Hola Todos for the last time!
GAH! The last one! I have so many confused feelings right now... I can not believe its over. It just feels like a dream. On the bright side, y'all don't have to read my walls of blabbering every week (...almost every week)! I have no idea how to explain how this opportunity to serve the Lord has changed me. It has just left such a huge impact. I can't be more grateful for what I have learned out here! I wanna give a quick update on our friends though!Got to say bye to a lot of those whom we are teaching. It was really hard, but I've done it a few times already in all my other areas, so it's all good. Biggest thing, Larissa and Erminda are doing amazing! We had the most powerful lesson I have ever seen in a long time, and I could not be happier to leave them on that note. They are still super excited for their baptism, and I can't wait either! Rosa and Adrian are still progressing. Lily is doing well, her daughter is recovering very well. Bonus: William showed up to our ward picnic, and I got a last lesson with him, and it was great! He has been ignoring us for a while now, but he still has a desire to follow Christ. It has just been very hard for him lately, but I fell strongly that one day, he will be able to be baptized, and finally gain the peace he deserves and needs.I talked last time about why I am out here, and as this glorious opportunity comes to a close, I want to leave you all with my testimony that I have gained out here. I have borne my testimony to y'all weekly about everything I have felt needed to testify of, but I want to try and write out my complete testimony now, so I never allow myself in the future to revert behind what I knew now! So here we go! No scriptures, no quotes, no exaggerations, here it is!My testimony starts with, and is based on the knowledge I have that, without a doubt, God is our loving Heavenly Father. He know each and every one of us in an extremely personal way and wants nothing more than for us to be happy. I have felt that immense love not only for myself, but He has allowed me to feel it for His other children that I have met and needed to know of Him. He has made a perfect plan that will enable all of us to achieve our immense divine potential we have as His children. To make it back to live with Him again, and to be all that we can be, as heirs to His kingdom. Before this life, we lived as spirits in His presence. We were happy, but He knew we could be happier. He created His plan, and gave us the option to follow it. Every one of us that has made it to this earth chose to follow that plan, with the faith and trust that He knew what was best. He has given us the unmatched gift of agency. We never have and never will be unable to choose for ourselves! He and we knew that we would face limitless trials here, so He prapared a way to overcome all of them: His son, Jesus Christ. Before this world was, Christ was chosen, and accepted the call to live a perfect life, and suffer the Atonement. He chose to suffer the pains, afflictions, temptations, sicknesses, and trials we would all go through in this life. He then gave His life on our behalf. And after three days, He rose again! Though the power He held, He broke the chains of death. And because of that, because of His perfect life and suffering, every single one of us will receive the gift of resurrection, but better yet. Because of His suffering on our behalf, we have the unparalleled blessing of being forgiven for our disobedience and sins, and recieveing the strength necessary to overcome them! I could go on forever about all the minute details of the plan that Heavanly Father created for us. It fully encompasses and accounts for every situation, outcome, and detail of every person that ever has lived, is living, or I'll live. And all He asks of us, is that we do the things that He knows will make us heppy in he long run. How great is the plan of our God?! I know that as we follow the guidelines for life He has given us through the Bible, Book of Mormon, and mouth of His modern-day prophets, we will be blessed. We will have peace. We will have joy. I know that as we rely on Christ, and ask in prayer for His help, we will receive it, and overcome our faults. I know that God loves us! I know that Christ suffered, bled, and died for each and every one of us; however, I know He lives! I know that families are an essential part of God's plan! I know that the Bible and Book of Mormon are God's word! I know that We can talk to and receive answers and help from our Heavenly Father through sincere prayer! I know that as we serve our brothers and sisters (everyone) here, we will be happier than we knew was possible before! I know that the Church of