Called to Serve in the Honduras, Tegucigalpa mission. July 2013-July 2015

Called to Serve in the Honduras, Tegucigalpa mission.  July 2013-July 2015
"I love my mission! I am so grateful to be here!." ~Elder Smith

Monday, June 29, 2015

All I Can Really Say Is Thank You

Hola Hola!

Well, this is it. My last full week as a missionary. I can't believe how fast these two years have flown by. It feels to me like only last week I was saying goodbye to my best friends and family the night before I left. I remember so vividly walking into the airport and meeting Elder Christiansen. We didn't know what we were in for! We didn't realize that we would grow to be such good friends while serving out here together.

I remember saying goodbye to my family without really realizing how important that moment was.

I remember getting to the CCM and meeting a bunch of guys that had so much faith in the Lord Jesus Christ that they were willing to leave everything behind for two whole years. I remember learning so much in that place. It is one of the best environments in the world to feel the spirit, grow, learn and prepare.

I remember getting to Honduras and meeting my trainer, Elder Glassett! One of my best friends! I remember the first long drive down to Choluteca, the pouring rain that drenched us within seconds of getting off the bus...I remember the heat, the mud, the incredibly humble and prepared people that accepted the gospel through two missionaries that had only about four months of experience between them! I remember my first leaders that made that zone so great and the example they gave me for the rest of my mission. Thank you guys!

I remember every single area since then, and my heart is still there in every one of them! I remember every mountain I climbed. Every meal I ate in the homes of people who couldn't afford to feed us. I remember every service project we did with all our hearts to help those people. I remember lessons where everyone left crying, and lessons ending with us getting thrown out of the house. I remember loving these people no matter what their answers were to our invitation.

I remember the five Sundays I had when I brought more than fifteen investigators to church and how happy I felt. I also remember all the Sundays when my companion and I sat there without a single one. 

I remember watching a family of menos activos walk through the door just before Sacrament Meeting for the first time in three years and feeling such a feeling of love from the Savior. I remember watching the whole ward walk over and welcome them back right after the closing prayer. I remember saying a prayer of thanksgiving with my companion, Elder Yac, in the back of the church.

I remember sharing my most spiritual experience with Hermana Xiomara and then listening to Elder Pearson do the same. I remember the spirit testifying so strongly and watching her son cry. I remember her telling us that it wasn't her time, and how badly that hurt. I remember begging and pleading with the Lord to have her call us and ask us to visit her again, because when we prayed to know what to do with her we felt we needed to wait for her to call us. I will always remember her and her family.

I have so many memories and the only thing I can really say is thank you. Thank you to my parents, my leaders who helped me get here, my coaches who were great examples, my companions, my leaders, my mission presidents. But most of all to God.

-Elder Smith

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