Written by Carter
I’m writing this letter from Dunedin, in the South Island of New Zealand. What a beautiful place! 

I’ve had pain in my right hamstring for over a year now. Thanks to guidance and exercises from a physiotherapist (as they are called here) and a good sports medicine doctor, the pain is gradually resolving. I saw the doctor this week for (I hope) the last time before we return home in June. He has been very helpful! I told Faye I wished I could take him home with me! He asked me what activities I wanted to participate in over the next several months. I told him that I wanted to hike up Rincon Peak in October with some family and friends. He gave me some tips on how to prepare for that hike and how to hike using proper technique. 

The doctor told me how to watch the America’s Cup yacht races being held in Auckland. They beat an Italian team 7 races to 3 races. Aucklanders were sure excited about their defense of that Cup!

At the end of the doctor’s visit, I gave him a copy of the Book of Mormon, with a brief introduction. I pray that the book will find whoever needs to read its truths. The day before, I got a haircut. My favorite barber told me that that was his first day back after being off for a month because of breaking his collarbone when he wrecked on his bike. He has been trying to quit smoking to help improve his health. I said, “I have a suggestion that many have found helpful in quitting smoking: Read the Book of Mormon [which I had given him several months ago]. It will help you quit smoking!” He said he would! I’ll follow up in a few weeks. 

I frequently see a homeless man whenever I walk around our neighborhood. He sleeps in the park where I walk. I jokingly asked him one time when I was going to meditate near where he was going to sleep, “Is it OK if I meditate in your living room?” We had a good chuckle together. I asked him once if he had somewhere to stay dry when it was raining; he said he did. I also asked if someone was helping him find somewhere to live; he said, “If I wanted to live in a house, I would have done that a long time ago.” He has been living outside for two years! Interesting! I wonder what leads someone to deliberately live outside? I love the cartoon that says, “If I have to be homeless, I prefer that it only be during the daytime.” I gave this man a Book of Mormon, also, and told him I would pray for him. I think we have a pretty good friendship…though I don’t know his name.

Last week, I mentioned the “rough patch” I went through a few months ago. One of my lifelong friends emailed me last week that he wanted to read it; that simple email touched my heart, made me cry. For those who are interested, there are three posts on that topic on our blog, ashtonslegacy.com. Another friend recently shared his journal entry from the day of Ashton’s funeral. Again, I felt loved and comforted. Whenever I write about the hard times, I sometimes wonder if admitting “It hurts” is complaining. I guess I don’t see it that way. Again, for me, writing about my pain helps me understand my pain and learn from it. I also hope my experiences help someone else. I appreciate the many comments and messages of love, support and encouragement in my grief and healing journey. My primary “love language” is “words of affirmation.” These comments and messages mean more than I can express. It reminds me of Proverbs 17:17, “A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” How true that is! I hope to “pay it forward” by being a friend and brother to others who have been injured on their personal “road to Jericho.”

Last Sunday, we discussed Elder Holland’s General Conference talk, “Waiting on the Lord,” in the men’s group at church. That discussion reminded me of a family video we have from when our older children were young. They were getting ready to go down a playground slide. A boy their age was waiting on the ladder and said, “I’m not never gonna get a turn!” Of course, he did get a turn…he just needed to wait a little while. It reminded me of my struggles with patience to see the Lord’s hand in my life. As Inigo Montoya says in Princess Bride, “I [too often] hate waiting!” But God knows more than I do; He has an eternal perspective. He knows what I need now…and when it is in my best interest to wait. In the Joseph Smith Translation of Genesis 15, Abram asks God how God will give him the land for his inheritance. God replies, “Though thou wast dead, yet am I not able to give it thee?…and [Abram] believed in the Lord; and the Lord counted it unto him for righteousness.” I pray that God will help me wait more patiently for His blessings and promises. I acknowledge His hand in my life and in everything good around me. He is even able to make weak things strong; He can make beautiful things out of ashes of our lives. The scripture I am “ponderizing” right now is Revelation 21:4, “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” I believe that with all my heart!