And That's A Wrap!

My arrival into Salt Lake City......did I mention that Oscar surprised me in Phoenix and flew home with me??  How cool is that?

Meeting my new nephew for the first time.

So good to see these people again!

This was a perfect afternoon and it just kept getting better.....

The boys came to see me too!

It's great to see my brother who became a father while I was away.  And now on to new adventures. I am so grateful for my mission, for the people I met, the people who I learned from and the people who changed me.  I wouldn't change a thing!

PHOTOS FROM THE LAST WEEK

Roller blading with the Zone - I was back in my element with this one!

The Antioch Zone on P-Day!

Tina - the manager of Loaves and Fishes - I love this lady and I love working with her.

Tina and the gang - she asked today, "What does someone have to do to become a member of your church?"  We took care of that answer real quick!!

We met a friendly T-Rex on the street and posed for a photo. Who wouldn't?

Street Art in Pittsburgh

Early in the morning on P-Days, Elder Raymundo and I like to take the truck out and explore. We found this boat on a dirt trail in Discovery Bay.

I love this companion of mine and I love this mission!

Anitoch Zone - we know how to have a good time.

My zone held a funeral for me after our Halloween party!

The funeral antics - I will miss these missionaries!  I will miss this mission!

The Final Chapter - 103rd Email!

大家好! 

Before I acknowledge the ever evident fact that I'm going home, I think I'll say a few words about how absolutely remarkable this past week was. It was one where I faced my fears and worked really hard, and Elder Raymundo and I saw miracles I never thought would happen come to fruition. 

Firstly, we found three new people to teach this week. The first was a referral, a woman requesting we bring her a copy of the Bible. We met with Pearline for the first time earlier in the week, and had a very short by positive conversation about Jesus Christ and how we come to know Him. She accepted both a copy of the Bible and Book of Mormon, and shared with us that her arthritis stopped giving her pain just as we showed up. Coincidence? Not in the slightest. 

On another note, we have added Tina, the dining room manager at 'Loaves and Fishes,' to our teaching pool! We went to help out in her kitchen on Wednesday, and she started talking to us, asking us questions like, "so, what has somebody got to do to join your church?" She has asked this multiple times, but we didn't realize that she was seriously interested. We went to lunch with her on Saturday afternoon, and were able to answer a lot of her questions, particularly about Joseph Smith. That same day, she attended the adult session of Stake Conference with us! She's a really special lady, one of the absolute best people I've met on my mission. I will really miss working with her! 

The greatest miracle of all, though, happened with Sylvia Novero. We had scheduled to go to the Visitors Center with her Friday evening, and we planned to invite her to be baptized while we were there. Just as we were about to leave for Oakland, however,  her friend Sis. Arnold, a member of the Oakley 1st Ward, called and said that Sylvia's daughter had just been taken to the hospital, and we would have to cancel the lesson. We left really disappointed and totally bummed thinking that nothing would come of our night. Minutes later, Sylvia asked us if we would come over to give her a blessing of comfort. We of course said yes, and ran over to Sis. Arnold's house to meet and gave a blessing. Our contact turned into an unexpected opportunity to teach about the Atonement. As we continued to teach, we decided to go right in and share the scriptures that we had planned, and then prepared to invite her to be baptized. At first, I thought we were absolutely crazy for doing that; the woman's daughter just got checked into the psych ward, and now we were supposed to commit her to baptism?! WHAT WERE WE THINKING?! Anyway, we got to bear some powerful testimony, especially Elder Raymundo who shared his powerful conversion experience. It all culminated to Sylvia accepting the invitation to be baptized on November 25th! It was nothing less than a miracle! It was a special moment, and incredible send-off for me. 

What did all of this have to do with? FAITH! COURAGE! TRUST IN THE LORD! These are attributes that I learned to develop this week. I learned that the Spirit of fear is not of God, and when we are scared to do something right, that is Satan influencing us to turn away and hide from a miracle that could increase our testimony or change someone's life. The idea of going home is one that I have been wrestling with for a while now. Its scary to think about, but Elder Raymundo shared something with me I'll never forget. 

"Tell the Demon inside you THEY SUCK, and you are a Child of God!" (I think we could all benefit from that advice. I have a great companion) 

Now that we've addressed the elephant in the room, I guess I better wrap things up. I have thought about the past two years for this entire transfer. This phrase from a song I remember from a High School Dinner Theatre comes to mind.

"I have fought, I have cried,

I've been broke, I've been bruised.

Yet, at the end of the day,

This life is what I still choose."

This mission experience has not been easy. I have faced challenges, rejection, my fears, doubts, and weaknesses almost on a daily basis. However, I have learned to find joy, to love others, to trust in God, and to keep moving forward. This has been an incredible experience for me. I will cherish the chance I had to bear my Savior's name on my chest these past two years as long as I live. 

