Resting

Hi everyone,

Saturday evening we got a call from a set of elders living near us letting us know that their toilet was clogged and overflowing, which was even worse news considering their duplex is two story and the toilet is upstairs. We rushed over after our ward activity was finished and saw dirty water dripping from their ceiling out of air ducts in their kitchen and living room. We agreed to help clean it up, turned the toilet water off, and then went to walmart to get much needed supplies- gloves, masks, and some drinks. Its took a few hours to get it adequately clean and I may be scarred for life because of the smell... We were blessed that we got to it before permanent damage was done. To make things even more interesting we had to prepare for a Rio Ranch stake training the next morning, which involved all members of ward councils throughout the entire stake, as well as a meeting we were holding with the Santa Fe stake presidency and our mission presidency later in the day. The Lord strengthened us and we were some how able to clean everything up, take part in a powerful training, and make great progress in our other Sunday meetings in Santa Fe and Rio Rancho, all off of five hours of sleep.

There have been several other emergencies and circumstances that have taken from our sleep this week and Elder Willden and myself have felt completely drained. We have been part of three large scale trainings, one exchange, three separate and crucial stake meetings, several emergencies with other missionaries, attending a wonderful baptism, and of course our regular load of finding and teaching within our own ward boundaries, while both of us were fighting off illness. With so many late nights and early mornings with exhausting days one after another we were getting sleep deprived to the point of not being able to think clearly or function normally, which is dangerous when a single lesson could effect a persons happiness so dramatically. So today we decided to skip our trip to Santa Fe for a day of sight seeing and replace it with hours of sleeping. I feel so much better and am ready for another amazing week!

Our exchange this week took me to the UNM singles branch to work for a day, and I loved being back on campus talking to people. The elder I was working with does not have much experience on campus yet so I was able to take him and show him how to talk with college students without looking like a weirdo. I had so much fun connecting with college students again and we spent hours contacting people in the main lobby on campus. Later in the day we were able to set up a time to meet with someone who I have not been able to see since serving in Belen. I had become friends with her through a family I grew close to while serving there and a few months after I left she had an incredible experience that helped her gain a testimony that this church is true. She got baptized just weeks before coming up here for college and she is on spiritual fire right now, very excited for what comes next in the gospel of Christ. My testimony continues to grow as I look back and see how the Lord had a plan for her all along, and though my part in it was small I am still able to see that He places people in our path for very special reasons and I feel blessed to see His hand in our work.

Love,

Elder Inman

PS, I have been having a lot of fun with those goofy "nerd" glasses you sent me in the package. I wore them to dinner the first night I got them and had a great laugh as the mom kept telling her kids how rude it is to make fun of my new glasses. I kept it up for at least 20 minutes until I couldn't hold back my laughs anymore and told her that her kids were right about them being fake. Then the next day, or maybe the same(its all a blur), we were in the car of one of my favorite investigators when I pulled the glasses out, put them on casually, and told him they were my driving glasses, even though he was driving. I could tell he did not want to embarrass me because after a quick double take he turned and stared strait ahead trying not to stare. I quickly told him I was kidding because I felt bad that he was being so nice about it. Thanks for the package!!