I don’t really know what to write. I mean
I’ve only got one week left and you all seem to know how missionary work runs
out here. I mean nothing too new. I did get the money which I can’t thank you
enough for - but that is awesome that you all did some family history work. You
have no idea how pumped I am to do family history work when I get home. I
figure that will be the equivalent to "missionary work" as well as
working with the full time missionaries.
So I got a suit to come home in! And
because the dollar is stronger than it was when I got here the exchange rate
was even higher than normal, so with that I used the extra money to get Elder
Mbikayi a suit as well, all that remains are the souvenirs. Thanks for the
list, I’ll organize it and get all that I can next Monday.
As for the work, we've just been working
super hard and I’ve been having a fun time dealing with all the amis and
teaching them - just doing my best to help them progress. Early this week I
kinda got "depressed" you could say. Just watching the calendar and
seeing that all this was ending. It felt like I had no control over what was
happening and the clock was ticking too fast! We often refer to the end of
the mission as someone "dying" - at sometimes it felt like I was
actually going to die or something. So finally Thursday night, I read a
conference talk by elder Holland and thought about the whole situation and I
decided I need to square my shoulders and think positively. The next morning I
woke up and accepted the fact - I thought to myself, "my mission is ending
and there is nothing I can do about it, but it’s necessary that it ends. After
all, if the mission doesn’t end I could never get married or do temple work or
raise a family. So yes, the badge is coming off soon - but for now it’s still
on, so keep working, Johnson". That day I pulled out my suitcase and started
arranging things. It just felt so much better to accept the fact and move
on.
Another life lesson I learned from my
mission, it’s often better to accept what is happening in life and move on than
stay stuck in the past. Elder Holland said in a talk a long time ago, that we
look back on the past to reclaim our burning embers of experiences both good
and bad, not the ashes. BUT then we look to the future and move forward. How
true that is, living in the past, even the happiest and best past shouldn’t substitute
living in the "today". So that’s what I’m trying to do, living in the
"today". But I’m really grateful that today I’m still a missionary
haha.
Well I wish you all a very happy last
week of separation. I'll be on my way home, as my companion put it, in the
"twinkling of an eye". (That’s a lame missionary joke by the way,
y'all better get prepared because I’m full of them haha). I love you!