The Hulk

Tom got his staples out this morning and is feeling great. I have to keep reminding him that just because he feels good, not all the rest of us do yet.

Here's my foot today. It's turning green. I'm the incredible hulk!

I hope I'm not driving everyone crazy with this. It amazes me to see how wonderful my body is and how it heals. Heavenly Father was so awsome to give us bodies that enable us to do a whole host of things, and to make it renewable, too!

Just call us...

brainless and hop-along!


This was Tuesday. Notice the remotes--all within reach! LOL

These photos really don't do it justice. I keep telling myself that one day it will start looking better instead of worse! As long as the swelling keeps going down a little each day. That's all I can ask for.

After my trip to the ER Monday, all I could do was laugh. One accident was sad, two was totally over the top. Suddenly, my attitude shifted. Thank goodness it wasn't worse for either of us. So what we have to use some of our savings to pay the bills...that's what it was there for anyway! Thank goodness we have teenagers and not toddlers! And they have been very patient with us cripples, by the way...cooking, running the household and all. It may not be all rosey, but life is still good.

Droppin' like flies

So today it was my turn. I was helping the kids move our tetherball into a new location and we dropped the base on my foot. It's like when you pinch your finger good and it swells way big and gets a huge bruise. So far I can wiggle my toes, the color of my toes is good and I can put weight on my heel. As long as I keep ice on it the swelling isn't too bad, but it's already showing a great bruise. I had to give my kitchen manager the bad news. They are having a bad time with subs these days, but I can't get to work for at least a couple days.

When it rains, it pours. Please keep us in your prayers.

ER visit

So, I'm beginning to reply to a question on my niece's blog, when I hear a tremendous crash that went on forever, it seemed. I went to see what had happened, and heard, "That's not good."

Tom had been trimming a lilac tree that was getting too close to the power lines that connect to our house and fell off the ladder. He mostly landed on his shoulder, but also hit his head which was bleeding. He had already put pressure on it, and was laying on the cement of the breezeway. He didn't lose conciousness and was very aware of everything, but I knew as dizzy as he was there was no way we were taking him to the hospital without help. At first he couldn't even sit up without nearly passing out. Finally I went to our neighbor who is a retired fire fighter and he came to help. He encouraged us to call for an ambulance. It was so nice to have him here...having his know-how and encouragement helped.

After 3 hours in the ER Tom had had his shoulder x-rayed (not broken), his head stapled (2 gashes), and was able to walk without passing out.

The problem now is...The pharmacies are all closed for the night.

I think it was 6 months ago that James was in the ER. I sure hope this doesn't become a semi-annual occurance!

Smile!

This is a great short film. It's about 17 minutes long. It was sent to Tom by one of his friends. I hope this will work for you to see it.

http://www.spiritualcinemacircle.com/scc/ecs/public/main/validationMovie.html

I love mail like this

I’m glad I have a part of your patriarchal blessing, and I’m grateful you did your part in teaching me, otherwise I may not have made it out here or stayed out here. But I’m glad I have. This experience, good times and bad, has been one of the more beneficial and influential in my life.

I love the book of Mormon. This week I picked it up and decided I wanted to reread 2nephi 4. In this chapter Lehi finishes teaching his children and then dies and Nephi begins to understand that those are his shoes he must fill. He’s got to step up and start being a prophet instead of just a righteous man. He was already on overload dealing with his brothers now he’s responsible for everybody and as he thinks of that sacred trust he wants to scream "o wretched man that I am". It’s a really powerful section. I decided I want to memorize it.
I like the idea of trying to stay clean more than trying to get clean. It’s a much more optimistic way to look at it. we are not these evil dirty beings stained by another mans sins like some think we are but rather the very children of God and some of his more valiant at that.

