Monday August 16, 2010

Well another transfer has gone by. That's so crazy. Now I am in my 10th transfer. Only 5 more after that and then you guys will be here and I'll be at home after that. It goes by so quick.
This week I reread the talk by Elder Uchtdorf about patience. It was really good. It made me think a lot about how I can better use my time here. I am doing the work and doing what I can, but more of how I can be different and more effective as I do the things that I am supposed to with a different approach.
I had a nice long talk with Houstman, too, about a new transfer and a new place meaning a new slate to work all of that stuff out. How to better improve myself and be 100% obedient instead of 90%. I really saw a big difference in him when he came back to help for splits and so I really wanted to see myself like that. He is a great AP (assistant to the President) and has been one of my greatest friends out here. I'll room with him for sure up at BYU. But he has really grown in the little bit of time that we spent apart. He has become a great role model for me and said that it has partly been his commitment to be perfectly obedient this last transfer. I can't believe that he already goes home this next transfer. I'm going to miss him, but I'm sure we'll keep in touch. I have just gone through a lot of change this last week, but all for the better. I am anxious to see what I am at the end of my mission and to see how much it has helped me in my life. I know it will. As I grew up you guys know that my testimony was shaky and iffy and I wondered if this is really what I want. Out here I have come to realize that I want nothing else. I love this church and all the things that it has given to me. I have gained a stronger desire to take my wife to the temple and so have my kids grow up in the church and have them be as happy as I am because of the choices I have made in my life to get me to the point that I am at right now. I know where I stand with certain things. We have all messed up and made mistakes, but we can always get better. As I have come to realize the atonement better, I have gained more of a desire to change for the better. So I am spending the rest of my mission going about things in a different way. I am not only going to work harder over in Debrecen, which is where I am going by the way, with the other Elder Johnson, whose mom got ahold of you by the way, but I am going to learn how to better control myself. Learn how to constantly be better and love everyone that I come across. I want to be a good example and have many more friends out in this mission. I want to take care of my wife and kids the right way. The way I see it is if I dont have control over myself then how will I be able to take care of other people that way and teach them those things that are important in life.
So like I said, I will be in Debrecen and I think that I will be having a great time there. I heard that it's a really great city and there are lots of good people there so I hope make it better. This week was a really good learning experience for me and even though it was a little long I bet I will be a lot better in the future because of it.
I accidentally shocked myself this week while was trying to pull a plug out of the wall. The converter was plugged into my camera's battery charger and so when I tried to get both of them out the charger came out and still had a little charge to it and got me on the finger. It felt weird and stung for a while but I'm better now.
I will let you know what Debrecen is like a little bit later when I, too, know more about it.
Love you guys and hope that you have a good week.
Love Josh