Some weekends are kind of rotten

Sometimes I read Tab's emails and feel a bit sorry for him when he's had a bad week. But, it doesn't last long because he doesn't have too many of those. He always ends with something like "I'm sure next week will be better" or "Sunday was great so that made up for a bad week".  I'm grateful that he can find something good even when it seems bad. He is a great example of that!


Hey Mom!

How are you?

 

I had a decent week - I'll just fill you in from Friday on. So it was kind of a rotten weekend... we had a lot of appointments and every one juked so I was bummed. But I stay patient. The annoying part is 1) trying to find things to do when all your backups aren't home either and so your day is spent just driving from place to place and you never get to teach anyone and 2) worrying about the investigators' well-being and 3) worrying about how to cheer up my companion. Anyway, we made it through the week and I assume it won't be that bad again for another while. So that's good :)

 

We didn't get to teach any of our investigators again, sadly, but Comfort and her daughter came to church as usual and enjoyed it. We will see them again on Friday. KC is doing alright, she is just flakey sometimes. However, whenever we have lessons with her, she is super solid. So that is a little frustrating. We taught a new guy this week, named Ralph. He is dating a YSA member and he has come to church almost every week for the past month or so. We asked him if he wanted to join the church, and he said yes. So now we just have to help him get a testimony! That's what he asked us to help him do. He doesn't live in our area, but I assume that he will move here soon and the two will get married in a couple of months. He's awesome.

 

Other than that, I don't have much to add! For Christmas, that'd be cool if you sent me another pair of blue slacks. The ones I have are starting to fade. I think the material they are made of is prone to do that. I also have a pair of black slacks in my closet that you can send me, I think. And some new shirts would be good. I'm just not sure how many. I can let you know. I have some that are still nice and white, actually almost all of them are, but the problem is that they are fraying on the sleeves and near the neck. Otherwise I'd probably use them for the rest of my mission. And I'm good on shoes and what not. I bought a new pair a couple months ago. However I saw some at the nike outlet that I think Colby might like. The Eric Koston 2 in red, with a gum sole. I thought they were cool. They were on sale, but I already have way too many shoes - haha.

 

OK I think that's about it.

 

Have a great week! I love you all. Let me know if you have more questions. I can answer them when I come back during the week.

 

Love,

Tab 

Hey dad! 

Thanks for the letter. I know it's a late reply, but I still read what you wrote.

 

First of all, I would love to learn how to fly fish when I get home. There are a few hobbies I want to pick up, one of them being fishing. And of course, I also would love to get better at golfing. So I'll go with you when you have free time. I thought a little bit about skiing too... whether I should stick with snowboarding or switch to skiing or just give up both entirely. I'm not sure yet.

 

I like the equation you shared. Is the idea that the more you expect of yourself, the less others have to discipline you? I have noticed that correcting discipline isn't something I usually receive easily, or gladly. I think that is just human nature. So rather than receiving correction from others, I could just correct myself. Hopefully I understood that correctly.

 

Well, I will go write mom. She has a lot to ask me ;)

 

Thanks for your example. I love you.

 

Tab

p.s.

Thanks again for the thought. I have never read that scripture in D&C 121, although I have spent a lot of time in that section, mostly at the beginning and at the end of it.

 

Question, do you still speak Portuguese? When Elder Priest said his prayers in Portuguese, I could pick up about 60/70% of what he said. That was nice because then I could help him speak the mission language from 6pm to 9pm. I could understand what he said and then respond in English or Spanish. I have noticed that my Spanish has taken a real dive since I left Trenton. I still contact hispanics on occasion, but my Gospel vocabulary is very limited. I can still understand just about everything that is spoken to me, though.

 

If you haven't already, you should take a look at Elder Bednar's talk called Becoming a Preach My Gospel Missionary. I think I have mentioned it before. I really like it. It gave me a lot of confidence when I read the qualifications to become a PMG missionary. They are very simple.

 

Thanks for your help!

 

Love,

Tab