Family and Friends,
Well life is officially over. Only days left until the real
world sets in. Not looking forward to that. But like I still got 3 days in
paradise so I won’t think about all that real world nonsense just yet. Church
was too good yesterday! We had the family of 5 there for my last Sunday and
Henry as well! They’re all progressing like crazzzy. It’s to good being a
missionary! Henry told me after sacrament meeting, "Adams,
I will talk to the Bishop so that he can pay for your plane ticket to come back
to my baptism." Always good to hear. Not sure that will fly but dreaming
is good. We tore it up my last week in the mish. We taught a healthy amount of
lessons. By healthy I mean a boat load. It was fun.
I gave a little farewell testimony talk yesterday. It was Mother’s
Day here so I gave a talk about mothers and about how they are the best. Simple
as that. I told about the story of when I was in Strasbourg and we had been teaching an ami
for weeks and we finally got around to teaching with a member. This member
happened to be a mother. I remember to this day that I testified and the ami
was just like nodding her head like okay, then my companion with the same
result, and then the member testified and our ami was consumed with the spirit.
Like she lost it… tears and all. And then she got baptized. Voila, mothers are
the best!... even when concerning missionary work. LOVE YOU MOTHER.
So this week I of course did a lot of reflecting. I have
been too blessed during these two short years in France. I don’t even know where to
start with all that I have learned during my stay in France. I still remember to this
day when elder Andersen of the 12 came and spoke to our mission when I was a
bleu. He said "You MUST find
satisfaction in this work." This simple sentence has never left me. I can
easily say I have never found more satisfaction in my life then these last two
years. And I owe that to the fact that I learned early on in my mission that if
a missionary wants satisfaction, he must never be satisfied... he must always
strive for more! Recently Elder Kearon of the 70 came to the mission and he
said about this same subject, "The Lord is happy with you, but he is not
satisfied."
I think I owe most of the satisfaction I have found in these
last two years to the fact that I learned at a young age to always be happy no matter what happens.
To take things as they are. Keeping a level head and a good attitude are
crucial when serving the Lord. I can remember very clearly when serving in Belgium as a
young missionary, President said... "The French people need to meet
missionaries who are happy and enthusiastic."
That simple phrase has really changed my
mission. I have tried every single day of my mission to just smile and roll
with the punches. I have learned that a normal missionary must talk to about
200 Frenchies before one will really be interested in the gospel... but if
you're a happy missionary and decide to wear a smile no matter what the weather
almost every person will listen and give you a chance! Attitude is everything.
I have also come to realize that miracles are all around if we will but open our eyes and have a little
faith! Missionaries and members who do not believe in miracles will never
see them! It’s so simple. Believe and
you will see. Concerning miracles I have learned that if you want to see
them... you must leave your comfort zone! Sharing the gospel, as a missionary or as a
member, requires leaving our comfort zone! No it’s not easy, but I have learned that it
is so worth it! Once again I find myself
quoting President haha, "If you
want to be a happy missionary, do things that scare you." He
couldn’t be more right!
I have learned to see the bright side of things. There is no
bad weather. There is no such thing as a bad companion. There is no place in
the world where we cannot baptize. NOPE!
And of course I learned about good old obedience. THE BED IS NOT COMFORTABLE
AFTER 6:30am.
Speaking of the bed... God never wakes up on the wrong side of the bed sometimes and just decide to punish us!!! He is bound to bless us when we do our best and when we keep his commandments. So simple but not always easy.
Speaking of the bed... God never wakes up on the wrong side of the bed sometimes and just decide to punish us!!! He is bound to bless us when we do our best and when we keep his commandments. So simple but not always easy.
Last but not least I have learned that God Loves Me and he has strengthened my testimony more then I
could’ve ever imagined. I have always been converted to the gospel but he
helped to to be converted to missionary work. To love each and every person.
Even if they’re stinky, ugly, and weird. Just love them. When we do this we
will in return feel his love! In the MTC I remember the question... "You’re all converted members of the church, but
are you converted to missionary work?" We must all ask ourselves
this question! It took longer then maybe it should have, but it feels good to
be able to say YES.
Amen. lol. See you soon. LOVE YOU! Thanks for being awesome.
BISOUS!
