This email is going to be different from my usual entry, haha! I realized that I am good at sending out an email each week to keep you all updated about what I have been doing, but after a lot of reading over my past emails, I am horrible about what I have been learning and studying! SOOOO I would like to share with you how I have been doing as a person and what I have learned on my mission so far!
On my Mission, I have emphasized making and setting goals a priority! A big reason I came on a mission was so that I could learn and grow in all areas of my life. And, it’s been a lot of fun making, setting, achieving, failing, and working on goals! I have centered my goal setting around chapter 8 of PMG. If YOU would like to be better at making and achieving goals, definitely check out chapter 8 of PMG. I have followed the 4 sections the Church has recommended: Physical, Spiritual, Social, and Intellectual! For me, the last one is a challenge on my mission.
Physical: This has been a fun goal to work on! As you all know, I am a pretty hefty dude, and I have always been on the bigger end. haha. So, the mission has been super fun to try my best to lose some weight and be in better shape for when I come home. I have actually really enjoyed learning how to cook! It’s still a work in progress, but it has been something I have tried to pick up as I have been focusing on eating better. I made a goal at the beginning of the year to: 1. No candy, and 2. No soda! And after 10.5 months, I’ve done great! However, I am craving some Gummy Bears and monsters, but hopefully, I can endure this one. ha, ha. Actually, eating better and working out has been fun! My brother Barrett has been my biggest fan and modivator! He sent me a workout plan that I have been trying my best to follow, and it’s been great. I weighed myself at the start of my Mission and said, “I am not gonna weigh myself again until I get home!” So I’m curious to see how that goes! If you have any good tips, please send them my way! Also, if you have any good, healthy recipes for me to try, send ’em my way! Chicken and rice is getting a little old!
Spiritual: This has been the coolest one for sure! Before my mission, I was the friend in the group who didn’t know where Alma was in the Book of Mormon. I also thought Nephi just wrote 4 different books lol. But “WOW, I have seriously fallen in love with the Book of Mormon. I have read it 2 times so far and am getting close to ending read #3. And the 3rd time reading it has been a game changer. The first 2 reads I’m ngl. I just listened and followed along and marked a bit. But this last read, I have been really dissecting one or two chapters every day and marking all the cool things I see. I have been marking every time ” Lord, God, Son of God, Holy Spirit… etc.” is mentioned.
It’s amazing to me how real the Book of Mormon is and how it truly does testify of Jesus Christ. I love that book so much, and I wish I listened to Christine Rich more before my mission lol. I have also really enjoyed listening to conference talks! The words of the living prophets are so cool! I love hearing so many things from all the different leaders warning us and helping us return to live with God someday. I love how in this last conference, the focus was all on Jesus Christ, as everything should be. The most important thing I have learned on my mission is something I am still working on. I’ve really been trying to find out, ” Who is Jesus Christ?” It’s been so cool to see his hand in everything.
Social: This has been an interesting one for me. But it’s cool to see all the areas that “Social” actually covers. One of the best things the mission has taught me is how much I am like my Mom, haha. She is a clean freak, and apparently so am I. That’s been a cool social goal I have been doing on the mission is just being clean for the people around you. Makes life so much easier. I have also really tried to listen and be patient with others. Something I have always struggled with is being patient. And a mission sure does test your patience. But PMG taught me something cool. It says, “Patience is the capacity to trust God as your face delay, opposition, or suffering.” I try to think to myself when I am feeling impatient to just trust God and know that his timing will all be for my good! I have loved being able to try to connect with people in the ward and also different missionaries. Building solid friendships with people from all over the world has definitely helped me with my social skills.
Other: This has been a goofy section on my whiteboard. It has had some of the craziest goals but some of the most influential. President Galotera has had me work on a certain goal for my entire mission and it’s one I can’t share here, but it has been in the ” Other” category for my entire mission, so that has been sweet! With some of the other areas that I lack, I usually put another goal to help support that in the “Other” section, so I have been able to work on all of the goals! It’s fun to just have a small little goal in this section and to work on it each and everyweek. Sometimes, it can be a fun goal, like learning to juggle or playing with the kendama! It’s good to have fun goals, too!
I apologize for such a long email but there is a lot I had to catch you all up to! And if there is anyone who is still reading, thank you for taking the time to hear about my life! I really appreciate it, haha! I know all of these goals and the growth that I’ve seen in myself is nothing I have done on my own, and I don’t mean to share any of this out of any sense of pride. But I truly know all of this would not be possible without God. When PMG says, ” Prayerfully set goals, I have tried my best to do that haha! And, I know all the goals I have accomplished have been because of the grace of God in helping me achieve them. One of my favorite scriptures is Alma 26: 35-36, and it is when Ammon is explaining how he is not boasting in himself, but he is boasting in his God who blessed him with all of these things. And I know it’s only through God that I have been able to accomplish these things!
Well, I think I’ll end my book there. Sorry for the extreme length! Hopefully, I will just be better at including it into my actual Weekly emails so I won’t send another one of these gaints out. But anyway, I love you all, and I hope you are all genuinely doing good! I can’t wait to see you all again someday and catch up and visit! I miss you all!
Elda Lando