Family & Friends-
I’m not sure whether to describe my mood right now as a generalized “funk” or simply contemplative. Regardless, I’ve got a lot on my mind…but those are things I don’t want to write about, so I’ll focus on the other things that are going on right now.
First things first: I PASSED MY 2ND YEAR!!! There was blood, sweat, tears and sleepless nights (okay, maybe not blood, but everything else!) involved in this. There were moments that I wasn’t sure I was actually going to advance into my 3rd year, but with nothing short of what had to be divine help I passed all my classes! Yes!!! Pharmacology was the big worry there for a while. I had to get a certain percentage on the final exam in order to pass, and practice tests weren’t doing much to boost my confidence. The morning of the final was something of a personalized hell and the test itself was what I affectionately like to call “academic Armageddon” (4.5 hours of trying to remember every side-effect/half-life/drug-interaction/metabolism/and contraindication of Chloramphenicol, Phenylzine, Carmustine and about 1000 others) but I got the mandatory score and passed! I’m glad that is done!
Unfortunately passing my classes hasn’t exactly freed me from study. I’ve got my first board exam in 2.5 weeks and in terms of tests this is not what I would call a normal test (normal in the sense that Einstein could understand it). It is a standardized 8 hour test that quizzes, in detail, everything I’ve supposedly learned over the last 2 years! Yikes! I’ve been spending somewhere between 8-14 hours a day studying and will continue to do so until June 12th, the day of my test. Let’s just say June 13th will probably be one of the best days of my life!
Along with the end of a school year comes the expected flux of people into and out of the ward. This means a lot of work trying to make sure everyone has home teachers, that new people are situated and those moving out have the help they need. On a personal note however, this has been a tough one for me. I had a roommate graduate and move as well as one of my best friends who helped take me in and who was been a big part of what has made the last 2 years out here in Milwaukee such a great experience! I’m ever grateful for the gospel ties that bind, even across distances.
As a stress reliever and a way to break up the monotony, I have been experimenting with cooking and trying several new dishes. This came about mostly because I was driving down the road the other day and on an impulse went into a small Indian supermarket. I had just left a mid-week church function (this was not on a Sunday) but I was dressed in shirt/tie/slacks/etc. I had to be the strangest customer the shop has ever seen. When I entered I was the only customer in the place and an old Indian man sat behind the counter. As I browsed over the rice section (who knew there was so much variety!) the old man came up to me and started using his Jedi mind tricks on me. Before I knew what was happening, I was picking up several bottles of paste that I assumed would taste good with rice and chicken, but that had names written in a language I couldn’t read! (I’m assuming they were variations of the word “curry”). Fortunately I kept my wits about me enough to demand “mild” and not “spicy” pastes. I left with WAY too many of these products, which I am now endeavoring to sample one-by-one.
The first such product I decided to try my hand at was some sort of cumin/cilantro curry (this one did have some English on the label) which was distinctly labeled as “mild”. I followed the directions on the bottle (clearly written in another language and then translated into English by someone who lacked a complete grasp of grammar and syntax) and procured an extremely aromatic dish. With real anticipation I sat down and sampled my “mild” curry. Now, I don’t want to come across as too wimpy, but after taking a single bite of this “mild” creation, I began to wonder if centuries of munching on red pepper plants hasn’t given the people in India a different definition of what “mild” means. This stuff was positively nuclear. I’m convinced that if I had turned off the lights, this curry would have glowed like and Exit sign! Undaunted, and with the aid of approximately 2 liters of water, I finished my meal. After being released from the hospital’s burn unit (not really) I threw out the remainder of that curry and moved onto the other bottles, which fortunately haven’t been quite as, shall we say, toxic!
Other news includes the fact that I’ve been plagued with ever increasing migraines. Fortunately Imitrex seems to do the trick. The only down side is that my insurance doesn’t cover very many pills. I’m going to need to get back into the doctor’s office and see what I can do about this.
Since it is on my mind, and since I got a really good response from people the last time I wrote on this topic, I would like to share another funny story about the monster dog who lives upstairs (his name is Chopper, by the way). For those who didn’t get these letters last time I wrote about Chopper, or by way of a general reminder, the people who live upstairs own a dog that, in terms of size, is more like a horse than a dog. Add to this the fact that on the intelligence scale, I would rank Chopper in the “mineral” category, and you have a perfect recipe for some funny stories. The most recent Chopper story I can think of happened on Friday when I was at home in the afternoon trying to study cancer pathology, or something like that. The couple who lives upstairs both work during the day and leave Chopper alone in the house in the afternoons. Chopper, using his extensive experience as a dog, keeps vigil at the front window – scanning the street like some demented sentinel. Every time a person passes on the street, Chopper reacts like the Manson gang is trying to break in. This compulsion that everything needs to be violently barked at does not stop with just people! No! Chopper’s finely tuned instincts extend to other dogs, squirrels, cars, and even litter! All of these apparently pose a serious threat to his turf and must be dealt with accordingly (namely by trying to pulverize them with bark waves). Let’s just say that there is a reason I usually don’t study at home!
A few thoughts I had the other morning while studying (which I wrote down at the time but figured I might as well copy down here):
Alma chapter 17 vs. 9 is often quoted, but for good reason. Ammon and the sons of Mosiah desire to be “instrument(s) in the hands of the Lord” so they “fasted much” and “prayed much” in order to have the spirit that they might be effective instruments. In response to this effort, the Lord “did visit them with his Spirit” (vs. 10). I find it interesting what verse 10 says this spirit did for them – the spirit “comforted them”. Now, why is this interesting to me? The spirit is the comforter, why is it significant that it comforted Ammon and the sons of Mosiah? When viewed through the lens of “how to fulfill and magnify a calling” or in other words, “how to be an effective instrument in the hands of the Lord” it gains new meaning. All of us have our own individual trials (I do at least – if you don’t then let me know what your secret is because I want it!) I think it is easy to let our own trials get in the way of our service (it is for me anyway). I tend to get bogged down in things I feel are less than perfect in my life and because I’m so focused on myself I am blind to the needs of those around me. I think that if we will work to invite the spirit into our lives (the “fasting” and “praying” part of verse 9) and then allow him to comfort us we will be better able to see the needs of others and act to help them
I also find it interesting how verse 10 phrases things, it says “the Lord did visit them with his Spirit, and said unto them: Be comforted. And they were comforted.” It almost seems to me like the Lord is commanding them to be comforted and then of course provides the way to accomplish that commandment through his comforting spirit. If that is true, it would seem to support the idea that we need comfort in our trials before we can be effective at helping others in their trials. That is part of the reason why seeking the spirit in “fasting”, “prayer”, scripture study, selfless service (and other ways we already know about) is so essential. An additional benefit of seeking the comfort of the spirit is that it brings with it “perfect love” which “casteth out all fear” (Moroni 8:17). Sometimes I know I’m a little scared or apprehensive about what my calling requires me to do. Sometimes it seems like what is required does nothing but play on my weaknesses, and I’m scared about what the Lord expects me to do. But I find that when I feel at least a little of the love God feels for his children, the fear leaves and I’m able to do the things required of me, even if they would have scared me before.
Alma 17 goes on to talk about patience, being a good example (v. 11), taking courage (v. 12), administering to and blessing people (v. 18), among other things. Chapters 18 & 19 also had many pearls that I’ll spare you having to hear from me. All of it reminded me of Jacob chapter 2 which, in my mind, is another mecca of wisdom about magnifying priesthood duties.
Okay, those are just a few thoughts I wanted to jot down. I hope they made sense. Best wishes to all of you!
-Eric
