March 17, 2014
Here's a letter I wrote to my sister, since I'm short on time, I'll share it with the rest of you.
Here's the first thing you share with them:
If a missionary is a hard worker, he's got almost no time to write to people... :) He'll only write to you if you are his awesome sister who most certainly deserves letters every week.
Here are some experiences I think you'll like (just for fun)
1. When I got here I was walking in the street at night and fell in a storm drain.. My companion kept walking and didn't even notice.
2. Learning the language I made a lot of errors. One time I was trying to say I like milkshakes, I told a family that I liked Crime. a lot.
3.Once my companion stepped on a dead rat by accident. No one would let us in to teach because his shoe smelled so bad.
4. Sometimes we run to get home before curfew, once we were running and came around a corner, there were some kids smoking there. When they saw us they took off running too. (what would you think if you saw two foreigners in ties charging you?)
5. That awkward moment when you say you're from the US, and the person gets all excited to talk to you in english, just to discover that you don't really speak english anymore.
6. There was a man in minas Gerais that had 14 dogs... he always cooked some strange meat that looked like liver for us... I swear there was always one less dog every time we ate there...
7. Last week for zone meeting we tried to do a demonstration lighting up a light bulb by conducting a current through water and salt. The salt was supposed to represent the spirit. Without the salt nothing happened. My comp dumped 1/2 a kilo of salt in and when we plugged it in it started crackling and throwing out globs of flaming salt. I'm glad no one filmed that.
8. The bus in goiania is always packed. When the doors open and people try to get on you could easily imagine that the bus wasn't in fact a bus, it was the last helicopter out of Vietnam!!!
And now for my message:
For those of you who are thinking of going on a mission but can't decide, I have two words of advice for you. "JUST GO!!!" Serving a mission is way better than anything else you will ever do. Including dating, college, work, winning the lottery, or skydiving. I've seen so many miracles happen in people's lives this last year. But the greatest miracle of all is what the Lord has done in my life and how I've changed.
I've come to not only believe, but to know that The Book of Mormon is true, Christ is my Redeemer and Savior. I've learned how to pray and get answers, real life results to my prayers. I've learned and experienced so many things that some people will never experience in a lifetime, we experience them everyday.
I won't be dating, but I've learned to Love the Lord, his work, and his children.
I won't be earning money but I'm working for the best Boss in the World, and the work is so amazing that I won't ever ask for a day off.
I'm not studying at college but we study the scriptures at least 2 hours alone daily, and many other hours with other families.
I'm not eating dinner with the family, but I'm eating lunch with a different family every day, each one with their own challenges and weaknesses that need to be strengthened.
Don't worry about anything. If you're ready or not, don't have money, or will sacrifice something. Just remember that "If ye have the desire to serve God, You are called to the Work" (DC 4) and he qualifies his servants.
And like Sid Going said, "The blessings of serving a full time mission far out-weigh anything you will ever sacrifice."
I've known countless missionaries that when it's time to go home, they've cried and cried, pleading to stay just one more transfer.
Love you sis, keep letting your light shine!
Elder Wallace
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