Dear Family and Friends,
This is my last week here in the Missouri Independence Mission and my beloved home of Kansas City. What a whirlwind of adventure. Friends have been coming out of the woodwork from all over the mission to come and see me as my sojourn comes to a close. And people have been shoveling meals down our throats every hour. It couldn't be an update from me without some mention of food, right? It's been wonderfully painful.
Elder Spencer, who served in St. Joe near me, and I had the most exciting of exchanges this week. I took our small town boy through the daunting skyline of KC. We ate pupusas, Arthur Bryant's BBQ, and Bulgarian breakfast casserole. Good thing my hill-billy friends can handle a stomach beating, huh?
I've been saying a lot of goodbyes to all of my family here in the city. The Kwe-nation (Marshalese members of the branch) held their traditional coronation ceremony and crowned me "King of the Kwe's" yesterday and made me cry. The Branch Presidency had me pray in sacrament, translate, and bear my testimony on Sunday to bid farewell to Riverview. There are so many things that I'm going to miss here. I'm going to miss the people and the connections I've made and their love. I'm going to miss putting Christ's name every day on my chest. I'm going to miss the sky here--the sense of endlessness as you gaze at mid-west horizon.
This is a sad moment, a time of change, and I've been so grateful to my Heavenly Father for the brief time He's given me to serve here. I know that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world and that He lives and loves us. It's been an amazing two years sharing that knowledge full-time. I'm grateful for the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the blessing of knowing that I can be with my family forever. I'm sad to see my mission come to an "end", but I know like the endlessness of the sky and horizon here, that none of this actually does "end"--it's a part of who I am, it's eternal.
I love you all so very much and will see you this week!This is my last week here in the Missouri Independence Mission and my beloved home of Kansas City. What a whirlwind of adventure. Friends have been coming out of the woodwork from all over the mission to come and see me as my sojourn comes to a close. And people have been shoveling meals down our throats every hour. It couldn't be an update from me without some mention of food, right? It's been wonderfully painful.
Elder Spencer, who served in St. Joe near me, and I had the most exciting of exchanges this week. I took our small town boy through the daunting skyline of KC. We ate pupusas, Arthur Bryant's BBQ, and Bulgarian breakfast casserole. Good thing my hill-billy friends can handle a stomach beating, huh?
I've been saying a lot of goodbyes to all of my family here in the city. The Kwe-nation (Marshalese members of the branch) held their traditional coronation ceremony and crowned me "King of the Kwe's" yesterday and made me cry. The Branch Presidency had me pray in sacrament, translate, and bear my testimony on Sunday to bid farewell to Riverview. There are so many things that I'm going to miss here. I'm going to miss the people and the connections I've made and their love. I'm going to miss putting Christ's name every day on my chest. I'm going to miss the sky here--the sense of endlessness as you gaze at mid-west horizon.
This is a sad moment, a time of change, and I've been so grateful to my Heavenly Father for the brief time He's given me to serve here. I know that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world and that He lives and loves us. It's been an amazing two years sharing that knowledge full-time. I'm grateful for the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the blessing of knowing that I can be with my family forever. I'm sad to see my mission come to an "end", but I know like the endlessness of the sky and horizon here, that none of this actually does "end"--it's a part of who I am, it's eternal.
No comments:
Post a Comment