Well friends, we're nearing the end and that is pretty freaky😳 Tonight, Sorella Hurst and I will head up to Milano. Tomorrow, she'll pick up her greenie, and I'll head to the mission home. And then see my parents. And it still kind of doesn't feel real yet😅 Eh, living in denial is fine, right? anyways, no sappy feelings lol we will save that for the actual last email, after visiting my past cities with my parents😛
Honestly, this week has been pretty crazy trying to meet with people for the last time + pack + a million and one other things, but it's been good. This whole transfer, we'd been planning a fireside for our branch all about member missionary work. We finally had that on Saturday, and it went really well! We were small in number, but those there seemed really touched. The Sunday after, they all bore testimony on some of the things discussed during the fireside, and it was seriously a super touching meeting. Easily one of the best testimony meetings I've had out here.
Sorry, but there's not a lot of other stuff to chat about this week, just because I really hate goodbyes and that has been the epitome of this week. I will say that it's been awesome this week to see a lot of the people + all the missionaries in our zone one last time. I happen to love them quite a lot and it has been pretty hard to say goodbye.
I'm also really grateful for the last official lesson I was able to teach as a missionary. There was a member actually from the Rome mission who, we found out, was in the hospital in our area, so we went to visit her. It was one of the neatest experiences. Patrizia is seriously one of the most humble and amazing people I've ever met. It was so cool to talk with her and bear testimony, and she was so touched by our visit. I honestly can't adequately put the experience into words hahaha, but it was an amazing note to finish off the mission in this way. It was such a reminder of what I've loved most out here, and what I've worked hardest to do: to love the people, and bring them a little bit closer to Christ in each moment.
I'm not gonna put in any of the mushy stuff (at least, not yet), because I'll send my final email after my parents and I say goodbye to this country I've fallen in love with ❤️ However, being my last official missionary week, I feel the need to express a bit of gratitude I guess. Sorella Hurst and I were on our way to meet with an investigator the other day, and I had to just kind of mentally pause and take it all in. I mean, there we were hiking up this massive hill and I just had to stop and take a mental picture because it just looked so... Italy. And I was like "huh, this has been my life for the past year and a half"😳 and that's pretty crazy. And then came the realization of "oh wait, this isn't going to be my life anymore..." and that is pretty sad. People keep asking me how I'm feeling about finishing the mission, and it's hard to answer because I feel like I'm basically a giant milkshake or something made up of excited and sad and nervous and happy and tired, all these random emotions. Above all, however, is the feeling of blessed. Blessed to live in his beautiful country, work with these amazing missionaries, and serve these incredible people. Idk if I've shared this before on an email, but I really love in the scriptures when Ammon is talking about their work as missionaries- the successes, the failures, and everything in between. The part that stood out to me more recently, however, is in verse 33
33 And now behold I say unto you, has there been so great love in all the land? Behold, I say unto you, Nay, there has not
And basically I just really feel that right now. That is all. Im excited to see a lot of you real soon😉
xoxo
Smeds
1-5 I love them! 6-8 And them:)
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