Kome i le!
So everyone here it is: my final few days on La Reunion. I actually leave this Wednesday so tomorrow (Tuesday) is my last full day on the island. It's so surreal. This sunday the branch president asked me to go up and announce my transfer and then bear my testimony. I thought that maybe at the end after my little testimony I might get a little emotional because of my time here and my love for the members. Nope, turns out I started crying after the second sentence. And I mean big-fat-crocodile-tears-rolling-down-my-cheeks-and-the-need-to-hold-my-breath-so-as-not-to-sob-sort-of-crying. It was pretty bad. All of a sudden getting up in front of those members and looking out it just really hit me that I was never going to see them again. Or at least not for many many years. Because I will be leaving my mission from Madagascar so I will not come back to La Reunion and because it is really far from the United States I don't see myself making the trip in the next couple of years. These members and this island have been such a huge part of my life - during a really crucial part in my life. It has not always been easy, that is for sure, but looking back it has always been worth it. I feel like a mission is best summed up in a quote by President Gordon B Hinckley "You will realize that what right now seems like a large sacrifice will turn out being the greatest investment you ever made" And it is true. A mission is a huge investment in the gospel and an even bigger investment in yourself and your personal character.While I still have 5 months of my mission left I feel like in many ways I am leaving my mission right now. Because La Reunion HAS been MY mission for the past 13 months and I am saying goodbye to this period of time with the missionaries here and the members and this island and the food and the culture and the language for perhaps the rest of my life - because even if I come back, it will never be the same as when I was a missionary. And while that makes me sad (and many more tears will be shed when I have to say goodbye to my companions and this island) I also move forward knowing that it is with a purpose and that the Lord has a plan for me. I also have so many more adventures ahead! Hey, the future is as bright as your faith right? Yes, I'm nervous to learn the language, yes I'm nervous about the culture and the complete lack of 1st world bathrooms and getting sick every day - but I know the Lord will provide. I have such a testimony of this gospel and this work. Next time you hear from me I will be in Madagascar with the lemurs trying desperately to communicate in a language that is 100% different from French. And I will be loving the opportunity the Lord gave me!
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