MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

Well, this is my last email as a missionary.  I don't really know what to say or how to feel, honestly.  My flight home will be this Wednesday, and even though I am so excited to see my family and everyone, it's going to break my heart to have to leave the Philippines, and even more than that, to have to take off my name tag and finish my time as a full time missionary.

My mission has changed my life, and it has especially changed me and who I am.  My perspective in life has changed, and I have gained skills and knowledge and characteristics that I don't think I could have gained in any other way.  I have drawn so much closer to my Heavenly Father and to my Savior Jesus Christ, and I have learned so much about the power of the Atonement.  There have been times when I have known with every part of me that this gospel is the truth, and there have been times when I have been driven to my knees in prayer because of questions and doubts.  But through it all, I've learned that Heavenly Father never leaves His children, and if we reach out to Him and give Him our faith and our trust, He will guide us.

For those who are debating on serving a mission, I encourage you to take the step forward and dedicate that little bit of your time to the Lord.  It goes so fast, and the opportunity to serve the Lord with all your time and all your effort is so rare and so precious.  You will find that His hand will become more and more apparent in your life, and you will find your desire to become more like the Savior increased everyday.  It is definitely a process, and it is sometimes one of the most difficult things you will do.  But as you go throughout that process, bit by bit you'll see the changes happening within yourself that you never thought would have been possible.

I have met so many people here who have changed my life for the better: my companions, my leaders, the members, our investigators...all of them have impacted me in some way.  I will be leaving people here who have become like my family, and who have helped me to grow and become who I am.  I hope that I had some good impact on them, as well :)

I might be taking my name tag off for good in a couple of days, but that doesn't mean that my missionary work will stop.  Whether or not we have name tags, we are all missionaries and we can all be instruments for Heavenly Father to help to bring His children unto Him.  I am so grateful for the gospel that we have and for the opportunity that I have had to share it with the amazing people of the Philippines.  I have learned so much, and I will miss it here but I am so grateful for the opportunity that Heavenly Father has given me to do His work here.

2 Timothy 4:7 I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.

After all that has been said, the greatest and most important duty is to preach the gospel.  --Joseph Smith

Love you all!  See you soon :)

XOXO

Sister Pectol