Alrighty Everybody!
In answer to your question I am down for a little open house thingy, but I don't want It to be too over whelming.
The work this week is going really well, we in fact had the best week of my entire mission. We managed to get what we call “Standards of Excellence," which is when we have a particular amount of success during the week, we worked really hard. I am super pumped for this Saturday because we get to baptize the three kids of the parents we taught and baptized. It'll be a really great way to finish.
I have most of my shopping done, there a couple things that I kinda want to pick up, but It should be no problem. I just need to get a couple local shirts for Dad and I.
Soooooo, I have some interesting news, don’t be alarmed because normally I think this kind of thing can get worked out. But apparently the mission didn’t realize that my visa In fact expires on the first of November. This being a small country they have a custom of meeting up and arresting people who haven't left the country yet... We discovered this completely by accident when a member asked me if my visa has expired because iI’e been in Polynesia since the 3rd] of November 2015. So I looked into It... thankfully I had to go to the Mission Office to get fumigation worked out for my stuff that got here from Raiatea.
SO long story short, If they can’t manage to work something out, I may get deported in a couple days. Granted I really don’t know how the system works, and I already have a return ticket booked for 5 days after my visa expires. I'm not entirely sure how far they can pull strings, but knowing the French I may have to get interrogated or something. This is totally not adding to the stress level... haha.
In looking back, I’ve Had so many experiences on my mission and have grown so much emotionally and spiritually that I think in order to save myself the mental strain of writing it all down in email form, I have been very light in sharing the amazing experiences that I’ve had as a missionary for over 107 weeks as a missionary.
As a missionary We are constantly talking/teaching and working with people. We run into close to 80 or 90 people a day sometimes. I feel as though I haven’t stopped moving in 2 years. I am not going to lie the mental stress of it all has been overwhelming at times, Yet the knowledge I’ve gained from these experiences has shaped me into (at least in my eyes) a far better man than I could have ever became If I had stayed home. I am still the same me, but the experiences I’ve had will have a lasting effect on the choices I will make.
Other than that, I have had the wonderful opportunity and to be honest for the first time in my life. I have really applied myself to deep scripture study. Before My mission I would tell myself that I'll read my scriptures everyday but after two days I would just get distracted by something else. But for the last two years I have come to love the scriptures. I can say that for the last two years I have read the word of God every single day and have learned so much about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and His plan for His children.
Maybe one of the principles I’ve learned the most about on my mission is about the principles of Revelation. Whether it be through a Prophet of God or simply everyday personal revelation. I have seen with my very own eyes ehe power of revelation. I have also come to realize that revelation is very simple. The more we seek to do the will of the Lord, the more He makes His will known unto us.
It is impossible for me to truly describe how I feel right know, knowing that my service as a full-time missionary is coming to an end. Being a missionary we live by high principles of obedience that protect us from temptation and physical dangers---yet they also teach us the extreme importance of obedience. this heightened obedience has let me live my life for the last two years with a very close connection to the Holy Spirit. I have lived a life set apart from the world.
The thought of entering back into to the world, being exposed to social media, and popular culture is something that worries me a lot, because I have seen from a very exterior perspective how much the world standards have decreased over the last two years. The world is becoming so much more lustful and dark. So far from the principles that Jesus Christ taught us.
My testimony of the Gospel I teach and have defend, has grown every day since the beginning. I’ve seen it change the lives of those so far from the standards the Lord has set. I have walked side by side with these people for the last two years. I have come to love them, and see them through the eyes of God. I know that the work I’ve been doing is the work of the Lord. I know that the Gospel was truly restored to the earth after years of apostasy from the truth.
I know that God answers prayers and that He still talks to his children. That revelation from God is what started this Church, and what drives it forward even during the most difficult of times. I know that God answered the prayer of a young Joseph Smith nearly 200 years ago. and that since then the Lord hasn’t stopped speaking with his children. I know that Jesus Christ is our Saviour and that He showed us the perfect example in all things. That Is my testimony that I leave you in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Elder Goodwin
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