Where in the World is Elder San Diego?: "All Good Things Must Come To An End!"

¡Hola!

Well, this is it. It's been a long road, but at the same time short. It's amazing how time flies. I still can't believe I'm coming home next week. Haha, I'm still between wanting this to last forever and being ready to move on and start the rest of my mortal life and the eternities. These last two years have taught me so much. They've been filled with joys and sorrows, successes and failures, weaknesses and strengths. What I've come to learn is that each experience serves to strengthen our faith and allow us to grow. Heavenly Father knows best more than anyone what we need and He puts us in situations that, if endured and understood well, edify us and help us to become more like Him and His Son Jesus Christ. What I would tell any young man or young woman preparing to serve a mission is that it won't be easy, but it'll be worth it. Heavenly Father expects us to consecrate ourselves to Him and His Work, to submit ourselves to His will in ALL things. It may seem impossible, but remember, "...with God[,] nothing shall be impossible." (Luke 1:37). I've had some difficult companions and excellent companions, and I've learned something from each one of them. Each of them even if they haven't realized it, has taught me to develop the Christlike Attributes contained in the Scriptures and Preach My Gospel: faith, hope, charity and love, virtue, knowledge, patience, humility, diligence, and obedience. The mission really is the university for life and if we are humble, we can learn to become like our Savior Jesus Christ.

Heavenly Father lives. He loves and knows each and every one of us. His work and His glory is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of each one of His children. His Son Jesus Christ is our Creator, Savior, and Redeemer. Through Him, our Father presented His Plan to allow us to return to His presence and receive the blessings of exaltation. He sent his Son to teach us His Gospel and give us a perfect example to follow. He sent His Son, His ONLY sinless Son, to atone for OUR sins, to know how each of us would feel and what we would experience, to free us from the chains of death and hell. He, through His Son, called twelve Apostles and gave them power and authority to teach His Gospel, administer ordinances, and work miracles. He, through His Son, called Father Lehi and guided him to the Promised Land. He sent His Son to visit my fathers, the other sheep who were not of the fold in Jerusalem, to fulfill His covenant to them and to do the same among them as He did among those in Jerusalem. He preserved the record of my fathers through His mighty hand and appeared to a fourteen-year-old boy with His Son Jesus Christ to call him as a prophet and restore His Gospel to the earth by revealing that record and making known the covenants and promises to the House of Israel and all those who desire to be part of it. He called and prepared ME since before the world was, to have the privilege of being born in the Gospel and to grant me the blessings of His Restored Gospel. He called ME to serve His children, my brothers and sisters, in this beautiful country of El Salvador and show them the path that leads to eternal life. And so, here I am. I know that these things are true, and I testify of them in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

¡Levántate! ¡Podemos hacerlo ahora!

Love,

Elder San Diego