Treatment Week 6

Treatment Week 6

DONE!!!

I finished my six weeks. The last week, just about every day was a nauseous day. I didn't have too much energy, and I noticed how tired this has made me.

I've been just relaxing and getting back into somewhat of a routine. One of the hobbies I've had lately is finding things for cheap and selling them for more. For example, I got a nice film camera with a good lens, five various lenses, and a smaller film camera all for $70. Everything works, and so far I've sold the big camera for $120, the smaller camera for $25, and two lenses so far for $25 total. So far I've made $100 profit. Boo yah.

HEALTH UPDATE:
As I am finished with treatment, I get to rest up now. I'm still able to do just about anything but find myself with less energy. My neck is pretty red (like a sunburn) from the radiation, but oh man, SO MUCH better than last time.

We will meet again with the doctors on January 19th, about 5 weeks. At that time, we will see where we are at, and discuss the possibly of more chemo (but not radiation- fist pump!). More chemo is not a definite yes, but its not a no.

MISSION UPDATE:
After talking with President Crankshaw last week, he said that whenever I felt good enough, I could start going back again. Wait until I think I could last a whole day down there. He suggested to start off maybe just one or two days a week and work back into it. He said to just work with the temple on talk those details.

I don't know what the future holds, I feel like I have some big decisions to make, but I'm learning more every day to rely on the Lord. It feels like every day has been a challenge lately, especially trying to improve myself at home and being a better family member! I think that's something we could all work on, right?

Spiritual note... I just hit the book of Moroni. It maybe have taken me almost a year, but I'm just about finished with the Book of Mormon. My deadline is Dec 31st.

If you have an extra minute, look up the "40 Days and 40 Nights Challenge"... They have some charts that can help you read the entire Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and New Testament in 40 days each- or the Old Testament in 80 days.

That's all, folks. Keep running.

Treatment Week 5

Treatment Week 5 (Plus a Little Pre-Post Ramble)

Sometimes I have big plans and big ideas for what I want to write or do with this blog. I have all good intentions for it, but the laziness kicks in. So is human nature, right? I can honestly say though, that I'm glad the way things have turned out with what I've written. I wonder how my blog has effected people. That's not my motive, but aren't we all curious as to how our efforts are working?

Point of this rant, I'm gonna keep doing what I'm doing. Kapeesh?

Well, week 5 has sucked. Despite the suckiness though, there are some people who are worse off then I am. My sick days were mostly Wednesday and Thursday. I have felt nauseous though all week. Like I've said before, the nausea isn't too bad. I've had the kind of headache you get when you are up too long, so I've been a couch potato a lot.

I have one more week of chemo and radiation. Because of Thanksgiving, I'll have just one radiation treatment after next week. So I've got one full week and a day. BRING IT ON. We meet with Dr Haslem tomorrow, and we'll see what the plan is from here.

Tender mercy of this week. I really wanted to go to FHE on Monday. I've been trying to go to all the things in my ward and stay involved. For a while it almost seemed weird to go to these YSA things when I am a missionary and can't even go on a date for now. But anyway, about FHE, I was hoping that I'd feel okay that night. Anyway, about 6 pm I felt a little sick, took a nausea pill, and was fine. FHE was fun. We went caroling haha. I said a prayer, asking that I could make it through FHE just fine. Prayer was answered! Well, about an hour after I got home, 9 pm roughly, it hit me. I felt pretty sick, took a different nausea pill, and just watched some TV to get my mind off of it. My nausea wasn't taken away completely Monday, but it was delayed. And I'm thankful it was!

That same thing that happened on Monday has happened a couple times again. I'm not home and I feel alright. Shortly after getting home, some nausea or headache or cramps or something hits me. I'm seriously being watched out for.

I was able to go to the temple last night (Saturday). I did baptisms with most of the family... my parents, my brother Justin, sister Ashley, brother Chris, and sister-in-law Allie. It was great!

Keep running!

Treatment Week 4

Treatment Week 4

4 down.
2 to go.


I'm over the hill! 2/3 done. Only two more weeks. Excuse the informal syntax of the following sentence: Aaah aah aah aah aah aah ahh I'm so excited!

