Elder Skaggs vs the Sugar High - from 05/18/2019

I think everyone should be concerned based off that title. Let's be real, it was a whack week.

Talking to the family on
Mother's Day

So, Saturday evening we went hiking, which was great. Tonight, we're actually going hiking again and it's going to be sketch because it's been raining so we might die. But, it'll be fun.

Sunday, we had Mother's day. Shout out to all the Mother's out there. You are our cooks, teachers, chauffeurs, maids, counselors, photographers, and everything else. Without you, this world would probably crash to the ground. Thanks for all you do!! I love every mother out there, and I love all you future mothers because you are all awesome too. Shout out to my future spouse. Whoever that will be. I know you will be a great mother too. 

My comps dad sent him a taco pinata

Also, I took a picture because I got a
watermelon for the first time and
was very proud

The rest of the week was pretty bland, except for the sugar high. I'll explain. The other day, we were in zone. I wanted to get gummy bears to eat something during night zone. We went up to the break room and I bought to packs. Now, keep in mind, they have 7 servings with 13 g of sugar per serving. Well, I went with my another elder to drop off our suits at the dry cleaner and somehow, the gummy bears disappeared. All I did was open them up and then put a few in my mouth. Like, I most definitely could not have eaten the whole thing. Well, during night zone, I opened up the other bag and those gummy bears disappeared. I don't know where they went. But, I was super hyper the whole entire time and got super duper crazy. Apparently the gummy bears disappeared into my mouth. It was not a safe evening for me because I had almost 200 g of sugar that evening. Fun fact: A healthy amount of sugar is 35 g a day. Don't judge!! 

Our awesome view. I can also see where
I went to EFY a few years ago... good times. 

This week was slow and I don't want to email anything else, so I'm gonna say goodbye and send some pictures. Peace out!!

Elder Michael Skaggs

15 East South Temple

JSMB 3 East

Salt Lake City, UT  84150

Elder Skaggs vs the bowling pins - from 05/11/2019

Ok. Well, like I said last week, it definitely wasn't as exciting of a week, however, I still loved it. Anyway, I shall discuss my week.

I thought dabbing before I bowled
would help me

The title: Well, all that we need to know is that I suck at bowling. We went bowling and I got totally destroyed. I played with 4 other elders and we played 3 games. In a total of 3 games, I was under 200. If we were playing golf then I would have won. So, that was that.

Elder Quentin L Cook devotional: We had a devotional for the Church History department with Elder Cook. It was great. He talked about the importance of staying strong in our faith and not going towards worldly success. Worldly success doesn't make us happy, but our family and the gospel can make us happy. I think it was great. I got to shake his hand afterwards.

Me swinging on swings

Restoration activity: Yesterday, we had the opportunity to go to Washington States Park up in Parley's Canyon to listen to our mission president give a devotional about the restoration. It was phenomenal. We discussed Joseph Smith as a person and our obligation to the prophet. He was such a great man. I admire him for what he did to bring the Lord's church and restore it back to the planet. A small farm boy from New York with the education of a 4th grader could not have written the Book of Mormon. I know it is truly inspired scripture and that it was translated by the gift and power of God. We had a ton of food and then hung out. None of us wore sunscreen so all the white elders (like 95% of us) all came back looking like tomatoes. Haha.

The counselor in our mission
presidency swinging

Elder Karl B Cook devotional: I really enjoyed the other Elder Cook devotional. He talked about the importance of what to look for in a marriage. We need to find someone who is firm in the gospel and will strengthen us. We need to be lead towards someone who we know will keep us on the right path and encourage us to keep our covenants we have made with the Lord. He also said we need to be careful on what we are picky about when we choose our eternal companion. It stuck out when he asked everyone (in the room and watching it on tv, like I was), to raise their hands for these two things. He first addressed it to the young men - #1: "How many of you feel you are hardworking men of good character, strong in testimony and spiritually in tune, but feel less than prepared temporally to make a woman happy in marriage?" Then he addressed the young woman - #2: "How many of you are willing to wait for temporal blessings in a marriage as you learn and grow alongside a hardworking man whom you love, a man of good character, strong in testimony and spiritually in tune?" I thought it was interesting to see how many were actually willing for both of those. Now, I think there are some things I should wait for, but at the same time, I should be able to trust in my Heavenly Father as I go through this new covenant. I think I need to be able to support my wife with food on the table every week and a car. However, I need to not be pressured and feel like I need to give my wife the world immediately. I realized I should be most concerned with finding someone who has a strong testimony who I can work with equally to raise a family.

