Still no roommates! It's just Me and Elder Fivas (who is good
and recovered now, we just had a follow-up appointment today and they took
his stitches out and he's good to go).
Thank you for the package this week! Rachel's letter made me so
happy! I love the lion! I named him Bo and he sits on my desk by my bed.
So, crazy story. An Elder in my district has been suffering from
deep depression and mood swings. Friday, during our quiet personal study hour
before lunch, he completely lost it. The room was dead quiet when he got up,
quickly slid his desk to the other side of the room, picked up a chair and
swung it at the window, putting a big crack in it. His companion actually
intercepted him before he got to the window so he didn't get a full swing at
it. His companion half tackled him to the ground and sat him there while the
zone leader came in and gave him a priesthood blessing. Throughout the
blessing the Elder got less and less tense until he was relaxed. Meanwhile, EMT
guys were called into our room and many of the sisters were in tears because of
the shock of the whole situation. The Elder was calm and the EMT guys merely
walked him to the office. A few hours later he came back, apologized, explained
he has severe anxiety (which was probably set off by new medications he
was prescribed), then explained that he was headed home. An hour later he was
packed and gone. So now there are only 5 Elders and 6 Sisters in our district.
He was a really nice, witty, smiling guy. He just lost control for a
mere 60 seconds. But now he is home where he is able to get the treatment he
really needs. Our district has been praying for him and we'll continue to write
him letters.
But now for the cool part. The day after, many of
the sisters were still shaken up because of the incident. They all ended up
requesting priesthood blessings. So, all of us 5 Elders laid hands on each of
their heads and gave them a blessing of comfort. The Spirit was strong and it
was an incredible experience. We are now closer than ever. We are our own
family here in the MTC. The coordinating sister, who meets with all the sisters
and happens to be in our district, said that in each blessing each of the
sisters' questions/ needs were answered! How incredible! Because none of the
Elders had any foreknowledge of their personal struggles. I gave two blessings
because there is one more Sister than the number of Elders. One of the
Sisters I had blessed later told me that I had said EXACT phrases and
words that are in her patriarchal blessing! My testimony of the priesthood and
Heavenly Father's love for us is currently through the roof.
Thus we see that by trials often come even greater blessings. It really was best that the Elder receive the treatment he needed at home. And now our district is so strong and solid.
