Sick Week

On Monday, February 22, 2016 2:06 PM, Dustin Thelander <dustin.thelander@myldsmail.net> wrote:

This will not be a long email- it was indeed a sick week. Last Monday was fine. We had a great time doing some shopping, and then I got to hit in some batting cages- it was awesome! Then, the next morning Elder Honeycutt woke up feeling terrible. The next couple of days for him was spent leaving the apartment only when it was absolutely necessary and sleeping on the off times. So, I had the great privilege of spending a lot of time studying the scriptures, writing letters, and staring at different spots on the walls :). For me though it was very productive. Though we did not have the chance to visit people during the week, it was very good for my personal development as a missionary. I had time to reflect, and from that there will be some things that I will be changing and some just refining. So, we made it to the weekend when Elder H finally started feeling better and got to work. We went over to Brother Cook's house and talked with him for a little while. He is an older bionic man- he has two replaced knees, a replaced shoulder, and the other shoulder will be replaced soon. He is lonely as his relationship with his wife is not all that great, so he loves when we come over to visit with him. Following that came the highlight of the week. I had a favorite missionary back home named Paul Dela Cruz. He got home from his mission around 9 months ago, and he lives in Southern Cali. So we got in contact, and he was coming up my way on Friday. So we walked out of Brother Cook's home to see former Elder Dela Cruz revving the engine on his older BMW. He was literally so happy to see me, and I was equally happy to see him. We went out to lunch and talked about missionary things and how we each are doing. He keeps in contact with so many people from his mission in Chicago including many from Crystal Lake. So amazing- it made my week!

Saturday was the all stressful day of finding out what is happening with missionary transfers. So, we waited and waited and finally around 6 we got a call that Elder Honeycutt would be leaving the area and I would be staying in Upland with a new companion. So, we had a great all you can eat Sushi dinner with a great couple of ward members, Brother HoChing, Felix, and Bain. I was stuffed. But, the news was hard on Honeycutt as he made lots of close bonds here. We spent the majority of Sunday visiting people he wanted to say good-bye to. That was a sad day for him, but he looks forward to a new beginning in a new area. So now the real news, my new comp. We got news last night late that I would be with an Elder Perry. We have now been together for a grand total of an hour, so my info on him will be better next week. He is from St. George, Utah, is a good athlete, and his biggest fear is getting fat on the mission. I can already tell this will be a great transfer together, and we will kill it here in the Upland 1st Ward. So for now that is all, I will write better next week for sure.

Scripture of the week is from Helaman chapter 12 verse 1, "And thus we can behold how false, and also the unstediness of the hearts of the children of men; yea, we can see that the Lord in his great infinite goodness doth bless and prosper those who put their trust in him."

I love you all so much. Have a great week and may many blessings come upon you.

Love,

Elder Thelander

Photos- (above) me with Paul Dela Cruz and (below) me with Honeycutt and some ward members