Dear Mary,
I love the
wockenflockite photo! Not too crazy, but just enough to make people wonder :P
 |
| The Wockenflockites are ready for Christmas and for Elder Wockenfuss to come home! |
I haven't been able to
finish El Libro de Mormon. I'm still in Alma, but I'll get there at some point
at home! :)
So this past week has
been interesting-ish! On Monday, we had this Murder Mystery party that was
so so fun! It's kinda like Clue, and werewolf/mafia, but on a bigger scale,
plus acting. Everybody is given a character profile to read over, and they are
to become that character for the next 3 hours that we play the game. Everyone
is trying to figure out the "who did it" but also have to worry about
the own personal goals, and all the drama that goes on in the game. Our game
was called Spellbound. It takes place in a magical castle for wizarding
students, basically Harry Potter, only there's no kid with a scar on his head.
So not Harry Potter haha But it was so much fun!! It was such an interactive
game, and everyone had a blast! It was weird going back to being a normal
missionary at the end, but at least we all ended happily :)
The same day, Elder
Adams got sick, and had to stay inside. In a nutshell, he got sick and better
and sick again, to the point that the doctor told him to stay inside until Friday evening.
Since we're in a trio, I got to go with Elders Dressman and Taylor to work in
our areas. Elder Dowda volunteered to stay behind with Elder Adams to watch
over him, and we all knew that I did NOT want to stay inside during my last
week of the mission! haha
So we went and worked
both our areas, with some success in their area, and some success in ours. We
visited and taught our new investigator Laura to help her in her preparations
for baptism. Lidia, the girl that got baptized last week, sat in the lesson,
and helped Laura to understand different points of the gospel! She's gonna be
such an awesome missionary one day!
We had an amazing Zone
Training Meeting this past week as well! It was very spiritual and pretty
different than how ZTM's are usually done. We talked about Our relationship
with God, Prayer, Obedience, and a few other things. My favorite part was near
the end when it was tied together. The STL's had a training for us in which for
the workshop portion, we were to go into the chapel with a pencil and paper,
kneel down in prayer, open our hearts to God and ask Him what he truly thought
of us. And then after a few minutes of doing this, we would get together with
our companions and introduce ourselves as if it was God introducing us. There
were many tears from everyone, because we all got a glimpse of just how greatly
our Heavenly Father truly does love us as His children and as His Missionaries.
It was a great way to end my last ZTM here :)
I also had my Exit
Interview with President Thomas. We went over "My Plan" and discussed
various things, and he gave me really good advice about my future. And all
those things that he said really comforted me about it all. At the end of the
interview, he cried as he said thank you to me. He thanked me for my example
and for everything that I've done, especially given my circumstances. After
that, he asked if he could give me a blessing, which I agreed to. I don't remember
everything in the blessing, I just remember comfort and confidence in God's
plan for my future. And I remembered that he said in the blessing that my
future is very bright. I got the most amazing feeling in my heart as he said,
and it gave me the comfort and knowledge that I needed to know that everything
will work out in the end. :)
So as I've reflected
on the past 2 years of my mission, I've thought about each of my areas, each of
my companions, and the people who, through my efforts, God was able to help.
I've been told before that God handcrafts everyone's mission to them, that it a
gift made special just for you. You may help change people and bring them to
Christ, but along the way, you discover that's you've changed greatly too. I've
come to discover that there was a purpose in every aspect of my mission.
There was a purpose in every companion that I had, because each one of them had
something to teach me, even if in the moment I didn't like, it prepared me for
something later on. There was a purpose for every area that I was placed in,
because of the experiences that took place. At the time when they occured, it
may not have seemed like much, but all the things that happened made an effect
on me for the better. There was a purpose for the members and investigators
that I worked with, because they touched my life, gave me support when I needed
it, taught me as I taught them, and helped me to know that there is good in a
world full with evil, and that the darkness can be pushed back, one small act
at a time.
And that starts with
all of us. We can make an effect on the world. Even if we can't see it right
now, later down the road, we can turn back and see promised fulfilled in the
scriptures that "By small and simple means are great things brought to
pass."
I think the greatest
thing that I've learned is to never give up. You don't know how close you
really are the top of the mountain. Trust in God who knows all things, and
always be worthy to do His will if called upon in an instant.
This has been the
greatest and most challenging time of my life! I think of the EFY song
"Stones in the River" as I look back on my mission. We get tossed and
turned in the river of life, but as that happens, a bit of the jagged rock
surface comes off and gets a bit smoother until we become the smooth beautiful
stone or jewel that God sees that we can become. I've come a bit closer to
being that smooth stone. Even though I still have a long way to go, I have
changed. I'm no longer Patrick the kid that left home 2 years ago, and I will
take what I've learned as Elder Wockenfuss and listen to God as I become who He
wants me to be.
I love you all, thank
you for much for always being there! I'll see you soon!
Con amor,
Elder Patrick Wockenfuss
Elder Wockenfuss signing out
for the last time...
No comments:
Post a Comment