The End of a Chapter

My time has come to an end. Today is preparation day, I'm currently writing this email on the little screen of my well-loved phone for the past 18 months. The church carpet is a feeling that is far more familiar to me than it ever was in my life. The grass cloth lined walls which are commonly found in these LDS chapels have become a safe place for me these past 18 months.

A wise person recently told me that this is the end of a chapter, not the end of the book. Each chapter builds on another. This chapter is crucial for my further chapters. My mission isn't standalone, it's a culmination. I've been thinking a lot about this thought. I didn't go to the temple to go on my mission. I went on my mission because of the promises I made in the temple. Thus, my mission was part of a covenant.  It's a means by which I keep the covenant I made.

And so, I feel quite at peace about coming home.  Please reach out, as many of you know I'm an extremely extroverted person. The thought of not having a companion by my side scares me greatly. I've done this whole going home thing before with my injury at Christmas. However, this will be a little bit different. So please reach out to me. I’d love to hang out, do a service project, go to the temple and pack my schedule full until I move out and return to Provo on the 26th of August to start at BYU. The only exception is a few days the second week in August which I reserved for time with family.

So, what have I learned these past 18 months? Well, there's not time or room enough to tell it all. However, what I've learned this past week, and most weeks of my mission is that the gospel needs to be preached to every nation kindred and tongue. As I walk along the diversely lined roads in Sacramento sometimes, I find myself thinking of these individuals who already have their own religion or ethnic origin.  Many times, I would think to myself “they wouldn't want to hear about Christianity.”  This week I've come to realization that the prophecy of the latter days is that every nation kindred and tongue shall be gathered from the four corners of the earth. As I look at all of these individuals, I believe that many of these people I see has been brought to America because the countries they grew up in were not safe to preach or practice Christianity. They are being gathered from the four corners to a country in which they can practice religion.  Sacramento with all its diversity has proven to be a perfect place to fulfill this prophecy. Throughout my mission I have seen every color, race, ethnicity, language and religion.  This past week a person visiting from Hong Kong walked 45 minutes to get to our Chapel to look at the Family History Center. She was so grateful for the resources we were able to connect her with.  This includes the missionaries in Hong Kong where she'll resume the lessons once she goes back. We also had the opportunity to teach a friend named “lucky” who walked up to us at the park and had never heard about Jesus Christ. Now he's reading the Book of Mormon every day. We also have been working with a German family who moved into the ward. They aren't members but have wanted to know what it means to believe in God more fully.

So, this chapter is closing. But my future chapters for the rest of my life I hope are filled with me helping to continue gathering every nation kindred and tongue, being a friend to all, casting out none, or judging them by what they look like. I've realized that the doctrine of Christ must be lived not just studied. We must study and worship in the temple, partake of the sacrament, pray, and read our scriptures.  Most of all I've learned that charity is the greatest gift of all.  I love you all, and I hope to see you on Friday after I return home from the airport.