Beautiful mountains

I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to be on a mission. It is the hardest, but greatest 2 years ever. I love being able to sacrifice to serve my Heavenly Father, the church, and ALL those I come in contact with every day. 

I am going hiking tonight, so I will have a ton of super awesome pictures to send next week.  Be prepared!

Talk to you all next week. Stay awesome!

Elder Michael Skaggs
15 East South Temple
JSMB 3 East
Salt Lake City, Utah  84150

Elder Skaggs vs the tree, the concrete, the hike, and the rubbing alcohol - from 05/04/2019

a pic of me with Brother Henrikson

Well, as you can tell from my title, it was an interesting week. And yes, all 4 of these things brought me a great deal of pain or could have brought me a great deal of pain. In addition, many other things brought a great deal of pain this week or almost made me die. So, I almost died about 20 times this week. It was lovely. I guess I'm going to start this email with a question.  

Which one of these brought the most amount of pain? 

1. A. The Tree 
2. B. The concrete 
3. C. The hike 
4. D. The alcohol (it was rubbing alcohol)  

So, there were two answers that could have worked - B and D. Now, I'm assuming everyone wants to know the story. 

The beautiful view of the valley

Saturday evening, a bunch of us were going on a hike. We went over to the church building and then were waiting for some of the other elders to get here. While we waited, we played tag and were chasing each other. I climbed up in a tree, which I probably shouldn't have done as a missionary. Oh well. I figured if anything were to get me seriously injured, it would have been from falling out of a tree. However, I got out of the tree safely and nothing too bad got me injured. So, I technically lied because it didn't bring me a great deal of pain.

  

Anyway, I get down and I get tagged and start chasing another elder to tag him. We were playing infection (a game where when you tag someone, they also become a tagger until the last one is standing). I was super close to getting him, but was leaning too far forward and running way too fast. We reached the sidewalk and at that point, I tripped and slid across the concrete. I laid there for a couple seconds and then gave a thumbs up and started laughing as I said, "I'm good." I ended up walking away with only a huge scrape on my elbow. It really stings, but all is well.

Mission squad rolling up to do some service

We continued on with our hike and we almost died multiple times on the hike. It's a pretty safe hike, however, there's a few parts that are sketch and especially with the recent rain we have had, it made it a little bit dangerous, but we're good fam. Elder Skaggs is still alive and didn't die from it. Now all of you are wondering where the rubbing alcohol comes into play and you have probably already assumed where it comes into play. Long story short, I used it to clean up my scrape and had to bite down on a towel in order not to scream. I can't handle pain very well. 

Running the mile: Once again, another instance where something brought me a great deal of pain. I'll just warn you now, 95% of this week consisted of me enduring a ton of pain. Wow, what a great week, right? I ran the mile to see how fast I was. My PR is 5:17 and I ran it in 6:34. Not ideal, but not too bad. I almost threw up and wanted to just fall to the ground. Running sucks, but I also love it a ton. Oh, and I ran the mile right after we just had a huge mission potluck, so my stomach was full. I am not the smartest. At least I didn't do the chocolate milk challenge, right?

Poisonous weeds:  Wow, this week continues to get worse and worse. Sorry mom, don't be concerned, I'm not dead... yet. I should probably just end my email now. Haha. We did a service project Wednesday. Our job was to pull some obnoxious weeds that spread and take over the area. They are not indigenous to Utah, and they steal all the water from surrounding plants. Dang, I just described myself. I'm not indigenous to Utah and I, whenever I'm at a drinking fountain, I spend 20 minutes getting a drink while there's 30 people waiting behind me for a turn. Well, if the weed breaks open and then the white stuff in it gets on your skin and is exposed to the sun, it will give you a rash. Don't worry, I had gloves on. We also climbed up a small incline and it was really slippery and then one of the assistants decided it would be smart to move this huge rock out of the way and it almost slid down the hill. Good thing I wasn't down there, so it could have killed a few other elders, but at least I was safe. Finally, a moment during the week where the most dangerous part didn't directly involve me. 

The haunted elevator: Holy smokes! I swear, I didn't realize how dangerous this week was. There's an elevator in the JSMB that they just fixed and now they have covered half of it with some tarp or something because they're painting it or doing some stuff. However, it still makes funny sounds and it looks haunted. Every time I get in it, I feel like it's going to crash. Same with all the elevators in the Church History Library. I know the library is supposed to hold historic documents, but I didn't think the elevators were supposed to operate like they were made in the 1820s. Good times though! 

