You will react less if you plan better.

What a wonderful week it has been! Zone Conference. We used to have them every month, but they got changed to every quarter. So its not such a commodity anymore. Well, I had the opportunity to attend ZC in each stake in the mission, which is three. This afforded me some great blessings and opportunities I obviously would not otherwise have had. It was GREAT! My companion and I gave a "training" on studies. We study for an hour on our own, and an hour as a companionship each morning. The training was based on this talk by Elder Bednar called "A Reservoir of Living Water." It is an excellent talk, I would recommend it to us all. The methods he presents are sure to bring us greater knowledge and understanding at a more accelerated rate. It was a really good thing for our mission as many of us Elders come out having never really studied the gospel beyond just reading the scriptures. So this was great and I am sure the effects will be far reaching. A missionary's desire and effectiveness is tied in great measure to their own personal conversion, which typically begins for us in our own personal study of the gospel.

It was especially great for Elder Rogers and I preparing it because we probably learned the most, which tends to be the case when presenting/teaching. We had a lot of time during the conferences to go over these things and we really sought inspiration in knowing what to address, discuss and present. The Spirit of the Lord really guided us, I know it. We went through all kinds of different ideas and thoughts in our preparations, but the way it all turned out seemed to be perfect. It felt good. People seemed to enjoy it. I've seen many times the inspiration that can be found with good preparation and really seeking the Lord's help and guidance. It is a blessing.

Beyond that, I was able to hear every missionary in our mission bear their testimony over the course of the 3 days. That was wonderful! We're all out here for different reasons and have different levels of knowledge and capability and talent and such. We're all at a different stage of conversion. But every single missionary said something that hit home for me. None of us are perfect, and some of us are better than others, but I love that we can all stand and declare what we feel in our hearts. It made me feel closer to everyone out here.

President Pehrson went to this big Mission President's Conference in Kirtland, Ohio last week, and came back having had this great personal revelation about personal revelation. To be brief, he said how everything we do should be a revelatory experience. How we have so much opportunity to receive guidance from the Lord. We plan, we prepare, we teach, we go here, we go there, we do all these different things. Not just as missionaries of course. For us to learn to to receive and follow revelation, this is one of the great things of our lives. Something like that. I found it interesting because the whole week of ZCs ended up having the underlying theme of these "revelatory experiences." And I had many myself as I was taught by those those around me and the Spirit. I love that feeling when something just kinda roles over in your mind and you suddenly "understand." It all becomes clear. Isn't that the best? Well I enjoy it, and it was great to be turned on to it a bit more and be able to recognize how often it really does happen. Or at least how often it can happen.

Well I'm going to put in a quick plug for gratitude. For some reason I felt terrible on Tuesday afternoon. The past two weeks I feel I've been extremely inconsistent with my emotions and moods and such. I somewhat know the causes, and it frustrates me, but I can't seem to get over it permanently. Its such a waste of energy! I get this tunnel vision. I don't see the bigger picture for a time. Obviously it doesn't feel good. Eating something ended up helping. I've been finding that helps a lot lately. Hunger! There were a few other little things that helped to calm my anguish, but the next morning I woke up feeling excellent, and I attribute it dominantly to one thing in particular. Tuesday night I did that thing they always tell us to do - say a prayer of only gratitude. I didn't ask for anything, I just said thank you for everything I could possibly think of. I've done this before, but its really been a long time. I felt much better as I got in bed, and a hundred percent better in the morning. It really made such an immense difference! Since then I've tried to be a little more thankful in all my prayers, and it really does do something special. Its so interesting. I've been very intrigued lately with the power our minds seem to have. I find myself very interested in psychology and things like that. We are so intricate. Our bodies, our minds, it really is incredible how we operate. Its so perfect. Our design is flawless. There has to be a designer. He clearly has a plan and purpose. I love it!!

I heard a funny quote from an Elder this week. "If the Church wasn't true, these missionaries would have ruined it long ago." Ha that cracked me up. What a miracle that the Lord trusts 20 year old boys to come out and do what we do.

Well folks, hope stuff is swell back home. I've been on a roller coaster ride since I got to Avon. I feel like I've been constantly humbled again and again and again. I think I'm getting comfortable and then I get slapped in the face. Its hard!! I don't particularly enjoy it! But again, I think a lot of it is just me and my head games and making mountains out of molehills for short periods of time and then getting over it. Over and over again. I guess that's just life sometimes.

Its such a mystery as a missionary because everything is super easy. Like, EXTREMELY EASY! But somehow its also extremely hard. Temporally its easy I guess. But mentally and emotionally its trying. Spiritually its all over the place. Thats the real roller coaster I suppose. Best roller rcoaster on earth though. All good things are a result of hard work right!

Okay I'm gonna just leave it at that even though there's so much more to write.

There may not be a trial in every blessing, but there is a blessing in every trial. Good one eh.

Love ELder Kunzbury