Week 42: Thanksgiving Fun! - November 27, 2018

Hello friends, it's time for me to do the emailing thing again! Okay, so I actually do have stuff to tell you about. Obviously, we had Thanksgiving last week, so that makes up the majority of it. 

Okay, so we actually started having our time off on Wednesday night, in which we spent our time playing games like Smash Up. On the actual day of Thanksgiving, we actually didn't have much free time, since they kept us pretty busy. We did get to sleep in an hour, though, so that's cool. We then went to work out like usual, but unlike the other times we actually got to be with all of the mission rather than just the rest of the FHL side of the mission. That was pretty fun since I got to spend some time with people that I hardly see any more. After work out, we had to help set things up for the actual dinner in the cultural hall, which took a couple of hours. We then went back to the apartments for an hour, then we went back to have Thanksgiving dinner/lunch. It was being catered by this one restaurant along with any missionaries that wanted to contribute, so the food was really delicious. It was great because it reminded me of my family's Thanksgiving tradition of having Thanksgiving at our church building. After we finished eating, we went back to the apartments for an hour or two, then back to the stake center again to watch a movie. The movie we watched was "Rudy", and I really liked it, even though I'm not much of a sports person. The main reason I liked it is because it shows that you can reach your goals as long as you put in all of your effort. You don't have to naturally be talented at something, as long as try your best, which it has to be your best, you can accomplish anything. 

The next day we had the same kind of work out thing that we did the day before, but without the set up part. After that, we had a ton of free time, which my district used to go shopping and to, as I put it, scavenge the remains of Black Friday. This plan, however, kind of fell flat because 1. we didn't realize that stores usually keep things well stocked, even after the initial stampede of Black Friday morning, and 2. we didn't really see anything that we wanted/needed/could use. It would have been cool to get something, but every time I saw something that I would usually want, I just didn't feel the desire to get it. I do feel like that was for the best, though, so it's good thing. That evening we watched another football movie called "Remember the Titans", and it was alright, but I still liked "Rudy" a bit more. I did like how it showed how people can easily get along despite their different races, but it had a strange pace to it and the little girl that's supposed to be the one we're seeing these events from just comes off as annoying and a bit unnecessary.

The only other thing that I know to tell you all about is that we had transfers last week, so I guess I can talk about that. The only thing that really changed is that we got a different elder in my apartment now, and his name is Elder Gale, who is a former district leader so that means he knows what he's doing. Other than that, nothing else affected us. All I have left to say now is that I hope you all had a great time with your Thanksgivings! Have a great week, and remember to do your best no matter what you do!!!

Till then,

Elder Wright

  

Week 41: Fun Visit from the Fire Department - November 20, 2018

Hey friends and Family! Yep, it's that time of the week again, and I bet that title got your attention. Just so you know, everything is fine, nothing was harmed or anything like that, but I'll explain more later on. Okay, so first things first, today is transfers, but from what I can tell, nothing is really going to be changing for me. My companion and I didn't get moving notices, so we are probably going to be with each other in the same zone for another transfer, which is good. I'm just happy that this will be my first time that I'll be completely unaffected by what happens in transfers! 

I guess now is a good time for me to explain what happened with the fire department. Okay, so this morning I was working on my laundry, and since we have the laundry room right next to our apartment, I can just easily keep our apartment door open and still be within sight and sound. However, I didn't take into account that my companion was cooking eggs on the stove, which makes a lot of smoke. Now, if the door was closed, the fire alarm in our apartment would have just gone off, which is an easy fix since we can just open a window, turn on a fan, and so forth. However, since the door was open, that meant that it set off the fire alarm for the entire apartment building, meaning everyone had to get out while the fire department shows up just to see that we burnt some eggs. There wasn't any danger, but it did cause a bit of a nuisance for the other elders in that building. The smoke alarms here are very sensitive, so it's not like we had a pillar of smoke or something like that. All we had was the minimal amount to set off the alarm, so you could easy see everything and breath just fine. Oh well, I can laugh at it now, and I think this will be a great learning opportunity for everyone involved. I hope you all have a great week and remember to turn on your stove vent when cooking!

Till next week,

Elder Wright

PS: I still have no clue on what we are doing for Thanksgiving other than a Thanksgiving dinner at the stake center and watching a movie, so don't bother asking what we'll be doing

 

Elder Wright also sent this:

 Q: What does a typical Sunday look like for you?

A: I wake up at 6:30, fall asleep on the couch till about 8:30, then eat breakfast, take a shower, read the scriptures, and talk with my fellow district members in my apartment until about noon, in which we have lunch and get ready for church. We have church from 1 to 4, and then we head back to the apartment until 5:15, which is usually when we have dinner appointments. After that, we either hang out at our apartment till bed time or we go to a fireside if Pres. Fenn has one planned.

Q: Are you excited to be so close to Temple Square with all the lights for Christmas- I am assuming that you'll get to see the lights? Any other activities that you may be participating in for Christmas?
A: It will be interesting to see all the lights on Temple Square. However, I don't know of any upcoming activities that we'll be doing other than having Thanksgiving and Christmas off.

Q: Do you have a warm coat and gloves to keep you warm from the cold weather?
A: It's not my arms that get cold, it's usually my face and hands. I did get a scarf and a beanie recently, so that will definitely help. I also have a pair of gloves that I'll probably be breaking out soon.

Q: What's your favorite food to eat for Thanksgiving?
A: Turkey! I love having turkey, because after you eat a ton of it you just end up falling asleep wherever!

Hope this answers the questions that you all have been wanting answered! Shout out to Sister Crawford for these questions!

