7/27/08

Hey Short Timer:

How’s it going this week? I didn’t hear from you last week. Actually I don’t think anyone did. So there’s nothing to go off of this week. So this will be short. I was in Denver all last week, so I don’t have much to report on other than work stuff. I guess to pick up where I left off in the last letter with my hand. I got some pretty good burns on all of my left hand fingertips. I gripped down pretty hard on a burning hot exhaust and muffler of my mower. In fact, right on top of the symbol in the metal that has a picture of a hand with an X right through it saying not to touch here. Ooops. I wasn’t thinking when I did it, just wanting to adjust the length settings on the wheels and couldn’t quite get it on the far side, so I gripped down and heard a split second sizzle before I felt the sharp pains shoot through my hand and arm. Yowza! I still have some weird burn wrinkles and calluses, but the blisters cleared up after a week. We are getting a good storm in right now, which is good. We haven’t had much moisture for a long time and need a good rain storm. Just something to block out the burning sun is all I want. But I’m pretty stoked on a good rain storm. I love lightning and thunder too. So this is a cool summer storm.

I just got home from my home teaching appts. And then my home teachers came over for their visit. Can’t tell it’s the last Sunday of the month, can you? I just got off the phone with mom and pops and Gramps. They all seemed to be doing well. Brinlee was out playing in the big storm. We got a big down pour for a while, but now it’s quit and we are back to dryness.

I was going to throw down some preparatory advice on re-entry, but I decided against that until you are home. You will adjust just fine and don’t need to think about any of it until you are actually home. So continue to concentrate on your mission and we’ll have plenty of hang out time when you get back to talk, discuss, break it down, de-brief, etc. I’m actually hoping I can get the day off to see you at the airport. I won’t know until late this week. And it might be tough, but we’ll see. If not, no biggie, I’ll see you later on that night anyway. We’ll have plenty of time to catch up.

So are you going to write back before you come home? Or have we heard the last from you until you come home? I haven’t gotten a personal letter from you in several weeks. I’ve just been going off of what Mom and Pop get. This may be the second to last letter you get. If not the last. I’m not sure if you will get to the library or wherever you get e-mail that last week. So maybe this will be my last e-mail. That is weird huh? If you write back and let me know that you will have time to check e-mail one last time, I’ll write you one last time. But I’ll wait to hear back from you. If I don’t hear back from you, I will just let this be my last e-mail.

With that in mind, this could be the last quote of the week you get…

“The missionary work of the Latter-day Saints is the greatest of all the great works in all the world.”

- Heber J. Grant

You know this to be true now. You have a firm testimony of this now. Everything you do from this point on will, unfortunately pale in comparison. But you have had the experiences now at the most opportune time of your life to take those experiences into the most challenging of life’s hurdles and find yourself graciously prepared for all of them. What a glorious thing, missionary work. I draw from the deep pool of experiences and knowledge gained from my mission still on a seemingly daily basis and am grateful every day for what my mission brought me in life. I am so much more blessed than I ever could have imagined from the people I met on my mission, the experiences gained, the testimony built, and the relationship established with my Lord and Savior. I am like Joseph in a way where I cannot ever deny what I know to be true. You had the most amazing mission experience that I could have hoped you’d have. I hear from your testimony that you write home with, that you will take these things into the rest of your life now and utilize those talents and gifts you have been given to the best of your abilities, you will use the talents given you to maximize your potential to fulfill all that the Lord has prepared for you. I know that He has a lot in store for you and you will need to use each and every one of those gifts at some point. Always be prepared to give those gifts freely when you see the perfect moment. You’ll have moments in school, you’ll have moments at work, you’ll have moments in courting and dating, you’ll have moment after moment after you are married, and you’ll have moments in social gatherings and of course moments in your future callings to pull from the wealth of blessings you’ve now been given to give back and lift up your bretheren. (see Luke 22:32 & D&C 108:7)

I hope you know that I feel blessed to be your brother for eternity. I’m blessed to be sealed to you and have not only a family and brotherly bond with you, but a spiritual one too as that can be the strongest kind of bond. I can’t wait to have our great talks again soon. I can’t wait to play tennis, Xbox, football, etc. with you again. I can’t wait to see you move on with life and go through the next levels that come naturally (dating, marriage, completion of your education, career, and callings, and of course a family of your own).

Well, I’m getting into stuff I said I’d wait till you are home to discuss. So I’ll call it good. I’ll sign off now and hope to hear from you tomorrow. Let me know if you’ll be checking e-mail or if I should just let this be my last letter. I’ll talk to you soon. And see you almost as soon. Work hard this week. Stay focused. Bust our butt for just another week and a half or so. Work as hard as you can. Leave it all out there. You will have plenty of time to rest when you get back home. Even though I’ll make sure to get you busy again right away, but still… work it all out of your system while you can now. You will be Jonesing to do more missionary work for a while after you are home, so try to exhaust all of your energies now.

I am excited to have you back soon. I love you.

Trav