Hello, Friends and Family!
This has been a crazy week. Probably one of the weirdest weeks of my life. I think I'm going try to send most of these email updates on Monday like I used to do when I was in the field, so if you want to stay posted check for them then. (If you don't want these updates just let me know and I won't send them to you.) I guess the best way to do this is to just give a summary of each day. That makes this email really long, so I'll do a short version, too.
Short Version:
I came home and I'm doing pretty good. It's really weird being back. I had a lot of doctor appointments and after some exams they think that I have a disease called ankylosing spondylitis, which basically means the bones in my pelvis and spine are fusing together. It's not a sure diagnosis yet; in fact, an x-ray shows that all the bones are fine. I'm going to get an MRI done on Friday to get a better look and either diagnose or rule it out for good. I also had a blood test done; haven't gotten the results yet. It's been great to see my family. I'm still hurting quite a bit. I got released as a missionary and I'll be returning to North Carolina once the problem is all taken care of. General conference was awesome; I got to go to the priesthood session and Sunday morning session.
I've been able to do vicarious work for the dead in the Logan, Brigham City, and Bountiful temples.
Long Version:
Last Tuesday:
I started to get a little bit of a glimpse of how awkward this stage of my life (my "inter-mission") is when I was grouped along with the returning missionaries. It was a weird kind of feeling… going home but not really ending my mission. For all intensive purposes, I was a "returning missionary", but while everyone else was thinking about college and jobs and relationships and things I wasn't thinking about any of those things because they don't really apply to me. We had an awesome dinner provided by some of the sister office missionaries, had exit interviews (for me it was kind of like a "get well soon" interview), and closed the night with a great testimony meeting. I had a lot of mixed feelings. It was a good but pretty uncomfortable day.
Last Wednesday:
We headed off to the airport. Everyone got their bags checked at the airport and were ready to go with their boarding passes… except for me. Apparently someone in the missionary travel department had reserved a spot on the airplane for me but never made the payment! Turns out there wasn't any room for me on the second plane, so I had to fly first-class from our layover in Atlanta to Salt Lake City. Oh, shucks. As we flew over Utah, I was surprised at how open it was and how big the mountains are! I had forgotten about all of that. It was beautiful. The man sitting next to me was amused by my excitement and how I was taking pictures of the brown "desert". We finally landed and made our ways to the baggage claim areas. When I saw my family, I was surprised to see how much my littlest siblings have grown, especially when Becky, my youngest sister, rushed me and rammed me all the way up to my sternum with her face as she gave me a big hug. Jacob had grown like a sprout, too, and though Adam hadn't seemed too much taller, he definitely seemed a lot older. As I was going through this sibling inventory, I realized that almost half of them were gone. It seemed like our family had shrunken significantly even though 6 of the 8 of us were together again. After lunch at Cafe Rio, we headed home. The first thing I did when I got out of the car was fall into a face plant on the grass. I missed the nice, green Utah grass. After doing a little unpacking, I headed off with Dad to the Conference Center in Salt Lake City for the dress rehearsal of the choir that would sing in the priesthood session of general conference. One of the choir members was too sick to make it to the dress rehearsal, so I got to serve as a place-holder for him and I sang along with the choir for the rehearsal. It was a lot of fun and it brought back a lot of wonderful memories of the times I have had the opportunity to sit in those seats behind living prophets and Apostles and sing and listen to their words as they spoke to the world. Following the rehearsal, we drove to my stake president's home so he could release me. While I no longer have an obligation to live missionary standards, he encouraged me to live the same standards regarding the missionary schedule and media. My family is being very supportive of that. It was a long day.
Thursday:
Woke up early in the morning and had family scripture study. I missed that. After a while my parent came with me to the doctor to start taking care of the problem. He referred us to a rheumatologist, who we saw later that day. They suspected ankylosing spondylitis, a disease that, if I understood correctly, basically causes the cartilage in my spine and pelvis to deteriorate and the bones to fuse together. At the end of the appointment with the rheumatologist he had an x-ray taken of my lower back and pelvis to try to rule out (or diagnose) ankylosing spondylitis. Between doctor visits mom cleaned my teeth at the dentist's office.
