18 Months an Angel : 2016

(Sorry it took so long to put up this last post! Things got busy after she got home...)

At the airport in St. Louis

The long flight back to the U.S.

Hey all! First off, sorry to all of the missionaries who are receiving this, as I sent it very late!

first and foremost, I will no longer be using this email, so any of you that want to send me messages or respond to this message will have to send to

mldutm@gmail.com.

This last week has been full of the most changes that I've experienced for about a year and a half now! You could say that this was the transfer of all transfers, and the most permanent in nature.

On Tuesday my companion and I were able to go to the temple:) Man was it a disaster trying to get there! As soon as our district meeting had ended we went out to the bus station, where we ended up waiting a good 2 hours. After that we got on the bus and headed off into the middle of nowhere! It was HOT, the traffic was thick, and as we got onto the freeway a truck beside us had a man standing in the bed of the truck decapitating chickens... no big deal! As we started passing horses and farms I knew that we must have somehow gotten on the wrong bus, as 2 hours had passed and the temple was still no where in sight! Just I was running out of faith, and time, as it was almost 5, the temple came gloriously into view. We ditched the bus and were soon in the temple. What a huge contrast to the bus ride and wait! Everything pure. White. Perfect silence. Full of peace.

After a wonderful experience my companion and I went out to wait for the bus. We started waiting at 7pm. 3 HOURS LATER, we were STILL waiting! And freezing our tails off, as the wind had picked up significantly. I had already called our mission president's wife to let her know that we might be getting home a little late. Now I was calling her to inform that we might not be coming home at all! Upon learning of our dire situation she told us to call a taxi, which we did. Thankfully, it got us home at 10:30, where we made some sandwiches because we hadn't eaten All day.

Throughout it all I learned a valuable lesson: No price is too high to go to the temple. Even with chicken slaughters and having to carry a bathroom weight scale to the temple itself, NO SACRIFICE is too great.

So go!

On Thursday we headed over to the mission house, where my companion was given to another and we had to say goodbye. It wasn't too rough, as I know I'll be seeing her again, but I'll miss one of my very good friends, that's for sure! I got to go out to eat with President and his family before having my final interview and being herded into a taxi. We started driving over to the airport. We were almost there when we could go no further, as a riot was keeping all of the driver's from entering the airport. I was NOT about to miss my flight for such a course of action, and prayed that the people's hearts would be softened so that we could get through and so that I would safely make my flight. As soon as I finished praying the people moved aside and we drove on through. POWER OF PRAYER.

Before even getting on the plane, I found myself in a gospel conversation as a Peruvian sat down by me and started to ask about the church. I was able to teach him lesson 1 and about the Book of Mormon and had strongly invited him to look up the missionaries where he lived before getting on the plane. Once on the plane I made friends with my seatmate and also talked about the gospel with her.

10 hours later we arrived in Georgia, and about 3 hours later I was with my family.