a pretty darn good week (supplemental)

Dad’s Note: The following is from a letter that Elder Waggoner wrote on the same Prep Day as the entry below.

Very glad Dad’s birthday went well!  Sounds like a bunch of fun.  Leah tells me Mom has Alzheimer’s.  Good to hear.  I hope the Christmas tree works out.  Did you put C-3PO on the top?  (Dad’s note: That’s an old family tradition, and yes we did.) 

I feel much better now – don’t let the e-mail scare you. 

We had Mission Conference.  I gave a talk on Diligence and Obedience.  It was the best talk I’ve ever given.  It was cool!  I used a lot of scriptures of people like Nephi an Alma the Younger, but all the while specifically relating it to missionary work.  I read from the white handbook, Preach My Gospel, and of course the standard works.  I talked about the blessings that come from being obedient and talked about living a higher standard, from the Law of Moses to the new law Jesus gave, and on to the standards of the white handbook.  I didn’t say it was a new law, just an even higher and more specific standard.  The other talks ran short, so I got to run long.  It went very well.

Thank-you for sending the Bobby Kennedy speech.  (Dad’s Note: Nate had asked for the speech “A Ripple of Hope.”)  I love that speech.  It’s so good.  Not really as a missionary, but as a person.  I’ve shared it with Elder Thayne.  He loves it too.  I really appreciate it.

I got a letter from the Bishop’s family with drawings from their kids.  I hung one of them up.  It was so nice.

I’ve been trying real hard to make the new district feel comfortable.  Did I tell you that the second day here, the Branch President slapped me?  He does it to someone every time a new district arrives.  Yeah, it’s for the benefit of the entire zone, not for me.  He says something like “If you want to go home, give it 7 to 10 days” all the while slapping an Elder on the cheek.  I was that lucky individual our second day here back in October.  So, this week in Priesthood, he out of the blue says “Elder Waggoner. . .” and steps up to me.  I said “Please don’t slap me” before he said what he was going to do.  It was really funny.  He wasn’t going to - he was just asking me a question.  Funny, though.