More so than any other month thus far, we have seen the blessings of Elder May and his service. Countless people were touched by the other service missionaries and him in our ward meeting. People have texted, messaged and commented to me what a wonderful missionary he is and how amazing this program is. We love him so much and we are oh, so proud of him. Enjoy!!
Wow, this was a long month. Things were just crazy that kept
me busy and it wasn't one of my favorite months, however, it did have a few
moments in it that made it special for me and my mission. I think there was a
just a lot of stuff that happened at once, things that just were bad news or
things that made me more and more busy, that it was a bit tougher for me to
focus on the good things in life.
One of the great things that happened this month, was that I
got to teach with my awesome missionary friends in my home ward about the YCSM
program. I was able to teach with Elder Ferrell, Elder Sanders, Elder Hayward
and even Elder Pugmire to all of the adults in my home ward about what a YCSM
is, what qualifies to be one and the differences between a proselyting and a
service missionary. I got to tell them my story of coming home early, and
showing them what had happened to me and what I was doing since I have been
home. I remember that night, I posted just our picture on Facebook and I got a
ton of comments from people that I have never really met, just sending me the
best comments about my lesson. I felt like I was nervous and stuttering the
whole time but I guess the Holy Ghost just delivered it absolutely perfect to
these people that my parents and my Facebook post had blown up from all these
different people with how amazing the lesson went.
The other great thing that happened was Halloween at Save the
Family. I remember the first
Halloween here and Laura told me that I should
dress up and I am not super big into Halloween but I wore my football jersey
and just some face paint. When I got there, Laura was dressed as a soccer
player, so totally unscripted but we were both sport players for Halloween.
This year, they were doing a door contest for Save the Family so the kids
across the street that we serve could trick or treat as well. I knew I would
regret it if I didn't participate so I asked around and I got some supplies
from our after-school coordinators and I decorated my door for everyone!
Then
not only that, but Save the Family does a party for all of the staff and so I
went there dressed as a nurse and it was cool to just unwind and learn more about
the people that I work with and it was just so much fun to be there.
I'm just going to take a minute and tell you all about the
best operations manager there is. That award goes to my operations manager,
Laura. She has been with Save the Family for over 25 years, which is longer
than I have been alive! She is a genius, she always has a minute and answers
for my ten thousand random questions that I need to ask her. She is patient and
kind and hilarious and caring for the people that are around her. Not only has
Save the Family been a great place to serve, but it makes it a ton easier to
work here with an operations manager as awesome as she is.
Yes, there were a few tough things that happened this month
that made it difficult to keep going. There was a lot of miscommunication going
on between Save the Family and the YCSMs that work here but Laura and I are
working with the missionaries to get caught up on everything. There was news that one of my good friends
was in an off-roading accident and is still in the ICU and he is still
struggling to wake up and recover from what had happened. Then just people being done and being
released and a few new missionaries being in my district and trying to just
stay caught up and still doing my regular jobs.
I am learning to be more grateful for everything that I
have. I have learned that when you are ungrateful for things, the energy that
you have is sort of sapped from you so when you are grateful for things, you
are given more bursts of energy and can actually accomplish more. I find it as
one of the keys to pure, celestial happiness. I am grateful for Save the Family
and for letting me be a missionary here. I am grateful for them letting me be
able to learn how to work here and be a part of a team and to lead in different
projects and become a better person. I am grateful for my physical well-being
and being able to use my arms and legs in their full-forms and I am able to do
whatever I want without restrictions. I am grateful for my district and what I
am able to do with them and for them to be okay with me if I make mistakes.
This was a tough month, yes, but I was able to grow a lot with this month and I
am ready for November!
All my love -
Elder Bryson May
