Aloha Oe

I have many stories to tell of this transfer alone. There's the time we drove to south point, for example. But the truth is that the stories aren't what truly matter. The stories I tell are simply the means to communicate my feelings from the world of my life to the world of yours. You've read these for that past two years, and you've seen the changes happen. You can see a difference between my first email and my last. You watched me grow up, you listened as I told you the story of the islands that changed my heart, and changed who I am. And now that we're at the end of it all it almost doesn't feel real at all. On Sunday the ward sang Aloha Oe to me one last time. I called the mission president's assistants and got a copy of my itinerary in the mail. Over 715 days later, my journey here has come to an end. My story was an open book for you to explore, and my experiences were a catalyst for the road that now lay ahead. I can't see the future, but I can see myself now. Somehow I feel that despite my shortcomings, despite the lackluster moments that painted my mission, somehow....

Somehow it feels like I've done something good.

Something truly good has come of all this.

Ultimately, I know that life is hard, and that it stretches each of us to our absolute limits. I know people will hate you in your life, and that's hard. I know you will find yourself in struggles I can't even imagine. But I know that somehow, even in the jaws of hell itself, there's a light to be found. There's a light that whispers softly to each of us, and it's in these whispers that hopeful message that pulls us through the darkest times and carries us when we're weak. That voice is from a loving God and a loving savior, and the message is always the same.

"I love you. And I will never leave you."

I close this record with a melancholy I can't fully describe. I know it's going to be an adjustment to come home. I know I'll miss this place more than I can possibly comprehend right now. I know that. But I also know something else. I know that no matter how hard it gets, I can only do what I can do. And that's enough for the Lord. I know that this is the truth, and that it truly brings joy beyond what you can ever imagine. I know God lives. And I know Jesus Christ is the savior and redeemer of the world. I know, that everything is going to be OK. And I close my testimony and my last email, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

See you soon.