9-17-12

Good morning everyone! I hope you are all having a wonderful week. :)
I have some exerpts from other emails to share with you, and a bit of
a spiritual thought. So let's get to it!

My uncle asked me about if it gets harder to pack as time goes on,
because one seems to accumulate so much stuff, even though you get
better and better at packing. He also talked about leaving behind
stuff you didn't want, and finding that same kinda stuff in the
appartment you move to from the previous Elders:

It was a little harder to pack it seemed, but I was able to leave some
stuff, so that was very nice. :) In our mission, those items that you
find in the new appartment are called 'Wohnung Specials'. Wohnung
translates to appartment. I got some free graph paper out of this
appartment. They use it more here than normally lined paper. I also
got some of those shoe insert things that help keep the shoe's shape
in my last appartment. Rather useful for my one pair of shoes. I have
been making a couple tasty things here and there myself. Brownies and
such. Can't find any corn syrup for peanut brittle though... And they
actually use 'vanilla sugar' as opposed to normal vanilla extract. It
is simply some white sugar with the vanilla flavoring in it. You use
the exact same measurements as you would for the extract. Was very
happy to figure that one out. :)

My mom asked be about the biking in this area:

Yup. Bikes. They aren't so bad to ride. I want to raise the seat, but
we don't have the tools. :P We haven't gotten a flat tire yet
actually. These are actually kinda cheap, and only have three gears,
and are a solid frame with no shocks or anything, so I have to be nice
to them. My legs are dead tired in any case. It's like they never get
enough time to heal before we start having to do another long, hard
ride. :/ I'm sure they'll start picking it up eventually though.

Just to let you all know, things are going well with my new companion.
We get along quite well and have a lot of good discussions. We are
teaching well, and the work is moving forward here. I like it a lot.
Very strange still being in such a small town, but it's all the same
work. Just different on the in-between bits. :)

Now onward to the spiritual bit! :)

I challenge you to let go of some of your burdens. Give them to Christ.

I had an interesting epiphany this week after having gone to the
Temple. (We are in the same mission zone as the Temple, and get to
take a trip each transfer as long as we are stationed here.) I
realized the fact that the only things that make you unhappy, or happy
for that matter, are your own perceptions of the things in your life.
No day, in and of itself, makes things difficult or simple, happy or
sad. You do. And remember, Christ is the master of this concept. 'for
my yoke is easy, and my burden is light'.

Have a wonderous week everyone! God be with you, and stay close to
Christ. And remember to smile! :)


Also, my snail-mail address changed! So be sure to get the recent one from the blog.

- Elder Michael Bright Miles