"I don't want to go!"‏

EL FIN SE ACERCA
Y HAY POCO TIEMPO
DEBÉIS PUBLICAR LO QUE DIOS OS MANDÓ
SALID PUES, HERMANOS, CON FE, PROCLAMANDO
QUE DIOS DE NUEVO SU REINO FUNDÓ.
QUE DIOS DE NUEVO SU REINO FUNDÓ! (Himnos, 173)

This is my last week as a missionary. It's a very bittersweet feeling. As the end draws nigh, however, I find myself feeling more at peace, as if land were coming from over the sea. It's odd, looking back, when I had just a few months, screaming in my head: "I WON'T LAST EVEN A MONTH OUT HERE! I CAN'T DO IT! I WANT TO GO!" And now I, here, with 23.5 months, realize: "...I don't want to go!"

The progress I've had, the growth and the love I've felt, the people I've met and the foods I've eaten (yes, even the crickets) - all of that calls to me, and I say: thank you, God, for having been so loving to have sent me to this beautiful country. Sure, there are problems - but where doesn't? I love the work I've been able to do, the things I've learned. I could try to put them in a list, but I would fail. Too great are the blessings I've received in Mexico.

As I now say, I was raised in the United States; I grew up in Mexico.

But enough melancholy; hay que trabajar! Placentero me es trabajar en la viña del gran rey Jesús, y honroso me es predicar a su pueblo su ley y su luz. ¡Por su luz! ¡Por su luz! ¡Placentero me es trabajar! Por su luz, por su luz, moriré yo en él sin pesar. (Himnos, #88)

Life is good.

Thank you all for all your help, love, and support over these last two years. We'll see you all soon!

Con gran amor,

Elder Newman

P.S. Here's a picture of me shooting a bow and arrow today.