Jesus Christ, of Latter Day Saints is the same church that Christ Himself organized two-thousand years ago, restored to the Earth through the prophet Joseph Smith. I know that the ordinances and acts performed through the priesthood of God, restored through that same man, are necessary for us to take part in all the blessing that God has in store for us! I know that this is getting long, but I can't express ebough how sure I am that God loves us. Please, never ever forget that. If you ever doubt it, ask Him in sincere prayer to confirm it to you. He will. I know that Jesus Christ is the Saviour and Redeemer of the world. The promised Messiah. And I know that He has saved me personally, and I owe Him everything I've got for that. I sincerely love each of you, even though I will not be writing you weekly anymore, I will always be there for you. My new email will be brightn14fox@gmail.com again, never hesitate to reach out! I LOVE YOU ALL!!! THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT AND LOVE!!! I COULD NOT HAVE DONE WHAT I DID THESE LAST TWO YEARS WITHOUT Y'ALL!!! SEE YOU ALL SOON!!! NEVER FORGET WHO YOU REALLY ARE, YOU ARE ALL CHILDREN OF A LOVING HEAVENLY FATHER WHO IS ALWAYS THERE FOR YOU!!! KEEP DOING WHAT YOU CAN, AND HE WILL MAKE IT ALL WORK OUT!!! I KNOW THAT CHRIST LIVES, AND IS ALWAYS READY AND WILLING TO HELP YOU OUT OF ANYTHING YOU FIND YOURSELF STUCK IN!!! RELY ON HIM!!! YOU WILL NEVER REGRET IT!!! LOVE YOU ALL!!!<3 ELDER FOX
How is everyone? Any cool summer stories? Can you believe you only have to slog through reading one more of these darn weekly novels I write? I can't! It's absolutely insane! I am unsure how to fully express my feelings in text format right now, but basically, it involves a lot of screaming and tears of all shapes and forms. Anxiety filled, joyful, depressed, excited, regretful, confused, etc. My mind is on overdrive, it's a good time honestly. It's weird because nothing is really changing as far as the Mission goes, it's just another week, and the work will continue in the same way as soon as I leave. Which is comforting, because I have grown such a strong love for this work of helping other people find true happiness that I would never want to inhibit it in any way! I still love these people that I am working with, so I am definitely going to do a little update for y'all on them, but I'll keep it shorter, because I'm going to talk a bit on what this mission has done for me (*wall of text warning*).Larissa and Erminda are doing really well! They are on track to get baptized in the next few weeks, I sadly will not be here for it, but that doesn't really matter! I'm just super stoked for them! Lily's daughter is recuperating well after her surgery, but due to all the crazy stuff, Lily hasn't been able to meet with us. I still have fait that she will be baptized before long! We have plans to try and stop by a ton of people this week so I can say bye, so it's going to be really cool seeing them all again! If they let us in, haha.Funny story real quick, just to explain Spanish time once more before I get home so y'all don't judge me for having no sense of time/punctuality. Two nights ago, we had a party to say bye to a sister that got her mission call a bit ago. She leaves tomorrow. Anyways, so there was a ton of food while we were helping set-up, so we were pretty excited. It saterted at 7:00pm. We show up at 7:00 and they officially start at *drumroll* 7:45. Nothing out of the ordinary, but then, they start a little devotional of a few families saying goodbye and sharing their testimonies, they were asked to keep it to 5 min... fast-forward to 8:30 and were sweating as 6 families have gone and their are still 2 left, and we are asked to be back by 9:00. We start sweating at 9:00, and just start figuring out what would be the least awkward way to leave, when two sisters come over and just say, "Elders! you have to go! quick, let's get a plate of food and you can leave!"...the food was all lovingly arrayed in front of the gym...we were not fans of the idea, but they insisted. We finally gave in, and it was the most awkward thing. The food was absolutely incredible, but while I was getting it with my back to the audience, lady bearing her testimony, eyes definitely on me, I could bearly breath, haha. I almost crushed the salad tongs as I gripped them. We promptly left, thanked the sisters, and ate our food in silence with random awkward bursts of laughter real quick. Not sure when they all finally got to start eating, haha. I love the Hispanic culture!!!Now, I don't have a ton of time to write this (that should not surprise any of you at this point), but I wanted to write a little thing about what the Mission has done for me! So