d4026640-14c6-424d-a914-179646faec27 Elder Christian Martinez Back to Missionary Letters The Journey North Hey everyone! Hope your week went well! This will be a shorter email this week because I will be preparing to depart from Salisbury. This week transfer news came and I found out I was leaving. I will be going to Souderton, Pennsylvania, it's about 40 minutes north of Philadelphia, so itll be a long drive tomorrow morning up there 😂 This means I will serve in all 4 states of the mission which is pretty cool. Salisbury was a blessing, I loved being here, I will miss it greatly. But I will go where the Lord wants me to go, I hope and pray itll be a good time over there, but idk if much things will stop Salisbury 😂 this also means I am 1 and doning another companion, goodness hahaha. I will miss Elder Heck, easily the funniest comp I've had 😂 A talk I read this week was from the October 2007 General Conference titled "The Only True God and Jesus Christ" by Elder Holland. The quote I loved was "I bear this witness. I testify that Jesus Christ is the literal, living Son of our literal, living God. This Jesus is our Savior and Redeemer who, under the guidance of the Father, was the Creator of heaven and earth and all things that in them are. I declare that in His willing submission to death He took upon Himself the sins of the world, paying an infinite price for every sorrow and sickness, every heartache and unhappiness from Adam to the end of the world." May we always remember that God and Jesus Christ live, and love all of us. Christ suffered the worst so we wouldn't have to. I know that they appeared to the prophet Joseph Smith, and they continue to talk with the prophet today. Have a great week everyone! Love, Elder Martinez The last District Council Previous Letter Next Letter

59afcde3-952d-41a5-858f-7143a619d4b6 Elder Braden Harris Back to Missionary Letters Whats up My mom's making me send out an email this week so here's a quick update lol. Transfers happened and I got moved all the way down to the middle of nowhere in a town called Alamosa. I've been trying so hard to keep things moving but holy cow it's been tough. Reading through D&C with come follow me this year has been keeping me sane so that's cool. Hope your all having a good week. Oh yeah my birthday is coming up so if someone wants to send me some candy that would be tight lol. Love yall, sorry for a lame email. It's just been tough haha. Hit me back! Lmk what you've been up to https://photos.app.goo.gl/aN5bokFkpGHwXD3LA Previous Letter Next Letter

e9ca8332-4e68-4249-bffe-51a1b707b75e Elder Reece Back to Missionary Letters E aí meus amigos, como vocês estão? What's going on guys, how's life been? I hope that it has been filled with a lot of fun. This week was good but let's get to it. Just a bit short this week. We played a ton of soccer on pday. We played a game between Americans and Brazilians and the Americans of course won. But it was really fun. We had a baptism during the week and also 2 more on Sunday. They have members in their families that have also been baptized recently. So that also helped a lot to set an example. We worked hard this week, and some of the dates that we marked heard some bad things about the church and don't want us anymore. And that is really sad because they are some good people. We also watched the Tabernacle choir that sang in Brazil. And it was a really cool experience. The spirit was really strong and they sang in English, Spanish and Portuguese. It was really cool that they invited some of the youth that sing the youth songs. And another singer that is really famous in Brazil. But they were in São Paulo so we just watched it from a video. But it was really cool. And we also found a cool rainbow after the rain during the sunset. ST: In 2016 Elder Russell M. Nelson in a talk said that our goal as missionaries “is not to increase the number of Church members. Rather, our missionaries teach and baptize to bring joy to the people of the world” Jesus Christ is the joy of the world. To find joy, find Him. That was the week, hit me up too, I love hearing from you guys, have a great week and Love you guys. Elder Leavitt Previous Letter Next Letter

