Corona? No thanks, I don't drink;)

Wednesday, March 18th, My first p-day in the field was pretty great. The zone leaders slept over at our place and we hung out at the apartment all morning emailing friends and talking to family. We then headed to the bowling alley and bowled 3 games and got shoes for a total of $9 it was great! I also bowled really well surprisingly haha. Then we headed to drop off the car and we were planning on going to Sams Club to eat but cuz of the coronavirus it was closed. So we dropped off the car and David picked us up and we told him Chick Fil A but he saw Waffle House was open and swerved right in haha. I thought it might be bad but it turned out being super good. The Waffle Houses' out here are definitely better than the ones in Colorado. Then headed home and talked to family again. This is when we recieved word we were being put on lockdown/self-isolation. Pretty bummed about that, not gonna lie. I hope this crazy virus goes away soon. Luckily it didnt go into effect until tomorrow though, so we taught one last lesson with Barbara and it was great. Definitely wrapped up a successful pday. 

Thur: First day of isolation. My comp woke up with a really bad headache but we still got up at 6:30 to be obedient, but then went back to bed after daily planning which took about 30 mins. We only planned to sleep until 8 but it ended up being 10. He set the alarm wrong. He was pretty upset about it. I'm not complaining though, I loved it, longest I've slept in, in a month. I actually woke up at 10 and woke him up. I shoulda slept longer lol. Anyway, we got up, got ready, ate, and made a ton of calls considering it's all we can do. It wasn't too bad of a day, but nothing exciting happened, we threw the football for a bit at dinner and got the mail. Had a really good comp study just barely and feeling the spirit was nice cuz I haven't felt it all day just calling people, and I definitely missed it. Going to do comp study in the morning tomorrow like we are supposed to and hopefully the spirit will be more prevalent during the day. 

Fri: Woke up and had a good daily planning session, lifted some weights did some push ups and convinced my companion to go on about a mile run! It was great to get out in the morning. Then had a long day inside lots of phone calls and planning. Made some eggs for breakfast and a pizza for dinner. Had two really good facetime lessons at night with Marshelly and her fam and asked her to be baptized and she said yes! She needs to wait until the virus is over though cuz her family will come from Mexico and they can't get through the boarder right now. Then had a good lesson with Barbara. Had a zone phone call. Then my companion taught me how to play the first part of Sweet Home Alabama on the guitar. Considering we are on self isolation not a horrible day. 

Sat: Before I left I told my mom I disliked when missionaries wrote home weekly's every week that were all positive. Let's be honest, everyone knows the missions are not all lollipops and rainbows haha. The middle part of my day today was really hard. I kind of just looked out the window for a good portion of it and thought a lot about a lot of things. I wrote down all my negative thoughts and translated them into more positive thoughts. That kind of helped me a little. But finally I just decided to talk to my comp about everything and that helped the most. I told him how I felt like Laman and Lemuel, because I know I am doing the right thing by being here. However, there are many, many times I wish I was home and although my home is not what Lehi was escaping, I still used Laman and Lemuel as an example because even though Nephi told them Jerusalem was destroyed they wished to be back there with the things they were used to and living the way they were used to, even though they were being saved by the Lord. My comp told me I'm more like Nephi, because I haven't seen the happiness and blessings yet, but I'm using a ton of faith to tell myself that it will come, and continuing to trust in the lord and work hard. He used the example of the savior and Thomas when the savior told him, "Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet believe." He also told me his experience was similar and to think of the happiness and blessings like a sunrise rather than a light switch. Lastly he said Christ isn't the light at the end of the tunnel, he's the light, flashlight, and headlights that get us through it. Anyways besides all of that, I confirmed two new members of the church today! Lucas and Ozzy, that was neat. And later in the afternoon there was a super blue sky and that was a tender mercy cuz I've been missing the sky and sun with all the clouds here, so that was sweet! Finally I deep cleaned my apartment for like an hour, and that helped me get my mind off things haha. Off to bed. 

Sun: Today was a better day. Woke up had a good morning. Had a good lesson with the Camerons on Jacob 5 and to be completely honest my comp took over and I think I learned just as much as the Camerons haha. I really like Jacob 5 after today. It covers everything from beginning to end. Had some lunch and had the chance to talk to family and was able to teach them about Jacob 5 and that was awesome! I felt like I was at home after church again. Went to the church and played some ball and made some videos for a video one of the sisters is putting together. Had a good lesson with David and Barbara and now I'm off to bed. 

Mon: Woke up had a good morning. Went to the post office and picked up a package of king size chocolate bars, which I definitely appreciate and am thankful for but whoever sent them you owe me 12 dollars for shipping haha! I had to pay to get them, I'm guessing an error that we can work out later ;). Dropped the car off at the mechanic because the check engine light was on, hopefully the church will muster over the $275. I feel bad knowing they only have about 100 billion in the pot... just teasing. But President Nelson said the gathering of Israel is the most important thing on this earth so they better pay the 275 or we aren't gathering as much as we could!! ;) Then sat at home the rest of the day and threw the football around for about an hour before bed. Night! 

Tues: Today was good we were out of the apartment a lot which was awesome. Woke up, did some studies, made a few calls, had a small lesson on the phone, picked up the car from the mechanic and headed to district council. I love talking with other missionaries. It makes me feel like I'm not alone out here haha even though I know I'm not it's just comforting, it's hard to explain. Then got some Panda Express which I haven't had in forever and headed home and layed down for awhile. Made a few more calls. Then we were going to head the church and play ball, but there were people already in the gym playing and since the virus protocol is encourging small groups only we couldn't join them and I was super duper bummed. We headed home and had a good lesson with David on video call, I did the dishes and my laundry and now I'm off to sleep. Overall this was a good week.