EB Mission Blog: This is my joy. It truly truly is.

Dear Family and Friends,

So this is it folks! It's super weird to be writing my last weekly email....I've served my time and they are kicking me out of the UK. I don't think there is any way to describe how I'm feeling right now, but it's just weird.

This week I made Sister Chen "senior companion", which she wasn't too pleased about haha. She had to lead us in the planning and everything and it was actually wonderful! She knows a lot more than she thinks..and here are some quotes

"Why you laugh me?" - sister Chen

"I think I should precious the time I have with you!" - sister Chen

"Do you have reindeer as pet in your house? So cute!" - sister Chen (I think she STILL thinks Canada is a winter wonderland where we ride dog sleds and live in igloos...)

"Our time is perish" - sister Chen (she meant to say precious)

And here is my last bullet point list of all that happened (or some of it. I packed my planner last night and we are on a train now...so now it's hard to remember all that happened last week haha)

we started teaching this new older couple who are awesome!!!! The wife has a few learning difficulties, and gets distracted SUPER easily, but every time we say a prayer and start teaching her she just listens so intensely and then says "oh wow. Did you see how I changed? This is so good for me!" And it is so cool. She even picked a baptismal date this week (and it is during the time when I come back to visit, on her birthday!)
A member got a boyfriend and we are starting to teach him as well! Yay for member missionary work!!
EVERYONE had us over for "the last supper" where we ate loads of food for the last time with them. And it was awesome. Except I don't think I've stopped being full all week hahaha....
Our neighbours are awesome and we started teaching them AND went over and ate traditional Indian food with them. SPICY Indian food. So so so so amazing
I said goodbye to pretty much everyone we are teaching and they all said that sister Chen and her new companion have to keep coming around so that is a miracle in itself :) :) they love the gospel!!!
Xavier got confirmed and received the gift of the Holy Ghost on Sunday!!!!!!!! It was so so so awesome, he is such a sweet kid
Henry passed the sacrament on Sunday again by HIMSELF and it was so awesome. Ah. So much happiness
Sister Chen lead the area so well all week! We NEVER got lost, and I didn't help her at all to know where we were going or anything! So cool. She is gonna rock it here next transfer.
We got the "dodge" calls and they really are sending me home...ah. And sister Chen is getting a companion from the Philippines! This sister was actually trained by sister Johnson, who came out with me so that is cool :)

I am so grateful for my mission. I think I will be eternally grateful because it has changed me into a better version of me. The girl who left Canada 18 months ago is very different to the one who will be returning...and I am grateful for that. I've been thinking a lot about my mission, and about what I have learned and something that I have learned just as I've gone throughout my mission is what a successful missionary is. A successful missionary is not one who baptises hundreds of people and walks away unchanged. It's not one who looks good because of leadership or position. A successful missionary is one who has been changed by their mission for the better. Who has loved their mission, been obedient, and worked hard. The real success of a mission is not measured on a chart - it is etched in your heart and in the hearts of those whose lives are eternally changed because of you. I was not a perfect missionary, but I believe my mission was perfect for me. And I am so happy that I chose to come on a mission. There is a video we have been sharing a lot this week called "lift", it's a Mormon message (If you haven't watched it, watch it). There's a point in the video where one of the men says "I was at a point where I needed healing, and that's what service does. It heals us." I feel like my mission was a mission of healing. Not that I was broken or bruised but...I hadn't found myself and it gave me an opportunity to heal and find myself through healing and serving others. The end of the video goes on to say, " The more we serve our fellow men in appropriate ways, the more substance there is to our souls. We become more substantive as we serve others, indeed it's easier to find ourselves because there is so much more of us to find." - D. Todd Christofferson. I feel that I have found myself on my mission. I've discovered who I am and who I can become, because of my saviour Jesus Christ and his gospel.

My mission "theme" is a scripture in Alma, in chapter 29 verse 9.

"I know that which the Lord hath commanded me, and I glory in it. I do not glory of myself, but I glory in that which the Lord hath commanded me; yea, and this is my glory, that perhaps I may be an instrument in the hands of God to bring some soul to repentance; and this is my joy."

This is my joy. It truly truly is. And it will continue to be so as I return home, even if it may be in a different way.

I'll see you all soon

🏻Canada here I come! 🇨🇦