And he sent this in his email to me and I thought I would share:
1. The best part of my week was hearing how much my zone leader & the assistant zone leader appreciate me.
2. The worst part of my week was finding out that I'm not going to be a trainer this transfer.
3. The funniest thing that happened this week was the thing that happened today, which you should already know about from my mass email.
4. My most spiritual experience from this week was the talks given during the sacrament meeting at Temple View, which was the old person's place that we helped out at on Sunday.
5. I learned that if we recognize when God is testing us, we can use that as fuel to go through that test and receive the blessings that he wants to give us.
6. Pray that we can realize that being grateful isn't something we have to do one time a year and that we can be thankful all year round.

Week 40: Cold Weather Is Stupid - November 13, 2018

Hello, my fellow youth. So, not much is different from last time I emailed you (If I had a dollar for every time I said that in an email, I'd probably be able to buy something expensive). I will say, though, is that it's definitely starting to get a lot colder around here, and I'm not to fond of that. The weather here is probably what Chandler gets to at it's cold time of the year, and the temperature is still dropping!! I'm thinking about getting a scarf and/or ear muffs to stay warm, so that will be fun to deal with. Other than that, not much else is happening. Zone work is still the same as usual, and apartment life is also pretty much the same as well, so I have no interesting stories from there either. Hope you all had a more fun week than I did! Have a great week, and remember to always strive to have The Spirit with you!!

Till then,

Elder Wright

Week 39: Daylight Savings Is Still Stupid - November 6, 2018

Hello friends and family, it's me again. As you might have guessed, not much has changed between the last time I emailed and now, except for one thing: daylight savings recently happened. Yes, that stupid thing has happened again, but thankfully, this time it is the good kind, which is the one where we move the clock back so we get an extra hour of sleep. It was great having that extra hour, but that still doesn't change my opinion on how silly daylight savings is. Oh well, I only have to deal with this one more time before I go back. The only thing that I feel is even remotely noteworthy for today is that we went shopping at Sam's Club, and they have an exclusive flavor of Mountain Dew, so that's neat. I'll let you know if anything else happens in the near future. Have a great week, and remember to do some temple work if you can.

Till Then,

Elder Wright

PS: Here are some pictures of me from Halloween.

Elder Wright also sent this to our former bishop, who forwarded it to me. I loved it so much that I wanted to include it here!

Hey Brother T,

I'm really glad to hear from you! It's always nice to hear from you and I'm glad to get your emails. I'm doing pretty well here, since things aren't going crazy right now. My companion is doing really well so far. This is his third month on the mission, and Library Services is the second zone he's been in, so I'm doing my best to make things great.

Okay, so here are my answers to your questions. The best part of being a district leader is that you feel like what you do matters, so you actually feel useful when you have to do something like make decisions on what the young elders do in the zone and all that stuff. The worst part is that you have to deal with stressful situations, like counseling other district members and having to deal with any problems that happen between missionaries. I don't personally interact with the mission president that often, but we do have leadership meetings with him about once a week and a mission conference once a month, so somewhat often. The thing that I think is most important to teach to the future missionaries is the importance of daily scripture study, specifically out of the Book of Mormon, as well as the importance of the Book of Mormon. As for advice for the future missionaries, I would say to prepare mentally. It's not just about staying off your phone, video games, internet, etc., it's about keeping you mind focused on the goal of the mission, which is to bring the spirit to all. If all you talk and think about is the worldly stuff like pop culture, sports, politics, etc., then you won't survive a mission, because you have to gain a love for the gospel and a love of learning and sharing it. The mission isn't a time to continue being iffy on your religion, it's a time to be all in! I know that might be a little bit long winded, but I do think it is something that needs to be taught. I hope this helps. Have a great and enjoyable week!!

Sincerely,

Elder Wright

Week 38 1/2: Transfer Updates and Halloween - November 3, 2018

We were super happy and surprised to get a bonus email from Elder Wright this week. Read below and you'll understand.

Hey everyone! So, just so you know, no, this is not my new p-day, so be ready for me to also do emails on Tuesday. The reason I am emailing is because my new companion, Elder Barron, is new to the zone, and because of how our zone works, this first p-day is today so that it would not interfere with his training. Oh well, it gives me an extra chance to talk to you all. 

As for transfers, it went pretty well. As you know from my last email, I didn't have to move this month, so that was amazing. I do have a new companion, though, and he's pretty cool. He's from Atlanta, Georgia, and is a fan of skate boarding, drawing, and Dark Souls. He kind of reminds me of my first companion, Elder Halliday, so that's pretty cool. We haven't done too much as a companionship, but I think that will change in the future.

Halloween was on Wednesday, and we were not kept from having fun. At 5 pm, we got to go to the JSMB to eat Dominos and to watch Coco, which was really fun since I've only seen that movie once before, and that was before the mission. That movie does a good job at showing what happens to us when our family doesn't do their family history. Sure, they may not physically fade away (is it physically if they are dead, or is ethereally), but they do fade away from our memory and from our lives, making it like they have never lived at all. I just hope we all can remember that and use it to help us remember to do our family history work. Sorry for the tangent, but anyway, after that we went back to our apartments, where I had some fun with a fake mustache. I have pictures, but I forgot to bring my camera with me, so I'll send those on Monday.

I think that's all I really have to say for now. We are going to be having a temple day today to do baptisms, confirmations, and initiatories for some of the relatives of the senior sister missionaries, so that will be great. I'll have to let you know how that goes. Have a great week!

Till then,

Elder Wright’s