Semana 102: The Best Two Years

Hola! I apologize for slacking hard core on the weekly emails these past few months. Fortunately and unfortunately for me this will be my last official email as a representative of Jesus Christ in the Xalapa Mexico Mission. I still can't even process that this is officially my last week in the mission and within a matter of a few days and hours I will be on a plane back to the good ol USA.

Poza Rica is a considerably hot place, and I'm trying to soak it all in before I have to go to Arizona where it's even hotter. I'm going to miss this place so much. 

My companion and I were working extremely hard and balancing it with some fun. We've planned several inspiring activities with the ward to encourage them to stay active in the church and their callings. I can tell that the ward is very excited with the new changes and I feel that things are going in a really good direction.

We were blessed to see 4 amazing people participate in the sacred ordinances of baptism and confirmation this transfer. They were people we found at the beginning part of this transfer and their level of conversion has increased exponentially over the weeks. Lia, Yasmin, Esperanza and Leslie are the best and I'm so proud of them. 

Unfortunately this week, my companion had to go home for some personal trials and it definitely complicated things going on in the zone. Every area in the zone is baptizing our last week of the transfer and we are losing 4 missionaries which means the zone leaders, with help of the other missionaries, need to be in several sacrament meetings in other wards to make sure all the baptisms get confirmed. 

God has blessed us with many miracles this transfer. One of our friends being taught has a strong desire to be baptized and her partner is an inactive member of 10 years and returned missionary that didn't want anything to do with the missionaries. He would never allow them in the house and refused to speak to them. Well, he got really sick and he surprising asked us to give him a priesthood blessing. My companion anointed, I sealed it and after he mentioned that all of the incredible memories and experiences he had while being a missionary started to flood into his brain while I was giving him the blessing. He said it was the first time he felt the spirit in years and after an hour of talking he decided that he would help him and his wife to get married so she can get baptized! He also is starting to open up to us more and listen to our lessons. Hopefully within the next few weeks, the missionaries after me will be able to fully reactivate the guy and Claudia can get baptized!

As I am finalizing my time in this area and in the mission, I've been pondering and meditating very deeply about all of the blessing God has bestowed upon me as I have served with all my heart. Clearly I'm not the best missionary in the world and I definitely made many mistakes, I know that everything that happened here was for some greater purpose that I may not understand fully yet. God definitely pulled a sneaky one on me and really changed my life and blessed me with inmense about of joy while I was so distracted with helping other people find joy in their own lives. Serving God saves lives. It's an outward expression of an internal love that will be remembered for eternities. I can't thank my Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ enough. 

I would like to bear my testimony to each one of you, I know that God lives. No man can reach their highest potential in this life or the one after without a celestial being intervening. We are nothing without God, but luckily we are everything to him. Jesus Christ did in fact come to this humble earth to sacrifice his life for all of His beloved brothers and sisters. I testify of his living reality and authenticity as the Son of God in the flesh. I express my gratitude for being a part of the process of brings souls unto Christ for these 24 months. The greatest gift given to man on this earth is being an instrument in God's hands to go about doing good. I love this gospel with all my heart. I know the Book of Mormon is the word of God and a guide to lead us back to our Father in Heaven. Thank you to everyone has rendered to me while I dedicated this time to serve. I greatly appreciate it :))

I'll see you all real soon 

Elder Scown