The journey continues...

Hey guys!

Well, here we are. It´s so hard for me to write this email. It´s hard for me to accept that this great part of my journey is coming to an end.

There is a scripture in Doctrine and Covenants, a revelation that Joseph Smith received on August 13, 1831. In the heading of section 62, it explains that Joseph Smith along with his group ran into a group of other missionaries. I imagine that that must have been such a sweet moment; missionaries understand each other. There are lots of tears, laughs, rough days and good days. It´s all part of the journey. Joseph Smith, while he was with these elders, received this revelation, which just happens to be one of my favorites. It starts like this:

"Behold, and hearken, O ye elders of my church, saith the Lord your God, even Jesus Christ, your advocate, who knoweth the weakness of man and how to succor them who are tempted. And verily mine eyes are upon those who have not as yet gone up unto the land of Zion; wherefore your mission is not yet full."

I love how Jesus presents himself here. He really knows us. And he knew that these missionaries had been working so hard. But he tells them that there are still people that need their help, and that their mission is "not yet full." I imagine that they must have been thinking, "What is He talking about? I´ve been walking all over the place, talking to everyone. I think it´s about time for a break." But, that´s not really how it works. He continues, saying:

"Nevertheless, ye are blessed, for the testimony which ye have borne is recorded in heaven for the angels to look upon; and they rejoice over you, and your sins are forgiven you. 

And now continue your journey."

I have been working hard for 18 months. I have learned so much, and I have changed (hopefully for the better :) ) and I have really come to know my Savior. I feel like these words are for me; I feel like the Lord knows me. He knows who I am and what I´ve done; He knows my weaknesses and failures, and he knows my talents and successes. He has been here with me for the past 18 months. He has cried with me and listened to all of my complaints. He has laughed with me and smiled when I´ve overcome my trials and put my trust in Him. I know that He understands how I´m feeling. He knows that I´m nervous and a little bit scared, but also that I´m happy and so excited to see what the rest of my life has in store for me. I know that He still has a lot of things planned for me, because I´m still on this journey; it hasn´t ended yet.

Thank you for all of your support and love! Thank you for the emails and letters, I´ve loved hearing from you and knowing about your lives. I´m so grateful for the prayers that you have said on my behalf; I´ve really received strength from them. 

I´m so excited to see you! It´s going to be the best. I´ve missed you guys...just a little bit :)

I love YOU, and I love my Savior. I love this Gospel and this work, and as a representative of Jesus Christ I can tell you that I know that it is true. I know it with all that I am. And I can´t wait to keep sharing it.

SEE YOU SOON! I love you so much more than you know. Don´t forget to pick me up next week ;)

All of my love,

Hermana Scott

Time for reflection

Hello family!

Well, this email is very difficult for me to write. My heart is so full; I´m excited and nervous and sad and scared out of my mind and EVERYTHING all at once. In two weeks I will be going home! And this is my second-to-last email home. (Don´t worry, the last one will be even cooler than the second-to-last one ;))

So, I´ve been out here for over 17 months. I´ve written you lots of emails and told you lots of stories. I´ve talked about moments when I´ve laughed, moments when I´ve cried; I´ve shared with you some of my personal accomplishments and those of other people as well. But most importantly, I´ve shared my testimony about our Savior Jesus Christ and the truth of His Restored Gospel. 

About 17 months ago, when I was set apart to be a missionary, the Lord expressed to me in my blessing that during my mission I needed to share with you my testimony EVERY WEEK, and that in the process, you and I would all be blessed. I just want you to know that every single email I sent, I sent with all the love of my heart, knowing that every word I said was true. God really does live, and He loves us. We are His children. Jesus is the Savior of the world, and His true church was restored by the prophet Joseph Smith. I know that these things are true. I also know that the promise that God made to me over 17 months ago has been fulfilled: you and I have all been so greatly blessed.

There´s something special about being a missionary. As Jesus told His disciples of old a long time ago, we, as His living servants and missionaries in this last dispensation, are "in the world, but not of it." There are more than 88,000 missionaries IN the world. We are ALL OVER THE WORLD. We are certainly IN the world, but one thing that I know for certain is that we are not of the world. Not because we are better, or cooler, or smarter...we have been set apart by God´s servants to NOT be of the world, to dedicate everything to our Savior, and serve Him and God´s children until the end. 

It´s hard to accept that this time is coming to an end. It will be incredibly difficult to say goodbye to this country, these people, and this work that I love so much. But I am SO excited to see you!! Just know that I am going to be working hard until the very end.

I love YOU so much, and I love my Savior. 

Con TODO mi amor,

Hermana Scott

The love of a missionary is great

Hi family!

HAPPY NEW YEAR! I hope you have started off this new year with lots of good ideas and goals that you are ready to meet. As it says in our training manual for missionaries, Preach My Gospel, "Goals reflect the desires of our hearts and our vision of what we can accomplish. Through goals and plans, our hopes are transformed into action." I invite you to think about what your desires are, and how in this new year you can work to reach your goals.

I just have a short little thing to share today. Yesterday was fast and testimony meeting at church, my last one in Peru. I felt the Spirit very strongly and I fasted and prayed, asking the Lord to help me and the people I teach and visit here. I, along with my companion, was able to share my testimony yesterday, and when I sat down in my chair, I felt like I needed to write a little bit about all of what I was feeling. And this is what I wrote: 

"I shared my testimony in my ward for the last time today. I felt so much as I stood in front of those people, telling them about the things that I know to be true. I realized that most of them probably don´t know much about me - for most of them, I´m just another one of the missionaries that´s passed through the ward. The image of my face will blur with that of all the others; my last name will be poorly-pronounced for the next few months and forgotten in a few years. They don´t know me, but I know them. My companion and I have spent hours praying for them and the people they love; asking the Lord to make their burdens lighter, to help them keep the faith when times get hard, and that we might be able to help them in some small way. The love of a missionary is great; it´s impossible to explain all of what a young man or woman feels as a set-apart servant of God. Our knees are calloused and well-accustomed to long conversations on the floor, and our voices are well-known by our Father. We don´t need the people to know who we are; we need them to know their Savior."

That´s basically what I feel today. I just want you to know that I love you and I´m always praying for you. Thank you for your love and support! Have a wonderful week, and remember these words that the Lord says to us: "Be patient in afflictions, for thou shalt have many; but endure them, for, lo, I am with thee, even unto the end of they days." I know that this is true, for each and every one of us.

With all of my love,

Hermana Scott