I just finished 4 months and it is crazy!! Sometimes it feels like the longest 4 months of my life, sometimes it feels like the fastest. It is a weird feeling for sure, just so much has happened and I have learned so much in these few short 4 months. I just finished my training so I am not a new missionary anymore! Time just keeps going by faster and faster too. Well it is official, I have changes tomorrow! We had interviews with the President this last Tuesday and so I found out I was going to be leaving this area I have loved. It was nice having a week to prepare. I must admit, I was pretty shaken and shocked at first, I wasn't expecting it at all. I was scared, nervous, and sad, and it was a little hard to focus for a while... But the more time I have had to think about it, I have realized what an actual blessing it is and how much I have learned and grown. I have found the Elder Holland quote to be very true, "Ïf you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans." Haha, I will get into everything I learned about this at the end after I go through my awesome week.
So last Monday we went to the centro (center). It was my first time and it was really cool. It was one of the richest of the rich places, and it is huge!! We only really had time to explore a little bit. We went to the catholic cathedral which is supposed to be the biggest one in the world. Pretty crazy stuff. Also there were old ruins of pyramids, but the really cool pyramids are in Teotihuacan and I hope to be going there soon, my new comp and I might plan a trip with Elder Johnson and his next comp. It was fun walking around the centro and feeling like a normal person for a little bit, and there is just so much cool stuff to explore here in Mexico!!
So since this week was my last week in the area, it would've been really easy to stop working. That is the exact opposite of what I did. We worked super hard this week and good thing because we probably found THE COOLEST investigator I have ever found, and that is saying a lot because I thought we have found some pretty cool people. Elder Johnson said it might even be his coolest too. I am so glad we could find him right before I left this area. His name is Alex and he actually approached us one night and asked us if we could find him an English Bible. We went back and brought him an English Book of Mormon. Soon we started talking to him about our church and our beliefs. He lived in the United States for 30 years so EVERYTHING was in English. It was super rad, and a little weird teaching in English to be honest, but it was fun. Turns out, he knows sooo much. He has read the Bible many times, and really knows enough to be an institute teacher or something, I am serious, he knew more than me. He was really open to listen to us and was really interested in the Book of Mormon. He had a lot of questions that we were able to answer with scriptures in the Book of Mormon. He was shocked we had all of the answers in that book and is sooo excited to read it. He is also really interested in our modern day Prophet, Thomas S. Monson, and said he was going to look up some general conference talks on the internet. He understands the gravity of baptism, and said that if he really comes to know these things are true, and that this is the path God wants for him, he will absolutely get baptized and we know he will ABSOLUTELY recieve his answer!! I got his contact information and a picture with him because I want to keep in touch and come back for his baptism! It is pretty cool the kind of opportunities we get just as two americans walking around, a lot of people are intersted in what we are doing here, English classes, and some people are from the US! Elder Cherrington and I on divisions the other day ended up meeting a lady from San Antonio who contacted us in the streets and she has an American hamburger business.
Elder Johnson and I also learned a very important lesson this week. Yesterday, we were sitting in our house after church and a little bored. We had ordered Alonzo's mexican style pizza the night before and had some leftovers... We both admitted to each other that we've always wanted to put a piece of pizza in the blender... so.... WILL IT SMOOTHIE?? We took a pretty awesome video, we added some milk and blended that Mexican Style pizza right up. It was a GREAT idea!! Anticipating the experience, we both took a huge gulp of the pizza smoothie. Elder Johnson bit into a pepper seed and started throwing up. I felt the texture in my mouth, and it was pretty spicy, and had to run to the bathroom. I threw up too, but it was such a great lesson. WILL IT SMOOTHIE? NO!!!! I am glad we could try it so you guys don't have to. Maybe my mom can include the video below.
So it was a little sad saying bye to everyone. Sunday was fun being with everyone in the ward, we got some funny pictures and I gave my facebook to everyone. My last meal the ward fed me were hamburgers which were awesome, and I will miss the Garcia family, the ones who fed us. When Martha found out I was leaving, she cried, and was sad. Same with the Almas. Esteban tried to change his P-Day to today so we could come and visit him and he could make me a birthday cake but it didn't work out. He basically told me that if I ever needed anything to call him and he is always there for me. Wow, I have been so blessed with such loving and supporting friends just in my first 3 months in the field! I feel like some of these people are family to me already and will miss them dearly. It has been especially cool giving out little HLJ (CTR) rings to the little kinds along with little toys and candy my mom sent me. That was the best idea ever. The little kids loved me just like all my awesome cousins back home, and I love them so much. I will always miss and love the little kids of the area. Tonight we are going with Martha and so I will give some stuff to her granddaughters, and then one last visit with the Almas.
