Week 24: I won a watermelon eating contest

4th of July watermelons

So as expected, people in Texas like the 4th of July. The President changed the 4th to a member day, so we didn't have any lessons

 No one here wants to have a lesson on the 4th. So we did service for one of our members for a bit, and helped direct a parade for a small town called buffalo gap, and that finished a lot sooner than expected. We watched the awards ceremony, and then they announced the watermelon eating contest, and Elder Ball and I participated. They had a 4 rounds because there were lots of people. 2 for kids 12 and under, 1 for teens 13-19, and one for adults. So I participated in the 13-19 one. Since I'm 19, there wasn't too much competition, and I felt kind of bad for destroying those kids, but they wanted me to join. And I won. So now I have a watermelon plaque hanging on my wall. There weren't many fireworks because it's a major fire hazard here, but our neighbors under us didn't care, and I got a video of them Launching stuff from their porch.

Endoscopy

Also I got my endoscopy finally to see what's up with my esophagus. Apparently it's not that it's too small, it's just not flexible or stretchy like it's supposed to be. My esophagus is more like a PVC pipe, and so I gotta start taking some meds that'll soften it up. It was so fun going to the endoscopy there though. I was really looking forward to being sedated. Is that weird? Anyways it was fun to be knocked out and wake up feeling all goofy. It didn't feel quite as strong as when I got my wisdom teeth pulled out, like I wasn't acting as weird, but I was a lot more tired. It's a shame that my esophagus is stiff though. Imagine how much faster I could've eaten that watermelon if I had a normal esophagus. Anyways, getting sedated was pretty hype. I might have to get another one again in 3 months or so, depending on how the mess work.

Missionary work

So, things have just felt really slow this week. Maybe it's just that my comp is going home this week, and that it was the 4th this week, and that I had my endoscopy, but it just feels like we just haven't been doing as much missionary work as we've done on past weeks. My brother Ethan shared something with me that I'm trying to apply though. He shared how on his mission, it was very very hard, and the moment things changed was when he made the decision to change it. Too often we want something or we want to know when things will change before we are willing to dive in, and I do this too often. I like to know what I'm going to get, and when I'm going to get it before I make a decision, but that's just not how it works. As Melodie Wride said, Just live the gospel with no expectations or timetables, and see what happens down the road. Way easier said than done, and this is my biggest struggle right now. You can't expect to finish a race if you're not willing to run. Things will change for the better, but you can't expect them to if you're not willing to change. God will be with you with every effort you make, but you have to make an effort. This is your journey.

- Elder Wride

Also we went fishing for P-day today at a members house and I caught my first fish!! It was a small catfish, and I'm very proud of it. I can catch a fish off my bucketlist now, because I've never caught one completely by myself before. Feels kinda sad to say that..