Rough Week, Conference Talks, And Things I Miss The Most

So this week has been rough. I have not felt good at all this past week. Thursday afternoon I got beyond bloated and about 6:00 pm gastritis hit me hard. My stomach felt like it was going to blow up. I have never experienced so much pain. I felt like I was going to die. It was horrible. I’m better now but I get tired very easily. I cannot thank you enough for those drawings you sent me. They help me so much. I feel like I got a taste of how Christ might have felt in Gethsemane that night and what Joseph Smith felt like at times. Words can’t describe my thankfulness for that experience even though I thought I was going to die. This is a funny story President Nyckolyason was telling how me how long it was going to last and I said ok, then five minutes later I asked again because I couldn’t remember and again he said 1 to 2 days and my response was FLIP. All the elders around got a pretty good laugh when I said that. The Spanish is a struggle. I am struggling with it, because I’m so worn down from being sick. It is very frustrating at times. I know it’s in the Lord’s hands and it will be ok. From this whole week I have learned we must do the Father’s will not ours. “Hold fast to what you already know and stand strong until additional knowledge comes.” That quote is from Elder Holland’s talk, ‘Lord I Believe’ ; it hits me like none other. It helped thru the past couple of days. I have found so much comfort in Elder Holland’s talk, ‘None Were with Him.’ This is a very special talk for everybody. The message is amazing and has a special spirit. I now have a great love for the bible. It is amazing to read about Christ and his life.

When we teach I always use the bible and I didn’t expect that. When we teach I have learned that the single most important thing is to listen and understand with your heart. If you can do that it’s amazing, at times it’s hard to do but I’m working on it. 

So currently I now have 3 soccer jerseys, a Manchester United uniform and an England uniform and a Guatemala jersey. The market is so sweet. I got a nice blanket for 12 bucks and mom you will love it when you see it. I also bought some cool pens, a nice soccer scarf and a wallet. Both of you can fight for the wallet, I sent it home. The weather is so nice sometimes it’s hot but not really humid like Florida. It rains every couple of days. We had a huge thunderstorm last Tuesday it was cool but the sad thing is there really is no thunder. That stinks. The food was good at first but it’s starting to repetitive and so it’s bad we are all dying for some food. My group is always the last one’s fed, so it always cold. Sometimes we get pancakes but the bad thing is they are cold and the syrup is cold. We hardly ever get flippin rice and beans. They occasionally bring out horchata and some kind lemonade but that is so rare. New missionaries come in every 2 weeks. They come in on Wednesday mornings and the out going missionaries leave on Tuesday mornings. I will leave on August 20, 2013 for the mission field. I don’t know what time we leave on the 20th. They changed zone leaders this week, my companion Elder Young is our new zone leader.

Things I miss the most besides family and friends:

1. donuts
2. candy (I crave candy every day and I go insane wanting it!)
3. burritos—Mountain West Burrito, Costa Vita, Cafe Rio
4. hamburgers
5. soda
6. fries
7. tap water
8. Jamba
9. popcorn 
10. walking around in bare feet

Love you,
Elder Mcilmoil 
July 30, 2013

Scripture of the Week: Doctrina y Covenitas 121:7-9