Here are 13 thoughts on this last week:

1. I won a caption contest on Facebook Monday. My prize was a day or two of bragging rights. Go ahead and laugh. I like to think I'm pretty witty. (Note: Contest was on Facebook on December 1st. Makes my joke a little more humorous)

2. My skin is starting to look red. It's not my whole neck, it's about 1" x 3" rectangular area underneath my jaw.
[insert picture tomorrow here] :)

3. My throat is still peachy. It feels fine. I am SO happy that I can eat whatever I want. I don't want to be at a point where I'm stuck on liquids. That was a two-time thing (once during radiation in 2010, once when I had a feeding tube from the jaw surgery in 2012).

4. Every time I think of food and the cancer center, I feel sick. I don't know why. I feel fine all week, everything tastes great at home. However, when I get my free food on Mondays, I just don't feel good. And even thinking about it right now makes me a little queasy. I took a picture of my lunch a few weeks ago on Instagram and ended up deleting it last week because I couldn't even look at it. I won't have Sweet & Sour Chicken for a very, very long time. That place is messing with my mind, man.
*Just for the record, hospital food is stereotyped as bland... Cedar's hospital food is good. It's not you, hospital food. It's me.*

5. My queasy days for week four were Monday night, Wednesday, and Thursday.

6. When I say queasy, I mean about 25% of the nausea you're thinking. 75% of it is the tired, headache nausea... you know what I mean?

7. I'm getting over being a little sick. Sore throat, stuffy nose. Nothing too bad. I'm not sure where I got it, but I don't blame anyone. I think I got it from my mom. The plus side here is that I'm okay to get sick... my blood levels are normal so I can fight this off easily. Just no one kiss me for the next few days, okay? Sorry ladies. ;) Oh wait, I couldn't anyway. #missionary

8. If I had a dollar for every engagement or pregnancy announcement I've seen on Facebook lately... (congrats by the way to you people)

9. Saturday and Sunday (the 6th and 7th) were definitely my good days. I went to the temple on Saturday afternoon. And on Saturday night, ice skating!

10. I made some kick butt oreo fudge. Seriously. It tastes amazing.

11. Overall, this is not as bad as I thought it would be. I'm feeling less queasy than I had imagined- very grateful for that!

12. I'm grateful that things work out the way Heavenly Father want them to. I'm grateful to be able to spend a little more time at home. I'm grateful for family, friends, and temple family that have reached out to me.

13. I'M SO BLESSED. Yes, I see a lot of crap in front of me right now. BUT I have so many reasons to be happy. That's what I'm focusing on.



Let's finish these last two weeks. BOOYAH.
Keep running.

Not much

December 4, 2014

Hello everyone!

Not much new to report here... besides that I'm a couple days late with this email. I'm feeling alright. I think the nausea is getting overall worse as time goes on, but still very manageable. This whole thing is not nearly as bad as I thought. This week is 4 of 6 so I'm almost done!!

I got to go to the temple again last week with some friends. It was SO nice. When I started this treatment, I made a goal that I would go to the temple once a week. So far, I've accomplished it! I'm so excited for the day when we have a temple in Cedar. Until then, it's nice to go down to St George.

Thanksgiving was really great last week. All the fam was over and we had a great thanksgiving dinner. LOTS of food.

Last time I had radiation I wasn't able to eat solid foods part way into it because it just hurt my throat so bad. I was really scared I'd have to deal with the same thing this time. But so far I haven't had much trouble with irritation in my throat, and I am hoping I can get through this whole time without losing my ability to eat solid foods. Boo yah, grandma.

Okay. All for this week. Thanks for reading my ramblings. Have a good one! Love you all!

Elder Gray 

Blessing!

Hey family.

Well, it's P-day. Actually, pretty much everyday is P-day now. :]

I'm doing good. I've tried to guess and plan when I'm going to feel the most nauseous, but it seems to be different every week. The first week it was Wednesday and Thursday, last week it was Thursday and Saturday, and this week it's been yesterday and today. So I'm not feeling too hot, but ya know, it is what it is!

I'm almost half way done. This is week 3 of 6. So bring it on. I've learned some about sacrifice... Yeah it totally sucks finally being able to go on a mission, and then by circumstances out of my control, having to pause that mission... but I know that my health is pretty important, and hopefully me going through this again is making a difference in people's live, especially my own. I've had a few good conversations with people, and although this does suck, I'm just rolling with the punches and looking forward to the good times to come and the good days.

Just a cool little tender mercy for me yesterday... I felt sick yesterday, and had a home teaching appt set up for 6. I talked with my home teachee to make sure it was still alright to come, and he said that he had to go out of town... so we didn't visit him. BUT it was about an hour before that I really started to feel sick. I was going to just push through and go HT, but in the end I was really relieved.