to start. Why I chose to come out here: ever since I was really young, I wanted to serve a mission. It just sounded like a good idea, and honestly pretty fun! When it was time to actually do it, it was just so set in my mind, that I honestly didn't really think about why I should be out here until very close to the day I was to leave. In all honesty, at that point in my life, I was not a great disciple of Christ, not even a good one. I barely prayed, I had only read the scriptures at church on sundays, I didn't go to seminary, my language was very poor, my media choice was even poorer, I neglected many commandments, I think you get the picture. I can barely say that I tried. In the week leading up though, I figured I at least needed to know why I was going to be out here, why I was going to sacrifice two years of my life; I knew it would not be easy, and I knew at that point that my faith or love for Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ were not nearly strong enough to keep me out here. So I thought about it for a while and did some searching. I found this in D&C 31: "my son, blessed are you because of your faith in my work. Behold,...I will bless you and your family,". And that was it! The scripture didn't apply perfectly to me, but my family has done everything for me, and I could not imagine having a better childhood! What better way to repay them to to serve a mission in their name so they can be blessed as I am away (also, giving them a break from me is a blessing in itself!). And that desire lasted my entire mission, but why I'm really out here has been added to quite a bit, as you can imagine. It was tough. Being a missionary was no walk in the park. The first few months were a blur of stress, anxiety, anger, depression, confusion, and joy. I didnt fully understand it then, but the Lord was putting me through what I needed to understand the importance and reality of this calling. It is nothing to be taken lightly, and I needed to realize that. I did before long, and began my growing process. Two steps forward, one step back. For days, weeks, months, and two years. The Lord would bless me for my obedience, and let the natural consequences of my poor choices pass. It was, in the most sincere meaning of the word, life-changing. I learned who God really is. What my personal relationship with Him is like, what He does for me daily, what I can do for Him daily, etc. I learned who Jesus Christ is. I learned so much more of what He did for me. His suffering and death, His teaching and resurrection; I learned how to draw on the infinite power of His Atonement to be forgiven of mistakes, and rise above them. I learned how to plan, set goals, organize myself, and achieve my divine potential. I received blessing after blessing and miracle after miracle. I learned of the incredible power of the Word of God. I learned of the power of prayer, church attendance, repentance, forgiveness, and love. Love. The truths I have learned about love and service will change me forever. I don't want to drag this on longer than needed, but long story short: this mission has changed me forever! Jesus Christ has changed me forever, but He certainly doesn't require us to be on a mission to do that! As much as we will allow, He will mold us into the person that He knows we can be. Our happiest and greatest selves! I know that He lives. I know that He bled and died for each and every one of us. He knows us all persoanlly, and would die again for us if needed. He loves you. Never forget that. I know that I never will. I love you all! Thanks for keeping with me all this time. I LOVE YOU ALL!!!<3 Elder Fox
Hola Todos!Good news! Y'all only have to deal with reading two more of these! It's insane, it is getting so close, but just still doesn't feel...'real', I guess. I don't know, just thinking about how life as I know it is going to come to a sudden halt is really hard to fully grasp. But I can't like prepare for it, because while I am out here, I don't want to slow down in the work. Other return missionaries, you get what I'm saying, right? Haha, anyways, this week was awesome! We saw a lot of miracles, and got to have some really cool experiences! Also, I'll get to the haircut thing later.We didn't meet too many new people this week, but I do want to talk about one real quick, Carlos! He is from the Dominican Republic, and saw an ad on Facebook for a free Bible, and was really excited, because he left his back home when he moved here. Fast forward a week, and we come by last Saturday with a Bible and Book of Mormon. He was super intrigued by the Book of Mormon, and was stoked to read it! He the asked where we go to church, and said he'd see us there the next day...We were