What you said about the balance between the physical spiritual and emotional that you have been discovering was really neat. I think it was yesterday or perhaps the day before Elder Ericksen and I were discussing the relationship between the body mind and spirit. We concluded (in Freudian fashion) that the body was the carnal nature and our spirit obviously that part of us which desires righteousness. Our brain or mind is the place where these two battle it out (almost like 2 Nephi 2:27 (I think)) and where all the decisions are made. What’s sweet is I have been able to learn that the veil is more or less self imposed and the more ready we are to receive revelation the more we will receive. Our spirit holds back our subconsiousness because we're not ready to know what it contains. So with all that in mind what you concluded is definitely true. As you focus more on building up your spiritual plane it will fill the gaps and needs your mind feels imposed on it by your body and at the same time will give you and is giving you further light to take care of your tabernacle. I hope all that made sense.
It’s funny what things you learn as you are kept awake from one thing or another.
This week was pretty good. Not a ton to tell about. Hopefully what few potential investigators we do have will begin to progress shortly. We are working with some Chinese guys. Dr. Wong and Dong Yue are roommates and both atheists. It’s difficult for them to believe in God or to understand the culture of those who do because they are natively from china. In china to be religious is discouraged. They’re both great guys and there is some potential there for both of them. Hopefully with this last few weeks we'll have with them we can help them in one way or another.
Well, I love ya have a great week
john

It's worth it!

i love you too. its been a roller coaster ride but i hope to continue to improve. i take no real credit though. you guys raised me to be who i am. even though maybe i didnt understand why we did things like go to church each sunday or whatever else those things help me continually. John

Mothers

I’m a day late, but I wanted to follow Brianna’s lead for a mother’s day post.

Mothers that have influenced me…

My mom—Mom was my best friend while I was growing up. After elementary school I never had a sibling attending the same school as me. The others did and were friends with the siblings closest to them in age, but I had no one. So my mom was my friend. Whenever dad worked nights she would let me stay up late on Friday night, watch a TV show with her and sleep with her. She said she preferred to sleep with me than any of the other kids because I didn’t wiggle all night.

Mom taught me how to handle bullies. When the kids teased and made fun of me, she taught me to be strong and to develop a thick skin. She told me over and over that if they knew how much it bothered me they would keep doing it, but if they didn’t know they would stop at some point. I took that lesson to the extreme later in life, but at the time it really worked.

Mom also taught me to do what is right for me. For several years I tagged along with a group of girls who were quite codependent. The ring leader would get upset every time I tried to make new friends, but as long as I was willing to follow her and be a groupie she was happy. Mom told me over and over that I was better than that kind of treatment. She was right and I remember that every time I am faced with codependent relationships. Even at my lowest points in life I remember what my mom taught me.

Grandma Housley (mom’s mom)—Grandma was a great example of serving. She and grandpa were always doing things to help others. They were gardeners and would give away what they couldn’t eat themselves. They served a mission in New Zealand in their later years, and they also served in the Logan temple as officiators for a few years. Grandma served as the quilting coordinator in their ward for years. Grandma passed away on the 18th of December and had already attended the temple and done her visiting teaching that month.

Grandma Bright (dad’s mom)—Grandma Bright embodied love. Whenever we crossed her threshold we knew that she loved us. We always felt that love and acceptance no matter what we did. Our favorite thing was to visit Grandma and eat her home canned raspberries and her fresh baked bread. Delicious! I loved hearing Grandma laugh. It was one of the most pleasing sounds I ever heard.

Christi, my sister in law—While my family was struggling with wayward teenagers, Christi was a great example to me of raising teenagers who chose the right. Even though they had one teen who made some bad choices, Christi has been an example to me of loving that child and accepting her anyway. I watch Christi to learn how to be a great mother, how to develop good relationships with my children, and how to keep those relationships as my children become adults.

Hannah from the Bible—I read Hannah’s story again after I had had some problems with fertility and was finally pregnant with James. I was impressed with how humble she was and how she was able to dedicate her son to the Lord after all that time waiting for a child. I decided to name my daughter after her.

The mothers of the Stripling Warriors—As I study the Stripling Warriors and see what fine people they were I am impressed that they had fantastic mothers. There are verses in the Book of Mormon that tell of the kinds of mothers they were and I strive to be like they were. Our children are truly facing great challenges in our time.

Hello?

"Hello. This is Elder Jenson. I'm calling to set an appointment for when I can call you tomorrow."

"Church gets out at noon. So, after 1 pm will be just fine."


UPDATE: He called right at 1 pm!