I also got to go to the temple last Saturday and do a session with some friends. It was really nice. While I was getting ready to leave, I was thinking, "Okay, back to the real world." And it hit me, I went a whole hour and a half being a child of God, doing temple work, and not being the one going through chemo and radiation. I forgot about my health issues for a little bit, and what a happy moment that was for me. The temple is great. :D

I love you all! Thanks for all your love and constant support. Have a great THANKSGIVING! WOO! (Still can eat solid foods, so bring it on. BLESSING!)

Elder Gray

First week of treatment/Grandma's house!

Hello!

Well guess what?

Done with my first week of treatment. I'm glad it can be all here in cedar. I have chemo every Monday, and radiation every Monday-Friday. It's not as bad, so far, as I thought. Last week, I felt nauseous late Tuesday, all of Wednesday and Thursday, but not too bad. I also felt really bloated Wednesday. But by Friday I was feeling pretty good, almost like normal!

I was able to go to the temple on Friday. Mom and I stopped by the baptistry to see one of the shifts I worked on. And then we did initiatories. I saw lots of familiar faces. It was so great.

Yesterday's chemo went well. I felt a little sick during it, but that subsided. I felt good enough to go to my ward's FHE last night.

I'm trying to keep myself busy! I have been really searching on Family Search lately. In the last 2 months, I've found literally hundreds of names that need their work done. So next time you go to the temple, talk to me if you want to bring some family names. Otherwise I've submitted a lot of names to the temple.... which FYI is why going to the temple is important. It does help to bring family names, but trust me.... There's a lot of work in the temple files to get done. SO GO TO THE TEMPLE. OFTEN. :) I'm still trying to be a good missionary. I enjoy being able to share my testimony in person, through social media, and my blog.

On a completely unrelated note, this is cool... All my GRAY relatives, read this! 

 My Grandma Gray's house in Idaho Falls was torn down a little while ago. It was built back in the 1920s, my grandma grew up there, my dad grew up there too. After my Grandma Gray passed away a few years ago, the house was sold to the city. I looked on Google Maps, just curious to see if the house was still standing on the map. I looked, and it was gone. But I clicked on the street view, and the house was still there! Search the address for the house, click on street view, and you can still see it. Cool, huh? I took a few screenshots.

(The kids enjoyed floating down the ditch and helping flood irrigate the lawn)

Well, so far I'm doing good with the treatments. It sucks,  but life is good. Really.

Love,

Elder Gray

YO!

Hey family. Friends.

How are ya? Let me give you a little update on the last week.

I don't know how many of you have read the blog, but the big game changer from my email last week is that I've decided that Saturday was my last day at the temple for a little while. Yep, totally sucks. But I've got to work hard for my health right now. It was a little bit busy of a week. I met with Bishop Lunt, President Crankshaw (stake pres), and President Arnold (temple presidency member). I told about what was up. President Arnold said, "Well, I'm sorry to hear that. I know you're a fighter. We'll be waiting and anxious for you to get back here when you're feeling up to it, if you still want to do that?" Of course! :) Haha. I anticipate starting back up again around the first of 2015... we'll see.

I had my first chemo treatment yesterday, and first two radiations yesterday and today. Chemo is once/week, and radiation is 5 times/week. I feel like yesterday when real good. Brooke and Easton even came to visit while I was sitting in my chair getting the meds. I've felt a tiny, tiny bit of nausea, but nothing too bad. So far, so good!!

I got the biggest surprise ever on Saturday. Actually, a few of them. But while I was in the cafeteria, Rhonda and Joe (two of the head cafeteria people) gave me a going away present: a book from Deseret Book, some candy, and a card. The card was personalized to me, signed by a lot of people from the cafeteria, one of my baptistry shifts, and even a few of the ladies from Laundry. It was so touching. It was signed... "We all love you, Your St. George Utah Temple Family & Friends."

The other awesome surprises I got that day... one, I got a text that Bishop Lunt had sent out to my whole ward, the gist of it... "Please keep Erik in your prayers this Fast Sunday as he prepares for upcoming chemo and radiation" (we had Stake Conference last week, so our Fast Sunday was this week). Two, we went out to dinner as a family at Wingers on Saturday night. I saw Merrick & Makaley there. After we all finished our dinner, our server brought out a piece of Asphalt Pie (the good mint ice cream pie).... "Someone ordered this for you!" All three of these experiences from Saturday really helped show me that I am loved! So much! And much more than I ever thought!