8d7ac15d-eb0b-4f40-8736-fdd8a8058fcf Elder Keith Rushton Back to Missionary Letters The Final Email Hey everyone! So technically I do have one more P-day after this but you know how I am with writing these emails... so this'll be the last one 😂 I will be flying home on the 27th! It's wild that my mission is finally coming to an end! I'm definitely excited for the next step in life, but I'm also very grateful for the experiences I've had and things I've learned throughout my mission! I'm thankful for all of you and the support you've given me along the way! The past couple weeks have gone by decently quick! As they've gone by I've experienced a lot of my "lasts". My last zone conference, my last missionary exchange, my last fast Sunday as a missionary. There are still a few more "lasts" that I have yet to do, this week being the last full week, I have one last P-day after today, and I will have my last District Council this week. Like I said before, I'm definitely excited to move on from my mission, but there has still been a part of me that is a little anxious about leaving this part of my life behind, there has been a little sadness thinking about my mission ending. I was reminded a few days ago of a quote given by, I think, Elder Ucthdorf. He says something along the lines of "the reason humans don't like endings, is because we are made of the stuff of eternity". It's natural for us to dislike the idea of things coming to an end, because we are naturally destined to have eternal life with our Father in Heaven! I think that is such a wonderful concept and I'm grateful for my knowledge of the Plan of Salvation! Even though endings may be difficult, I know the Lord will always be there for me and for all of you as we persevere through those changes! I hope that we can all continue trusting in Him and allow Him to guide us through the path He has set up for us! I know that He will lead us back to Him and our Father! I'm excited to be able to reunite with you all soon! I do know that I will be speaking in my home ward in Mesquite on the 31st and would love to see you all there if you'd like to attend! The meeting will start at 12 o'clock (you can reach out to me if you'd like more details!) I hope you all have a fantastic couple of weeks! Thank you again for your love and support throughout the past 2 years! I'm grateful for this mission experience and have truly come to know that this church is true! I know Heavenly Father sent His only begotten son to die for all of us and allow us to have someone who knows what we go through perfectly, He can help us and can forgive us! I know that He will as we trust in Him and follow His guidance! I know the Book of Mormon is true and holds the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ! I know that we have a living Prophet who receives revelation from God to help us in these latter days! I know that there is a plan for us, and that we can live with our families and God forever! I'm so grateful for this knowledge and so many more things that I've learned! I love our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, I know they love me and all of you too! And I love you all as well! ~Elder Rushton Pic: .Top Golf last Monday! Previous Letter Next Letter

24089115-86d2-4ba7-95c6-a17680e1cfd1 Elder Riley Waite Back to Missionary Letters Last Email from Elder Waite Hey everyone I hope everyone has had a good last 2 weeks! I sure have even though it's been tough! This is my last full week as a missionary and I go home the next Thursday on the 9th so I can't wait to see you all! The mission has honestly been the best experience of my life and I wouldn't change it for anything. Not much to say here except love you all Previous Letter Next Letter

b18bb0ca-61e7-4031-872e-899cf62c972a Elder Talon Easton Back to Missionary Letters Hey everyone! Just wanted to let you all know that after 6.5 months of missionary service in the Colorado Denver North Mission, I am being sent home to receive medical treatment (stomach stuff, ill be good). But no matter what happens in these next few months Colorado will always have a place in my heart, and I just wanted to say thank you to all the people who made these last 6.5 months special🤍 Previous Letter Next Letter

af92e6b0-c191-48d1-b21b-a363b57a3ee6 Sister Jasmine Bundy Back to Missionary Letters That's all, Folks! Jacob 7: 26 "And it came to pass that I, Jasmine, began to be old; and the record of this mission being kept on jasmine.bundy@missionary.org , wherefore, I conclude this record, declaring that I have written according to the best of my knowledge, by saying that the time passed away with me, and also my mission passed away like as it were unto me a dream." That right there is the dumbest thing I've ever thought up, but there ya go ^ I don't really know what to say. Other than thank you for subscribing to this email campaign, I hope that you giggled at least a few times. Never have I had a better experience than serving as a representative for my Jesus. You would never be able to pay me enough money for the mental and physical exhaustion of missionary work, only true faith and deep love motivate this work. Just like the Atonement. Only love could have sustained the God of Nature as He suffered for me. All sacrifice is a similitude of the Sacrifice of the Messiah. I could never out-give the Lord. I've come to understand the power of words. The power of a testimony, the power of true doctrine correctly understood, and the power of the gentle whispers of the Holy Ghost. I want to share one more story. When I was a new missionary I was seriously convinced that I had made a mistake to serve. The weight of my "wrong decision" sat square on my shoulders and I was mortified. I knew that I would never go home early, so I was facing the thought that for the next year and a half, I would be wasting my time and I was stuck. A year and a half later, let's all turn around peer backwards. if you'll look closely at that lil sister, you'll see that there was an innocent, naive, IDIOTTTT who had know idea the impact that she would have on others, that Christ would have on her. I was eventually slapped in the face with the realization that my life was never mine, and it was never meant to be. It didn't matter the opportunities I had in front of me, true disciples leave their nets and follow Him. Christ's life was never His, and it was never meant to be. Are we not all supposed to become like Him? I'll be giving a report on my mission on March 22nd at 10:15am PST Here is the address :) 355 W. Virgin St, Bunkerville NV 89007 - much love, Sister Bundy Previous Letter Next Letter

