Dear Family,

First off, I am just fine. I was biking with Elder Pinckney around the ISU Stadium, and I crashed. I got a few small bruises, and a couple of small marks on my knee and shoulder.  Other than that I am fine. I also had a headache from hitting my head on the ground, but luckily I was wearing my helmet. At this moment, I am just fine, and my bruises are going away. Sadly, my bike didn't fair as well. I ended up destroying the gear changer on the left handle bar. Without it, I would only have been able to change the three big gears on the crank shaft where the peddles go through. I took it into a bike shop here in Terre Haute, and they fixed it right up for me. He also replaced the bent gear I had. It ended up costing about $82 and that is including labor. I didn't think that was too bad.

Thanks for calling Mr. Mac's for me this week. It will be nice to have a couple new pairs of pants. I have only been able to wear my green suit for a couple of weeks now, and it has made things somewhat tricky. It will be nice to switch back and forth again.

I remember that you guys always had an interesting time with end of year stuff. It was always the beginning and end of the year that was the worst. Hopefully, it will go well, and quickly, and you will be able to enjoy your summer vacation. I can't believe that you have almost gone through an entire year and a half of school while I have been on my mission. It is also astounding that I will be able to give you a call in the next couple of weeks. I just don't know what to think about all of it. Time flies by so fast.

I really hope that Mom will like being retired. It will give her some more time to do the things that she wants. Hopefully, she will be able to make the transition smoothly, without too many problems. It will be cool for Mom to be home more when I return. So, I have realized that I am going to have to decide pretty soon if I want to start into school right when I get home. I realized that if I want to start school immediately, then you have to know for this coming summer, so that you can enroll me into the classes that I want to take. I also realized that if I want to start school immediately, then I may have to ask the new mission president, President Collins, for a slightly early release. That will get me home before the school year starts, and give me an extra couple of weeks prior to get ready for it.  It is going to take a lot of prayer and thought. Let me know your opinion on it, and I will let you know what I decide. It is a big decision.

So, it sounds like you had some fun at Aunt Trudy's this past weekend. Hopefully, it was enjoyable, and you were able to do all that you needed to. It is always nice to be able to help others. That is one great lesson that I’ve learned on my mission…how to be willing to help others. I just hope that I am able to carry it on throughout the rest of my life.

The weather has been enjoyable here for the most part, but it has been getting worse for the past couple of days. We have had some rain, and I can tell that it is going to stay cold for a little while. I am just ready for the warmer weather. I don't mind the cool, but I don't like having to switch between regular slacks and a suit from day to day. It just becomes annoying.

It is really good to hear that Mom and Levi have been trying to exercise. It helps out so much. Since I came on my mission, I don't really get those body pains I used to complain about. Yes, I will get sore muscles and things like that, but no random aches and pains. Almost all of my soreness I can attribute to something I did. It is really nice to feel better, to not always ache. It makes life easier. I just hope that I can continue it after my mission. If I am doing an average of 3-4 miles walking a day or 4-7 miles biking a day, when we don't have the car, then I am going to have to keep that up when I return home. I am hoping that instead of walking so much, I will just be able to jog for a couple of miles and be done with it. That is my goal at least.

Speaking of Stein, is he just his normal barky self, or has he calmed down somewhat?  I know that by now he must be getting a little bit calmer. He is a few years old now. Hopefully, he has gotten out of his big puppy stage by now. I also hope that he will remember who I am when I return home. I know that dogs have a great memory, but I just hope he doesn't treat me like a complete stranger.  Hopefully, he will remember my smell or something like that.

The missionary work is going great. We have been talking with some wonderful people. We had one lady, Rhonda, that we taught last week. She is a nice lady who is going through a hard time. She is on disability for a surgery that she had.  She was asking the church for temporal help, but it looks like she is going to accept some spiritual food as well.

I also met an amazing lady yesterday in a smaller town north of Terre Haute that Elder Pinckney and his companion were teaching before I got here. She has very bad Migraine headaches which are beyond her strength to deal with. They usually force her to shut out all light and sound to her house, and she has to just wait them out. She does have good insurance, which will pay for her Dr. visits and also her medication. Also, if the Migraines get bad enough, she has to go to the hospital and get a shot. She said that they already have the paperwork laid out for her so that when she goes, all she has to do is get checked by a Dr. who can OK it, then they give her the shot. I feel really bad for her…that would be so painful and annoying to deal with. On the other side, she is very spiritual and willing to learn. The previous Elders were having a hard time with her. She just wasn't getting a testimony about Joseph Smith or the Book of Mormon, but after a lesson yesterday, which was amazing, she has some new fire and hopefully, she will use it to receive an answer from The Spirit. I think that she can really progress if she wants to.

So, life is going well here. We get the car tomorrow, so that is a plus, and I was amazed to realize that I got here to Terre Haute almost a month ago. What happened to the time? Elder Pinckney and I are astounded. Well, we will just keep working hard.

Thanks for everything…for the money to fix my bike, and also for the spiritual support. I hope that you guys take advantage of having a Temple so close, and go to it often. It is so sad not being able to go to the Temple for two years. That is one of the first things I want to do when I get home. I also hope that they will put a Temple here in Indiana soon. Hopefully, if we missionaries have anything to do with it, we will see one within the next few years. Take care of yourselves and always keep a prayer in your heart. It will help you so much.

Love,

Elder Savage