Dear Friends and Family,
Hope you all had a great week! This one has been long and pretty crazy.
Earlier on in the week, we had to go to the podiatrist because Elder Hewlett had some foot problems. It was hilarious. He has such a low tolerance for pain. But I'm impressed with how he hasn't let the pain in his foot stop him from doing the work. Because he can't fit his wrapped toe inside his shoe, he's been using one of my slippers as his second shoe for the better half of the week.
As far as the work goes, we've been seeing amazing things happen. We taught and found a lot in the first half of the week... which is really good, because only 2 of the 13 lessons we had planned on Friday and Saturday actually went through. We called Pres. Cotterell to ask him what we should do with the young man who is currently on parole, the one who wants to change his life around, join the Church, and serve a mission. Unfortunately, we have to stop teaching him as soon as we have taught him the basics because according to certain policies and the nature of his crime, he won't be able to be baptized in years. I hope that when we break the news to him, he will understand and keep working towards conversion. I know that God loves all His children, that He never forsakes them, and that anyone can repent. I also know, however, that we need to be responsible for the consequences of our actions. While some people might not think it's fair, I know that this accountability is a blessing and an opportunity for growth and strengthening.
Not a whole lot of super exciting things have happened, really, besides that we've been teaching a lot and finding more people to teach. (In the last two weeks we've found 9 new investigators, which is really good for us. I know the Lord is blessing us for trying to work hard.) It's really just been the same old, same old: meeting, splitting, calling, overseeing, teaching, planning, interviewing, inviting, praying, working, testifying, serving, scheduling, rescheduling, repenting, recording, straining, informing, accounting, improvising, promising, and sleeping. Though I don't usually remember that last part. :)
One other pretty big thing, I guess, is I haven't been feeling too good lately. Yesterday was the worst I felt probably my whole mission. It started in the morning; I felt a little nauseous and my joints were pretty achy. The joint pain escalated throughout the day---after about 8 hours at church and dinner at a member's home, we were about to go teach a less-active family, but we had to reschedule so I could lay down for a bit at the apartment and try to gather myself. When I layed down on my bed I was still a little sick to my stomach, my head was pounding, sharp stabs of pain would pop up randomly for about a split second at a time all over my body, and it felt like each of my joints were being squeezed in tiny little joint-vises. I was able to fall asleep, and when I woke up a couple hours later my head and stomach felt better, but there was nothing different with my joints. I got up and changed into some PJs, brushed my teeth, prayed, and went back to bed. After about an hour of laying there trying to sleep but feeling like it was impossible, I was able to doze off. I feel quite a bit better today, though the pain isn't all the way gone, but it does worry me a bit that my joint pain isn't going away. Please keep me in your prayers.
So, basically, between me and Elder Hewlett, the word of the week is "Ouch."
Well, I love you all and hope that I can hear from you soon! And I'm serious when I say that. I would love to hear from you! :) I know that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ live and that They are there for us. Christ's Atonement has the power to heal pain and strengthen in weaknesses. The Book of Mormon is true, the Gospel has been restored, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is His kingdom on the earth today.
With love,
Elder Schank