a2fdd0a3-d874-45b6-9d9b-9e2d06fb9bc5 Elder Shane Zarate Back to Missionary Letters The final countdown Well people this I have officially started my last transfer in the mission, which is crazy. The time has definitely flown by, and it's been great. Im in an area called Sarmiento in the city of Mendoza now, and I'm with a peruvian companion which is sweet. Im sorry i havent written much, I would like to have a good excuse but its mostly laziness. We have been teaching a goup of people in this area who have very good potencial of being baptized. We dont find a lot of new people because this area is a little difficult in a lot of ways but its still good. Im very greatful for my time here and for everything ive learned. My spanish is good but im still improving. Its always good to have a latino companion. Anyway thank you guys for all the support and I will try too write at least once more before I end. Elder Zarat Previous Letter Next Letter

932a7cc9-0067-4c2a-b791-a313db954f0f Sister Kallie Graves Back to Missionary Letters Standard works At church this week the man speaking was sharing a story about his Russian neighbor. This is what the man speaking said, "My neighbor came to me and said, 'I feel the Spirit but I'm atheist.' Only 50 years of communism can get someone to say that." We got a good chuckle out of that. When I had only been out for a whole 3 months on my mission, I made the decision to read the entire standard works. Flash forward one or two months (or 13 months), and I turned the page to my final page of my final book. I have now officially finished the entire standard works. If I had to sum up everything I learned, it would be this: All things denote there is a God. Everything. Everything from the trials to the sunshine to the relationships to the thoughts we have. God is such a big part of everything The scriptures are true. God exists. He is there and he is aware of you. I invite everyone to read the scriptures. Why? Because they are true and if you don't believe them or if you don't believe in God, then read the scriptures and look me in the eye and deny it. Previous Letter Next Letter

6ad2c467-b582-4deb-a92f-c470f1da71dd Elder Stetson Ludvigson Back to Missionary Letters Wow the time is running down real quick, also depending on how crazy next week is this might be my last email. Because next week we have new missionaries coming, missionaries going the the Temple in Phillippines, missionaries leaving and transfer, all within a few days. So that will be wild and we are still not sure what the plan is. But this week was as usual, amazing! I dont have too much time right now so I will keep it short and sweet. This week we helped the youth in the Surakarta stake with filming a music video for the church, it was pretty awesome we were able to meet with everyone, and we also were able to go and see the big soccer stadium here in Solo. Also one of the youth forgot his church shoes so I let him borrow mine for most the day while they filmed, and so I just walked around barefoot, which is really normal here haha! This week was also filled with a bunch of member visits, I am trying to visit everyone one more time before I go home. The members here are the absolute best! This week we also helped a lot of the missionaries with their family history for the temple, most of them only have one generation of family history completed. We also were able to visit one of my all time favorite families this week! They just got reactivated in the church and their 15 year old daughter was just baptized, they are the best! Sunday was wild this week, so one of the returned missionaries that used to serve here came back and visited with his wife and he wanted to visit a ton of members. So we helped them out and basically biked around all of our area visiting members both active and inactive. One of the members we visited has been inactive for about 3 years but he made a promise that he and his family will be at church this next sunday, which is one of the greatest feeling ever as a missionary! He also is an artist and has some awesome paintings that he did in his house! Crazy literally only a few more days left! I am going to miss Indonesia and the people here sooo much! It's been really hard coming here but so worth it, and I am really bummed because right when I am getting the language and starting to make awesome relationships with people they ship me home haha, grateful for the time I spent here! Hopefully I will be able to see a lot of you next week!!! crazy I know! Love y'all Sampai Jumpa Previous Letter Next Letter

