Will, along with Elders Lee and Smith will be arriving at the SLC airport late Wednesday night (August 18). He will be speaking at the LDS South Stake Center in Evanston, Wyoming the following Sunday in Sacrament Meeting which starts at about 12:30 P.M.
Dear Family,
Well it’s crazy to think how near the end really is. Two years ago from tomorrow I was giving my "farewell" talk. Really it seems like it was much less than 2 years but at the same time it seems like a whole other life ago. wow.
This week has been another good one. I can happily say that I will finish my mission working hard and I have "Fought the good fight" and "kept the faith". I don’t know if I will be around an internet to say anything next Monday so the next time we talk it could be real talking.
But anyhow, this week we have continued working with our investigators and fighting to help them progress and make covenants with God. Martha and Stefani Garcia are doing great and are excited for their baptism on Friday. Sadly, Noe has been away managing their farm and couldn’t be in any lessons or in church this weekend. Is his case we will just have to get hold of him this week and see if he feels prepared to be baptized with his family, but be this week or a few weeks later I know he will be there with them? Another investigator named Slendi who is a teenage girl who lives with a member family will also be baptized, but on Wednesday. The bishop showed up this week with a ten year old girl from a member family whose baptismal records were lost so we will also have to quickly teach her the lessons this week and she will count as a "convert baptism", also on Friday. So it looks like I will be able to finish my last week with a minimum of 4 baptisms and go out on a good note.
Everyone in the ward here has found out that I am going home so we have dinner appointments booked for the whole week. We have gotten along great with the members here so no one misses a chance to ask how long I have left and act amazed at how little it is. The church is putting more emphasis on a few parts of Preach my Gospel so we will receive some more training from Monday to Thursday. We will be spending the mornings doing that and then working normally in the afternoon.
The zone is still doing great, we have already baptized 12 more in the first 2 weeks of this month and we are well on pace to pass 20 at least again. So there had only been 20 or more baptisms here twice before and we are about to drop two in a row. We have been very blessed. I had some areas like Barranca or Sogamoso where we worked our butts off but the people just weren't ready or it wasn’t the right time but the Lord really has blessed us to find many people here. It really is a great way to finish the mish and I can’t say how very grateful I am for it.
I am not scared or nervous about what will happen as I get home. I think everything is lined up very well but just the same, it’s going to be really strange. I will probably be a weird RM for a little while but I know good things are to come and it will go well. I’m excited to start at BYU.
Looks like we will do the baptisms on Friday. On Saturday, they invited us to go to Barranca and do a little Barbecue / Goodbye for Elder Mura and me. So we will go in the morning and come back in the night. Sunday I just happen to have a talk in church and Sunday night it looks like we will head out on a bus to Bogotá. I think Monday will be a free day there and the rumor is that President Camargo is going to invite us over to eat dinner with them. Tuesday we will go to the temple, have the last interview and have a little goodbye dinner / testimony meeting and Wednesday bright and early we will be in the airport. wowsers.
So fam this is the end of the road. It will be sad to leave Colombia behind. I really do love it and love the people here. I imagine I will shed a few tears this next week. I can't describe how great it has been to be a missionary; I wouldn't trade it for anything. It has been the best experience of my life and I’m very grateful that I was called to serve here. It’s a very strange feeling I have as I write this and realize that I am really that close.
I know that we are in the truth and I have a testimony of it. It’s hard to end but I am at peace with the mission I have served. I haven't been perfect by any means but I really can say that I have tried my best and I have always wanted to be the best missionary I could be. I have learned that by ourselves we may be able to do good things, but when we learn to depend on the Lord and humble ourselves is when we really find out our potential. Don’t worry about planning out anything fancy in the airport. I love you mucho and as sad as it is to finish, it will be so nice to see ya again. Take care this week and if I don’t send a quick letter on Monday I will talk to ya next Wednesday. wow crazy. Love Will
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