Mexico MTC - Week 5 - Last week in CCM

Hola Familia!

Its good to hear that things are going well lately. I cant believe school started for Sam! That is crazy, I loved High School. Its all about who you hang out with and who encourages you to be your best. So fun. No way, no way! Chloe is going to the temple friday!!! Wow so grateful that she gets to do that. Best opportunity ever. Everyday I try to make my mission as amazing as going to the temple is. I love it.

Wow 5 weeks down already! WE ARE THE OLDEST (MOST EXPERIENCED) GROUP HERE! It is unreal. Next week we will all be gone! So stoked for this. Last week I was having a little rough time at the CCM. I was so anxious to leave. But now I can't even think about leaving. I'm starting to finally really get the hang of it, and we leave in 6 days! I have begun to love it here and now we are all leaving! So sad. But also can I just say how excited I am for Jersey!!!!!!!! Its crazy. Its amazing how much we have learned out here about Heavenly Father. I thought I knew so much about Him. But I have learned and felt so much of His love the last few weeks. He knows our plan and all we have to do is turn our life to Him and ask Him what is best and He will guide us! I know that wherever anybody gets called on their mission, IT IS THE RIGHT PLACE. Seriously this is a mission call from God himself. Of course He sends us to the right place. Last night I was eating one of those JOEY Cookies (thanks for sending them) and on the back of the wrapper I saw this phrase: made in NEWARK, NEW JERESY! Ahhhh seriously- this sent fire through me when I read that. So excited to go. Its amazing how many people here are going to different places. So many to the US, Chile, and Central America. Probably the majority of the thousand or so people here are heading back to the states. Hardly anybody (I think three of us) are heading to Jersey. I really am grateful that God has a plan for us. I am so grateful to be called to New Jersey. It really is so precious in my heart already and I haven't even stepped foot in the state! HERE WE COME!

Things are going great here. Our schedule hasn't changed much. Or at all. I will send you my actual schedule for the past 5 weeks when I get home (Ha sorry not home I just had to leave that in there because I actually typed that! Whoops! Its funny how it actually feels like we are going home, not so much to our house in Park City, but home to the United States, Its funny how many people feel that way. YAY we are going home next week!!!! But they really mean to say YAY United States!!!!!) but no when I get back to the states. You can see the actual things we were doing everyday. Its quite cool actually. So there is not much is new with that. But there are always adventures in every week of life. We had some great times last week. First off, have I mentioned the misquitos!!!!! Oh my, we are living as guests in their home. There are millions. Every night the four of us go one like a twenty minute killing spree in our casa. Its actually quite funny! I have probably thirty misquito bites on my body at a time. Every night I proabably get 3 bites on a good day, 10 on a bad. I think Saturday night we forgot to kill all of them. My companion now has 18 on one arm. Elder Prash got about 10 on his face! It was hilarious. They keep the energy in us. Elder Ellowit, our district leader, tried killing one on the window near our front door. He completely shattered it! Glass was everywhere, pieces like 20 feet away. We were laughing. So funny.

My teachers are a blessing from heaven!!! Oh my I love them. They are seriously the two greatest people. Hermano Klabacka has been with us from the beginning and probably one of the coolest people I have ever met. He served in Alabama, Burmingham. (I was wondering if he knows Elder Scott Peters, Brett's brother, havent asked him yet. He is on that mission now) He is so inspiring. He is always so positive and keeps us smiling and laughing. We have so much fun. He also is so good at bringing the Spirit into class. He is such an example to me. Such an amzing guy. Hermana Arbon is our afternoon teacher. It is unreal how much she reminds me of Chloe! Like the same personality. So fun. She is great too. Pretty laid back, but teaches such good doctrine when we are in class. I love it.

We had a member of the Quorum of the Seventy come last tuesday to speak to us. Elder Johnson, I think. He gave one of the best three talks I have ever heard in my life. He was so focused on what life is really about. First he talked to us about what our purpose is. He showed us that the missionary purpose and Gods purpose (Moses 1:39) are the same! To bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. That is our goal. That is everyone's goal. This is God's goal. And God will not fail! We should focus everyday to help him accomplish this, because that really is what life is about. After all is said and done, we will one day know with sureity of God and Jesus Christ and their plan for us. One day this is all that is going to matter, immortality and eternal life with God. That is why people need the Gospel, so they can be happy now, and especially in the life after. With the gospel and the laws and ordinances we can life with God again! Elder Johnson made it clear: Don't ever forget what your real purpose is.

He then went and talked about praying and he told us that everybody needs to pray and ask God five questions. He told us all, EVERYONE, all of us missionaries to pray THAT NIGHT and ask God these questions:

-God, do you really exist?
-Do you have a body of flesh and bones?
-Are you my Father?
-Do you know who I am?
-Do you REALLY love me?

I have never seen a group of people so shaken by a talk. We all personally prayed for proabaly a half hour to an hour that night in our apartment. The blessings and feeling of the confirmation of these questions are so real in my life. I could feel Gods love that night, and everday of my life. I loved it. I encourage all those who read this to do that TONIGHT! So awesome

So much to say and so little time! I will write back next week sometime in NEW JERSEY!!!!!!!!
Love you, your son
Elder Sumsion

SHOUTOUTS!!!!

Quinn family! Thank you so much for the letter and the pictures of Mckay's mission! Im so glad to see he is doing well. I got to email him last week so we have been keeping it touch! I hope the wedding went well! They look so good together. Thanks for the invitation!

 

The Williams! Thank you for that thoughtful letter. I can really feel your love. I loved how it was on the back of one of Tom's teaching notes. I can learn something new from both sides! You are so nice to think about me. Hope the new life in SLC is wonderful!