I can honestly say that I never thought I would be writing this
in my entire life, but here we are. My emotions are very mixed. I feel like a high school girl. Instead of being crossed between choosing which boy to date, I'm stuck here crossed on whether or not I want to come home. Part of me is extremely and overly excited to get home to see you all, but the other part of me wants to stay here in Spain because of these amazing people I've come to know & love these past two years. But, I guess Heavenly Father is helping me out by not giving me a choice. Either way, like I said, I'm beyond excited to come home to open arms waiting at the airport & home in general.
I've learned countless things over these past two years. From
doctrines, this beautiful Spanish language, learning to love people I had never thought I would even meet to how to get doors slammed in my face. That's something that I'll forever love thanks to the mission; REJECTION. Before my mission, I would throw a fit if I didn't get my way or didn't get what I wanted it when I wanted it. The mission has taught me so much patience. There have been so many times where I've wanted to throw in the towel and give up and go back to my apartment to sleep and even at times want to come home. But something my dad told me at the beginning of my mission has come to mind every single time I thought that. It was about Joseph Smith and how easy it would have been to give into what everyone said and to deny the fact that he saw God the Father and His Son. He would have lived a longer and MUCH easier life, he wouldn't have put his family in as much if not any danger at all. He could have easily said "Ahh alright! You got me. It was all a lie. I was kidding." But he didn't because he KNEW what would come of the restoration of the gospel. He knew the happiness all of us would be able to have because of what he did and would do. I know for a fact that through all of the rejection I've faced, it's nothing compared to what he went through. I know that this church has been restored and thanks to Joseph Smith, every single person can have TRUE HAPPINESS, and can find out for themselves if this really is the true church.
Another thing that has stuck with me is President Monson's talk about decisions. All of our decisions, all the choices we make, have consequences. Good or bad. He said that we should always choose the HARDER RIGHT, rather than the easier wrong. Nowadays, it's so easy to give into temptation, to go with the world and what all the cool kids are doing. But in the long run, if we stick to what we KNOW, we will be blessed more than we can believe. He also said that we should always have a goal in mind of what we want, so that we know HOW to get there. When we don't have goals, it's easy to get lost in whatever else is going on. But with goals, it's a lot easier to stay on track and get to our final destination. :)
Last thing... Self conversion. I found a quote from a talk by Elder Oaks a while ago and it said this... "It is not even enough for us to be convinced of the gospel; we must act and think so that we are converted by it. In contrast to the institutions of the world, which teach us to know something, the gospel of Jesus Christ challenges us to become something." Before my mission, I'm gonna be honest, I had no idea what was going on in the gospel. I didn't know what the mission was. I had a testimony but I didn't really know what my testimony consisted of. All of that is completely different now. I've been converted to this gospel, and I know that it's best thing that has happened to me in my life. I will forever be in debt to my Heavenly Father, but I know that coming on a mission at least showed Him that I'm trying to give thanks for what He's done, does, and will do for me. There's a difference between going on a mission, and being a missionary, and I can honestly say that I did my best to BE A MISSIONARY. God knows our true potential that we can reach, but only through Him can we reach it. :)
I love this gospel, and I love all of you. I'll never be able to thank you all enough for everything that you've done for me these past two years, but I just hope you all know that all the prayers, emails, letters, packages, and love you have all sent my way, have been received and I'm so thankful for every single one of them and every one of you. YOU ARE ALL MY HEROS AND I LOVE YOU ALL!!!!! ❤️
Can't wait to see you all on Thursday 😎 Keep it real boys and girls.
MUCH LOVE.
One Last Time,
ELDER Tanner Brady Hammond™
PS - who gets the first hug? 😏😉
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| Doin' the Work |
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| Some pics 4 vosostros |
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