Another week in the book. Another week
added to a 2-year book. The weather here has continued to be hot and
humid with temperatures being above 30 degrees all week. We didn't do as
much biking this week though so it was a nice break. We were in
meetings most of the week as well so most of our time was spent inside.
We made two trips to the hospital this week. On Thursday,
I went in because I had an ingrown toenail on my left foot on my big
toe that was giving me a lot of pain and was infected as well. So we got
there and we waited for 3 hours by the time they took me in. They froze
the toe, put some iodine on it and then removed the ingrown toenail. They
sent me home with some medication and away I went. They had me come back
on Saturday
to check on it. When I went in the second time, I only waited 10
minutes. They took me in and said I need to constantly soak it in salt
water the next couple weeks. Since then it was been difficult to walk
without being in pain. On Saturday, the pain was excruciatingly. I could hardly walk at all and it still hurts to walk but I am doing better.
Back
in November at the end of the month in Bridgewater, I actually had an
ingrown toenail on my right foot on my big toe removed as well. That
took 5 hours for them to take me in. So needless to say I have
encountered some health issues in the last 6 months of my mission.
Last
weeks MyPlan session was "Self-Reliance." In this session it talked
about the 4 principles of Self-Reliance: Have faith in Jesus Christ,
Obedience, Solve problems and act for yourself, Become One with the
Savior and serve others. It had me make plans for employment and make
plans for education.
This week's MyPlan session
was "Dating and Temple Marriage." I actually did it this morning. I
usually do it on Wednesdays but I decided this week that it would be
better if I did on a Monday so that I could think about more on a day
where we do as much missionary work. In this session there were A TON of
videos from prophets, apostles, and return missionaries. The videos
talked about having faith when you're dating, personal purity, overcoming
challenges, how to approach dating, and dating itself. It then had me
make goals for how I'll date and personal standards of the woman I want
to marry.
The final session
of MyPlan next week is entitled "My Plan". I had my missionary departure
interview this week with a member of the mission presidency. In this
interview, we talked about continually becoming a better person after I
come home, plans for a career and plans for education. He recommended
that I wait till my mid 20's to get married because he feels I'll go
through experiences that will help me gain more and more confidence and
that my education will be well-rounded by then and my employment.
He recommended I listen to a talk called "Be your best self" by
President Monson. He told me that at times I will feel that on my
mission I was the best person I could be but that isn't the case. I
should always feel that I am progressing and becoming a better person.
This week, on Tuesday, we went to Calais and street contacted in the morning and then I mailed my
package. In the afternoon we gave service at the hospital and then Elder
Belmonte had his departing interview. On Wednesday,
we were in Fredricton for the day on exchanges. In the morning, we had
district meeting . The trainings were on initial contacting and
commitments. I was with Elder Kelly in the afternoon. We street
contacted downtown and did some knocking. We actually street contacted a
tourist from BC whose friend's sister is going to the same course I'm
taking in the fall and she is going to the U of L in the fall. Small
world :P. On Thursday we had a special zone conference to talk more about planning. Then on Saturday the ward had a pioneer day event where they cooked hot dogs and had a bunch of food.
With that... this week is my last full week as a missionary. Next week is transfer week and P-Day will be on Wednesday.
By then all of my missionary labors and the ability to participate in
missionary activities for all intents and purposes will be over. That day
will be dedicated to traveling and packing. So you only have one letter
left. Put in it your final thoughts on my mission as a whole and the
future I have ahead of me.
Have a good week! Hang tight!
Love,
Elder O'Brien (the older)
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