Dear Josh,
Well, Sam’s Farewell happened. He gave a very spiritual and mature talk about why he’s serving a mission and The Path of Happiness. It’s starting to become very real, suddenly. We’ll spend our time doing last minute stuff as well as preparing for YOU. It’s crazy. I get a lot of comments about how emotional it’s all going to be. Yes, thanks for the reminder. Haha.
Great week. Here are some pics explaining it all.
Our dug out froze into a beautiful skating rink. So fun.
Ben, who falls asleep every moment he can. He spend 12-15 hours a day at the school practicing for his play. He’s tired.
We performed at the Ward Christmas Party.
Sam preparing for his talk
Any other spare moment ... playing Dungeons and Dragons.
We’ve also enjoyed focussing on Light the World and paying attention to different ways of serving. Sam and I are heading out this morning to go help Sis. Till with some cleaning and maintenance on the apartment she manages. It’s good to serve.
Also, you have nine days to pay attention to your personal prayers and scripture study. I have LOTS to tell you when you get home and I want you to be able to say that your last week of being a missionary was impactful because of your daily devotion to connecting with the Lord. Don’t slack. I love you.
Mom
From Josh - A lasting change:
"Don't let it slip away" was the counsel from a member of my ward, it is easy to lose a lot of what is learned on a mission. In my departing interview with my mission president said that with every decision that I need to move forward confidently. So here I go.
I have learned a thing or two on my mission... I have learned that in order to get the trust of people you need to be yourself, be real, help people to see that you are not just there for yourself but for those you speak to.
Two years can change a man... It is super weird that I have only one week, I am trying to do all I can to leave a lasting impact and help this ward to be better for having me rather then giving up... It is hard at times, I am grateful for all the words of encouragement and support that I have gotten on my mission, I realize that I could and should have done better on a lot of things, like sending letters home, being more confident, and speaking to more people, I still have many things to work on as a person, and I am excited to continue to rely on the Lord for what I stand in need of.
I was reading recently in Alma just beginning the war Chapters and I have been struck by the onset and the integrity of Moroni, and in the most recent story I was surprised to admire Zarahemna and his honesty, when given the option to enter a covenant and leave or continue fighting he could have accepted it and lied about entering a covenant, but he told Moroni that he would not enter into a covenant that he felt he could not keep. I wrote in my margins "don't promise things that you won't follow through on" A good proverb for life... Another thing about that story is the comparison with armor and testimony, even though the Laminites fought like dragons, they still were swept down because their armor was not there, they had none, the same would happen to us if we had no testimony. The Book of Mormon is amazing.
I love you all and hope things are good, this week will be full of lasts and good bye's, and next week will be a lot of firsts and hello's I am excited for one and not so excited for another, I will truly miss it here, the people, the places, and the experience, I love my mission, and I am so glad I was able to serve with all my heart, so many things have come and gone, every day is a gift and I hope to cherish and value it as much as I can.
Love
Josh.
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