Almost There!!!

It has been a very long five months. I got my mission call the week before Finals out at BYU in April and I saw the report date: September 29th. But after the long wait and the times of insanity I only have three precious weeks left. It's almost to unreal right now though. I have dreamed and waited for this moment ever since I was a young man growing up through Deacon's Quorum and now that it's actually here I can't even begin to realize that it's actually happening. When I went home from BYU at the end of April I thought I was in for the longest five months of my life. I could have used that time to go to a Spring and Summer Term out at BYU and gotten some more schooling out of the way. I felt that I was just wasting my time sitting at home with nothing to do when I could be doing something useful. I got a job working at a local wholesale club but I didn't really get many hours which was very frustrating. There was no way I was going to be making nearly enough money with only eight hours of work a week. I decided to find more work to keep me busy and to make some more dinero. So I ended up being a soccer referee for the Recreational League here in my hometown and made some decent money. I've house sat for a few families in my ward, and I've even helped a man in my ward with some renovation in his backyard. But with all the college kids going back to school I've finally gotten more hours. Now I'm almost wishing I didn't have so many! Other than work early on in the summer I didn't have much to keep me from missing everything about BYU. I didn't feel like doing much at all. I missed everyone and I even missed my classes!!! Crazy I know. I thought about taking some online courses to keep me busy but I never got around to that. I tried to hang out with some old friends from high school but sometimes I just didn't feel like getting out for some reason. So basically I was a bum for the first half of the summer. But everything changed once the Hill Cumorah Pageant came around. I absolutely loveeee Pageant. It is the best thing about summer for me that I have ever experienced and I'm so glad that I could do it for three straight years. I think I just needed a wake up call. I realized that I was just dwelling on the things I could have been doing back then and not doing what I should or could be doing now. I also needed a Spiritual booster. I knew that I was going on a mission and that I knew it was the right thing to do. But they say that the time before your mission is when Satan and his angels try their hardest to bring you down and I was definitely feeling that. The friends I made at Pageant, the experiences I had, and the lessons I learned were exactly what I needed. I can never thank my Heavenly Father enough for this last chance to participate before my mission. I originally put my availability date for my mission as July 1st which means I would have missed Pageant. But I know that He has a plan for each of us. And I was supposed to be at Pageant one more time. Ever since Pageant ended the weeks have flown by. I've been happier, more awake, more in tune with myself and the Spirit. I started studying Preach My Gospel and the scriptures more intently and on a more regular basis. I've literally felt myself being picked up from the ground and being set in the right direction. I know that Heavenly Father knew what I needed to become the best missionary I could possibly be. And now with just about three weeks to go I still have a lot to finish. But I feel that I have been set on the right path and that I am getting set for what the Lord has in store for me. Thanks to everyone for the support you've shown me. Even if I haven't specifically thanked you or told you, all of you who I call my friends have had more influence on me than you know.