Let's do this!

Have a great week.
Love, Elder Gray

I can do hard things

How are you all? I'm doing excellent, considering what is going on lately. As I say everytime, I LOVE serving at the temple. Last week, I talked with a brother about 65/70 years old for a little bit. He told me that he had gotten baptized about 15 years ago, and guess what his first calling as a member was? 1st counselor in the Bishopric. That's right! He said that he got called in for an interview with the stake president, and was asked "would you be willing to shave your beard for a calling?" He agreed. Then he was asked "okay, would you be willing to cut your hair for a calling too?" (he had a ponytail, his hair was down to his back) and he was like "whoa!" But agreed. He told me that he was willing to give up something for his calling, for a greater cause, for what the Lord wanted. How awesome! And it turns out he actually was in Gma and Gpa's ward, and lived in the same apt complex as them when he moved to St George.

So now the big news... Long story short, I am starting chemo and radiation next Monday. In CEDAR! I had a surgery about two months ago, in which they didn't get everything.... they have been able to come up with a plan to do radiation a 2nd time (I had it almost 5 years ago). The chemo will help the radiation, my mom compared it to scrubbing a pan. It's easier to scrub it if you let it soak in water. That's essentially the purpose of the chemo. I will do 30 radiation treatments, 5 days/week for 6 weeks. The chemo (which is not too high of a dose) will be through an IV once a week for 6 weeks. Here we go again, but honestly, I'm doing a-okay. I feel at peace with everything and am totally relying on the Lord. I'm so glad that Heavenly Father has a great plan for all of us. And each hardship will, hopefully, allow us to grow. We are going to kick this cancer in the butt. Hard. And get this crap over with!

I CAN DO HARD THINGS! We all can.

I'm still working out the details of serving throughout this, but I do know that I probably will take off some time. The best thing about a service mission is that I can serve and still attend to my health.

Here we go! Thanks for all you do for me. I wouldn't be where I'm at today without all the love, support and friendship I've had throughout my life. :)

Elder Gray

Another Week

Okay. Let's get the big stuff out of the way first. For those who dont know, I found out just over a week or two ago that from my surgery, the cancer wasn't all removed (After all the research and pathology was done). So we are looking at radiation now. We're still meeting and figuring things out, but I will be getting radiation. It's all localized in my neck, thank goodness. It's never spread beyond that. I don't know what this means for my mission, but I guess I'll find out soon enough. The right person upstairs is in charge so I need not worry. At the docs yesterday in SLC, I felt really good and definitely feel that radiation is the best thing for me.

Mission stuff. Like I always say I seriously LOVE my mission. I'm starting to remember almost word for word some of the ordinances. 

The 3 questions I get asked most often are:

What do you do for your mission at the temple?

Do your really drive from Cedar and back EVERY day?

Oh, you're from Cedar? What's the update with the new temple?

This last week has been a lot of good, and also some bad. A brother I worked with on Friday afternoons in the Baptistry passed away last Monday. His funeral was on Saturday, luckily I was able to adjust my schedule enough that I could attend it. I had no idea he had passed until I got to the baptistry Friday. His wife was there, too. I went in to give her a hug, and she said, "I'm here to make sure you're alright." Which maybe is what she needed to say as far as coping, but also, she's so great. She is such a great example of selflessness to me. She stayed for our prayer meeting and said just a few words. And her testimony. She's great. And strong!

I also found out that my cousin from Idaho got her mission call.... to the ST GEORGE VISITORS CENTER. We're gonna be mission neighbors. How cool huh??

I met with Pres Crankshaw last week as well. We talked about stuff I've been learning, and about my health. I don't know what's gonna happen in the future, but I know I'm in the right hands.

Peace!

Elder Gray

I have the best mission ever.

Wow. Where does the time go? I kinda just forgot to email last week. Oh well! These past two weeks have just been awesome. I find myself pretty tired when the day's done, but it is so worth it. I LOVE my mission. I consider myself the luckiest person to be able to spend so much time in the temple.

