Hello family,
So.. I think that everything is just pretty.. surreal for me at this point. This morning at 8:30 am I had my exit interview with President Clayton because the transfer just ended and all of the missionaries going home are leaving tomorrow.. I just get to hang around for a couple more weeks.
Seriously though, so weird. It's kind of weird because I've technically already had an exit interview when I left Albania. But, nevertheless I was just like.. I cannot believe that I am here right now. It was a super awesome interview though and President Clayton gave some killer advice.. Kind of intimidating advice.. but super great. Tomorrow is going to be a pretty awesome day as we have "departing meetings" all day and then get to attend the temple and then have dinner at the Clayton's home.... and then I'll return back to my area and I'll get to be a missionary for 2 more weeks.
To be honest, I don't even know where this past week went! But it was great. Sister Leung and I saw huge growth in our area and we're SO excited about that. It felt really good. But, sad news.. Sister Leung was transferred last night, she's going to be a Cantonese missionary for the next little while, which is super awesome but we're sad to be leaving each other. She's lovely. I love her. I will be in a tri-panionship for the duration of my mission. I'll be with Sister Mencarelli who is from Italy and Sister Horton who is a spanish speaking missionary. I'm excited, they are 2 awesome sisters.. And it will be super convenient on transit because Hermana Horton can talk to all the Spanish people, Sister Mencarellis got the Italians... and... I'll just continue to hunt down my Albanians.
Speaking of them!! This week was super cool. We got a text from our Bishop a few days ago telling us that they just bought a house and their neighbours are ALBANIAN and they would love for us to come and meet them. I'm excited for that :)
As missionaries we offer a free English course as a service and our flyers are all over the city and we get calls ALL the time.. and yesterday someone called and Sister Leung was talking to her forever and everything and finally Sister Leung asked where she was from, and she was from Albania! So she threw the phone at me and I got to talk to the lady for a while :) I loved it.
But the best part of my week this week was Sunday. We were busy greeting people and I saw Motra Gallani walk in and I went over to say hello to her, and then I saw Leo.. and he came in with SHPRESA! :) I was so excited to see Shpresa at church, but even more excited to introduce her to Motra Gallani. They started talking in Albanian and as I was standing there seeing them all talk, I was just overwhelmed with a sense of peace, and I was full of gratitude because it was one of those moments where I felt that the Lord truly had a purpose for me here in Toronto and that He enabled me to do something to fulfill that purpose.
As I talked with President Clayton today, he asked me what I've learned. I know that the things that I have learned from being a missionary could never be summed up into a several paragraph e-mail, let alone one sentence.. But one of the many things that I have learned is what it means to be a converted and steadfast disciple of Jesus Christ. I know that once you find that, you can never stray from that path. I am eternally grateful for the experiences that I've had throughout my mission. Each and every experience, whether it be good or bad, has contributed to my understanding of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and what His teachings mean to me in my life and I know that there is no way that I could have become the person that I am today if I had not experienced all the things that I have. I am so grateful that I have another 2 weeks to be a full-time servant of the Lord and to proclaim the gospel with all of my heart, might, mind and strength and I know that once those 2 weeks are finished, my call will change but I know that it won't end, I know that for the rest of my life I will serve my Savior and I will do all that I am enabled to do in order to bring others closer to Him.
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