TUBES OF LIFE - HOW TO STAY SHACKED

Whats up my NICAS? (pronounced nee-kuz)  Hope you all are doing well.



Elder DJ got his first package in the mail this week. It was much needed. It had a letter from mom written to me while in college. It had 20 bucks in it. I laughed today as i used the money to buy some beans in a tube and thought about what i would have used the money for back in school. It was kind of a smack in the face like wow my life now is 100 percent different than my life 3 months ago.

The tubes of Playa Hermosa summer '13

Now on the the title of this little letter. One of the best feelings in surfing is getting in the tube or getting "shacked". This happens when the surfer is able to place him self in the wave where the water curls and passes over his head and when he is also able to control himself so that he can STAY in the barrel. The surfer must be able to control his speed and balance, needed to have selected the right board, and must have a knowledge of the wave and its shape. Its really an art form and very difficult to do and nearly impossible to master. There are lush tubes all over the world and i remember some of the tubes i was able to surf into in california and costa rica. What is important to remember tho is every single tube is different. Any good surfer will tell you that every beach is unique and every swell presents different challenges that one must realize and overcome in order to stay in the Tube.

Life is full of tubes. Tubes are the challenges we must face as we go through life. We are constantly in an act of balancing our lives and our problems and the things that are important to stay in the barrel. And often it feels that when we have finally mastered our "tubes" and our problems, God presents us with some new hard task or problem that we must face and do our best to overcome. God throws new tubes and beaches at us to see if we can step up and get shacked. It is hard. Life is hard. Great tubes dont come easy. It takes hard work, dedication, and a reliance in God. But when we finally overcome the wave and get in the tube, we feel great, become stronger, and are blessed by our God.

Right now my tube is nicaragua. I have to balance spanish, crazy nicaraguans, and my white boy bowels in order to get in the tube. We all different trials and problems that we need to overcome whether it be a job, calling, the death of a family member, sickness, bad bowel movements, the list goes on forever... However, what i have come to learn is that we dont have to face these waves on our own. God will always help us when we do our best and rely in him. Coach Dave Rose once said "Do what is right and God will bless you." Elder Dylan Jacobsen says "Work hard, do what is right, and God will put you in the Tube." Grandma Jakes book marks say it perfectly

"5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." (paths = nectar tubessss dudeee)

Work hard. Trust in God. And get in the Tube.  I love you all. Take it Sleezy and Stay Shacked.

Tree of Life mural painted by LDS missionaries