life logged at the speed of beth

The title of my blog (the URL itself) looks like it says “hotdog”.

Anyways, I am back from my mission. I have been back a few months now. Best thing I ever did. It was hard, but incredible. Good to be back, but I totally miss my mission friends.

I go back to the Y in the Fall. I am excited to be busy again.

I officially resume my mission on October 1st. I have a flight scheduled and everything. I am so excited and nervous all at the same time. On one hand, I have been waiting for 6 long months to get back out on my mission (and I originally thought it would only be 6 weeks); on the other hand, because it has been so long, I feel somewhat lost and stressed about getting used to it again.
Through all of this stuff, I have realized that I don’t do so well with change, and I get to experience this scary change again. Even so, I know it’s the right thing for me.

Oh, mixed feelings…..

…and found some videos that I took of Rylie playing and talking to herself. Also, I took a video of when we were driving from AZ.

Vodpod videos no longer available.

Have a happy, safe holiday weekend.

We did this while Maddie and Carson were at Ma’s house.

I helped my mom make this. She and my Dad are going to be Youth Conference mission presidents for the Russian mission. It is going to be a place mat with facts on the back and they are going to give each missionary in their “mission” one of these to take home.

So, I suppose you are wondering how I could possibly be writing this post. As most, and probably all of you know by now, I had a change of plans, or rather a temporary change of plans. I did my whole MTC thing…4 weeks of amazing awesomeness that I will never forget. Really, I could go on about the MTC for days! What an incredible place!

But, I was having trouble with…yep, you guessed it! My FEET! My cursed feet! I had to get surgery on my left foot. All I know is that this must be in the cards for me. I will be honest and say I was not a happy camper to be released from being a missionary, but I am on what is called “medical release” so my missionary clock is not ticking. I will get to go back and do another 17 months. I can’t wait!

When do I go back on my mission, you ask? Good question! There are some requirements I must meet according to my Stake and Mission Presidents. The big requirement that I am working on now is being able to walk 6-8 miles per day for one week. As soon as I do that, the Stake President can make some calls and I can be sent on a plane as early as the next day. But, my Stake President, who is SO amazing, is big on me taking my time and not pushing it. I totally see why he would feel that way. He doesn’t want me to do too much too fast because I could hurt my foot further. Anyways, I have been doing my walking for about 2 weeks now and I am up to 2 miles. Baby steps, right?

So, I have been back since March 18th. Yes, the first week or so was pretty weird. (I can only imagine how weird I will feel after 17 more months. hehe.) The surgery that I had requires 6+ weeks of recovery and I was so worried that I would be sitting around for that time doing nothing. Well, the Stake President gave me some assignments, which I couldn’t be more thankful for. Some of the assignments are

1. Read Jesus the Christ by Easter
2. Continue my personal study
3. Go out with the Sister Missionaries

I did read Jesus the Christ, but finished it a couple days after Easter. It was so incredibly good! I am reading it again since my time was very much occupied by reading it before. I have continued my PS and have gained a better understanding of so many things through Jesus the Christ and my recent experiences. I still have not gone out with the Sister Missionaries, but I will. It has been a busy few weeks.  I have also tried to maintain the missionary schedule. I have good and bad days. All in all, I want to continue to progress during this time. I don’t want to jump back in to my mission and it feel unfamiliar. I want to feel confident.

It has been so great to study for me. I know I am not studying for my benefit, but for the potential investigators. What I mean is that I am not studying for a class or a test as if I were in school; I am studying so that I can become a better instrument in Heavenly father’s hands.

So, I feel like this time is not a road-block in my mission plans. It’s just a detour or hiccup. I can’t wait to get back out there.
PS: Adri just put in her mission papers and could get her call any day now!! I am so excited and I feel so blessed because I will get to go through the temple with her.

I am off to the MTC in Provo. See you in 18 months. Don’t forget to write me.