Well everyone, the time has come. I'm going home tomorrow!
First off, here's a little summary of my mission:
- MTC (Provo, Utah) - 2 months
- St. Genis-Pouilly - 3 months, 10 days
- Lyon - 5 months, 15 days
- Toulouse - 5 months, 15 days
- Grenoble - 6 months, 28 days
- Elder Fristrup,
- Elder Pien,
- Elder Jenkins,
- Elder Bleak,
- Elder Zhu,
- Elder Pien again,
- Elder Peron,
- Elder Preator,
- Elder Alvarenga,
- Elder Masterson.
When my sister went home from her mission last year, my brother gave her a good piece of advice that I've treasured ever since: "You won't be a perfect missionary at the end of your mission any more than you'll be a perfect person at the end of your life." There have been numerous times on my mission I didn't feel good enough or wondered why I didn't feel like the spiritual soldier I thought I should be. It really is all about how much you trust God :) Mission life was never meant to be easy, but I've loved it!
While I was serving in Toulouse, I had kind of an epiphany: I realized that it's okay if the extremes of my life don't happen on my mission! It's okay if my time on the mission doesn't include the absolute happiest, saddest, hardest, and most spiritual days of my life. In fact, I seriously hope that's not the case! I fully expect and hope that during the rest of my life, I will have happier, sadder, harder, and more spiritual experiences than I ever had on the mission. Keep in mind, that doesn't diminish the value of the experiences I've had! Au contraire, they're even more valuable for having prepared me for the happy, sad, hard, and spiritual days to come. The MTC was a great training experience for the mission, but the mission itself is a great training experience for life. I will treasure the experience of my mission for the rest of my life.
I know Jesus is my Savior! I know that He directs this work, since there's no other way that such a motley crew of college kids in white shirts and ties or skirts could have so much success in bringing God's children to the truth of where we're from, why we're here, and where we're going. We learn a lot about those truths in the temple, so it was especially awesome to finish my mission with the dedication of the Paris Temple. Wonderful experience :)
I love you all! See you on the other side :)
Elder Garrett Jensen
江长老
While I was serving in Toulouse, I had kind of an epiphany: I realized that it's okay if the extremes of my life don't happen on my mission! It's okay if my time on the mission doesn't include the absolute happiest, saddest, hardest, and most spiritual days of my life. In fact, I seriously hope that's not the case! I fully expect and hope that during the rest of my life, I will have happier, sadder, harder, and more spiritual experiences than I ever had on the mission. Keep in mind, that doesn't diminish the value of the experiences I've had! Au contraire, they're even more valuable for having prepared me for the happy, sad, hard, and spiritual days to come. The MTC was a great training experience for the mission, but the mission itself is a great training experience for life. I will treasure the experience of my mission for the rest of my life.
I know Jesus is my Savior! I know that He directs this work, since there's no other way that such a motley crew of college kids in white shirts and ties or skirts could have so much success in bringing God's children to the truth of where we're from, why we're here, and where we're going. We learn a lot about those truths in the temple, so it was especially awesome to finish my mission with the dedication of the Paris Temple. Wonderful experience :)
I love you all! See you on the other side :)
Elder Garrett Jensen
江长老
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