I called the travel office in Salt Lake yesterday and got
some good and bad news. The bad news is I am not leaving this week. The good
news is that there is a decent chance that I'll leave the week after that! I
was feeling pretty down after I found out that I'm not leaving yet for sure. I
am really excited for Macedonia and just want to be there already. But for now,
I still have a lot to do here, and maybe I'll set a record for longest stay in
the MTC in the process. It's going to be weird because all the people that I've
become great friends with are all taking off, while I will remain here. I'm
just hoping it'll only be one extra week! The curse of the MTC on the belly is
real though. I've already gained 15 pounds!
GENERAL CONFERENCE. I have to admit, I never had a deep love
for it before my mission started, but it was seriously like Christmas. Just sit
back, and watch a screen for 10 hours in a weekend. But seriously, I loved
every minute of it. I've been pondering about things I can do to be a better
person and missionary, and that was answered many times. I loved what Elder
Oaks said about avoiding contention with everyone. That alone is something
that's simple and is going to help me immensely. I just need to figure out how
to remind myself of everything that was said. It was way cool to see everyone I
knew in the Men's Choir for priesthood session too! They were all so excited
when they came back, and I can't count how many times Elder Raisor has watched
all the songs.
I've gotta say, BYU football is loud!! When they played Utah
State this week, a lot of the zone went out and listened. It's funny how
interested we get in the strangest things out here. In the bathroom near our
class, the batteries in the automatic paper towel dispenser were dying for a while.
One day they finally replaced it, and Elder Raisor and I got ridiculously
excited about it. Like, I haven't been that excited in a looooong time. It's
just funny the dumb stuff we suddenly have a deep interest in.
We have two people come speak to us every week in the MTC,
and they are usually General Authorities. This week, a stake president from Philadelphia
spoke to us, which was kind of strange. But first and foremost he told us to
put notepads away, and to just listen. Then his talk was more of a comedy
routine than anything. He was hilarious! It was really good for that day,
considering we just listened for 10 hours of conference before. His name was
Vai Sikahema. Apparently he was a NFL player. He gave a really good talk, and
it still had a really good message about being personable with everyone.
That's it for this week! The fact that I'm getting left
behind is weighing me down a little bit, but I know my time will come. Listen
to those conference talks, especially the last one by Bednar. For all, it's
such a great example of what should be done when talking about the gospel. This
is the best thing in our lives, and we want to share it with everyone. I'm so
thankful for this opportunity to be here serving a mission, and I'm so grateful
for all I've learned.
Успеx с живот! Старейшина Ригби
Google Translation (Bulgarian): Good luck with life! Elder Rigby
Google Translation (Bulgarian): Good luck with life! Elder Rigby
Hoping to go here soon!
To be followed in a couple months by these two new Macedonian missionaries
Sister Hassell and
Elder Chingas
The famed artist, Elder Williams, going
to Slovakia, drew this portrait of me by only looking at me (not at the board). Not bad! The talent here astounds me.