This last weekend was Fall Break- all of UT was out of school Thurs and Fri. So the Baptistry was nuts. But seriously, we LOVE it when it's busy. I walked down at 12 30 for my 1-4 shift, and as I opened the door the back way to the baptistry I heard singing. I walked down to see the chapel FULL, the font room full, and the main hallway just packed. We had our prayer meeting for that shift in the already filled chapel, so our shift coordinators, Brother and Sister Myers, both commented that they "heard angels singing" when they were almost to the Baptistry. With excitement, he said, "I think the Millennium is here." And smiled. He also said that the work really is hastening. It's so great to see such a number in one of 143 greatest places in the world!

I went on a Baptisms trip last Tuesday with my YSA ward. And i realized that the only thing better than being in the temple so often is being in with your family- including your ward family!

I was excited to hear about a line being figured out in the family genealogy. From some finding, I found the work for a bunch ofancestors and descendants. Never thought I'd learn to love family history so much. It's like a treasure hunt.

The best thing you can take from this letter is that I'm happy. I'm at peace with life and love the temple. I've been really trying to get closer to our Savior lately... studying, reading, praying. And I've felt a difference. Although I'm not perfect and not perfect at studying, as long as I do my best I need not worry!

(Guess what I did for P-day today? I went with some friends to the temple, followed by hiking ANGEL'S LANDING. Sweet, huh?)

ALSO, I have lots of names for temple work to do. Endowment, initiatory, and some sealings, both male and female. If you want to take a name with you when you go, let me know.

Peace out. Love you all!

Elder Gray

11 Hour Temple Day

Hello! Man, wasn't conference awesome!?!? I loved it this year! I didn't get around to emailing on Tuesday. But you'll see why in a second. This was a good CRAZY week! My shift on Fridays in the baptistry is from 1 to 4. At about 3:30, it started to get busy, which is a GREAT thing by the way. :) When the people from the next shift got there at 4, they asked if I'd stay for a little bit, they were shorthanded. And it was really, really busy at this point. With me there, there was barely enough. So I stayed, and they had me help in a confirmation room. It was a really, really good thing I stayed. At about 5 pm, I realized that it wasn't going to slow down, and thought that I needed to let Mom and Dad know my plans (since I am dependent on them and all, ya know?). It was so busy, that I barely even had time to run to the bathroom. Haha. So at that point, I said a prayer. "Heavenly Father, I'm here. It's busy. I would call home if I could, but I can't. Let mom and dad know I'm fine!" And I left it it that. A ward from New Harmony came in. I met siblings and children of people I knew, like Wiggins, and even Mr Prince's boys. At the end of that extra shift, at 8, I ran into Hayden's dad! He works the shift that starts at 8. That was cool!! I left the temple and went to In-N-Out. I saw the same kids that were from New Harmony inside the store. Haha. I talked to Mom and Dad, Mom said that around 5:30 (around the time I said my little prayer) that she was like, "Hmmm. Where's Erik?" and then she thought that I met up with some friends or something, and that I was fine, but still a little worried. So you see? Prayers are answered! I was in the temple for 11 hours on Friday. And it was actually pretty awesome. Haha. --- Mom, Dad, Justin and I went to General Conference the next day. We stayed in a hotel Saturday night. We saw the Priesthood session from the tabernacle on Temple Square and had tickets to the Sunday afternoon session. Conference was seriously AMAZING! There has never been a conference where I've had so many questions answered, and questions about things I need to improve on that I didn't even realize I had. Isn't personal revelation awesome?? My favorite talk was Elder Robbins from the first session, on which way do you face? Am I trying to please God or others first? --- Monday, I helped on the grounds, we gutted out the flowerbeds that are by the entrance of the temple. That was kinda sad! Just today though, they planted a whole bunch of stuff that will last through the winter... well, winter for St George. I had a Dr appt up in Salt Lake on Tuesday. Mom and I went to the Ogden temple that morning. MAN IT IS AWESOME! Such a beautiful temple! It was a crazy, long day, and I even got to stop and say goodbye to Kesia. She's gonna be so great!! --- Well, that's my week! Hope things are going well for you all. See ya around (still can't get used to saying that to family and as a missionary, haha)! Elder Gray

The Atonement and The Sealing Power

Hey there!

It's been such a good week. I love love LOVE the temple. I love seeing familiar faces in there. I love being able to still live at home and be around Mom, Dad and Justin. I know I'm exactly where I need to be.

I feel such a profound love for the gospel. I have missed the temple so much, I never realized until this break was over how much going to the temple on a regular basis (even just if it's once a month, but for my case 5 days a week) really changes my life. And yes, even just going to do Baptisms too. It helps to give me the strength I need. It helps me to resist temptation,  and it helps me learn more everyday about my Savior.

