Last Words

Hey Y’all!

So this is my last email to y’all! Wow, how time has flown! It is such a strange experience to be leaving my mission, my home for the past 18 months! It has been so hard to say good byes, I still have not quite come to grips with the fact that I am leaving. It is such a hard thing to do. But alas, there are new things ahead of me and many great opportunities to be had. Seeing as this is my last official email as a full time missionary I thought I would keep it short and sweet by telling you- first how much my mission means to me and second share with you my testimony.

I want y’all to know that with out a shadow of a doubt that my mission is the BEST thing that has ever happened to me. My mission means EVERYTHING to me! Through the rough times and the great times I will be forever grateful to my Heavenly Father for calling me to His work. I have seen people brought closer to the savior then ever thought possible. I have seen miracles, I have seen countless tender mercies being dished out by our loving Heavenly Father in behalf of his children. I have seen baptisms, I have seen people walk away from the truth, I have felt rejection, I have felt utter joy. I have been through my share of trials in my life but my mission was the biggest. It seemed at times that I was being handed more than I could deal with. That is where the real lesson learning begins- just when you think you can’t take it anymore, you turn to Him and he gives you strength that you didn’t even know you had in you! I have learned lessons on my mission that will bless me and my future family not only in this life, but in the eternities. My mission changed me for the better. My Father in Heaven needed to mold me. A good friend of mine once used this analogy and so I will share it with you today. For me my mission was my refiner’s fire. I had to be shaped, smoothed out. Sometimes we think that this is done by Heavenly Father just throwing us in the fire and saying, whelp I guess I’ll take them out when they’re done. But no what really happens is, we are all these precious stones but there is a lot of rock covering up the gem and so in order to help us shine more brightly he is going to melt away some of the rough stone spots. So he carefully puts the precious gem on a stick and holds it in the fire ever so carefully. Constantly keeping an eye on the stone. Now when the stone gets to hot, he pulls it out, cools it off and gives it a break. Then when he feels the time is right and the stone is ready he puts the stone back in again. This process continues until a precious gem is formed. I have thought about this little analogy a lot on my mission and feel that it adequately describes the mission field. My mission has been hard, but when it gets to the point where I think I can’t handle it anymore, Heavenly Father puts me in his loving hands and cools me off. Whenever I was struggling on the mission my President would say to me, “it’s ok Sister Kleisler, you’re in His hands” I have grown so much being in His hands and I have grown so much on my mission. Once again I want y’all to know that my mission means EVERYTHING to me!

Now the last thing I want to leave with you is my testimony of our Savior Jesus Christ. I want y’all to know that I know that he lives. That he is there for ALL of us and that he wants to help us in our trials but we must turn to Him. His atonement is for us- it is an AMAZING gift but we must access it. I am forever grateful for my Savior, for the pains he suffered for me and for the way in which he has made it so I don’t ever have to feel alone. The closer we get to him the more peace and happiness we can have in our lives- that I know for A FACT!

I love y’all very much and will see you on Wednesday!!

SMILING ALL THE WHILE
Sister Kleisler