Monday, August 11, 2014

Coming Home!!!


     Hello everyone! Wow can you believe that I will be home tomorrow?? It still has not hit me yet. It feels like I will be a missionary forever, but I know that all good things must come to an end.
     I am excited to see what the Lord has in store for me. I am excited to put into practice all the things that I have learned as a missionary. I am excited to come home and share the gospel with others. I am beyond grateful for the privilege I have had to serve here in this mission, the Lord has changed me from the inside. My heart, my thoughts, my actions, they are different! I know that God lives, I know that He knows each and everyone of us individually, we are His children! President Clark talks about us becoming complete missionaries, which means we are prepared in all things, and at any moment the Lord can use us and our talents to make us tools in His hands and to bless the Lives of others. I look forward to coming home and becoming a complete member being able to stay near to the spirit so that I can be a tool in the Lord's hands and bless others lives. 
     As I started my mission I knew it was the right thing to do. My Dad had served a mission, my brother as well, I just knew it's what I needed to do. As I have lived the gospel and applied the Atonement on my mission and have been able to see the change in others, my motives for staying on my mission have changed. I LOVE JESUS CHRIST!! I am willing to do these things because I represent Him. I have felt His love and it has changed me. I have felt in my hardest moments, in my weakest hours, He has lifted me up and walked by my side! Because of Jesus Christ I have come to love others and His example has changed the way that I look at people. 
     This has been the best experience in my life! It has been a spiritual marathon, and it feels so good knowing that the Lord accepts me and is pleased with me. If anyone has second thoughts about serving a mission please come and talk with me! You will never regret it. I have made many mistakes on my mission, but I feel comfortable to say that I have served my mission with no regrets, knocking many doors, getting yelled at on multiple occasions and feeling rejection. It has been all worth it! Why? Because the worth of souls is great in sight of God. This is His work and His glory.  We should be grateful that this is His most important work and He trusts us with this responsibility. 



     I would like to leave you with my testimony that I know that this Church is true. God and Jesus Christ appeared to  Joseph Smith and restored this Church back on the earth. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. There is a power and spirit felt like no other as you study and ponder those words it contains! I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior, not because someone told me, but because I have felt it. God Lives! This is the Most important work we can be a part of. I look forward to seeing you all! I love you and thank you for your support for these past 2 years! 

Elder Tanner Aiken