The picture of me looking like I'm
driving with my eyes closed

Driving with my eyes closed: At this point, I don't know how I'm alive. I think God wants me on this planet for something because I should have been dead by now. Don't worry, I didn't really drive with my eyes closed, or at least I don't think I was. Maybe, I was and I don't remember anything because I was busy sleeping and by some miracle I made it home. I think the Safety Zone videos should have just followed me around last week. How am I not dead yet? Oh, but this is relevant because my comp took a selfie of us driving and it looks like my eyes are closed. Maybe I was just blinking or something. 

Hugged by a giant teddy bear: Ok. This one wasn't me almost being killed, but it's great. I was walking to Deseret Book the other evening and saw my seminary teacher. I went up and gave him a huge hug. But, like he's just a huge teddy bear and so it made me feel like I was hugging a teddy bear and that he almost smothered me. JK. I love Brother Henrikson a ton.  

Anyway, as you can tell, it's been a very interesting week. I have almost died multiple times and my life was really interesting this week. Wow, good job to myself, I just repeated the same thing over again. I feel bad for having a great week because I can't live up to these standards every week. I'll try to do something dangerous next week.  Just kidding.  I am definitely not going to do that. But, if it happens, then it happens. 

I love you all!! Feel free to email or send me a letter. You are all awesome!! Let me know how things are going in life! 

Elder Michael Skaggs 

15 East South Temple 

JSMB 3 East 

SLC, Utah 84150 

Does anyone remember Dwight, in The Office, when Pam and Jim were gone and so he used all three computers and called it Mega Desk (I think that's what he called it).

Well, the elders around me moved to a different area (don't worry, I'm not breaking safeguards, the other elders can see my screen), but this reminded me of that

  

Rejection is a blessing, acceptance is a miracle - from 04/27/2019

      Me chilling in the windowsill because 

 I was bored, but on splits with Elder Spears 

 and he was outside, so I technically couldn't 

                 be in the apartment

Ok!! This has been a crazy week with some bad news and some good news, which is why the title is what it is. Sorry, I didn't do my usual again, but like, you will all live, well most of you will. BEFORE I START, I THINK EVERYONE SHOULD READ THIS BEGINNING PART. LIKE USUAL, YOU CAN SKIP THE REST OF MY EMAIL BUT I THINK THIS IS MOST IMPORTANT FOR MISSIONARIES. I also have a semi sad announcement which effects our mission. 

 I took pictures of everyone doing
work and I figured I should get a pic of
me so there was proof of me.

Last night, I came up with this line: Rejection is a blessing, Acceptance is a Miracle. And this has helped change my perspective on things. Due to reasons, we were talking to our district members for over an hour. They had a rough day and while trying to comfort them, I came up with the quote. In life, you will get rejected so much. For example, I was rejected from BYU Provo and rejected from serving a mission at 18. However, the rejection brought about blessings.  Because I was rejected, many blessing came about.  I made new friends, I had a wonderful education, I met awesome people, I changed my opinion on BYU-Idaho. So, many blessings came from this. Being rejected allowed me to grow and change and be grateful for what I had. REJECTION WILL HAPPEN ALL THE TIME IN LIFE. When I was rejected to continue serving a teaching mission, I was devastated. I didn't know why. However, since I have been on this mission, it has opened my eyes to a lot of things. I'm not the same person I was and I am doing much better here than I probably would have been doing in Vegas. When you are rejected in life, remember it is a blessing. Because, there is obviously an opportunity for you somewhere out there that will be much better. Which is why acceptance is quite honestly, A MIRACLE. Acceptance is not in many people's vocabulary. I don't know why, but it just isn't. For this reason, when you are finally accepted by that one person who wants to marry you, or accepted to that university, or accepted for the job, it is a miracle. It is a miracle because it's hard to be accepted and we need to be grateful when we are accepted. So, always remember that rejection is a blessing and acceptance is a miracle. I WANT TO HEAR FROM ALL OF YOU A STORY ABOUT WHEN BEING REJECTED ENDED UP BEING A BLESSING BECAUSE I THINK IT'S AWESOME TO HEAR ABOUT THEM. You don't have to, but I think it would be interesting. 

Me pretending to be productive

Do you all want the good news first or the bad news?? Oh well, I'm giving you the bad news. There is no good news, just good memories. 

