Dear family and friends,
Aw, MAN ALIVE!!! I'm going to miss my mission!! I fly home this week. I have LOVED serving here in the Georgia Atlanta mission as Christ's representative. This has been such a joyful time in my life. I've had my fair share of ups and downs. Missions are hard. But it has taught me SO MUCH. I love it. I look back and I see how much I've learned. How much I've grown.
I've faced anxiety, depression, and heartbreak. I've missed my family. I've felt trunky at times (haha). I've been angry, frustrated, and exhausted. I've been sick. I've faced a lot of rejection, been anti-ed, cussed out, and treated disrespectfully. I've been sunburnt, couldn't feel my toes because of the cold, and I've also been drenched many a time with sudden downpours.
But--through all of that, I have come to know my Savior Jesus Christ. Isaiah 53:3-5 describes Him perfectly:
"He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows,
and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed."
Our Savior Jesus Christ loves us. He lives. Through Him we can be healed! My favorite scripture in the Book of Mormon states that,
"He doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the
world; for he loveth the world, even that he layeth down
his own life that he may draw all men unto him.
Wherefore, he commandeth none that they shall not
p
artake of his salvation.
" (2 Nephi 26:24)
No matter what rejection we face, no matter how many tears we shed, the Savior feels it. He knows our pains. He knows our worries, our fears, our sorrows, and our griefs. He is devastated when we make mistakes. But His arms are always extended in mercy and love for us. He is always waiting with open arms for us to turn back to Him. To accept Him into our lives. To do our very best to follow Him wholeheartedly.
I know that Jesus Christ lives. I know that He carries our burdens. He frees us. He did face pains. He experienced heartbreak. His body did ache with exhaustion and pain and suffering. He felt the pressure of the adversary. He knew the sorrow of being betrayed and losing a loved one. He did struggle with everyday temptations. He felt grief beyond anything that we could comprehend.
But through it all, through all the miles that He walked in our shoes, through all the suffering He felt, the one thing that carried Him through it all was this--Love. As He suffered in Gethsemane, He saw our faces. Each one of us He knew. He focused on the love that He had for us. And as He did so, the pain decreased. He no longer felt it, for He was given the strength to endure. He himself felt weak and depressed and discouraged. But through it all He relied on His Father in heaven. He relied on faith. He relied on His great love for us.
I testify that Jesus Christ knows you. He loves you no matter what! Please, please turn to Him! (That is my commitment to y'all.) He will free you. He will heal your broken heart. He will help you through your pain. He will give you true joy!
I testify that as you seek to make the Savior the center of your life, you will be filled with pure joy. Your joy will surpass your grief and struggles. And you will experience peace beyond comprehension!
You are SO LOVED! (John 3:16)
Keep smiling, and have a wonderfully blessed week. I love y'all!
We went BOWLING last pday with the STLs! It was so fun! Haha I failed miserably, but that's okay! ;) Can you guess which one is me? (#JemisonStripes)
{Note from Mom: I had heard that Golf Carts were a big thing in Peach Tree City and Sister Eggett really wanted to ride in one. So I asked a woman in her mission to see if she could make that happen before she came home. She totally came through for her and then some! Carmody even got to drive it!!!}
Ordering lemonade at chik-fil-a... in a golf cart!
P-Day!
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