April 18, 2016

Hey Mom!                                                                                   April 18, 2016

This week:

Elder Painter, puzzle building, absentee voting, speaking Japanese, church tours, and baptismal invites!

Hm. Misty is still alive eh? I'll be. I don't know what the life expectancy of an average donkey is, but I had a hunch that she would still be at it. Moving into Alton back in 2008 was an odd time for me, the culture shock was real coming from Denver. Misty was one of the few things I could relate to simply because of my feelings for Winnie the Pooh animals. Of course now I know better. Don't get me wrong, I'm not terribly sentimental as you know, but that donkey does help me call back on those inner feelings that got me through that rough time. 

And....dangit, I was sentimental right there. Nuts. 

Anyway, Ephrata has been getting a lot of sunshine recently. My new companion is named Elder Painter and he is from Springville, UT. Yeah, I asked vaguely if he just so happened to know Daniel and Hannah, and that was a negative. Still, he's into hunting, fishing, out-doorsy stuff and the occasional video game. So I relate to him decently well!

But as you can guess, transfer days were odd. At first it consisted of me and Elder Myers, one of the ZL's who house with us, talking story and building a puzzle. A 500-piece puzzle of late 19th century Paris to be more precise. I was...surprised to see myself getting really involved with it. It made me think about all the video-gaming time I did back in Vegas. Gave me a moment to pause and consider the more simpler ways one can spend quality time. I'll probably still make some game time back home. But I also will probably get into writing, building puzzles, and maybe even baking bread with you, dear mother! Heh, I'm almost tempted to take the jerky door-to-door simply because I feel like we do that a decent amount out here.

Oh, and before I forget, we are allowed to do absentee voting. So I don't know what exactly how that works but I believe you guys send me a voting packet of some sort. If I'm honest though, from what little I've heard of the campaign so far, I'm not too certain where to cast my vote. While the primaries aren't still for another 7 months, here's my predicament: As far as I feel like I could be concerned, I got rich, rude, ugly hair man playing red, or straight up stereotypical liberal feminism on PMS rage playing blue,  and I don't know what the 3rd party is like at all.

Now I'm not too certain where Mckay is right now, but I could really go for some detailed discussion ‘cause he's the only fella-my-age I ever met who actually does research that offers both sides of the discussion. But because he's like that, I also wouldn't be too surprised if the government just sent him to the front hoping to write him off! Because if they did, they are going to fail. That guy could fight a horde of aliens with one hand tied behind his back, the other slapping fools around, or something! By the way, could you ask Sis. Curriden where he's at right now? Haven't heard from him in a while because of school.

Fortunately, politics aren't a Celestial topic. On the other hand, recently I came in possession of a book called "An introduction to Modern Japanese" and I have been reading it on and off. There are two members in the ward that served in Japan, so I get quality checks from them. Fun little past time!

We also gave Emily a church tour this past week! It was truly incredible, the spirit that was felt. We took some time to ponder in the chapel, and the baptismal font had a very special feeling to it.

We also got to give a soft baptismal invitation to one of our investigators, and she said that she would once she came to know that the Book of Mormon is true (by the way...it is)! I really love it out here, and while it is a little hard missing all the cool things going on back home, I truly am coming to see myself in a more detailed way just how blessed we as children of God are. He's provided a way back to Him through the atonement of His Son,  and we will always be able to return to Him as long as we follow the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It's more than simple confession. It's lifestyle, a willingness to change and improve in ways that may not seem comfortable at first, but are worth it. It's standing up for yourself and others, just like Christ would. We can't judge, but we can choose and serve. 

And right now, I choose to serve. We find our way back to Him not alone, but with those who we helped out along the way back to Him. And because of awesome folks like you and Dad, then we all can return to him, no matter what. 

Anyway, I appreciate all your emails! Also, are you guys still using P90X? Because if not, would it be too much asking if you could send it up? Still, love you guys! Keep up the good work! Through Him we can all make the right decisions!

Love you!

Elder Michael Camit