I'm in an Institute class this fall. It's called Atonement, Repentance and Forgiveness. If you are Institute age and haven't taken it yet, I REALLY REALLY THINK YOU SHOULD. It's probably the best class I've ever taken. My testimony has been strengthened of the love of our Lord, His great atoning sacrifice for a human race that may not necessarily deserve it. The condition? Repentance. And obedience to the commandments of God.

I don't have a companion, but I do get to spend some time with some service Elders like myself. They are amazing examples to me, and I know they love serving in the temple just as much as I do.

I was in sealings on Saturday. And in one of the sessions, everyone in the group all shared an experience or two about sealings. It strengthened my testimony that sealings really are the most important aspect of the temple. The crowning point. I want to be sealed and live righteously so that I can receive exaltation with my eternal companion. Perfect example of how the temple is so eye opening.

I love you all! Keep on keeping on. Take a minute to read about the atonement. The more I study the more amazing I realize that it is!

Love,

Elder Gray

THE TEMPLE IS OPEN!

Hello!

So the temple is back open! I made it through the month. The temple is back open, but with working on the grounds yesterday and my P-day today, I'll get to go inside the temple again for the first time in a month tomorrow!!! Yes, a month is a long time for a temple service-missionary. :)

What a month it has been. It's no coincidence that everything has worked out the way it has. I'm feeling great after the surgery I had, I think it's been literally perfect timing to start back up at the temple again. From babysitting Camo, Easton and Daisy... they say that as a missionary you learn things that prepare you for "real life," but I never thought that the thing I learned would be how to take care of children for more than just a few hours. Ha ha!

I'm still trying to adjust my rules and goals for myself as a missionary, especially where the temple's back open and I'm not recovering. It's both good and difficult that I mostly get to set my own rules. Good because I can set goals and because no one else's mission is exactly like mine, I get to define rules and goals. But the difficult thing is that it would almost be easier to say, "Okay, President. Tell me how to act." I guess it gives me a chance to really work with the Lord and receive some personal revelation about it.

I just got called as a Gospel Doctrine teacher in my ward! Yay, an incentive to study the Old Testament (which is written on a whiteboard in my room as one of my mission goals)!

I'm grateful for the chance to serve in temple and grateful for the testimony I have. I know that the Church is true and that what is taught at the temple is true! When I went to the Manti Temple during the break, the live session was really neat. And solidifying to me that the ordinances in temples are true no matter what temple you are in. I've been to enough sessions to recognize that the live session was the exact same words! I'm grateful to focus so much on the temple. It's a really great thing to center my life on the temple, because it means that I am pointed in the right direction; my knowledge/beliefs of the doctrine of the gospel, my testimony, my willingness to obey the commandments, and my feelings on the Savior and His atonement. 

Have a good one!!

Elder Gray

My YSA ward is SO AWESOME!

Hey family/friends!

Well, it has been a while since I sent an email out. Whoops! Haha. I'd feel worse if email was the only way you'd hear from me. Guess there's another blessing of being a service missionary. Hahaha. :)

I had surgery last Monday. It went really well. I think it was the fastest recovery yet. I felt like I could do things a lot faster, and compared to the other things I've had, a one-hour surgery is pretty easy! Here a week later, I'm feeling pretty good. Not quite 100% but I'd say about 75-80%. It's a good thing the temple is closed the rest of this week. (By the way... the temple opens back up on Monday!!! I've almost made it through the month closure! I"M SO EXCITED!) Also, my YSA ward is SO AWESOME! Guess what they did? They had a "fast and feast" the day of my surgery. They fasted throughout the day, then met at Family Home Evening to break their fast and eat dinner. For me! How great are they? I seriously love my ward!

I get adjusted to my temple schedule, and then I'm on a month break. And now I'm pretty much adjusted to the break schedule. I've been working for Dad in the office for a little bit. Hopefully that's not bad that I'm making a little money? :) It's not interfering with the temple, so I'm assuming it's okay.

You know, sometimes I thought that it would be easy to be a missionary, and as I grew up, I realized that being a missionary doesn't give you a break from temptations and from the world so to speak, but- at least being a service missionary- has really helped me sort out my priorities. I talked with an RM friend once, and he said that the hard thing about coming home (and it doesn't speak for all you RMs, it's just what he told me) is that it's hard to stay with the good habits you want to, like studying and all that. As we talked, we realized that the good thing about my mission is that once I'm done, yeah I might "slack down" a little bit, but it will be easy to keep living like this because I never left home and will just change, say having a job, going to class, rather than the many hours of the temple. I hope that makes sense!