I know God lives, that He knows and loves me. I know our Savior is the Christ, and that He has walked every path I will ever take in life. I never have to do anything alone. I know God speaks to us today. I love the Book of Mormon, which testifies of the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

Inside the Gorgeous Tabernacle Tent

It is hard to believe this is a tent on the outside once you come inside. This week has been one of hard work, constant explaining and teaching and completely busy.  More than 3,000 people came to visit the Tabernacle and Elder Raymundo and I felt like we talked to all of them.  What an awesome experience!

A focus on families.

I loved this unique way to spend time on my mission!

Ancient Israel in Antioch

各位大家好!

Can you say BUSY?! 什么东西!! This was a week that was exhausting and all over the place, but one with a lot of good that came from our business. 

Firstly, the Tabernacle of Moses event went on throughout the week. I'll give a little more of an introduction to this special exhibit: a groups of members decided to build a life-size Tabernacle replica for a youth conference in their home stake. Soon, stakes from around the country were contacting them like crazy, hoping to host the building for a time. The Antioch Stake decided that now would be a perfect time to bring it over here, just to help people be prepared for the rededication of the Oakland Temple sometime next year. The courtyard of the Tabernacle was divided into a few stations, each one focusing on a different portion of the Tabernacle, whether the Altar of Sacrifice, the Holy of Holies, the Ark of the Covenant, etc. Youth from the Stake were the primary tour guides, but we got to jump in and help out every so often. I feel like I've learned so much about it! It has been a massive project and undertaking on the Stake's part, but one where we saw a lot of success. Over the course of eight days, 4685 people were able to take tours! We also received a couple of referrals to give to missionaries to go contact. More than anything, I was so impressed by how much unity this event brought.  We had people from all different cultures and religious backgrounds come visit,  and it brought all kinds of people together,  regardless of their faith.  It was a very memorable experience, one that I was glad to have to finish my Mission. 

Of course,  we've been pretty heavily involved with the Tabernacle, but we had a lot of other things going on simultaneously this week, as well. We have had meeting after meeting after meeting, from our classic District Council to Mission Leadership Council. We have also spent all week preparing for an upcoming meeting with the Stake Presidnecy, planning for Zone Leadership Council, and planning classes to give at a Regional YSA Conference we had this past weekend. We were able to go, even though we never got the chance to teach our class on Priesthood power and Authority. Regardless, the miracle of the Conference was the fact that Chad was there!! He came and toured the Tabernacle with all of us, participated in a testimony meeting, and stayed for dinner and the dance that was held afterwards! It's been a while since we've been able to reach out to him, and he really enjoyed the event. Our Ward is great at fellowshipping him, too! Still no sign of Diego, wup I'm a little worried for. He's going through some tough times emotionally right now. Prayers for him would be most welcome!

I guess I could also address the elephant in the room to close up. I'm going home, and everyone knows about it. This has been an emotional week, honestly, thinking about my time after my mission. Elder Raymundo has been a big help. I'm grateful for a companion who patiently listens to me and encourages me to have faith. Faith and trust have really become the central themes of my Mission. This will be yet another step for me to show my Heavenly Father that I trust Him. I got to bear testimony of that fact this past Sunday. I know God lives, and that He knows each of His children personally. I know Christ died for each of us, and wants us all to safely return home. I am grateful for the Atonemet, and the comfort it gives me. I hope to develop my Faith throughout the rest of my life, and see miracles during my final week of service.

I love you all! I miss you all! Have a fantastic week! Keep praying, keep believing, and keep loving. 

Elder Butters

包长老

The Never Ending Checklist

各位弟兄姐妹、午安!

It's nice to have less time in between emails to write. Though only five days have passed since our last contact, I feel like it's been a complete week. We have been up to our necks in planning, meetings, studies, exchanges, and Tabernacle shifts.

Speaking of the Tabernacle of Moses, we are officially open to the public as of last night, and thus far we've had incredible success. Elder Raymundo and I spent our entire evening touring the grounds with people, explaining bits and pieces of the building and their spiritual significance, and helping people see the connection of the Tabernacle to modern day Temples. We also got to participate in a unique multifaith panel discussion on the significance of the Tabernacle and the children of Israel to all religious beliefs. It was both informative and spiritual. I was happy to see so many different people brought together in unity by our common beliefs, instead of pointing fingers and condemning others. It was a nice evening.

We weren't able to meet with Diego or Chad face to face this week, but we did manage to connect with Chad over the phone. He is really in a depressing place emotionally, and is really having trouble finding hope. We read Enos with him, and said a prayer on the phone with him. Sometimes I feel bad that missionaries can't provide more literal or immediate comfort to people, but it is good to know that the gospel does bring inevitable peace. Hopefully Chad got something out of what we said. I'm really worried right now about the people we are working with. 

