I honestly never thought that my mission would come to an end. It was just yesterday that I arrived on my mission. I was just a little girl with a little testimony. Now I feel like I've grown into the woman that I need to be with a testimony that is growing every day. I realize that my mission is just the start to my growth and my future and now that my mission is over my life is going to be changing. I'm definitely nervous for what lies ahead, but after every thing I've gone through & learned in my mission I know I can make it through anything, especially when I have the Lord on my side. I'm so grateful for the opportunity the Lord gave me to serve this mission, for the experiences I've had, & the people I've met. Without them I wouldn't be the person I am today. When I first decided to go on a mission I wanted to go because I wanted to help others. The Lord blessed me so much by giving me the opportunity to be in this Gospel that I felt like it would be ungrateful not to share the same opportunity with others. It's funny though that as I served my mission my reasons for staying changed. I stayed for me. Although I of course wanted to give others the same opportunity I was given I realized that in the process of helping others gain a testimony I was strengthening mine. I was learning right along side of them. I stayed because I realized that through my mission I could learn how to be a better wife, mother, niece, sister, cousin, aunt, granddaughter, leader, disciple, and friend. I realized that this is the time to learn the attributes that Christ exhibited and become more like him by walking a little bit of the path that he walked. The reason I stayed in all honesty is because I realized that I was becoming the better me each and every day. By following Christ's example and finding his lost sheep I could feel his love and see my own potential. I know this Gospel is, without a doubt, true. I know it with all of my heart. This Gospel has completely changed my life and I have seen it change so many other lives as well. I know that Heavenly Father has a plan for each and every one of us. I am so amazed every time I look back on my life and see how things have worked out perfectly. I know that Heavenly Father is so aware of each of us and that he loves us and wants the best. He wants us to be happy and I know that we can be happy and feel pure joy as we truly live the Gospel and follow the commandments. I am so grateful for Christ's Atonement. He truly lived and died for us. It is because of him that we can repent of our sins and one day we can return to live with our Father in Heaven. I am so grateful for the Holy Ghost. I know that we can know all things that we must do through his guidance. & I love the Book of Mormon. It is true. Every time I read it I can feel God's love for me, and I can see his plan. I receive so much comfort from it during my times of trial, and I can gain so much knowledge and understanding from it. This Gospel means the world to me and I am so grateful for the things it has taught me. I love my mission and all the amazing miracles and experiences I witnessed and gained. My mission will forever be a guide for my life. I will always look to it as an example of how I want to live and who I want to be. I hope that I will continue to progress as I have progressed over the past 18 months, and I will continue to grow into the person the Lord expects me to be. I feel so blessed that the Lord chose me to carry out some of His work in Reno Nevada and Curitiba Brazil. I may not be a missionary anymore, but I will forever be a member-missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
