Well I sit here at this computer
crying. One of the few times that I have these past few days.
Things are hitting me, finally. Like right now in this moment. You
are all saying, see you in a few days, and man I couldn't be more excited to
see your faces! I think about it and I get butterflies and am so excited.
And then I get reallllly sad at other moments at the thought of leaving and not
being here any more. I also feel really strange, I won't lie, I have
changed. A lot. Things are not going to be the same, and I am
trying to deal with that too. Man, I just cannot even put into words all
the emotions I am feeling. And we just got out of the "how to get a
job" workshop for returning missionaries. That was not interesting
at all. I am not ready for all that yet! But I hope that you can all
just bear with me as this is a super emotional, exhilarating, and happy time
for me and all of us.
This past week was good and
odd. A week full of "lasts." My last Zone Training
Meeting, my last weekly planning, my last lesson, my last everything!
Hard to accept at times but mostly didnt even feel real. But it was super
sweet that the San Jose ward put on a fun surprise Family Home Evening for
me. Good times playing, "Do you love your neighbor?" And
Sunday I traveled to the mission home alone with all my bags and then I got to
stop by San Pablo and see the members and Masangkay Family one more time!
So sweet, they are doing really well. The work was good this week.
It is amazing to see how much everything has improved since day one. I
will miss speaking Tagalog on the daily. I will miss teaching in these
humble homes the restored gospel. I will miss stopping people on the
street or talking to people traveling on Jeeps to tell them our good news as
representatives of Jesus Christ. I will miss being engulfed in the spirit
every moment of every day. I will miss all the amazing friends I have
made here in the mission. I will miss the time to study the
scriptures. I will miss the ward weather and sweet rain of the
Philippines. I will miss eating rice every day and some delicious
ulam. I will miss our recent converts. I will miss the
members. I will miss the feelings of joy when you see the light of Christ
touch someone. I will even miss the moments of hardship with rejection
and struggles with finding. I will miss falling at my knees at night
practically falling asleep in my prayers of true effort and tiredness. I
will miss feeling the enabling power of the atonement carry me from appointment
to appointment. I will miss my companions always supporting me and being
there. But I will overall miss this sacred calling and the time to
dedicate myself to serving the Lord.
I can however say, the lessons I
have learned here and molded, shaped, and prepared me for everything there is
to come. As hard as it is to face the fact, my time is up, I know God
always has a divine plan and I am ready to align my will with His. I am
ready to apply all the lessons and chose to make my life the way God would have
it be lived. Words cannot describe the gratitude in my heart that I received
that personal revelation in October 2012 that I needed to serve a mission and
that I was called to the work in the Philippines San Pablo Mission. This
is the place I needed to come to. I have seen the fruits I was meant to
bear and I have felt the hand of Lord guiding me this whole time. I will
be a forever missionary. Even when the moment comes that I hand this
nametag to Mom and Dad, I will continue to be an active participant of
Hastening the Work of Salvation. I will be faithful to the end. Even
though after 18 months, I am tired as heck, I am not finished. I have
experienced the atonement in my life and not letting others feel that in their
lives would be turning my back on everything I have done up until this
point. Man, I probably sound like such a cheeseball. But what can I
say is that I mean all of this with my whole heart. At this point, I
can't make any changes to the book I have written, but I can promise that I
will continue to write it and make every chapter better and better.
I know that this is Christ's true
church upon the earth. This is the chosen way to us to return to His
presence and the presence of our Father. I know that a living prophet
receives revelation and guides us today. I know that Book of Mormon is
the Word of God and has blessed me in numerous ways from the lessons I have
learned and shared with others. Overall, I know that Jesus is the
Christ. I know He suffered for my sins and for the World. I know
that through Him we can overcome the natural man and become more like. I
can truly say, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith."
With that said, I can
confidently say that the time has come, and I AM SO STINKIN EXCITED TO SEE YOU
ALL THIS WEEK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Man 18 months sure flew, but it
feels like I haven't seen you all in forever! I have missed you all
dearly and I thank you all for the support and love over that past year and a
half. Now let us come together, move forward with faith, and be HAPPY!
I love you all.
See you real soon,
Sister Waldrom
2 Timothy 4:7
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