Still alive

 I am still here. Just took a unanticipated break from my blogging life.

Growth or comfort?

There's no growth in the comfort zone and no comfort in the growth zone.

That simple little phrase pretty much sums up my pepper plants. It was also a topic of conversation at home with some of my siblings a few weeks ago.

This year Tyler and I experimented with starting seeds. We learned A LOT and know what to do differently next year. This year didn't go so well. Several of our pepper plants have done absolutely nothing since putting them in the ground. We've watered them and babied them and nothing. They are simply refusing to grow. I think they preferred to be back in the house where the sun didn't beat down so hot. We do have one pepper plant that is just starting to put out some peppers. That little plant thought growth might be worth it after all.

Growth is voluntary. No one can force someone else to change for the better without their permission, and when it comes to bettering yourself or your situation whether it be spiritual, financial, educational, you have to want it.

Growth is also intentional. What do you really want out of life? Who do you really want to become?

That comfort zone is an easy place to hang out. It's not scary. It doesn't require much effort or work. It feels good. It's also unproductive.

Alma 34:32 For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors.

Alma tells me that this life is the time I have to prepare to meet God. I believe it is also the time I have to prepare to be like God, to do what's necessary to develop godly attributes, "to be a partaker of his divine nature, being diligent in adding to my faith virtue, and to virtue knowledge, and to knowledge temperance, and to temperance patience, and to patience godliness, and to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness charity." (2 Peter 1)

If I want to become like Jesus Christ, growth is absolutely fundamental and will not happen if I'm comfortable with my current state of being. It's a necessary part of life. It can be terrifying. It will squeeze you a little and cause some pain. It's doing hard things when we don't want to do them. It's opening your mouth to speak up when you're terrified of public speaking. It's accepting a new calling in church or a job change when your old one was right up your alley. It's being bold when you'd rather sit back and let someone else take charge. It's forgiving when you've been hurt or misunderstood.

Growth or comfort? It really is our choice. And it's not an easy one to make sometimes.

Mission Update on Nate

This is a tale of two missionaries with two very different stories -- one home and one currently serving. 

Erik began his mission with 2 phone calls home a year and emails once a week. Four or five months in that changed to calling home weekly either through text, phone, video chat, messaging. I could count on Erik every Monday morning between 6:30 and 7am. And if a birthday or Mother's Day/Father's Day landed that week, we could get phone calls twice a week. Covid hit with all of it's quarantine restrictions and Erik was calling home as needed which was several times a week. He began his mission the traditional way with us dropping him off at the Provo MTC and three weeks later a flight to Orlando, Florida. He did the traditional missionary contact methods. Facebook was not one of them. And when Covid came swinging with all her punches, Erik still had 6 months left and missionary work came to a standstill as they struggled to figure out how to do missionary work in the nontraditional ways that didn't involve physically interacting with people. Erik was in a biking mission. We bought him a bike which he rarely used and sold at the end of his mission. His main mode of transportation was a car.

Nate is not quite like his brother. He calls home once in awhile and seems to write even less frequently. Although, he is good to call when I tell him too. I trust he is doing well and doesn't need the interaction with home as frequently has Erik might have. His original assignment is to Australia although he's beginning to believe he might never make it there and he is totally cool with it because he is where he needs to be in the Denver North Colorado Mission. He began his mission assignment right here at home. Home MTC. No dropping him off curbside and being whisked away. That came 3 weeks later at the airport. He began his missionary service using the nontraditional ways right from the start. Facebook has been a big part of his mission experience.

Erik had two mission presidents and I'm sure they were both great. I just didn't have very much involvement with them. Nate's mission president, President Blake, has been very much involved with parents, even creating a separate Facebook page just for parents where he can update us on things unbeknownst to our missionaries. He did a Zoom call with all missionary parents a few months back to let us know how the mission was doing and what their goals were. I was impressed. Nate tells me his career was to take struggling businesses and make them better, to take people in these businesses and make them better. He is a mission president at the right time as he tackles the process of being a missionary and making it better. He's inspired Nate enough that Nate is seriously rethinking his choice of schools post-mission. He was training a greenie who came out and struggled with headaches on the mission (never at home). After testing and moving apartments and other things, it was decided last week to send him home to figure things out. I hope he'll be back. Nate has been in a biking area on a bike we did not buy. Most of the time he bikes. Once in awhile he gets access to a car.

Tomorrow is p-day. Any bets on whether Nate calls tomorrow or sends an email?