So... this whole experience has been really humbling. I've learned that I can't really expect anything on my mission, what my area will be like, what my companion will be like, or how long I will stay there. All of that I put my trust in the Lord and my mission president. I also just expected all of the baptism dates to go through when I first got here. I have learned that though we have found some pretty cool people, they will get baptized in their and the Lord's own time. It may not be while I am here in this area, or even in my mission. But I know they will get baptized one day, and I was part of the conversion process, in fact, I found them! I am also pretty confident we will have a lot of baptisms coming in this area from the hard work of Elder Johnson and I that I hope I can come back for. All of these things have really helped me to be more humble and just love and serve the people. Also, my mission has helped me to accept changes. I have always been soo scared of changes in life. Scared to go into High School, scared for basketball season and my senior year to end, scared for my friends to move on and go into college, and scared to go on my mission. I was scared to leave the CCM and was scared when I found out I was leaving this area. I guess I have always been worried about losing old memories, friends, and relationships as I move on to the different stages of life. I grow comfortable and I grow to love the people I am surrounded by, and when I have to separate from them, it is a little sad. However there has been a common theme in it all. There have ALWAYS been new, but fun, awesome, and loving experiences and people everywhere I go in life. There have ALWAYS been things I can find happiness in, and what is stopping me from finding the same exact things in my next area? I have also noticed that my strongest relationships and memories are always still there and will always be there for the rest of my life.
So yeah, I miss my family and friends back home. I miss basketball season every year, my awesome teammates and coaches, and playing alongside my best, life-long friends. Yeah, I miss driving to Oatman with my friends at 3 in the morning, late night surprise pool parties to wake my parents up. and doing awesome things like running over our feet with our cars, and cliff diving everywhere we could. I miss making funny videos with them and just laughing and hanging out everyday for the whole summer. Yeah I miss all of the family reunions and vacations, staying up all night laughing and telling stories, playing games and ping pong tournaments. I miss and love ALL of my aunts and uncles, cousins and grandparents, and everyone who has ever been there for me and all of the memories we have made together. I miss snuggling with my sweet, cute, sisters in bed when I had a hard day or just needed to relax, and often singing them a silly song to get them hyper before bed. I even miss driving Lindsey to seminary and school every morning where I was often tired and grumpy and just blasted my 21 pilots. I really have some AWESOME sisters. I miss snowboarding and fishing trips with my best buddy, my Dad, going hometeaching with him, and watching and cheering on the best team in the NBA- The San Anotnion Spurs, even though I was really mad when they lost. I miss late night shopping trips with my mom, and coming home from a bad day and telling her all my worries and troubles, and I miss the love she ALWAYS had for me and how she was willing to do ANYTHING for me just to make me happy. I love you Mom. I miss and love all of you who have impacted my life and help me become who I am. I have even realized I miss the CCM and my district there, seeing Esteban everyday, and I know I will miss walking in the streets of Mexico with Johnson, my mission Dad, even though I had no idea what was going on sometimes and no one would accept us some days. But despite all of this, I still have those memories and relationships. I am glad my mission isn't over, because I have SO much ahead that I don't even know. I have companions, areas, memebers, and investigators who need me and need Jesus Christ. I have memories to make, people to love, and a Heavenly Father to serve. So I am excited. I am excited for changes, excited for the future, because I know it is full of opportunities and blessings that I can't even understand yet. I know my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love me, and love all of Their children. I am so greatful for all of the things I have learned and for the man Heavenly Father is helping me to become on my mission. I will humbly and dilligently serve him with all my heart, might, mind, and strength for the rest of my mission to do the work that he KNOWS I can do. I know this church is true, that Jesus Christ lives, and we ALL have a very important work/ responsibility. I love, miss, and appreciate you all so much, like always, and will keep you in my prayers. Til next week!
-Elder Clark
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