Farewell, Alpine

Good morning cuties 

      Whats up ya'll. Today's my pday instead of Monday because of transfers. Speaking of which, I'm going to go be district leader in Abilene 2nd ward with Elder Jensen. I'm excited to get out of Alpine and experience more of what God's got in store for me. My new companion just finished training so I'll be greenie breaking him, which seems to be what God likes me to do because I do it a lot. I guess new guys need a light hearted person after training to show them that they don't need to be so serious and strict and robots or something. But it will be fun and I'm ready for a new adventure. My last few days in Alpine have been a Rollercoaster of weird emotions and I'm exhausted, I kind of wish I could lay down and catch up with myself and rest, but God doesn't stop working so I don't want to be behind schedule. 

       The past few days have included the craziest storms I've ever witnessed in my life. For a few short moments I thought I was dreaming or dead. Lightning kept hitting trees and exploding them right next to our apartment and it felt like we were about to be drafted for WWIII. All of the outlining towns we were going to visit, had the roads flooded so we were trapped and then the power went out for a while. How rude. So we kinda just sat it out and enjoyed the rain. After it cleared up we went and helped the fire-department which was fun. Oh you thought we put out fires, or cleaned up the explosions? No, we were entered into a cook-off and we were the judges for ALL the food. It went from noon to about 7pm of non-stop pound town. I ate 25 plates of beans and that was only the first round. Then there was brisket, fajitas, bread, pork, Dutch oven desserts and so much more. Each round had like 20 contestants per food group. I can see why they needed the help because I needed help rolling back into my car to go home. I'm a sucker for free food, but I was never a fan of all you can eat buffets. 

     The rest of the week was just full of goodbyes. I hate goodbyes. It takes me a while to open up and get attached to people, and by the time I'm at that point, poof. I'm gone, or they leave. So I've never been one for goodbyes. Although saying goodbye to Alpine is the biggest relief, the people are always what makes an area. There's always flowers that bloom between cracks of concrete, or diamonds that form in hellish temperatures and pressured environments. That's one thing that I've learned on my mission, is to always look for the good in people. I thought I was already pretty good at doing that back home, but God's been perfecting that in me. It would surprise you what you can learn from someone or what you can gain from meeting someone. While this area has been my refiners forge, I learned a lot from it and I'd like to touch a little on that. 

      Firstly, Alpine taught me that God is real. God knows your struggles  personally and perfectly. He loves us. Often times we listen to the noisy world or voices in our head more than we listen to God, and we feel distance between him. Before you're quick to forget his voice, try harder to get to a place where it will never fade. That's easier said than done believe me, but he has a still small voice. Put down the phone, turn off the TV, or go outside at night when everything is quiet, and talk to him. You will hear him. Second, you're not alone. Times get hard, and it feels like it's more than you can bare and you want to give up. That's bs. Don't let yourself belive that. Jesus Christ went below everything, and suffered everything. Can we say that we have suffered more than him? No. God won't give us more than we can handle. Somedays it's okay to feel weak and need the time to regain your strength, but don't give up and let your problems consume you. Give them to God, and he will carry you through the sand. Third, I can cut grass pretty good now. Fourth, don't try food you've never seen before at a Hispanic home without asking about it first, it's probably going to burn your lips off. Fifth, if no one else, let it be you. Stop waiting for someone else to show you or tell you what to do. Believe in yourself and your ability to lead and serve. Everyone is thinking the same thing. They are waiting for someone to make the first move so they know what they need to do, but if no one is doing anything or making the first move, you do it. Have full confidence in yourself and take action. I've had to do this so many times in my life, and so many times in Alpine especially. Lastly, you have a strong testimony. Some days it was all I had left to keep me going. Before my mission when I hit my lowest points in my life, I had no foundation or anything to fall on, so when I fell, I fell hard and rebuilding was a lot harder. When you have core beliefs, core values, things that make you who you are, when you fall, you fall on what you stand for. And notice how I said it's what you STAND for. You get knocked to your feet where you can still walk and grow and fight, instead of knocked to your knees or even flat out cold. You can rebuild strength out of what gives you strength, instead out of the rocks when you hit rock bottom. Alpine was hard for me, but I think it is the corner stone to my mission and to my growth. I will be greatful for how hard this area was. 

      Anyways I think that was a pretty good email, what do yall think? Definitely better than my last few updates that's for sure. I love all of you because if I didn't you wouldn't hear from me ever or get the chance to even see these words on your screen. Mostly joking there haha. But let the lord bless you and who knows maybe even inspire you this week. He's a good guy, you should probably give him a chance if you've been putting it off ever. What's the worst that could happen? Get sent to Alpine? 

- elder jenkins 

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