December 28th, 2015

For the last week I have been thinking about all that has happened here in the mission, who I have become, and how much I have grown closer to Christ and while thinking about this I asked myself the question, "What do I want to accomplish by the end of my mission and who do I want to be as I come home" Although I have learned a lot here in my mission and I have grown a lot, I know that there is even more for me to become and more for me to learn. If I were to say that I have become a perfect missionary it would be a lie, but what I can say is that I have tried to follow the spirit and put my trust in the Lord and I feel like as I have done this I have become closer to my Savior and have become a better person. I know that these next 6 months are going to go by super fast and I plan on taking advantage of every moment that I have to become a better person.

This last week being the week of Christmas was so good. My companion and I didn't necessarily teach as much as we wished we could have, but it was still a great week of Christmas spirit and filled with the love of Christ. I feel like this Christmas I came to understand the importance of the birth of the savior and his life even more than I have ever understood it. My testimony is that He came into the world as the perfect gift of the Father to us so that he may be the light and life of the world. He came to show us that there is light at the end of the tunnel and that through him, being the light, we might find our way to make it back to the Father. He lives and stands as our light. I love him and know that because of him we may live.

I love you all so much and I hope that you have a great New Year. As this new year approaches let us all ponder the question given to us by servants of the Lord, "What lack I yet" or in other words, what can I change this new year to become more like the Savior. 

Love,

Elder Thorpe