he's way cool and funny. He gets to interact with some pretty cool and diverse people! 

Elder Ikube left also.  He was their Zone Leader but just got
transferred and is heading to Lesotho.  He had the chance to teach 
with him during exchanges and he said he is super powerful and he looks
up to him a lot.

Mikel and Elder Done. he played for Alta and goes home 
in two transfers, he looks up to him a lot, and says
he is way cool and a great missionary. 

He sounds so happy and like he is doing so well. I miss him so much but I'm so proud of what he is doing! It's hard right now because I'm experiencing so many new things and playing college soccer and I just wish he was here to see that, but I wouldn't want him to be anywhere else. He gave me access to his Dropbox account where he puts all of his pictures (I'm a picture freak, so I love this) and the other day I was looking through and I found a video!!! I could see him and hear his voice and I seriously almost cried. It's crazy how something little like hearing the sound of his voice can just bring in a flood of emotion but it did. I really needed that. 

I talked about in my last post how we were going to study something together, and it's amazing already! He is so in tune to the spirit because what we are reading is so relevant to my life right now it's insane. And I'm grateful for his insight and testimony because it's such a strength to me.

Around the boarding where he stays:

"oh my goodness Haiy your email actually made me cry I couldnt hold it back like I usually do haha! :) I love your email I can see how much you are enjoyuing things now compared to before when you were so scared and frazzled haha I love you and I love being able to read this email and remember your personality and how much I love you. It makes me so happy to hear how great your week was. You played!!!! wow freshman playing the full game, thats pretty insane, I just think about two years youll be the star of the team ;) well you are to me already haha. I love that you are loving playing and getting along with the team, its a nice change from a stressful club season to finally be with a team that you are bonding with. :) I love you so much its not even possible for me to declare haha.

Man sounds like an incredible week! Ive spent every night this week really holding your blanky tight, i think its all in my head but i swear i can still smell you in it haha. sounds so weird to say haha.

the thing that made me happiest is I got mail this week! and 4 letters from you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ah i loved them so much, you are by far hands down the best girlfriend in the entire world and no one can question it or ill beat them up! You made my letters seem wimpy though haha I need to write better ones to compete haha :) it was amazing to get mail I got close to twenty letters in all ranging from june to the end of july.

Some quote I liked this week are...

"We become more substantive as we serve others - indeed it is easier to find ourselves because there is so much more of us to find."

"A saint is a sinner who keeps on trying" if we dont try we are latter day sinners, if we dont persevere we are latter day quitters.

"When we put God first all other things fall into their proper place or drop out of our lives." 

"Being a latter day saint is a way of life, something 7 days a week."

"Who does Gods work will get Gods Pay"

"The great test of life is obedience to God

The great task of life is to learn the will of God and then do it

The great commandment of life is "thou shalt love the lord thy God with all thy hear, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength."

Romans 8:28 "All things shall work together for good to them that love God"

If you want a good read, start in 3 Nephi chapter 10 and continue through chapter 11

I love you so much and I love your emails!

Love,

Elder North"

Man I miss him.

Remember Your Worth!

2 months down already?? Time has flown! It's amazing to think back on the first day after he left and how I felt like time couldn't go any slower, and now it's like it's never going to slow down (which I'm totally okay with). I've loved noticing the change in him already. His love and testimony of the gospel has grown and his desire to share it has grown as well!

He had a meal of goat head this week, which sounds absolutely disgusting to me. He said it tasted really good but the texture wasn't very good. It was the last week of transfers and he said sometimes missionaries get lazy during that time. They had to take their car into the shop again but luckily it was given back to them more quickly than last time.

street soccer is everywhere there

I was just kind of laying in bed thinking the other day, and I was thinking about Mikel and I and our relationship and how we could strengthen it these next two years. So I had the idea that we could choose something to study from (scriptures, church books, etc) and study those together and then talk about them in our emails. He seemed way excited about that idea so we're starting this week! He chose to study from The Teachings of the Prophet Ezra Taft Benson. I'm excited for us to learn together and share our testimonies!

My favorite thing that he shared this week was in his mass letter home and it was about our worth. "A topic I have been emphasizing to a lot of people the past couple weeks is that we all have value. Our value dosnt change upon the mistakes we make or our decisions. The world sees otherwise, as you do something bad your value decreases but this is not the case. Our Father in Heaven sees us all as his children and loves us more than we can ever know. No matter what we do He will always love us. He sees our true value, a value that is never changing and always great. Remember that YOU have value and even when we feel like rubbish and like we are worthless, think again and embrace the love that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have for you!" 

A place to get haircuts, but they don't know how to cut white people's hair haha

photo booth! He said it reminded me of him, it was one of our things :)

Life just keeps right on changing but I'm so grateful that I still have him. His testimony every week is exactly what I need to hear and I always look forward to Mondays. 22 more months to go!

Elder Katimbo, Mikel, Elder Agyeman, Elder Jena

Mikel and his companion with some investigators.

"I was thinking a lot about you last night but the strangest thing happend, Instead of crying like I usually do and I did at first, I started to just smile because of all the tings you are! I was just thinking about how soft your cheecks were and how I would play with your hair and how I loved looking into your eyes, how I loved trying to make you giggle, reading lips and laughing, kisses on the forehead and so much more and I just started to smile because I just realized how happy those things made me, just being with you made me the happiest I have ever been and I couldnt help but smile while I thought of us.

I gave a blessing to a little girl 8 years old yesterday and it just made me feel as if I was a father giving a fathers blessing and I just felt so good afterward I cant explain it I was just happy and filled with joy! It made me excited to be able to bless my children with power and protection and guidance. I love the power found in this incredible gospel!

Im the same way absolutly everything reminds me of you and not a day goes by where I dont miss you and remember us.

I love you babe so much!

Love you then, now, and forever

Elder mookie"