Friday:
Went back to the doctor's office to get another blood lab done to check for a few more things. After that we drove up to Logan to pick up my sister Sarah from her dorm at Utah State University. It was great seeing her again… I missed her so much! We headed to the Logan temple to complete vicarious ordinances for the dead; I baptized and confirmed Sarah and Dad baptized and confirmed me. After the temple, we went to the infamous Bluebird restaurant on main street then went back onto the campus to pick up Sarah's friend Josh and take him home for conference weekend. On the way back to Kaysville we stopped at the Brigham City temple and did more work for the dead. When we arrived at the baptistry, there was already a large group of young women doing baptisms. Because they didn't have very many men there, I was asked to help baptize some of them. I got to baptize about five of them, then Sarah, and then Josh. Then Dad baptized me again. When we got back home we played some games and did some other fun family stuff.
Saturday:
General conference begins! When President Monson announced that young men can now serve missions at the age of 18 and young women, 19, the Spirit filled our family room and Mom, Dad, Sarah, and I were visibly touched. We made the realization that Sarah could serve now, and Adam could apply in just about a year and a half! Even 10-year old Becky and 13- year old Jacob are excited to serve missions. Wouldn't that be great if all 6 of us served?! Between conference sessions, Bro. Winkelman from our ward came by to see me and we talked a little bit about our missions in North Carolina (he served in the Charlotte mission). After the second session of conference, Adam, Jacob, and I headed to the conference center for the priesthood session. We got to sit on the 7th row because Dad was conducting the choir. The talks were great and the choir did a great job on the music. I especially liked Dad's arrangement of "Hope of Israel". It was so powerful! After conference the four of us went to Red Robin for some burgers, steak fries, and our traditional game of "I spy" whenever we eat at that place. It was a great day.
Sunday:
My good friend Hailee invited me to go with her and her ward to sing hymns next to the protestors before general conference, so we went back to the conference center in the morning and it was a cold but great time. Even though the protestors were trying to cause a lot of disruption and contention, I could feel the Spirit as we sang, and I could visibly observe how it affected other church members as they filed into the conference center and even the other pedestrians as they bustled to and fro. We left our posts and went inside the conference center ourselves just in time for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's broadcast, "Music and the Spoken Word" (which was great), and the Sunday morning session of General Conference immediately followed. It was an amazing session of conference. My favorite talks were "Where Is the Pavilion?" by President Henry B. Eyring and "The First Great Commandment" by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland. While at the session I got to see some other friends, and it was good to see them again. When I got home I laid down for a little bit because I was hurting pretty bad. It was totally worth going though! I got to talk to my grandparents on the phone before the final session started, and that session ended too early. I can't believe conference is already over! The good news is there's only 6 more months we have to wait for the next one! :) Following the Sunday afternoon session and a quick nap, another family from the ward came by and delivered cookies for our family to comfort us and show support to me. I was very touched because I know that that family has gone through a much worse trial lately, but they still were aware of me and how I felt. They inspired me to look for more opportunities to serve and to never make excuses or think that I'm exempt from helping others.
Monday:
We had more appointments to get looked at and take care of "The Problem". Got a phone call saying that every thing in my back and pelvis that was x-rayed looks perfect, so we'll do an MRI on Friday to look for more. Not much else huge happened besides that we had a block party for family home evening and I got to say hello to some neighbors I haven't seen for a while and get to meet about 4 other families that have moved into our neighborhood since I left for North Carolina.
Yesterday:
Went to the Bountiful temple with Mom. The work I did took a lot less time than Mom's, so I had some extra time to sit in a special place in the temple and just study, ponder, and pray. I love the peace that is always in the house of the Lord. I missed being able to go to the temple so often. Hopefully I'll be able to go to the Salt Lake City, Oquirrh Mountain, Draper, Jordan River, and Timpanogos temples, too, before I leave again. Had some mission-cavities filled. In the evening we drove to the BYU football stadium to watch Adam's high school marching band competition. His band did a great job and I really liked their performance. My cousin Julia came and watched with us, and after the competition we went to the creamery for some ice cream.
I have some job opportunities here and there to earn a little extra money. I am also going to be volunteering to help the missionaries working in the family history center at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building in temple square. Well… that's pretty much it! I've done a lot of piano playing recently to get out the stress because I can't run around and exercise like I used to. Like I said, it's been a weird week: full of mixed feelings and pain but I'm trying to be optimistic and hopeful.
There are a lot of things about this situation that I don't know: what the problem is, how to fix it, when I will be able to return to the mission field, etc. But I do know that God has a plan for me and that He loves me. Despite the difficulty of it, I'm grateful for this experience to help me build my faith. I know that the Lord blesses those who accept His will and have desires to serve Him.
