Home....But Not Yet!!! Always a Missionary!
HELLO!!!!!:) How is everybody?! Can you believe it another week and holy cow Mum and Dad you guys reminded me what??? 4 months!!!! That's insane! Man it sure goes fast and you know I have been thinking a lot about going home. Not about the actual going home and what I will be doing but more about how I feel about going home. As missionaries we have a term called "Trunkey" which practically means your trunk is packed and you are ready to go home.
I don't think I have ever really worried about this my whole mission because I love my mission so much and I went through a phase where I never wanted to go home. Haha Mum didn't like that.;) You know I still have the same feelings I love my mission and I will serve for as long as the Lord wants me to serve and I will give it my all until I am finished. I have thought about at times of extending my service as a missionary and I expressed my feelings about not wanting to go home as a missionary but a couple of months ago I received my answer.
I actually think it was during Christmas when we Skyped and talked about school a bit and stuff. That is when I received my answer that, Elder Stott when July 25th comes that is time for you to return home from you mission and to start the next mission of your life but of course you will always be a missionary and a Disciple of Jesus Christ. I became content with that answer and over the last couple of months it has driven me to work even harder because I know it will come to an end. I am excited to return home and be with my family and friends again especially to give you guys a big hug in the airport.:) It has been a long time since I have gotten a hug from my Mom.:)
As I have started my new adventure in my first week here in Dapto it has helped me realize that when I return home I will have another super fun adventure awaiting me there and I will get to apply everything that I have learned here in Australia over the last 2 years and it sounds quiet exciting. You know my mission has helped me realize really how amazing family is. Being away from my family for 20 months now has been hard at certain times and has been lonely at other times but has made me appreciate and love them even more. It is crazy don't you think Mum and Dad that as I have been halfway around the world for the past almost 2 years it has brought our family closer then ever before. That is how I feel and it's awesome! To get so much love and excitement over emails once a week and pictures on a computer screen shows truly how much God loves us and that He is real!
People ask us all the time as missionaries how can we believe in God and they tell us they are Atheist's and I just think to myself man just look around at everything around you and I wonder how can you not believe in a God especially one that loves us so much. God is real and His Son and our Saviour Jesus Christ lives!
Haha so back to being "trunkey" I am not trunkey because I love my mission but I am excited to finish my mission and to see all of you guys again and hang out with you guys. Dad I am beyond excited to start hanging out with you again and especially go golfing again. I loved what you said a couple of weeks ago about how we will be the best team out there maybe not the best score but having the most fun with the best smiles! My mission is teaching me what that is all about and truly being happy and having that eye smile!:) It doesn't mean things are always good but we keep a good attitude during the good and the bad.
You know my mission to this point has been so hard hardest thing I have ever done but as I look back over the past 20 months all I feel is happiness, joy, and peace. I have made mistakes I am not perfect I have had hard trials and hard days and ups and downs but I know I am serving the Lord with everything I got and that is the blessing of the Gospel. But man oh man I am over ecstatic about the 4 months that I have left here in the mission and in Dapto!
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| All Packed for Dapto |
So Dapto man this place is great!!!!
I am so keen and excited to be here and work here. It is definitely different being back here in the city with buses and trains and lot's of people and in a big ward again but it is good and the work is good. Me and Elder Cook have been very busy this week and it's great.:) So here's a lit bit about the work in the area. So as for now we are working mainly with two people. One his name is K_____ he is a less-active guy about 18-19 who got baptized about a year and a half ago. When I first met him this past week I felt like and he did as well that we really connected. We had a great lesson on Prayer and he has started saying his prayers again and he came to Church on Sunday! It was awesome to see him and enjoyed being back at church. We hope to keep helping him come back and maybe even go out and serve a mission. Keep him in your prayers and it will all be in the Lord's hands.:) Another guy that we are working with his name is A____ he is in his late 20's and wanting stability in his life. He is investigating the church and has been for a while now. The lesson we had with him was very directed by the Spirit and very strong. Our commitment with him was to start saying regular prayers and he was so excited he volunteered to say the closing prayer for our lesson.:) Haha it was awesome. We hope to get him to church soon as well and on a baptismal date but once again I know it is in the Lord's hands. Those are about the 2 main people we are working with so far.
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| Need a ride? |
I have been working on getting to know the members this past week and will keep working on that for a while. Haha there are a lot more members in the Dapto ward then Merimbula. There are about 110-130 active members in the ward haha so a bit different to get used to. We also have been busy finding and we found a few people this past week that are interested in learning and so we hope to follow up with them and see how it goes. This area is great and I am really loving it and I know this is where I need to be and will most likely finish my mission here in this area but we will have to see what the Lord and President Back needs. However all is good. I am enjoying it and giving myself time to adjust to the change and get comfortable and I know all will be well.
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| The Church in Dapto |
So some details about the area our flat is in Oak Flats it is a pretty big flat and pretty nice I will have to get some pictures and send them to you guys maybe next week. With pictures since we don't do emailing at the Chapel I don't know when I will have time to send pictures from the wifi but I will try to attach them on my emails and then send them again via wifi when I got time.:) Thanks for the awesome pictures you guys send especially you Dani.
So my companion Elder Cook is from Sedona Arizona but since he has been out his family has moved to Pleasant Grove Utah. He is very humble and I know we will do good things we have already done good things in our first week together.
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| Elder Cook |
My flatmates Elder Harston and Elder Afemata are super funny guys and haha there awesome as well. We are all getting along and working hard and it is going well.
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| The Boyz in their Aussie "Work" shirts. |
So our area is a pretty city area so we do a lot of finding and try to do as much teaching as possible and meet with the members. Not much service like Merimbula but we are trying to find some to do cuz I know and have seen it work in people's lives. There is a big massive steel mill right on the coast in our area and so that is what a lot of people do for work and just other city jobs. Things are going good. That is exciting about the Shoobridge's and the P_______'s man love both of those families and that would be great to meet up with them but we will just have to see how it goes.:)
I really appreciate what you had to say Mum about returning home and about school and life back home. It is so assuring to know that I always have you and Dad in my corner always there to help and I am learning on my mission that I have Jesus Christ, Heavenly Father, and the Holy Ghost in my corner as well. Something Josh Shoobridge told me as I left Merimbula was he was very proud of me for how I am serving a mission and he told me that I would be blessed beyond my imagination for my service and the Lord is already blessing me just to know how awesome my parents are and all that they do for me. Thank you and I love you guys so much. I hope you guys know that you Mum Carrie and Dad Ryan will be great forever. Love you guys so much thanks for everything and for always having money in my account I have had to buy a few things this past week which I always know I can cuz my parents are awesome! I hope you guys know that I am serving my mission for my Heavenly Parents and sustain them but also my Earthly Parents to love them as well. Thanks for everything love you guys heaps! HOLD TO THE ROD AND NEVER LET GO
Love Elder Stott
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