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
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