Elder Garrett Brothers' Mission Blog: Week 21: Last week in Evanston!

Week 21 Journal

November 21st, 2016:

We went to Park City today! We stayed at a senior couple's very impressive house. There was basically a Thanksgiving dinner, but I was fasting for the day. I took food on a plate and after night fell I ate it in the car.

Planning was better tonight, though we still need to talk more, I've been learning to let things go with Elder Trincado.

Elder Trincado lost his name tag after we got back, but we found it a few houses back from where we were. I had found my flashlight earlier in my toiletries, so we used it to see.

Elder Bade has some cool pull-on Crete attachments for icy walkways. He's going to let me try them out later; if they work and if I stay in Evanston or am in another icy or snowy area they might be a useful Christmas gift idea.

November 22nd, 2016:

We finished weekly planning! Yay! We finally got to do a companionship inventory! And it was good. It helped me see how I needed to change and how Elder Trincado feels. This evening, we did nightly planning. I thought drawing what we were planning on a white-board would help, but it only distracted me. I decided that having some things drawn on a whiteboard would be useful, but I was trying to replicate our schedule so we could both work on it, and it just didn't work.

November 23rd, 2016:

It snowed today! We ended up spending ~1 hour inside because we waited for the plows. The snow is deep! I was wearing my boots and yet sometimes the snow would get up my pant legs and fall into the inside of my boots because the snow was so high! Maybe I need taller boots or something.

I got a package from my parents! My mom sealed it used duct tape with bright yellow sunflowers, and it was a fitting contrast to the snow. Even as the first big storm of winter is finally over Evanston, so the tense mood between Elder Trincado and I is passing. We're more comfortable; we're even joking around a little. We still have to work on planning each evening, as it took 50 minutes again tonight :P.

November 24th, 2016:

We had weekly planning today. It went okay. Elder Trincado and I's relationship has improved since our companionship inventory.

Today, Elder Bade let me try his attachable cleats--"Snowtrax" by "Yak Trax"--and they actually work pretty well! I didn't slip at all on the ice with them. I don't know if walking on concrete/asphalt wears them out quickly, though. I'll ask my dad could check the reviews for these and see if theyare durable and if they actually work. That's assuming I'm staying in this area or am going somewhere else with lots of snow.

Our Thanksgiving dinner was with a family where pretty much everyone went on a mission. It went 2.5 hours, which was way too long, but they were very nice to us. They made us feel at home, which can be very needed on the holidays.

November 25th, 2016:

First, I realized today just how ungrateful my last few journal entries have been. When I wasn't asking for something, I was talking about Elder Trincado and my relationship. Really, it hasn't been nearly as stressful lately. I mention Elder Trincado because that's really what I can remember from the day. I'll add a few things now just to round it out more:

We have a ton of food. Four elders grocery shopping plus all the leftovers people give us out of kindness and the knowledge that they wouldn't be able to eat all of it anyway makes our refrigerator stuffed. We've been very blessed, so much so that we literally don't have room to receive another blessing.
The zone leaders told us this week that they actually have an investigator that belongs to our area. He's deep in Yellow Creek, but they didn't know as he was attending church with a girl he's dating (long story short, that's not his reason for wanting to join the church). Anyway, he's on date to be baptized the second week of next transfer. I'm glad they passed him over, as something similar happened with Robert but we didn't pass him over and things didn't go very smoothly...
I don't think I've ever been homesick on the mission. I know why I'm here and I've accepted it. I've also been able to stop myself from developing any chronic mood conditions, or so I believe, and I'm very grateful I can. I also haven't had sleep problems, outside of the stress-based dreams I had earlier on in the field, and so when I wake up I can just put my head down and go back to sleep.
I've been so blessed by my family. They've been so supportive of me both morally and temporally. I don't know how to express my gratitude to them, not just for their letters and packages but also for the opportunity to go on a mission. I didn't have a job in high school--I participated in [probably too] many clubs, so I never really focused on working. My parents didn't hold me back from a mission because of that, though, and I'm very, very grateful for it.

So I've been very blessed. Thank you. I'm sorry I can't say it better.

Second, I wanted to correct what I said earlier: Elder Trincado didn't want to talk, true, but I never wondered why. I'm so prideful...

With that, our relationship has improved. A lot. It's not the best, but it's better.

A clarification from last week: I didn't mean to request two copies of the Book of Mormon, just a smaller messenger bag that could carry my iPad, two copies of the Book of Mormon, and some personal items.

*****

Transfers are soon! Ahh! I'm not a fast packer, unfortunately, so if I get moved, I'm going to need my time.

Anyway, good night, better dreams, and the best of luck.

November 26th, 2016:

I typed most of my journal up today at breakfast. Yesterday was partially Friday and partially today, when it came to thoughts. I'll still record some events today but probably not as many thoughts.

Oh yeah, and transfers. I'll definitely record transfers.

~Later~

We spent a while talking to an elderly lady who may or may not be a member. She talked slowly and quietly, pausing often to think, and couldn't hear well. It was hard to talk to her, but at the same time it was good, because for once I didn't care that I had to shout and maybe someone would get annoyed or mad. Whereas before I only talked quietly, now I'm less self-conscious and timid. She told me her story of a town called Frontier (that no longer exists) near Kemmerer.

~Later~

I just got word about transfers. I'm leaving! Bwahh! I'm the only one from my district that is being transferred. I'll find out Tuesday where my new area is. Now I need to get packing.

And wouldn't you know it, Elder Trincado and my relationship has drastically improved in the last week. Tonight, we had planning in unison and it was beautiful. I'm so glad we didn't leave it unresolved.

November 27th, 2016:

I'm packing, so I don't have a lot of time. Elder Trincado and I fought and made up today, again. Sacrament meetings were pretty good, too.