Week 79 - The Last Email

Dear family and friends.

And then comes the strange day when you're sitting in church and
realize ... you will no longer be craning your neck in a 360 looking
to see who came to church, checking the phone for last minute
cancellations, going over the to-do list of members to talk to at
church, etc. etc. the typical chaos of Sunday as a missionary ... and
it's a really bittersweet thing.

President Budge calls this morning. "Sister Willden, you're being
transferred to Sado." Wouldn't that be something. "Actually, we will
just ship you across the ocean." And then I cried a little inside.

It's been eighteen beautiful, crazy months, and I wouldn't give this
experience back for anything. As I ponder on the things I have learned
in this span of time, it's hard to really articulate it into anything
coherent, but I'll just leave it at this: God is real, the Atonement
is real, and the plan is perfect.

1. God is real. We all know that faith precedes miracles (Ether 12:6)
but miracles do not produce faith. However, in the millions of
miracles I have seen thus on my mission, there is no way under heaven
could ever deny God's existence or the reality of His power. Lives
changing through the gospel of Jesus Christ. People finding something
beyond themselves that brings an unimaginable joy.

2. The Atonement is real. From my first transfer to my last, I have
become incredibly aware of my flaws. And oh how they abound. But, in
those moments that I couldn't do it on my own, and even in the moments
that I could do it alone, I think of the Savior and of the magnitude
of His sacrifice, and suddenly there is a power far greater beyond us
that carries me to new heights.

3. The plan is perfect. The gospel of Jesus Christ is simple. Faith in
Christ, repentance, baptism, gift of the Holy Ghost, endure to the end
= eternal life. It's the happiest way. It's the only way. (2 Nephi
31:20).

One of my best friends is getting baptized tomorrow. Cindy moved here
months ago from China, no sort of religion or belief in God, for that
matter. One day she saw the church steeple and decided to take a
different route the next day so she could see it. That day she met the
missionaries. I couldn't ask for a huger miracle. How lucky I am to
end my mission this way.

Except it's not over yet. I will not stop being a missionary after I
return home :)

I am so grateful for all of you. The prayers, letters, emails,
surprise packages, thoughts. They mean the world to me, and I'm so
lucky.

See you on Friday.
Love, Sister Margaret Willden

(Monday, December 15)