Wow! Where on earth to begin! We have seen so many miracles here in Central Falls! I am so grateful for the opportunity I have had to be a part of this wonderful work. We now have 14 investigators and most of which are ones the Lord led us to the past couple weeks! These past few weeks I have been doing all in my power to leave this area with exactly what it needs to just propel forward after I leave and it has been a great thing to witness. Along with updated records, making a finding pool, and translating all of it into Spanish for out Branch Mission Leader, the part I am more excited about is the Branch Mission Plan we had the opportunity to be a part of. That same day before we met with the Branch Presidency I felt we needed to start planning it out and seeking revelation from the Lord. It just started flowing. That night we went to meet with the Branch Presidency and our Mission Leader to see what they had prepared as well and seek inspiration together. Turns out we were the only ones with something prepared. As we formed this plan, as we then explained it to the Presidency, it just seemed to me that EVERYTHING we have been learning since I came into the field finally clicked.... The plan we had was the same as before, for the most part, but the only difference was that we had specific action items on how to accomplish each part of the goal. Those action items were ideas that are found in the "Power of Everyday Missionaries" by Clayton M. Christensen. I am going to get off the topic because otherwise I am going to spend all my time on this one thing. Needless to say it is something I am very grateful to have been a part of as an instrument in the Lord's hands. Now the only thing left is for the other leaders to catch the vision by praying about it and making some tweaks to it that they think are necessary. To me there is not a better gift the Lord could have helped me leave this area than that.
These are my last few days before going home and I am going to miss it so much. This last week we had a Emergency Zone Conference with the mission which was awesome. There are some HUGE things coming and happening. I really do not want to leave so that l can stay and be a part of it! One of the huge things I feel is on the brink of happening is right here in Central Falls. After everyone has put so much into this branch, I feel that it is time and that some big things are going to happen here.
Sunday was a pretty hard day for me, but a very rewarding one. I love the people here so much and do not want to leave them. I don't know how to even come close to try to express myself right now. I am sad and yet so excited. I do not want to leave, but feel that it is time. There is so much I want to do and learn when I get home and so I am excited to hit the ground running as the "training wheels come off" in a sense. I am so grateful for the mission, and that the Lord has called me, an imperfect man with many faults and weaknesses to serve him and help build up His kingdom here on earth. It is something truly beautiful when you think about it. That God, who is perfect, who has all power, wisdom and love, trusts us to help him in His work. I am so grateful for that. The mission has changed me so much because of all the things I have learned and experienced.
I know now even more than I did before that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that He lives and that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is his church on the earth today. His gospel truly does change lives and He has called ALL of us to come and participate in this His work because it is exactly what will bring us happiness and change us to become like He is.
As I go home I may have to take off my Missionary tag, but I am so grateful that because of my mission it has allowed Christ's name, His church's name and my name to be more deeply engraved upon my heart. An engraving that has changed me forever and is something that no one can ever take away from me. I feel that in the last days as He comes to judge us of our works, one of the things He will pay close attention to is not only if we allowed His name to be engraved upon our hearts, but rather to see if we kept that engraving burning brightly, as we allowed His hand to continually keep the heat of conversion and change pressed firmly upon our hearts. It is my prayer that all of us will strive to find ways to allow His hand to continually engrave his name more fully, more deeply within our hearts so that we can become that which He would have us become......Perfect! I leave these things with you all, along with my love, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
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