NYNYS Mission December 19-27, 1996

Man, was I that bad? Did I really walk everyone to death? I know I walked a lot. I only had a car for 2 months of my mission and never had a bike. I had to walk everywhere. Most of the time, I couldn’t keep up with my companions because they were taller and their legs were longer than mine. The likelihood is that my first companions instilled in me the work ethic of hustling. Personally, I always felt I was doing my best to follow the spirit. To put my whole heart, might, mind, and strength into the work. But periodically I had really difficult companions. Or I guess, I was really difficult and couldn’t recognize it.

Adoption

I laid my hands upon his head and gave him the Holy Ghost, then proceeded to pronounce a priesthood blessing upon him. As I did so, I was filled with the most glorious and overwhelming feeling. It washed over me like a tidal wave. I had made a choice 7 years earlier to be his father and I did it as a choice, as an act of faith that I was doing the right thing. I did it without being acted upon. Now, all of a sudden, like a flood this feeling washed over me and the Holy Ghost testified that he was my child and he was supposed to be a part of our family. This was so unexpected.

The Dark Tunnel and Healing

When this mental health journey started, I wrote a post titled “A Dark Tunnel”. I had never been there before. As I walked up to this tunnel, I had the feeling to stop and take a photo. It was almost as though the Holy Ghost was telling me that this particular tunnel was significant. The strange thing is that it’s just an ordinary tunnel that goes under a road. There is nothing special about it.