"Many of us, in moments of personal anguish, feel that God is far from us. The pavilion that seems to intercept divine aid does not cover God but occasionally covers us. God is never hidden, yet sometimes we are, covered by a pavilion of motivations that draw us away from God and make Him seem distant and inaccessible. Our own desires, rather than a feeling of “Thy will be done,” create the feeling of a pavilion blocking God. God is not unable to see us or communicate with us, but we may be unwilling to listen or submit to His will and His time. Our feelings of separation from God will diminish as we become more childlike before Him. That is not easy in a world where the opinions of other human beings can have such an effect on our motives. But it will help us recognize this truth: God is close to us and aware of us and never hides from His faithful children" (President Henry B. Eyring, "Where is the Pavilion?", General Conference, 7 October 2012).
I know that this statement is true. God does see us, and if we incline our minds to Him---in both times of peace and times of turmoil---He will grant us great blessings and our lives will improve. I know that to be true. I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true and that God has restored His gospel again.
I love you all so much! I hope you're doing well! I hope to hear from you soon! (You can email me now! :) )
Love,
Kenny Schank
(801) 546-0444
ksschank@gmail.com
elderschank.blogspot.com
P.S. The phone number above is my phone number; I don't have a cell phone.
P.P.S. The blog site above is still running. (It contains all of my weekly email updates.) Due to the size of the files, there will be more pictures included on the blog than on the emails.
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Monday, October 1, 2012
Week 61: Good bye (for now) North Carolina!
Hello, friends and family!
This week was a wonderful week. It was a hard one, too. I'll start with the happy stuff.
On Friday we had an awesome zone leader/district leader training meeting. We were instructed by President Bernhisel as well as Bro. Watson and Bro. Wade from the proselyting division of the missionary department of the Church. It was so good! Some of the things they taught us completely changed my mission! Bro. Watson, who is the director of the proselyting division, was really good at speaking and motivating us, but it was the topic that really brought the Spirit. He focused everything on the Doctrine of Christ (faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end) and taught us how everything that Jesus Christ taught (and that we should teach) points back to the Doctrine of Christ. I wish I could have recorded it because it was amazing. At least I took 4 full pages of notes. It was awesome.
Saturday was a great day as well: I got to baptize Trevaughn, the 9-year old boy we've been teaching. It was so great. It was awesome to see how many members of the ward came to support him even though he's really young. It was probably the first time his mom, Yvonne, set foot in a LDS church building in a really long time. Among the people there to support him were Angie, his step-sister; Tristan, her boyfriend; and one of our other investigators, Lynette. Lynette loved the service and seems to be even more excited to be baptized herself. We taught her about the Word of Wisdom in a lesson right after the lesson and she is excited to receive the blessings promised for obedience to that commandment. Following the lesson she watched the Relief Society general broadcast and loved that, as well.
It was also a hard week because I had to say goodbye to a lot of people I love. Sunday was fast and testimony meeting (because of general conference this coming weekend) and after Trevaughn's confirmation I wanted to bear my testimony one last time to the people I've been serving around and with for the last 7 and a half months. As I sat on the stand and waited for my turn to speak, I looked out over the congregation and saw all the people I have come to love---members and investigators included. I had planned to only let them know that I was getting transferred because I didn't want a lot of attention, but as I began to share my testimony, the Spirit prompted me to briefly explain the whole situation of me returning home to resolve medical issues. It was hard to hold back my emotions and I realized really how much I love these people! As I shared the short story and testified of the truth, the congregation, little children included, went completely silent and I felt the Spirit again confirming to me that I'm doing the right thing in going home for a time. After sacrament meeting, a man who we helped return to activity and his still-semi-returning-to-activity wife came to tell me goodbye. I had only really spoken with her once or twice, but she had tears in her eyes and thanked me for sharing my story with her because it had really spoken to her. Her husband said that he didn't want to come to church that day, but his wife told him that they needed to go (it's usually the other way around). I'm grateful that she followed her prompting that she needed to be at church and that I was able to receive a prompting to share something that could strengthen her testimony.
Aside from that confrontation with that couple, though, I almost regretted having shared the whole story with the congregation because I got a lot of attention in the halls and classes after sacrament meeting. I felt very, very loved, though, by the Hope Mills 1st ward. Several people wanted to exchange hugs, handshakes, and/or contact information. A lot of people spoke comforting words and I was able to say goodbye to some people we've been working with that I probably won't be able to see again. One priest even gave me a hug and told me that I was his second favorite missionary ever (I'll take it)! I was touched by how much the ward showed love toward me, including people I didn't think I knew that well. I feel, though, that the Hope Mills 1st ward and many of the people in it have made it into a special place in my heart.