More mail

I could get spoiled hearing from John three times in two weeks.


thanks
they just gave me the papers we missionaries lovingly dub "pre-trunks" which are the papers i need to fill out before they send me my flight info ("trunks" or "trunky papers")

its wierd to think that im really creaping close enough to it to begin making those plans. its also wierd to think that i have less weeks left than one of my zone leaders has months left. how long can i speak for? sounds like a good first week back.
Dale's a daddy? wow.
i love it how God speaks to us and assigns us to teach those things we need to know. itll be interesting what comes out of my mouth these last few testimonies i bear as a missionary to other missionaries.
indy was fun but sure enough it was just a brief stopping ground. i know that God knew what he was doing. i know im supposed to be here right now. i dont know how to explain or even if i should. but i know that i needed to be here with Elder Ericksen right now on this campus. its kinda funny that you had that intuition.
well i love ya
john

i also had an opportunity this week to hear the voice of apostles. a couple times accually. i was able to attend a stake conference that was broadcasted from salt lake. i received a lot of understanding about what i need to do to finish this mission off strong despite the face that thats not what was spoken about. also i attended a ysa fireside at which Elder Bednar spoke. he spoke about the importance of the physical body and the dangers of getting caught up in behaviors which minimize the importance of the body. you should see if you can find and whatch it on the church website. it was really really good.
the new area is great. we're in finals week right now so theres less people than there would be otherwise. despite that fact ive already been able to see some miracles. its a really neat place to be. there are a couple baptisms coming up i get to help set up for. thats always fun getting all the paperwork and interviews done. its deffinitly an exciting time.
i dunno what else there is really for this week i love ya john

All I can say is, "WOW!"

I went to Women's Conference with a good friend, and it was so amazing! I don't think words will ever do it justice. The most amazing part was the final hymn of the final general session. We had just listened to Elder L. Tom Perry speak and were singing "The Lord is my Light." Sometime during the second verse ladies started standing up. By the end of the third verse every sister in the audience was standing and the Spirit had poured in so fully that I found it hard to sing. I was crying too hard. I wonder if that is what it was like in Kirtland when the temple was dedicated and the heavens were opened. It was impressive to see thousands and thousands of sisters standing and paying tribute to the Savior and acknowledging His role in our lives through song.

To begin our experience...

This was my fourth time to go to Women's Conference. This friend and I had gone 3 times before, but had taken a couple years off as we sent missionaries and in her case got a daughter married off. So, it was time to go back. We stopped at a couple stores and visited my in-laws on the way to Provo, and didn't arrive in the dorm until 10 pm. Then we were dismayed to find that although we were roommates she was in the May Hall and I was in the Chipman Hall (Helaman Halls). Then we had to go to the Central office for housing to get reassigned a room. The young women who were handling our problem were so cheerful and efficient despite the late hour. We finally arrived at our room after 11 pm.

The cool thing was...Our room was in Merrill Hall! That Hall is named after my great great grandfather, Merriner Wood Merrill, who was an apostle and the first president of the Logan Temple. AND that Hall was the one I lived in during my first year of college. Not only that! We were in the same wing AND on the same floor as the one I lived in back then. It was so unreal!

Front view of Merrill Hall

Back view

I also ran into a sister who had lived in the same apartment complex as I did at the same time I did. We hadn't known each other then, but it was still like we had been old friends. On Friday my friend and I walked to the Brick Oven for dinner, and then walked back to the dorm. We had to leave for home early so we decided to get gas that evening and I drove her past the homes (apartments) we had lived in when Johnathan and Timothy were born. After getting gas we ended up visiting my parents. So many memories!

I can't pick out just one tidbit from any of the sessions that is my favorite. The Lord directed me to the classes I needed most. I was amazed that no matter what the subject all the classes were centered in Christ! It was truly a spiritual feast!

Surprise!

there was a missionary who needed to go home from purdue campus so i got transfered to purdue. im serving with Elder Ericksen again which is awesome. i dont know what to tell you about really since i dont really know any of the gators in either of my last 2 areas but im doing well. i caught a bit of a second wind and ive been able to find some sweet new people and see some miracles happen from straight faith.
i love you guys
john