WEEK 100: May 24, 2021 (El Fin)

Elder Hammond looking comfortable in that tag...

Elder Hammond looking like a deer in the headlights first day of him mission

Well!  This week was probably one of the best weeks of my mission.  Things are going SO well in the Midland YSA and this week we taught at least one lesson every day!!  That's a miracle to me since teaching has been super complicated since I've been in this mission! 

A big highlight of my week was the lesson we had with Brody!  We decided to mix it up a little bit, and teach Brody as we played a round of Disc golf!  This was awesome.  We talked about the gospel of Jesus Christ, and focused on Baptism...  And said he knows he needs to be baptized, and he would love to plan on being baptized early next month.  Wow!  This was jaw dropping.

Disc Golf with Brody

The change we've seen in Brody in the past few weeks has been crazy. Later in the car I turned to my companion and I said something like "I don't know why things are going so well right now, it feels fake."  We said a prayer of gratitude and decided we needed to be more grateful. And we decided that it was God's timing for these people to be taught and Baptized, and we were just there to watch the spirit work in their lives. 

I think the biggest thing I've learned over the past 2 years is just how perfect God's Plan is for us.  About 2 years ago I started my mission in Brazil.  And most of you know, that was a very hard experience for me, through injury, bed bugs, hard companions, sickness and many more trials I constantly asked God, "why does it need to be SO hard?"  and I never really found the answer until a couple weeks ago. I was listening to a Gen conference talk, and I heard "a smooth sea never made a great sailor." God didn't send us to this earth because it was going to be easy, but quite the opposite.  In order to learn the things we need to learn, we need to go through trials and hard times.  It's in those times we grow the most. 

While being sent home after less than a year in Brazil, sitting in limbo for 2 months at home, and a year here in Texas, I never saw the reason for my crazy, unorthodox mission.  But hindsight is 20/20!!  I can see the reason for everything that happened to me and the growth that came from it looking back.

It's crazy to think that these next couple days will be my last days as a missionary. When I started my mission it seemed like an impossible task.  2 years away from my favorite people and my favorite things in a random place??  crazy crazy crazy.  But with every day and the challenges that came with every day, I've grown and learned more than I could have in any other circumstance.  I loved my mission.  And I know there is no better way to spend 2 years.  I know this gospel is true and that God has a plan for all of us. 

Thanks for all the support!!  

See you soon!

-Elder Hammond