Hey team! Its Monday morning and I'm writing you for the last
time as a missionary. It seems more real to me now. It kinda hit
me today when I said, "this week I'll be home." Wow... I cannot
believe that my time as a missionary is coming to an end. This
last week or so has been... well... interesting, painful (in
many different ways, will explain at home), sad, and nostalgic.
I have had some time this week to think about my mission and
each sector and all that I've learned. Two years have really
passed by! I look around me and try to take in all the sights,
sounds, and smells that in a few short days I wont be
around anymore. I wont be able to do the same things I have done
during these two years. I have thoroughly enjoyed my mission
experience and I'm sad its coming to an end. My time as a
representative and missionary of our Lord Jesus Christ is
ending... But at the same time I'm beyond stoked to see my
family and friends after so long.
It has truly been an honor in serving my Heavenly Father and
my Savior in their work, this glorious work. I have carried
Christs name on my chest proudly for two years, and I will miss
that. I love this work with all my heart, and I have been so
very blessed to be here. I have a genuine love for the Peruvian
people, this land, and the food! (Even though some of it is
horrible). But honestly, I know that my call has been inspired
of a prophet of God, and I know that I was meant to be here.
I will be forever grateful for the testimony that has
been burned into my heart or the truthfulness of the Gospel here
on my mission. Deep inside me, etched upon my soul, I know that
Christ is the Son of God, the Savior and Redeemer of the world.
He sent me to Peru, He guided me through thick and thin, He
knows that I could take what he put me through and the purpose
for which He did it. I have seen the growth that has come
through putting my trust in the Lord and letting Him steer. My
eyes have been opened very widely these last two years, and I
have gained a grand appreciation for the United States of
America. I love this country, but I am so proud to be an
American now more than ever. How blessed are we to live where we
do, and to be free.
I didn't see him work miracles on the roads of Jerusalem,
but I know he lives, I have felt his love. And that is what its
all about, he did it all because of Love.....I know that Joseph
Smith was his chosen prophet, I know without a doubt in my
heart, that the book of Mormon is the word of God, and anyone
who reads it WILL come closer to Jesus Christ than any other
book on this earth.
I remember saying goodbye at the MTC two years ago, not
really knowing what I was about to get myself into. I was a
rather young, scared boy. But with the help of the Lord, He has
turned me into the man that I am now. I feel like the same
person I was when I left, but at the same time, not at all. I
have seen with my spiritual eyes, and I know what matters most!
I am not perfect, nor even close to it, so don't be expecting a
perfect son when I'm home! But I am much better than I was when
I left. That much is true. How grateful I am for my Heavenly
Father and His perfect Plan in my life. I know that He lives
and loves every one of us.
I love you all, more than you know. I'll see you in a few
days! Get ready for the biggest hug of your life mom!!!
This is Elder Christensen, a proud (in a good way) missionary
in the foreign land of Peru, signing off for the last time.....
The torch has been raised.
2 Timothy 4:7
2 Timothy 4:7
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