Week 20: Transferred Again - June 27, 2018

Well, I know this is a bit sooner than you guys expected, but it's time for another email session from me, because today is now my p-day! We had transfers yesterday, and I am now serving in Data Services. I can't exactly tell you what we do there, mostly because I haven't been there yet, but I will let you know next time. I also got a new companion, named Elder Petersen, and his pretty nice. He likes to talk a lot, which I'm usually not used to doing at first, but something tells me that things will improve. The other big change is that I'm in a training apartment! For those of you who don't know what that is, a training apartment is when one companionship lives in a four-man apartment so that when the next batch of elders show up, they aren't in an apartment all by themselves. I've always wanted to be in one of these kind of apartments, so I'll see how this goes.

We also went to the Manti pageant recently, and I got to say, I was really impressed. It was visually stunning and the story was amazing. The dialogue and music could be updated, along with a couple of other facts in there like Brigham Young being the one to tell the government that they could create the Mormon Battalion rather than being asked by the government. We did have a little bit of a problem with the protesters, but not that much. In fact, one elder heard one protester give up because of the amount of elders walking by. I hope we get to go next year, because I really enjoyed myself.

On Monday, our mission president gave a talk about the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum, and it was really interesting. It was really cool to hear about the events that lead to their deaths, and it was also cool to find out that it was important for not just the prophet, but also the patriarch to die to seal their testimonies in their blood.

Other than that, I don't have much else to share. It hasn't been to long since I last emailed, but already I've shared more than I usually do during emails. I hope you all have a great week, and make sure to remember that: 1.) Joseph and Hyrum both died for their testimonies, and we need to have that kind of devotion (although don't try looking for situations that will put you in that kind of danger), and 2.) my p-day is now on Wednesday. Have a great week.

Till next week,

Elder Wright

PS: A picture of me and Elder & Sister Boon. They are leaving today and I got a picture of them with me while I'm holding the blanket of my Great Grandpa Ketcher, who they actually knew.

Some pictures at the Manti Pageant

Week 19: Off to Manti - June 22, 2018

Guess what time it is?! Yes, it's email time!! Okay, so I'm emailing today because tomorrow we are going to the Manti temple to see the Manti pageant, which I hear is pretty cool. It will be very interesting to see it, since the only other church pageant that I've been to is the Mesa temple pageant, so it will be interesting to compare. Well, other than that, and the fact that my birthday was on Sunday, so that was pretty cool. I'm so grateful for all the stuff that my family got me, including cake and ice cream! I'm so happy that they were able to go out of their way to do that for me, and reminds me that I have all of you guys cheering me on! I hope that all of you know that I care about you and that your support, not just for me, but for all the missionaries, is very much appreciated!

Till next week,

Elder Wright

PS: Picture time!

From Mom: He told us a senior couple was leaving that had this Sword of Laban. The Elders decided it would be fun to get pictures with it!

Week 18: Day Before Birthday Fun - June 16, 2018

From Mom: Elder Wright's birthday is June 17, and what did the rest of us do on June 15? Well, we went birthday shopping for him and dropped off gifts, a birthday cake, and ice cream at the mission office. It was super weird to know that we were in the same building and weren't going to see him! So here is a picture of all of the family, except our missionary, outside of the building where he is serving. This may possibly go down as the craziest birthday ever!

This is a screenshot of Priscilla's instagram post of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building

And here is his email to us this week:

Hey everyone! So, as you may have guessed from the title, tomorrow is my birthday! It's going to be weird celebrating my birthday away from home, but it will be interesting none the less. Not much has happened since I last wrote to you all, which is probably for the best, given how eventful last week was. Thankfully, my companion is doing better, so everything is fine. Also, today their is a big block party outside the Family History Library, so if you are around Salt Lake City, you should come and hang out. It looks like tons of fun, so don't miss out. Anyway, I hope all of you have a great week and remember the Lord loves you!

Till next week,

Elder Wright

Week 17: Wacky Companion Health Problems - June 11, 2018

Elder Wright didn't send any pictures. Again! So I'm posting this picture of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. His mission offices are there and this is also where he works on the Digital Imaging Project.

And now this week's email:

Okay, before I begin, I just want to say sorry for not emailing all of you this week, but as you can tell from the title of this email, some strange and kind of funny things have been happening that prevented me from doing emails.

So, since the last time that I emailed you guys, my companion has been having these times where his mind would get fuzzy and he would eventually start to pass out, so him and I would have to go back to the apartments an hour early. On Wednesday, though, things got even more interesting. Doctor Ferry, one of the main doctors around here, prescribed him this one medication to help him relax, however, it did it's job too well. About an hour after taking it, my companion would start falling in and out of sleep, which was a bit funny, but also a bit concerning. The nurses then told him (after he would stay awake long enough) that he can only take it before going to bed. 

Everything was fine from there, until we got to Saturday. While we were shopping at Smiths, My companion started to feel very tired. We were able to finish shopping, but by then he was having a hard time doing most things. We, that being myself and the other elders that we were shopping with, got him into the car and drove him back to the apartments, where we laid him on the couch while the APs contacted the nurses on what to do. He laid there for about an hour and a half, in which he was doing strange things with his hands. We found out at about 1 pm that he wasn't just doing random hand movements, but was in fact trying to communicate with us, and that he was awake the entire time! This really surprised us, but once we got him writing on a piece of paper, he told us that he wanted a blessing, So, we did just that: we gave my companion a blessing. After that, we took him to the bathroom, and once he got there he was able to start moving a bit more on his own. By the end of the day, he was back to normal, but that isn't the end. Yesterday, before we went to church, his legs started to feel weak. When we got to the JSMB, which is where we have church, we talked to Sister Boon (one of the nurses) and she gave him a cane to use. After that, near the end of first hour, my companion started to feel the thing that happened on Saturday to start happening again. In a few minutes, he was almost completely immobile. After a small council between this Australian doctor, the two nurses, and Elder Boon, they decided that we would just take him to sacrament meeting so that he can relax and actually move again, which is what happened. In the end, my companion is fine (mostly), the there is a chance that this could lead to something more serious. We'll just have to wait and see. I hope you guys had an exciting week like I did. Have a great time and remember to keep the missionaries in your prayers.

Till then, 

Elder Wright

Week 16: Elder Christiansen Visit - June 2, 2018

Salt Lake Cemetery

Hello friends! It's P-day, so it's time for another painful intro to my email. So, not much has happened this week, except for the fact that we were visited by Elder Christiansen, a member of the Quorum of the 70. It was really exciting because this is the elder that my mission president reports to, so if we did really well, we could be getting kinds of cool changes to the mission. Needless to say, we nailed it on making a great impression, so everything went well. However, we did have to put in a lot of effort. We all got hair cuts (I don't have my camera on me so I can't take a picture) and made sure that we got our suits to look nice, so now we all look really good and spiffy. I'm having a great time and I'm so glad that we were able to make our mission look good. Let me know if you guys have any questions! Have a wonderful week and remember to give service where ever you can.

Till next week,

Elder Wright