Hellooooooooo!

Hello everyone!

This week was, honestly, interesting :) I'm not sure where exactly to start soooo the beginning!

Tuesday: ZONE CONFERENCE!! This was a wonderful and amazing conference, while Christmas is still hands down my favorite, this was amazing! One of my favorite parts, was getting to perform the Gentle Healer, a 4 part a Capella song, it was amazing! I got to perform it in front of about 1/3 of the mission and the Mission President and his wife! Stressful, but awesome! Elder Hendricks is such a boss! He sang the melody and was absolutely Glorious, like we're talking Flo Glorious!

After that the missionaries from Deer Lodge stayed the night with us then we all drove up to Deer Lodge the next day for baptismal interviews! Unfortunately what was supposed to be 4 different interviews turned into 1. Which I had to defer to president. I just felt so bad. I mean I just got word from the Deer Lodge elders that she passed the interview today, but it was still sad. At that point, because of the interview time we had to stay in Deer Lodge that night, however we got to eat at Broken Arrow, possibly one of the greatest burger places of all time :). The best part is that one of the most gracious members there paid for it all :) amazing :).

A jacket that I found in Deer Lodge :) unfortunately it's another elder's, however he gave me a nice pair of leather gloves :).  Apparently steering wheels get cold, so I use them to drive with.

The next day (Thursday) was St. Patrick's day. And, as anyone who's served in/been to Butte knows, that's the day that you lock your door, load the shotgun, and pray that you're left alone. Thankfully, because our house is too far in uptown to be safe, we got to spend the day at the church watching 17 Miracles, then eat at the Zone leaders house.  It was a nice needed rest. Granted I was freakin' worried about all of our people in uptown, but thankfully the worst that happened was a less active that we are working with got insanely beat up and ended up in the hospital for a few days. But no gun shot wounds! Yay!

So my knee.....it's interesting. I'm not really sure where to start. I've seen several doctors about it so far. This week I just got in with an orthopedic surgeon, . He took a look at my knee and immediately recommend that we post pone physical therapy until after I get an MRI, they called insurance and got it approved last I heard so, yay :) The sucky part is that that the doctor who looked at me pretty much asked if I wanted the surgery to be in Butte or home. He said he isn't 100% sure that I'm going to have a surgery, but judging that this has been a constant pain for the last 7 months, that my knee shouldn't really pop like that, and the various random pain, he thinks he'll be recommending me for surgery when we go over the MRI results on the 29th. My zone leaders and I think that it I'm confirmed for surgery by Salt Lake then I'll go home at the transfer on April 6th. I don't think I'll go home personally, but that's just all that I've been told. I know it's a lot of blegh, but I'm choosing to think positively until I meet with the doctor on the 29th. But ya. That's where I'm at :) I totally want to stay, hope I'll stay, everyone in my district thinks I'm leaving but I'm ready to prove some people wrong. :) 

Other than all of that this week was fairly slow, also we ended up dropping everyone. Seriously. It just slowly happened over the entire week.  Sorry I have to go. I love you all! I know that the atonement is amazingly real! And I know that the Lord definitely has people prepared who are ready to accept the gospel. I love you all!

 

Nick and his new companion Elder Haskins

Never give up, Never Surrender!

-Elder Berrett

Additional excerpts from an email shared with me between Nick and a friend- and btw

(I asked if he’d heard about a friend passing away)

No. I, haven't heard that at all. Wow. That's so weird to think about. I'll be keeping her family in my prayers. That's terrible. It is true though. We have a less active that we are working with who has been fighting, and sadly really losing, a battle with cancer. At our last lesson he asked us to pray that he will die. Because we aren't family, we are just praying that he will receive comfort, however that will be. Wow. Thanks for letting me know. 

Yes I do have a crock pot, :) it is glorious, absolutely glorious. I absolutely love crock pot recipes, especially since I have discovered crock pot liners which means literally no clean up :) as a missionary there are a few times like the lunch hour or maybe if you forgot something or really have to use the bathroom and it's the only place you trust because ghetto, but other than that, we pretty much stay out. Unless we are in training, or training a new missionary, we leave the house by 10 and, apart from lunch and dinner (unless we are eating with a member) we don't get back till 9.

Ok. Driving is really weird after not driving for a while. The other day, Well 2 transfers ago, when I became district leader and started driving, it was weird. Also I was terrible. Thankfully no cops saw but I totally ran 2 lights and 3 stop signs. :/ Since then I've been great though, thankfully. :) 

So I just watched 27 or 17 (I can't remember) Miracles for the first time this St. Patrick's day (Since we aren't allowed to go outside here, too many drunk people, apparently 18 people died last year) and while it is totally the most amazing movie ever, I'm pretty sure that my heart just got completely shredded. Especially when that little midget on the crutches died. And I can't even remember his name! All I remember is that he was English and was always saying "superb!" But ya.