Hey, Familia!
This week has been a great
week in the Oregon Portland Mission – and especially in the Oregon City 3rd
ward area!
Let’s see... This week has
been great! I'll go over some high points; and then I’ll go into more detail.
- Our district CREAMED the other district in our "zone kickball" p-day (score:16-4);
- I went into downtown Portland on Tuesday; and then, stopped by "Voodoo Donuts" for some yummy donuts to break my fast! (I have to fast before I go into every dermatologist appointment);
- Elder Quinton learned, this week, that he has to get a....COLONOSCOPY!!!;
- I got heat stroke, this week, and, later, felt fine; and
- Our whole mission had a meeting with Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles!
So, the
other district in our zone challenged us to a kickball match. They
were talking trash to us. (Not really though, they just wanted to joke around
and create some rivalry) We were scheduled to start at 12:30
on Monday...but like always, everyone got there late. But guess which
whole district showed up before any other companionship of the other
district showed up...my district!! (I am not district leader, but I
will refer to the district I am in as "my" district) Now, I haven't
been on a baseball field in forever, but when I walked on to
field...I was ready to play some kickball! Actual "kicking" isn't my
favorite. I can kick pretty well, but using my feet to play a sport isn't my
thing. But I LOVED playing outfield! When you catch a ball that was kicked
super high and super far....it feels GREAT! We were behind in
the beginning, but we eventually made our comeback. The innings
where they were kicking were pretty short because we had
good outfielders and a good first baseman. That was a great p-day.
Tuesday, Elder Quinton and
I, BOTH, had doctor appointments at the same time...in totally different
places. We kind of planned this on accident, but everything worked out well in
the end because we just went on exchanges with the District leader
and his companion that day. Brother Wood, our WML, is also really good at
asking the ward to give us rides to the doctors. (My area used to be a bike
area; and so, in a "perfect world" with missionary work, the WML is supposed
to coordinate missionary lessons with members, which would include giving the
missionaries rides to those lessons because our area is huge! So, our
ward is super willing to give us rides whenever we need
it because they were so used to doing it before our area became a “car”
area bout six months ago.
Whenever I go to downtown Portland, I ALWAYS have to
stop by Voodoo Donuts and get some donuts for me and my companion. Sometimes
the line is too long outside of Voodoo Donuts so we don't go; but, this time it
wasn't! The donuts were great!! They have some donuts with chunky Oreo crumbles,
some with Captain Crunch on it and some filled with jelly, bubble gum, cotton
candy and grape-flavored soda. SO MANY CHOICES! Here’s a crazy thing about
Voodoo Donuts: People can even get
married in Voodoo Donuts! Apparently, they had a special about it on the Food
Network Channel.
Note: Elder Morgan goes on to give some
details of the doctor appointments. These details are being edited out of the
blog post.
And, yes, this week
(without going to the doctors, but by talking to a few people), I worked myself
too hard and didn't drink enough water. I got heat stroke (or
something like that). I didn’t want to go to the doctor because we have been
to the doctor SOOO many times within the last 3 weeks. But, Elder Quinton and
I were in the sun ALOT at the beginning of the week and it was SUPER HOT. Even
people in Oregon City said it was unusually hot. Anyway, the medicine I take
dries out my whole body; so we guessed because of that, and the lack of water,
that I got heat stroke. My stomach was killing me, too. I felt
so uncomfortable and I couldn't really concentrate. I told
Elder Quinton one day that I just had to take a nap...I took a 3 hour nap! I
didn't feel tired, but my mind could not concentrate; and I knew my body was exhausted.
Sleeping during the last few nights included a lot of tossing and turning. But, I think I
am through it because I had a great sleep, last night. I prayed for a
really good sleep last night, too; so I knew that would help as well. But, I am
back to normal, so there is no need to worry! Really, don't worry about
it because I am now fine.
This week, we had the privilege of having an Apostle of the Lord come to our
mission and speak to us. I even got to shake his hand. Russell M.
Nelson and I have a really close connection. He doesn't know it, but I do. Haha.
He is the Apostle that I have seen face-to-face the most (not including general conference
on TV). He spoke at the BYU-I center dedication, he spoke at the MTC
when I was there, and now, he came to the OPM! I do not
recall exactly what he talked about in Rexburg, but at the MTC he
talked about the importance of the Book of Mormon. He talked about the changes
that it went through as well. We were supposed to familiarize ourselves with
the October 2011 Ensign about the Book of Mormon. I am really glad I
did that. In fact, that is still one of my favorite Ensigns to read.
When he was at the Lake
Oswego Stake center with all the missionaries of the OPM, it was a wonderful
meeting. When he walked into the room, you could feel the power and authority
that he holds. The Elder Clayton, of the Presidency of the Seventy, spoke before Elder Nelson and he told us that, in this very room, all of the keys of this dispensation
were here. What a powerful statement. This was really a spirit-filled
meeting.
When Elder Nelson spoke,
the first thing he said (after being built up by Elder Clayton) was
that he was just an ordinary man...with an extraordinary calling. He
spoke for a bit, telling stories and such; but, what really hit me the most was
one of the questions an Elder asked during a Q/A session.
The Elder asked something to the effect of "Why does the Lord make us find
answers, even after we have prayed and fasted and searched and
pondered?" Elder Nelson talked about the need to do our part for the Lord
to give us knowledge. The more we study, the more we can know the mysteries of
God. He, then, talked with us about studying by topic; and the power that that brings
into study. He talked with us, a bit, about the topic of the atonement. Did you
know the word "atonement" only appears in the Bible only once? Really…
I found that to be a sad thing. He continued to talk to us about what
the atonement means, both spiritually and literally, (like what
words in different languages made up the word “atonement” in
the English language). I enjoyed the meeting very much. I have more
notes written in my journal, but I do not have that with me; so, I
can’t give you all the amazing points that stood out to me. I know he is an
Apostle of the Lord.
I am grateful to be on a mission where I can help others
know that the gospel has been restored and that we have a
living prophet and living apostles on the earth today.
Love,
Elder Trevor A. Morgan
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