pretty shocked, haha, but he actually showed up yesterday, and loved it! It has been super cool talking to him.As for those we are already teaching, it was awesome! I don't remember if I said, but She is planning to be baptized on July 28th. And as always happens when people start to plan to be baptized: trials! It's been super hard, she has had some family issues, car issues, health issues, and just Saturday night, her daughter had appendicitis so she had to get emergency surgery...but she is still going like a champ! She is showing a ton of faith, and making progress despite the hard things, its amazing to see! Then Larissa and Erminda. Kind of funny, so out last lesson, we were talking about how they feel about baptism, and it basically went like:me: So, this is your baptism, so when do you feel like you would be ready?Larissa: Oh, I don't know, I haven't really thought about a date...me: well, it can be whenever, we can do it in like 2 weeks, maybe a month or*cuts me off*Larissa: yeah, that sounds good!me:...a month or two?Larissa: naw, two weeks! that sounds great!Erminda: Yeah, that sounds like an excellent plan!me:...well alrighty then!It was awesome. They are super cool! They also cook super well which is a serious plus, haha. Man, I'm going to miss real Latin food...Anyways, it has been a really cool week, we even got to meet the new mission president! His name is President Ashcraft, he is from Idaho, and really young (49) as far as mission president go. He is still a bit shell-shocked about being called as a mission president, but he seems like he will do super well! I won't really know him, but I'm excited for him and the Florida Orlando Mission! This place has been amazing and I would not trade this experience for the world! (well, except my family, but that doesn't count!)As for the haircut, that was this morning, and it has really left an impression on me. I have spent two years learning how to help others understand what Christ can do for them. How He can truly help them. Carry their burdens. Erase their guilt. Heal them. It has been really sad just thinking about how I will not be able to do that anymore. It's been taking a toll, but this morning, God gave me and awesome opportunity. I went to get my haircut, and we were kind of in a rush, so I wasn't in a very spiritual mood, but the lady cutting my hair is just going at it, talking to the other barber. And suddenly he talks about a buddy of his that died in a car crash. And she just looked at me and goes, "I just don't get that! Why does that happen?" She caught me a bit offgaurd, but my immediate response was, "things happen sometimes, it doesn't mean God caused it". She then looked at my comps and asked the same. They were caught off guard, but explained what they could about how God respects our agency, and allows some things to happen sometimes. She thought for a second, and then pulled out her phone, and showed a video of a car that was just destroyed. Smashed and torn apart. Then said, "he lived, my son lived. Why?". We were once again caught offgaurd, but explained that at times, God will intervene in a way for a specific purpose, and it may not have been her sons time to go, God's plan is perfect. She started to get really teary eyed, and thanked us, and explained that was what she thought. Her son didn't have a faith in God, but she hopes this experience (happened yesterday) will help him realize that error. We promised that as she continued to live faith and do what she could for her kid, that things would work out. God never promised us a perfect life, just a perfect eternal recompense for our faith. I shared 2 Nephi 2:2 with her, where a father is talking to his son who has been through a lot. he says, "Nevertheless, Jacob, my firstborn in the wilderness, thou knowest the greatness of God; and he shall consecrate thine afflictions for thy gain." She thought for a bit, got a bit more teary, and thanked us. She finished up the haircut, and told me not to worry about paying, and thanked us profusely for sharing what we did. I don't feel like we really shared that much, or anything that profound, but we did bring the spirit, and that is what she needed to feel the peace of Christ. I did not need to be a missionary to have that experience. I just had to be available for the Lord to use. I know we can all experience that joy of helping someone feel the healing power of Christ! And the only thing that feels better than Christ's and God's love is sharing it! Sorry for the length, I just never want to forget that. I love you all immensely, and can't thank you enough for sending me you love over these last few years! I hope you have a fantastic week, I LOVE Y'ALL!!!<3 Elder Fox
Hola Mis Queridos!
