Hey everybody!
This last week had some definite interesting things! For
starters, I went to what might be
my last zone conference! It was also President Snow's last zone conference! I'm so grateful to
President Snow for everything that
he's done for me over the last two years! He is one of the best, most hardworking, most spiritual men that I
know, and has taught me so much!
He deserves a chance to finally go back to Idaho and be a cattle rancher like he's wanted to for so
long! It was really strange to be
at my last zone conference, and they even had me give a departing testimony! You spend your whole mission
watching others do it, but it
never feels like you're going to be the one up there! A lot of the things I shared in my testimony came from the
other strange thing that started
this week. I started doing "my plan". It's a program the church has come out with recently that
helps missionaries getting ready
to go home to set goals and plan for the future. The first section, which I had to complete this last week,
was centered around remembering
the things you've learned during your mission, and pondering how you can apply them to life after the
mission. In the program, it had me
read through a few talks and scriptures, and one of them by Henry B Eyring really touched me. He shared
this story:
“When our children were very small, I started
to write down a few things about what happened every
day. Let me tell you how that got started.
I came home late from a Church assignment. It was after dark. My father-in-law, who lived near us, surprised me as I
walked toward the front door of my
house. He was carrying a load of pipes over his shoulder, walking very fast and dressed in his work
clothes. I knew that he had been
building a system to pump water from a stream below us up to our property. He smiled,
spoke softly, and then rushed past me into the darkness to go on with his work. I took a few steps toward the
house, thinking of what he was
doing for us, and just as I got to the door, I heard in my mind--not in my own voice--these words: “I’m not
giving you these experiences for
yourself. Write them down.” I went
inside. I didn’t go to bed. Although I was tired, I took out some paper and began to write. And as I did, I understood
the message I had heard in my
mind. I was supposed to record for my children to read, someday in the future, how I had seen the hand
of God blessing our family.
Grandpa didn’t have to do what he was doing for us. He could have had someone else do it or not have done it
at all. But he was serving us, his
family, in the way covenant disciples of Jesus Christ always do. I knew that was true. And so I wrote
it down, so that my children could
have the memory someday when they would need it.
I wrote down a few lines every day for years. I never missed
a day no matter how tired I was or
how early I would have to start the next day. Before I would write, I would ponder this question: “Have I seen
the hand of God reaching out to touch us or our
children or our family today?” As
I kept at it, something began to happen. As I would cast my mind over the day, I would see evidence of what God
had done for one of us that I had
not recognized in the busy moments of the day. As that happened, and it happened often, I realized that
trying to remember had allowed God
to show me what He had done. More
than gratitude began to grow in my heart. Testimony grew. I became ever more certain that our Heavenly Father hears
and answers prayers. I felt more
gratitude for the softening and refining that come because of the Atonement of the Savior Jesus
Christ. And I grew more confident
that the Holy Ghost can bring all things to our remembrance--even things we did not notice or pay
attention to when they happened.”
It made me ponder a lot about the ways that I've been blessed
on the mission, and I can't even
begin to count them! I think it's funny that when I decided to serve a mission, part of my reason
was because I wanted to do my best
to pay back some small part of what the Lord had blessed me with. But as I spend more time on the mission, I’ve
realized that the many ways He’s blessed me while serving a mission has just put me further into the red! I will
always be in His debt.
I'm so grateful for this mission, and the love and support I receive from each of you. I love you all!
Elder Excell
Q&A -- 6/5/2017
1.) Have you had, or are you scheduled to have an exit interview with President Snow? I'm anxious to hear about it! -- I'll still have to have my final departing interview with President Youngblood, but President Snow is doing some small group departing interviews for some of the old missionaries. Hopefully we'll be able to get one scheduled soon!
2.) When do the Snow's leave? -- They'll leave on June 30.
3.) Did you by chance get a visit from Elder Branning this week? I understand he is back in Las Vegas visiting the mission with his parents. -- I did get a chance to see him for a bit! He's still in town right now, so we're hoping that he might have some time to come out teaching with us!
4.) What was your most memorable moment of last week? -- Probably zone conference!
5.) What are you most looking forward to in the week ahead? -- I'm still excited to continue spending lots of time studying the scriptures!