Now, there is a huge announcement that is pretty sad, but we will push through. Our mission just became a full time mission 2 years ago. We were told on Monday that effective July 1, 2020, they are consolidating the elders in our mission. I will be done by February anyway, so it doesn't affect me, but there are 30 elders whose missions might be ending a few months early. We don't know why this is happening, but we know it is up to the Lord. Another reason why rejection is a blessing. We don't know why they have rejected our mission again and why we are being consolidated, but there is a blessing somewhere. I have two theories. We have been pioneers and examples and so I have two theories. 

Part 2 of me pretending to
 be productive

1. Because of our example and how well we have been doing, the brethren have seen that people with "minor mental health issues" are capable of so much more. They have seen that many elders who are sent here are capable of teaching and I think that elders who might have been sent to this mission, might have the opportunity to now serve teaching missions and bring the gospel to others. This will be so awesome. 

2. They have also noticed that service missions are just as good. Now, we aren't a service mission, but we are in a weird situation because of how our mission is set up. Service missions are NO different than a teaching mission. You are set apart as a missionary, you serve the Lord, and you love the people around you. There is nothing different about the two missions. Quite honestly, most of the time service missions are more productive than proselyting missions because proselyting missions have become ineffective. They got rid of tracting because knocking doors all day doesn't work anymore. Sharing the gospel is the job of the members, but we need missionaries to encourage members to actually do something. But, we shouldn't need missionaries anymore because we should be talking to others. This is why I think service missions will continue to become more popular and people will start being sent service more and seeing how productive they can be.  

Part 3 of pretending to
be productive

These will both be great opportunities, if they are going to happen. I can see  either one or both being implemented more. All I know is that tthere is a reason for this. 

ONTO THE FUN STUFF!!!!!!!!! SORRY, I SAVED IT FOR LAST.  

They gave us all a poster at the end 

 and they told us to hold them like 

lightsabers. What am I? 5? Ok, well

     I guess I basically am. LOL.

Transfers: So, I'm with Elder Dunn now. He's from Nampa, Idaho, so like yeah. I don't know why, but people from Idaho are either really hyper and crazy or just like chill, laid back and really sassy. I have too many friends from Idaho and that is all they are. My comp is the first one. I swear he must drink like 20 cans of soda each morning without me watching. But, I love him. I have known him ever since I came into the mission and he's been super fun and I love hanging out with him. I now serve in the Church History Library in the basement. So, no one can find me since you need to scan your badge through like 2 different doors to get to my area. There's probably a reason why they keep me far away from society. Hmm, it's all making sense now. It's a great place though.

Group pic at the conference center

Service project: Yesterday was insane. We went to a service project yesterday all day. We were supposed to go from 9:30 to 5, but like I am really good at convincing people to do stuff. I asked one assistant if we can stay until 8:30 and he was like nah, but then I told the other assistant, "I'm trying to convince your comp to let us stay." And he was like alright I'll call president. So, president said yes and we stayed. Wait, I should probably add that I said it right in front of the other assistant and I wasn't trying to go behind his back. I just thought I would see what the other one thought. It was also hailing really hard and the street was flooded, good thing we were inside. There was also a huge lightning flash and then thunder, so we almost all died. Probably not, but I think it sounds cooler when I say I almost died. We got Corner Bakery and Pizza Hut, yesterday. The company we were helping paid for it, because they're awesome. Anyway, that's it with that. 

Umm, I don't know what the heck
Elder Shaw is doing

Now, that I think of it, the rest of the week was chill. I don't think we did anything else. I can send you all a copy of my journal and then you can all just read that. Haha just kidding. I cringe every time I read my past journals. Man, I was such a weird person growing up. Good to see nothing has changed with me. LOL. Let me know how life is. I got pictures for you all this week. I hope you like them. 

Elder Michael Skaggs 

15 East South Temple 

JSMB 3 East 

Salt Lake City, Utah 84150 

Just zoom into Elder Shult's face. He is
the one with the yellow baseball tee.

Also funny story. On Sunday, we were having dinner with a senior couple who lives at the same complex as the temple square sisters. Well, we had to walk up a hill in the pouring rain and got drenched. We're waiting in the lobby for the couple to come grab us and the sisters walk in and are like, "Elders, what happened?" And I was just like, "I didn't have an umbrella and the rain happened." Haha. I don't know how, but they just came from the outside and were perfectly dry. Even with umbrellas, it was raining so hard, I figured it would have gotten them wet a little bit. Why are                  sister's perfect and elders are so embarrassing.