(sorry, totally forgot to click send on this last monday, so this is for the week before last, I'll send out this weeks later today, love y'all!)How has it been? Can y'all believe summer is almost halfway over already? I feel like everyone just graduated yesterday. It's insane how fast time has been moving recently. Especially everytime I think about how this is my last calendar month...it's really freaking me out, haha. Just knowing that this month I will see you all again is just insane to me! Knowing that I will get to try this months Monthly Pizza at Lucky Slice again is pretty exciting though :D! Haha, but seriously, I just can't fully comprehend it still, it's nuts, but I still have a few weeks to go! And I'm not about to start getting lazy out here yet! We are seeing some awesome progress recently, and it has really helped me stay focused, wanna hear about it? Well, either way, I'm gonna write about it!Some logistical stuff first. This was the last week for my mission president, President Clark, and his wife out here! They have finished their three years as our inspired leaders, and are heading back home as we speak. It's nice for them, but also quite sad. I was super blessed to have such an awesome mission president basically my entire mission. He has helped me out in so many ways, and really showed me how to be a true leader! I will miss him dearly and always remember what he did for me! Also, I had my last Zone Meeting this week! We do those every six weeks for those unaware, and it is just a gathering of a bunch of missionaries from different areas to discuss what we can do to be better missionaries, they're honestly really nice. But the fun part about this on is that I offered to cater it as a good-bye present, haha. It was super fun. I made a bulk amount of Hawaiin Haystack (never handled so much food in my life, all eight stovetops were going and the oven, haha) and them my mother's green apple dumplings! I know this isn't that interesting, but I just want to remember it, so in the weekly it goes!We saw some good progree in our friends and met some cool new people this week! Larissa and Erminda (the Venezuelan mother-daughter combo that showed up to church) are doing really well! We talked to them about baptism and praying about a date they can prepare for, and they said they would absolutely do that! They love the Gospel and are super excited to learn more. A few days ago, we got a text from a lady named Yollybell, who explained that she was taught by missionaries almost a year ago, and really missed them coming over and the spirit they brought. We gladly accepted her invitation to come by, and she and her mother, Paula, even came to church yesterday! And they loved it!This week, we also got to start teaching Lily. She is really, really cool. It's kind of a weird story of why we are teaching her now, but long story short, we are running really low on Spanish elders in the mission, so we had to take over another areas by ours, so now our area is massive. Anyways, she is awesome! She has a son with low-level autism, and about a year ago, he was having some really tough times. She explained that he would have absolute tantrums almost nightly, and no-one really knew why. She was desperate and started praying a ton for help, and she said he started to improve a bit, but was still extremely difficult. A little after she started praying, she got a knock at the door. Two elders introduced themselves, and said they felt inspired that she needed help from God. She readily relayed her story, and the elders offered to give her a blessing of comfort, and her son a blessing of healing. She accepted, and they did what they could, after the blessings, they gave her a Book of Mormon, and went on their way. No clue why they didn't come back, but after those blessings, Lilly explained that things changed drastically. Her son would go weeks without a loud night. Everything finally felt 'manageable' she said, but the elders never came back! Who knows why, but she always remembered them and what they did for her. Fast forward a year and some and two elders knock on her door. She let them in with open arms and has been loving everything they have shared., and happily accepted the invitation to be baptised. And now we are teaching her! She is awesome, and it has been amazing getting to know her and her testimony! Sorry that was kinda long, I just wanted to do her story at least a little justice.Between Yollybell and Lily though, I have been thinking a lot about the affect we can have on people. I know that the stories were of missionaries, but very similar things happen all the time for many other people. Some little act they did for someone else, had a rippling effect on that person that eventually made a big difference. And many times, the person who did the act never got to see what came of it! We will often never know to what extent we affect other people's lives, for better or for worse. Things we do that may seem mundane, casual, or little may be the seed planted in someone life to eventually spring into a vast meadow! Honestly, think about when you were having a bad day, and someone gave you a little compliment, gave you a hug, or even just smiled at you. These things can have a huge affect! Be cautious though, because it only takes one seed to create a valley of thorns and thistles. Our actions can have huge affects, for better or for worse, in the lives of those we love and those who we don't even know, and all the ones in between! So take those few seconds to really think of something you can do to brighten someone's day! It is an amazing experience for all involved, haha. Never underestimate the power of a smile! Have an awesome week! I LOVE Y'ALL!!!<3 Elder Fox
Brightons homecoming was amazing, he has an amazing testimony that he shared with everyone. We are so glad to have him home. Street t...
