December 21, 2010

Hello again!
      We got so much snow here! It's been snowing and raining all week, but we finally got a foot of snow to stick last night. I'm really glad, because I don't think I've ever had a Christmas without snow.
      Thank you so much for the presents! I got Grandma and Grandpa's box of stuff yesterday, too, and i was SO happy! I felt overwhelmed with love and support, and I'm more thankful than I can describe. I might have opened the hoodie because I can use it right now; it is a really cool hoodie. :D Thank you all!
      I'm glad we're so popular with the cats. Maybe I can take one to USU when I get back. :D
      I'll tell you all about Christmas next Tuesday. it's going to be pretty awesome!
      Thank you for taking my pictures to my class. I miss them a lot!
      The choir performs every week, and I love it.
       Guess what? I went to the hospital on saturday! I got to leave the MTC! I was having pains in my chest on the right side after gym, and when they spread into my right arm i kinda got worried. So, my compainion and I went to the front desk, where they called the on-call doctor. He said to send me to the Insta-care thing at a nearby hospital and to check up with him on Monday. We got driven there in a van, which was cool becauase I hadn't driven in a vehicle for a month. After we got to the hospital, people generally freaked out and made sure I wasn't having a heart attack. That was ridiculous, because it was on my right side, and because I'm 19 years old and skinny as a rail. No artery plaque for me! Anyway, after we waited in the lobby for forever, the doctor examined me and basically said that I had an inflammation of my chest wall, and that I should just take advil till it goes away. It's pretty much gone now, which is good. Also, I tripped and fell down pretty hard yesterday when I was running to gym on some slush--I actually almost broke my face, but i caught myself with my hands. I'm kind of accident prone lately. :D
      I've been doing 100 push-ups a day for a few days now, and I'm actually gaining weight in muscle! I'm excited!
      I have a pretty cool experience I want to tell you about. I was feeling pretty discouraged in class, and really tired. I felt overwhelmed with things. I said a prayer in my head and asked the Lord to help me out, and immediately I felt a great sense of love and understanding, and I wasn't tired anymore. I know God loves me, and everyone else too, and He cares about us and wants to help us out.
      My email is messed up, I dont' know what's up with the punctuation and formatting. Hopefully it goes away.
      I'm excited for Christmas! I wish I could be there with  you all, but I'm in the right place. Thank you for all your support and love. Merry Christmas !
Love, Elder Matt Dean