After church a drunk kid tried to break into our car. Luckily, Steve, who got baptized the week before Trevaughn, saw him, stopped him, took his knife from him, helped him calm down, and got the police to come pick him up. Go, Steve! :)
That's about it! After this I'm going to pack up some stuff and I head out on Wednesday. You can reach me by email at kennyschank@gmail.com (if I remember correctly). See you soon, and make sure you watch General Conference! I promise it will be worth it!
With love,
Elder Schank
This week was a wonderful week. It was a hard one, too. I'll start with the happy stuff.
On Friday we had an awesome zone leader/district leader training meeting. We were instructed by President Bernhisel as well as Bro. Watson and Bro. Wade from the proselyting division of the missionary department of the Church. It was so good! Some of the things they taught us completely changed my mission! Bro. Watson, who is the director of the proselyting division, was really good at speaking and motivating us, but it was the topic that really brought the Spirit. He focused everything on the Doctrine of Christ (faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end) and taught us how everything that Jesus Christ taught (and that we should teach) points back to the Doctrine of Christ. I wish I could have recorded it because it was amazing. At least I took 4 full pages of notes. It was awesome.
Saturday was a great day as well: I got to baptize Trevaughn, the 9-year old boy we've been teaching. It was so great. It was awesome to see how many members of the ward came to support him even though he's really young. It was probably the first time his mom, Yvonne, set foot in a LDS church building in a really long time. Among the people there to support him were Angie, his step-sister; Tristan, her boyfriend; and one of our other investigators, Lynette. Lynette loved the service and seems to be even more excited to be baptized herself. We taught her about the Word of Wisdom in a lesson right after the lesson and she is excited to receive the blessings promised for obedience to that commandment. Following the lesson she watched the Relief Society general broadcast and loved that, as well.
It was also a hard week because I had to say goodbye to a lot of people I love. Sunday was fast and testimony meeting (because of general conference this coming weekend) and after Trevaughn's confirmation I wanted to bear my testimony one last time to the people I've been serving around and with for the last 7 and a half months. As I sat on the stand and waited for my turn to speak, I looked out over the congregation and saw all the people I have come to love---members and investigators included. I had planned to only let them know that I was getting transferred because I didn't want a lot of attention, but as I began to share my testimony, the Spirit prompted me to briefly explain the whole situation of me returning home to resolve medical issues. It was hard to hold back my emotions and I realized really how much I love these people! As I shared the short story and testified of the truth, the congregation, little children included, went completely silent and I felt the Spirit again confirming to me that I'm doing the right thing in going home for a time. After sacrament meeting, a man who we helped return to activity and his still-semi-returning-to-activity wife came to tell me goodbye. I had only really spoken with her once or twice, but she had tears in her eyes and thanked me for sharing my story with her because it had really spoken to her. Her husband said that he didn't want to come to church that day, but his wife told him that they needed to go (it's usually the other way around). I'm grateful that she followed her prompting that she needed to be at church and that I was able to receive a prompting to share something that could strengthen her testimony.
Aside from that confrontation with that couple, though, I almost regretted having shared the whole story with the congregation because I got a lot of attention in the halls and classes after sacrament meeting. I felt very, very loved, though, by the Hope Mills 1st ward. Several people wanted to exchange hugs, handshakes, and/or contact information. A lot of people spoke comforting words and I was able to say goodbye to some people we've been working with that I probably won't be able to see again. One priest even gave me a hug and told me that I was his second favorite missionary ever (I'll take it)! I was touched by how much the ward showed love toward me, including people I didn't think I knew that well. I feel, though, that the Hope Mills 1st ward and many of the people in it have made it into a special place in my heart.
After church a drunk kid tried to break into our car. Luckily, Steve, who got baptized the week before Trevaughn, saw him, stopped him, took his knife from him, helped him calm down, and got the police to come pick him up. Go, Steve! :)
That's about it! After this I'm going to pack up some stuff and I head out on Wednesday. You can reach me by email at kennyschank@gmail.com (if I remember correctly). See you soon, and make sure you watch General Conference! I promise it will be worth it!
With love,
Elder Schank
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