Mission Memories

A friend came over tonight and some how we started talking about my mission. So naturally I rambled on about this story and that, only this time for some reasons I decided to show her all my pictures and videos. Making this short conversation about how I got kissed on the mission to a whole nights worth of story telling down memory lane. Here are some of the funny pictures that really only my family has seen.




My first winter and Christmas my mother sent me the traditional Christmas PJs only she must have been worried that I was freezing in the new england winter because she sent me these footy pajamas. I didn't think they made footy pjs for 21 year olds but I learn new things everyday.





Keeping my hair straight in New Jersey's humidity was a challenge, especially when it down right poured rain. This picture was taken one rainy PD at Target. I didn't want to get my hair wet making it curly so I improvised.
















Then there were the days that were so hot that my shoes literally melted into the tar road. That's New Jersey for you.



New Jersey is sometimes pretty ghetto, but I love it. Like this beautiful garden with it's plastic fork border. They also would take fake flowers from the store and plant them in the ground.


But overall I found New Jersey to be beautiful. I loved my mission and I treasure these memories with all my heart.

God's solution

Let me preference this with this is not a april fools joke . . .

Yesturday I wrote about the conundrum I was having about this apartment my sister wants to move into, today I'm going to write about how God took care of things for me. I went to that $899 three bedroom apartment this morning and needless to say I didn't like it. It was off State street and so even driving into the apartment complex I didn't have a good feeling about it. But we took a look and as we walked in the smell of smoke made up my mind even before I saw the small bedrooms and dirty carpet.

This made me feel a little better of course that the extra money was worth it when you consider the greater apartment we'd be getting, but this didn't solve my own money worries. When I got to work my boss wanted to see me and I started to panic. With the economy things at the lab have been up and down, you never know what could happen and I'm not exactly the top of the totem-pole. I literally was shaking with nerviousness and so I said a prayer for peace before I went in. I kept thinking that if they had to let me go that this would be my answer, I'd have to move home after all. But instead my boss let me know that starting later this month I would have a 50 cent raise.

I couldn't believe it, in fact I started to think that it was a joke, but however funny Kyle, my boss might be, he wouldn't do that. So then I started to say a new prayer, this one in gratitude. Heavenly Father had anwered my prayer. As small as an extra 50 cents a hour may be it was the key to helping me feel okay with taking the nice apartment. It's as if God was saying that it was okay to live there and here's some extra confidence to help you feel comfortable. I feel reassured that I won't lose my job and therefore feel more comfortable finacially.

So thanks for your comments yesturday, but God has answered my prayers and I feel good about where He'd like me to be.