My Last Week

I guess this is the last email I will send you as a full time missionary in Chile.

I'll take advantage of this opportunity to share a last testimony to you as a missionary. It's basically the same thing I shared when I shared my testimony to say goodbye last Thursday in Zone Conference. 

As my time is coming to an end, I've been getting a little nervous about coming home. But during the mission I've learned to trust in God and I know that everything will turn out just right, as long as I cling to the iron rod, cling to what I know is right. I think the best decision I made was not the decision to go on a mission, but the decision I had to make several times to keep moving forward, not give up, even when it's been incredibly and unimagineably hard. Those were the decisions that made the difference. 

When we step forward with faith, God paves the way. Even when the mist of darkness is so thick that we can't see the path ahead. 

I want to share what I've come to know on my mission. I know of a surety that Jesus Christ lives. I have come to know Him. He has always been there when nobody else could be, when I was terribly alone. He has changed me in ways I never imagined possible, and with that, my priorities and my destiny have changed. 

I know that the Book of Mormon is true. I have drunk deeply from it and found relief in it. I felt a burning fire in my chest that gave me the answer I sought to know if it was true.

I learned to apply the gospel and the Atonement in my life. I tried it out and it works. We always have the power to change for the better. 

I know that the church is true and that God has called prophets and Apostles to show us the way to be truly happy in this life, and the life to come. 

I know that obedience to God's commandments leads to happiness, and disobedience to them does not, even as enticing as it may seem. I have seen too many evidences of this in the lives of the people I've met.

This is my testimony, simply and perhaps poorly stated, but it's mine.

Elder Joseph Garrett 

TWO WEEKS!!

I've only got two weeks left!!

Today we went on a little trip to see the Andes mountains. It was really cool.... they're a little different from the Rockies. We only went as far as Portillo, a ski resort, and the Laguna del Inca. If you look it up on a map or on the Internet, you'll see that we were actually really close to Argentina. I think with mom and dad we'll go a little further. I've heard that there's a giant statue of Christ a little higher up. I'm also thinking about maybe crossing the border to see Argentina. 

La Laguna del Inca .... Portillo

I sent pictures, so you can see a little bit what it's like. We're still in Fall, so there isn't a whole lot of snow yet, but my companions from Peru, Colombia, and Costa Rica wanted to see snow for the first time in their lives. The funny part is that we got there, got out of the van, and when we stepped onto the first snow we saw, I said "This isn't snow, this is ice." That part was man made, and rock solid... haha. 

They played in the snow that wasn't man made and said that it almost reached their knees. I think they were exaggerating....  haha. It snowed about two weeks ago, so the snow wasn't exactly fresh. But they got to play in the snow, and that was what mattered. While they tried and failed to do a snow man, we ate lunch. Haha.  

 

In the man made snow

I'm looking forward to getting home and seeing you all.

Nos vemos pronto!!

Elder Joseph Garrett