In other news and ongoings of the week, I went on exchanges with Elder Fish on Saturday in his area. It was a busy day full of different activities. Hes very good at doing his job and getting to the point. We worked on trying to have more genuine conversations as part of our finding efforts. We had a good practice of this by visiting with some people living at a local senior center, which went well.

I got to sing a lot this week, which is great! I was asked to sing by one of our members at the funeral of his mother. It was a small gathering, but powerful. I sang as part of Zone Conference, And am working on a musical number to perform over the last few Sacrament meetings I have here. The more time goes on, the more I wish it would slow down a little. 

I got to start reading in the Book of Mormon just like Pres. Nelson has asked us to. I have been blessed to see how much that Book testifies of Christ. It's funny, as I focus my study on Him, learning about other important Gospel principles and attributes comes much more naturally. I am grateful for that. My invitation to each of you this week is to take our Prophet's invitation to heart and study. Blessings come as we do what the Prophet asks. 

Love to you all!

Elder Butters/包长老

Building Me Up (And The Tabernacle of Moses)

大家好!

It's weird to be coming to you on a Wednesday, but we had a busy week full of projects. As I've said in previous emails, the Antioch Stake is hosting an event involving a life size replica of the Tabernacle the Children of Israel used when they travelled in the wilderness for 40 years. This past Monday, I was off helping a ton of other volunteers set up the massive structure. It's beautiful, and will definitely lead to some unique spiritual experiences over the next couple of weeks. It is a project that will continue to involve us very heavily, and will take me up to practically the end of my mission. 

The past week has been filled with meetings and conferences, and lots and lots if sitting, so we haven't been up to our typical proselyting activities as much as we normally are. We haven't seen Chad in a while. He's gotten suddenly very busy with a job that takes him out to Oakland. Diego sprained his thumb earlier this week, but we still were able to meet with him for dinner, which was fun. He's way into comedy and satire, so that made for interesting conversation. Unfortunately, neither of them were able to watch General Conference, but Sylvia was. She watched it with some members at their home, which we were really happy to hear. We were also again able to do some service for our friend Pam, who has had a really rough couple of months, with lots if deaths in her family circle happening suddenly. It was hard to see her in such pain, but she knew that they were all in a better place now. Christ can really bring us all so much hope. 

Jumping back to an earlier thought, Conference was spectacular! One of the Stake Presidnecy counselors made a comment to all of us watching it at the Stake Center that Conference in essentially the "Missionary Superbowl" and I couldn't agree more! Some of my favorite message included those by Sis. Bonnie H. Cordon (how I can best "feed His sheep"), Elder Robert C. Gay (See as He sees, serve as He served, and trust him), and Elder David A. Bednar (recognizing how all things are one rather than simply checking things off of my spiritual To-Do list). My favortie talk in particular was by Elder Ronald A. Rasband, whose message on living with courage and faith as opposed to fear and doubt touched me. I have been experiencing some significant fears of life after the mission right now, and his message of continuing to stand in a Holy Place and to not be troubled was one practically written for me at this time. Most importantly, I learned I need to remember how the Lord is always with us, and I need to do better at trusting Him. There have always been doubts, but Heavenly Father is helping me, and I know He will help all of you as you take seemingly impossible steps into the unknown. I know that we are led by men called of God. I admire His chosen servants, and aspire to emulate their goodness. Also, 12 NEW TEMPLES!!! We have missionaries serving in our mission from such places as Puerto Rico and Cambodia, so it was so fun to be able to celebrate an amazing and unexpected spiritual milestone with all of them. 

Speaking of an international missionary, I went on exchanges this past week with Elder Saengsevarng. He is a hard worker, but is very worried about his English speaking and how it will affect his mission. He is nervous about a lot of the "unknowns" in his life, too, especially because he is still so early on in his mission. We were able to have lots of good talks as part of our day. I love giving advice to people. I don't mean that to sound conseated, but it's something that has brought me a lot of joy and deep relationships on my mission. Elder Saengsavarng is a good missionary, and I have no doubt he will work wonders in both the Laotian and English languages. 

The Lord is building me up. It's strange, as the weeks of missionary service come to an end, I can feel Satan working on me. I am trying to maintain the place that Heavenly Father has built me up to, but it's proving to bring unexpected challenges. Mostly just lots of questions. Regardless, I am grateful for the Gospel, I am grateful for the scriptures, a great companion who cooks, sings, trains, prepares trainings, and laughs with me (not to mention is great himself a providing council) and my Savior. 

Love you all, and thank you again for another week of prayers and thoughts and pleas on my behalf. 

下个礼拜间!

Elder Butters/包长老