He's happy sharing the good news of Jesus Christ and that's all I could ask for. These young people just radiate joy. You can see it in their faces. That is the spirit of God radiating goodness.

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance." --Galatians 5:22-23

Birthday Buddies

Our baby came to town! And we got to celebrate his first birthday along with Erik who celebrated his 21st. Our little Ollie just gets cuter and chubbier every time we see him. With Erik and Ashlyn who both love to take photos, I've come to just let them do the snapping and then I pilfer the ones I want from them.

Erik got a Jazz jersey to root them on to a championship this year. He also got a crock pot to put be able to put his culinary skills to use at college in a few months.

P.S. Ollie went home and got his first hair cut. He sure looks like a little boy now and not a baby.

A Long Wait

What a week! Or two! Or ... a few more than that. Sorry about the wait, but it's been a good few weeks. I've said goodbye to Elder Jarman, and I'm now serving in Sloan's Lake. It's an interesting area; the missionaries that were here last transfer were taken out because the members were encouraging them to disobey some mission rules, so we get to go in and reopen the area. It's been good so far; this area has a ton of potential, but I'm still on bike. Seems I'm destined to stay that way my entire mission. Lastly, as I read through the beginning of Helaman, I read how after the wars with the Lamanites there was some contention among the Nephites, but by preaching the gospel they converted thousands which ended the conflicts. This was only possible because the Nephites were "continuously rejoicing" because of the gospel. I have found joy in keeping the commandments. I have found joy in coming to understand the character and love of my Savior. I encourage you to do whatever you need to in order to have that for yourself. I say this in the name of Jesus Christ amen. 

All my love, 

Elder Leary 

* * * * * * * * * * 

Nate hasn't been great about keeping us up to date with emails or phone calls. He is serving in a mission where his Leary grandparents have a cousin serving there as a senior couple. They will take photos and post to their blog. I am grateful for them and for any bit of information I can get about Nate. The photo above is a photo I was able to grab from them. I think this was a training meeting for trainers. Maybe he is now a trainer?? Hopefully I'll find out tomorrow in an email or phone call.

Sweet 16! Finally!

This girl has waited forever for this birthday which fell on a Sunday making it a little tricky to try to make it a great day. Last year her 15th birthday came a week after quarantine COVID hit and I'm sure she never dreamed this birthday she would still be dealing with the ramifications.

She invited a few friends over the night before for a little hot dog roast and cake.

Sunday she got her favorite meal . . . steak, and we had our first family siesta in over a year which included Grandma and Grandpa and aunts and uncles and cousins.

That is her trademark saying although she didn't find the shirt very amusing.

I think it wasn't the birthday she quite imagined, but a month later things have really started looking up for her with a lot of firsts: first date and first ACT test under her belt, braces off

new job at FiiZ

and finally getting to drive in that driver's ed car and pass her test for her driver's license. She looks pretty happy, doesn't she. That smile looks good on her.

A Few Weeks

Hey! 

It's been a few weeks, which I'm sorry about, but they've been good weeks. Transfers came and went, and I am still in Aurora, but I'm now with Elder Jarman, who's an absolute stud. His words, not mine. He really is a cool guy, he's from Washington, and he was just serving in our Mission President's ward, so I think so far it's been a little less stressful for him here. 

We had interviews, which was awesome. I have so much respect for President Blake, and just being able to sit there and talk with him one on one is cool. It's not every day that you have the chance to talk to the CEO of Frito-Lay, so I enjoyed that. 

A little update on those we're teaching: Caroline was not baptized yesterday like she should've been, she's in quarantine after being exposed to Covid. The Oroy twins are no longer scheduled to be baptized on the 8th, their dad asked them to stop meeting with us even though he was ok with it earlier. That one was hard. Donna is still on date to be baptized in the 8th, but a family emergency prevented her from coming to church yesterday. Felix is scheduled for the 15th, and he came to a baptismal service on Saturday, but he didn't show up to church and we couldn't get ahold of him. Kyle accepted a date yesterday to be baptized on May 22, but he's still a little unsure if he's ready. It's been going pretty well, and May is looking like it'll be a crazy month. 

The last thing is I had Korean food! A Korean member made us dinner one night, and it was the same food that we have for Christmas dinner every year! Maybe not exactly the same, it seemed a touch more authentic, but it was really good. 

Love you all,
Elder Leary

* * * * * * * * * *

He's back . . . sorta. I get the feeling he won't eat much and those clothes might stay the same for awhile.