Thursday, May 26, 2011

Saludos El Salvador

My mom has been bugging me for three weeks to write a final email. I want to thank everyone for all the support that I received on my mission. It truly was a wonderful time in my life. The last couple of days on the mission were great days. On Monday night, an elder from the office called to tell us that I had to go to a special meeting in the office in the morning on Tuesday. So I went and met up with the 3 other gringa sisters who were going home. This was a change because we thought it was a meeting for everyone that was going home. And it turns out that it wasn't a meeting but we were there for a special surprise. We got to have a special tour of the temple that is going to be dedicated in August. One of the sisters going home's uncle is in charge of temple construction in the church and so he made a special call and we were given a very special opportunity. We were the first and last missionaries to go through the temple until the open house. And while we were there, people were putting up the crystals on the chandeliers in the celestial room and the sealing rooms and so we passed the afternoon setting up chandeliers.

Then when it was all over I went back to my area and I was able to see the baptisms of the dad (Elmer who quit smoking) and his son (Pablo). It was a very emotional day but a day that I will never forget. I could not have picked a better last day in the mission. I would have never thought that I would have been given the chance to enter the temple in El Salvador and then to be able to see Elmer's and Pablo's baptism after we had taught them for more than 3 months.

Then like icing on the cake, as I was in the airport waiting for my flight in Houston, some lady starting chatting with me and wanted to know about the church and then told me that everything we believe in is a lie. She doesn't even believe that Jesus is the Christ. And as she was talking to me, I realized more than ever that I know that Jesus is the Christ and the Savior of the world. I know that God loves us and knows us and because of this love, sent us a living day prophet. I am so grateful that I was called on a mission to El Salvador by a prophet of God. The church is true.

Crystal