Goodbye MIM (Last Email)

Monday- We had an awesome P- day! One of the best that I've had in a long time. So the bishop of the Parkville ward, Bishop Laudie, owns a gymnastics gym so we went down there with eight missionaries during the open gym time. It was great! We messed around on ridiculous trampolines, played some sports, and had the most intense game of tag you could ever imagine. The day went on, and by the time we got home at night I wasn't feeling very good at all. It came out of nowhere and hit me like a train. Long story short I ended up puking a lot and going to bed.

Tuesday- The next morning we both work up and felt horrible. I don’t know if I have ever felt sicker in my life. Going so hard at P day probably didn't help too much either. Elder Robinson was feeling pretty bad too so we must have caught something somewhere. We both slept for a good 18 hours that day. We got up to keep our dinner appointment (I hope we didn't get them sick) and then had our final lesson with Danetra. The spirit was super strong as usual. She was feeling nervous, but still ready to go. Considering we didn't get out of bed until like five o'clock I was afraid that I wasn't going to be able to sleep at all that night, but by the time ten o'clock rolled around I was out like a light.

Wednesday- So about a week ago we found a new investigator named Mike. We went back for the return appointment and he had completely forgotten about it so he rescheduled for today. He said it would work better for him just to meet at our church or something, so we set up a church tour! I was so excited! I had planned church tours in the past with other investigators but none of them had ever really gone through. We had such a spiritual lesson with him. We were about to open up our exchanges with Elder Walker and Elder Call so they were both there to help us teach too. The lesson went so great. It’s amazing to just watch the spirit work. This truly is God’s work and his glory, and if we just let him help us he will change people's life through us. After the lesson I started my final exchange with my good old district leader and old companion Elder Walker. We had a great night together. He sure has grown a lot since the time I was serving with him this time last year.

Thursday- We went up to the church with Danetra and Elder Walker to take care of her baptismal interview. Before anyone is baptized they have to be interviewed by a missionary who wasn't involved in their teaching. It’s usually the district leader in the area. I think giving baptismal interviews was one of my favorite parts about being a district leader. It’s like you get to swing in and put the cherry on top. It all went really well, and afterwards we helped Danetra find a baptismal jumpsuit and showed her how the baptism would be performed.

Friday- We froze our butts off today! It was so ridiculously cold! It was horrible! In the morning we biked a few miles to the thrift store where we do service every week. By the time we got there I couldn't feel my face (not good for helping me get over being sick.) When we got back home we decided it was far too cold to bike so we made it a day of walking and boy did we walk!! You know, it really wasn't that bad either. I kind of enjoy walking. It was cold but we were all bundled up so it wasn't too bad. We had dinner at the Hoyal’s house. Brother Hoyal is the best Chiropractor on the planet. He's adjusted us a couple times just at his house, and it feels like heaven! He is a magic man! After a long day of walking it felt fantastic to be adjusted.

Saturday- Danetra's Baptism was Amazing! It was one of the most spiritual experiences of my mission. She was really nervous and antsy leading up to the moment that she was baptized, but as soon as she came out of the water you could tell she was a new person. The spirit was so strong through the entire service. I had the chance to give the talk on the Holy Ghost after the baptism. It went really well, but I almost feel we could have learned more from the Holy Ghost by just sitting there in silence because He was definitely there. Her kids were all there and they really liked it. On the drive home we asked her youngest son Gage if he wanted to get baptized soon too and he said YES! To top it all off our new investigator Mike was even there! Everything was perfect!

Sunday- My last sacrament meeting as a missionary was fantastic. I was a little nervous at first because Danetra was late! I was getting pretty uncomfortable by the time it was ten passed and she still hadn't showed up. We got a lot of snow that day though so just about everyone was running late. She was confirmed by the bishop. It was all really powerful. Something else that was really cool was Jeremy Guthrie brought two nonmembers to church with him. They were two Muslim students from Turkey. They were like eighteen and nineteen and on some sort of school program through their church. They were almost like too little missionaries themselves!.. but not really. All the same it was great, and they really liked church. Afterwards we went the Horrock's for lunch. They wanted to have us over for dinner before transfers but our calendar was all filled up so they just had us over for lunch instead. They are such a great family. I'm so very grateful for all that they've done for us over the months. After dinner we visited the Halls. I've really loved working with that family too!

The Horrock Family

... It’s sad to think that it’s all about to end. I have lots and lots of mixed emotions right now. It’s been quite the ride for the past two years with all the ups and downs along the way. I have learned and grown so much in the past 730 days. It’s been a lot of hard work but in retrospect the only times it was really hard is when I tried to do it my own way. My favorite verses in the bible are Mathew 11:28-30 where Christ asks all those who labor and are heavy laden to take his yoke upon them and he will give them rest. He says that his yoke is easy and his burden is light. Christ has promised that when we take his work upon our shoulders it will be light, the only way that that works though is if you let him help you. I've come to know that when Christ is there to help you, no burden is too heavy, no task is too daunting, no storm too long. We are truly the children of God and he is pleading with us to let him help. I have seen him mold and heal so many souls. I know that this is Christ's church. I know he leads it through priesthood power. I have been so blessed over the last two years and I will never be the same because of the things that I've learned, done, and seen. Thank you so much for following me week by week across my mission. If any of want to hear from me one last time please please please come to my homecoming talk this coming Sunday at 9am. It will be at 300 Gramercy Ave, Ogden UT. I love you all and I will see you this weekend. God speed.

Love, Elder Cluster