May 9, 2016

Current Address:

Elder Truman Burgess

140 Pheasant Lane #D2

Woodstock, VA  22664

We're emailing in a different library than usual because of saving miles for our trip in an hour to play ultimate frisbee. The problem is that the old librarians here absolutely hate us. We get 1 1/2 hours of emailing and I've been on here for only like 30 minutes, yet they keep harassing us to get off. When I am old I  swear I will be a jolly old man, not a human incarnation of a cranky toad with a migraine. 

On a happier note, despite the constant grey skies and faint rain  this week, we have found two separate teenager seniors who are just about to graduate high school and have no plans ahead. Neither have applied to colleges, have a religious background, or even have jobs! In both instances it was cool to see how they both thirsted for direction in life. Looking back to my high school days (holy cow I graduated two years ago), I wonder at how much happier and successful I'd have been if I had a solid belief on what my purpose in life was. I think  I had a bit more motivation than the teenagers we taught this week, but I still went with the motions caring very little for what decisions I made because I had no vision of the whole goal of life. It's miraculous to see the change in optimism, happiness, honesty, and motivation in a person once they catch the vision of where they came from, why they are here, and where they are going. 

Honestly believing that each of us have a loving Father in Heaven who created this incredible world for us to learn and progress in love, wisdom, and experience lifts us out of any storm drain flooding with the mud of mistakes. The hope in a Savior who's sole purpose is to lead us to find true joy amid showers of mistakes guides us to look upward for a better world. Knowing the impossible to describe experiences of charity guides our paths through the dark mists of uncertainty. Life is something to experience, regardless of the turmoil, serenity, or surprises that await us around each corner. There is a God above that knows each of us by name and sent us here to find real, palpable joy. I wish I would have put some effort earlier on to find out if this was worth believing. Regardless of the past, I am loving where I am now because of who I am becoming.

Happy Mother's Day!

xoxo

Elder Burgess