Elder Gray

Mixed Feelings

Hey everyone!

Long time, no see. ;) Hope you all are good.

Chris and Allie, HAPPY ANNIVERSARY! And you two, along with Brooke and Tim, I'm so excited for you guys to go on your cruise! Ashley and Hayden, good job with your road race and progression runs. You guys amaze me. In fact, family, you all amaze me!

This week has been good. Last Wednesday, I came across a neat story about Christ in Luke chapter 7. I had never heard it before (or at least don't remember it). GO READ IT. It's awesome. It shows me how important it really is to love others. He forgives a woman of her sins, "which are many," because she loved much.

Friday is my favorite day! I walked into the chapel right before a session and saw none other than Jessica Savage's parents. It was really cool, especially cause they said, "We were hoping to run into, and here you are!" :) That afternoon in the baptistry, I was the baptizer for my whole shift (1-4). By the end of it, my right arm hurt. Haha. Didn't expect to get a workout inside the temple, but definitely a worthwhile workout... for my right arm. Hahaha. :)

I've made some good connections and good friends with some of the temple workers. My favorite lady is one I see maybe once or twice a week. I saw her in Deseret Book in St G a few weeks ago, and she asked me about my mission and stuff. After that, everytime I see her, we talk for just a minute. She's so cool. And I feel bad, because I don't even remember her name! :/ Haha. Being in the temple really solidifies that the fact everyone on this earth is my family, not just you reading this. The temple feels so homely, around our spiritual brother and sisters! Everyone there is so friendly and loving. (I'll have to remember that next time I get road rage.)

Obviously, you know that the temple is closed for a month. I helped on the grounds yesterday, and since next Monday is Labor Day, and the Mon. after that is my surgery, I'm officially done until the temple opens back up. Mixed feelings. My schedule wears me out, but I wish I was back in the temple.

You all are great examples to me. Thanks for all you do!! Love you all.

Elder Gray

Spiritually Exhausted, a good thing!

August 19, 2014

Hey family.

As every week goes on, I love my mission more and more! It's so great to be at the temple. I don't think I'll ever be able to say that too much. I'm still trying to get the hang of emailing. With a mission in the temple, I can't necessarily say in an email some of the neat things I've had. And, my schedule is the same every week. So, here we go, I guess!

I met with President Crankshaw (stake pres) last week- my "mission president". He and I had a good chat. He gave me a really interesting challenge, too. He told me to have at least one opportunity a week to open my mouth and share the gospel. And in his words, "Be bold about it, too. You could say to a friend, 'Do you want to come to church with me this Sunday?' or 'Do you know your sins can be forgiven through Jesus Christ?' And it could be anyone. Like I said, be bold. The cashier at Wal-Mart. Anyone." When he told me that, I was really excited. It's a good challenge for me, for my personality, haha. (And also, with serving at the temple, where I'm around "the best of the best" so to speak, I wondered how much I'd have the opportunity to share the gospel).

Last Saturday, I was just on Facebook for a few minutes. A Saudi Arabian friend I knew from the last school year talked to me, we chatted for about 15 minutes. At the end of the chat, I invited him, if he ever wanted, to join me at church to see what we worship. I don't know how it'll turn out, but I at least opened my mouth.

So I had a tiny little test of faith last week, too. On Thursday in the baptistry, I was the one in the font, the baptizer. A couple was waiting for some patrons to come in so that they could get their names completed. No guys came in for quite a while, so the husband decided to just get in a jumpsuit and I'd baptize him. Well, he had rotator cuff surgery about 2 months ago. So I was worried about how it would go. He came in, and I hardly used my left hand to bring him back up, and pushed him up on his back with my right hand. I was scared, but it all worked out. What happens in the temple is the Lord's work. And it will work out to get that work completed. He walked out of the font feeling great and just fine. :)

I didn't think I'd even feel tired from this mission. But now I know exactly what people are talking about when they say that missionaries just go to bed exhausted. Being in the temple this much every week is spiritually exhausting. But SO worth it. Thanks for all your love. I'll see ya around, I guess? Haha.

Love,

Elder Gray