Elder Huntsman LeBaron, Church Service Missionary

Yeah, I know that this is dated to Monday. I got distracted. This week has been pretty all around good. Except for the fact that my bike got ANOTHER flat tire last week. That wasn't fun. I also bought new lights for my bike (since daylight savings time happened, I've been riding home in the dark every day), and putting them on was the biggest pain in the rear since... Well, since Mk. III had a tire size that didn't exist. For those of you who are just now joining or struggling to remember the transit issues I've had, here's a handy chart: Mk. I, A.K.A. Tony : My first car, and theoretically my mission transportation. The transmission shifted its last the day I was supposed to drive to Utah. Mk. II : My first bike in Utah. Got a flat tire my second day riding it, then got stolen two days later Mk. III : My second bike in Utah. Got double flats within a week of me and my grandma purchasing it, and then turned out to have tires of a size (27.

So first of all today was VERY successful because I learned to make french toast this morning. I could get released from my mission tomorrow and be happy, because I have now learned the one life skill that truly matters. In other news, I broke the Comparison Project last week. Apparently it was supposed to be semi-confidential or something, and so I wasn't supposed to tell certain people. The way it was explained to me it would be cool so long as I didn't talk about the thing over the pulpit, but the project has been temporarily paused because I told someone I wasn't supposed to. Don't worry, though, they made very clear that I'm not in trouble. The issue was actually really well timed, because I have now moved up to research! It's the final skill/level of SMTC, which is fitting since I'm on my last transfer here. We've been suffering from a shortage of research missionaries, which has meant that the lower skills have been somewhat

Good afternoon, folks! It came to my attention this morning that I have missed two consecutive weeks in mission emails --- a near unpardonable crime, as far as mothers are concerned! However, rest assured that I am alive, I am well, and I am continuing to try to to my best. The last couple weeks have been tough as I have been struggling with some issues of an intensely personal nature with respect to my mental/emotional health. It's nothing I haven't known about for a while, but it came back to the forefront with a vengeance the last little while, and has been something of an impediment in some ways. Things became especially rough on Sunday the 22nd, as I went to my Bishop for help and came away feeling bruised, broken, and unloved. Fortunately, God is merciful and kind. He blessed me with amazing parents who have worked their butts off to try to understand and support me, and I have been especially blessed in terms of Stake Presidents the last sixteen-odd months. I wil

Holy night this week was eventful! Slight correction: Thursday onward was eventful. Story Time! So the street I have to ride my bike down to get to the train station is a hot mess. The thing has no bike lane and zero shoulder space, so I have to ride on the sidewalk. (Those of you who've read all my emails to this point, if your spider sense isn't tingling at the mention of my bike, it should be.) Anyways, I ride on the sidewalk, but that's not necessarily fool-proof. Both sides of the sidewalk at rough and uneven, not to mention ridden with obstacles such as fire hydrants, road work signs (in spite of a complete lack of road work), and low hanging branches. On the side of the road closer to the train station, there is a field that spaces the train station from the road. It is full  of goatheads, which are essentially multi-sided thorns. Needless to say, these are not good to have around bike tires, so I deliberately ride on the far side

So apparently I didn't send a mass update last week, or if I did, I deleted it. Anyways, I think I'm on week seven? Last week was long but good. I ended up taking a couple days off for exhaustion and had some very therapeutic visits with friends down south in Provo and American(?) Fork, in addition to getting to see my cousins Saturday evening. Work has still been uneventful beyond the continued work at converting from the old Comparison Project system to the new one. That's labor intensive but simple, which means it's really enjoyable as far as work is concerned. In addition to that, I'm being deployed! There's a tool for the Service Missionary program that apparently is having technically difficulties, and leadership thinks that my analytical mindset and quick experience in SMTC will serve me well in the help that they need. It's interesting because it's technically breaking the brand new rules about not deploying missionaries duri