e284fdea-e096-434d-978c-d56d68ad9e98 Elder Nathan Abbott Back to Missionary Letters Hey everyone! Sorry I was busy today and that I don't have much time to write more but yeah. It was also a pretty boring week. Not much happened. Love you all! Previous Letter Next Letter

6760ebae-2774-4cb4-a389-9ac0157c6dfe Sister Marian Leavitt Back to Missionary Letters My bishop is the coolest person I know!! I APOLOGIZE IN ADVANCE FOR THIS ETERNAL EMAIL! I know i say this every week but this week went by SO FAST! we were so busy! Splitting english ward and persian branch we barely have any time to actually plan in our day. We have been bombarded with lessons which is an amazing problem to have! Teaching the persian people has been the best experience! Their history is SO INTERESTING! our rules are we cant baptize perisans who arent citizens or if they have family back in iran/ Afghanistan because their families will be killed for them coverting to Christianity. Its so sad but those who are baptized have such amazing faith and they all remind me that my trials arent that bad. Most are very scared to be baptized because if they ever go back to their country they will be killed...valid! Our Facebook work has been POPPING OFF with perisan work. We had a FULL english class this week! The lady i worked with is 7 months pregnant and she asked ME to name her baby! I felt so honored hahah! Shes so young and sweet. Shes technically the elders friend but she wants us to come around more often so she can teach us how to cook like a persian... poor elders, we take every woman from them haha! Some highlights from this week! - one of our favorite members sister kerby took us to CHEESECAKE FACTORY!! We definitely do not go hungry in this area! If you know me you know I LOVEEE cheesecake factory so that made my entire week!! At dinner she told us about our bishops job because we were very curious (hes very smart and rich as most government workers are). He used to write speeches for hilary clinton, joe biden, and obama. Then switched jobs but now hes not allowed to say what he does but he has frequent dinners at all those houses! I think its so funny because his wife is very conservative and works for the republican party but they're both so humble and supportive of each other #couplegoalsfr - we got a persian referral for this 80yr old lady who is SO CUTE! we went to her house to visit her and she is HILARIOUS! shes very brutally honest and says things how it is. Explained how she hates the muslim religion and everything they do is wrong..slay girl! She also gave me a gift (persian people either bombard you with food or gifts) and mine was a POMEGRANATE! she gave me this class pomegranate with her beautiful calligraphy persian handwriting! How did she know they were so special to me?? God is GOOD - There was a forcast on saturday night that we'd be getting 2in of snow on sunday so they canceled church... literally the entire state shuts down when the weather app predicts any slight bit of snow! - it has been crazy with traffic for the Inauguration Day today. Lots of our members are going to it which is so crazy that its literally 20 minutes away from me lol. Pray for me today!! -we helped tami move with the RS president sister holland who is a professor at georgetown and she convinced me, I'm now going there! Please start the donations hahah! - i also got a new nickname from navid (recent convert in persian branch and also my bestie) he was lecturing me on how english names have no meaning and i made a joke said marian comes from mary, the mother of Jesus and he makes fun of me all the time for it now ans calles me "sister mother of king" and when people ask why he says that he proceeds to make fun of me for making that up hahah SO SORRY THIS IS SOOOO LONG! but i want to share a few thoughts from my personal study this week! I have been studying a lot about Jesus Christ and why I love him and a scripture that kept coming to my mind was Matthew 11:28-30 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. Christ is here to make this life easier! He's already been through your hard times and then some! LET Him give us rest!!! I LOVE YOU ALL https://photos.app.goo.gl/S2KwiGxpSdFowZuA6 Previous Letter Next Letter