Dear President Forbes,
The past 18 months have been some of the best of my life. Our Heavenly Father truly has extended his hand of love and mercy to me each day as I have sought his will and put on the badge that stands for truth and happiness. I will be forever grateful for this sacred opportunity to put aside all other cares of the world and to focus purely on the gospel of Jesus Christ. To be able to focus on others needs and not my own. I have truly come to see that as we concern ourselves with others we find much more happiness and we fulfill God's purpose. There is truly much more of our self to find. I know that being a disciple of Jesus Christ is something we are all called to for the entirety of our existence. I am grateful that my Father in Heaven has entrusted me with trials and challenges while I have been here serving so that I may be able to grow and I now trust him so much more I know they all are for my good. I am grateful for each and every person that I have met here because I know they have played an important role in my eternal make up.
Being a full time missionary is one of the most sacred duties here on earth. Each day as I would embark in the service of the Lord I pleaded with him to guide me. To show me his will and to five me the faith and courage I needed to complete it. I strove with all my being in order to be obedient to what he had asked me to do. I know exact obedience to the commandments of God is the only way to go. Each day that came was not easy but at the end of each day I always could see the Lords hand. He guided me every single day. The spirit became and is a very special gift to me. I strive to have the spirit every moment of everyday because with that, we are happy. With the spirit we are true messengers, we are effective instruments in the Master's hands. With that spirit I was able to be a missionary and see many might miracles. Without the spirit and my God I know I am nothing. Not every day of my mission was easy. In fact, most days drove me to my knees begging the Lord for comfort and guidance. As I have been humbled and truly communicated with my Father in Heaven, I came to know the power of God I have come to trust in him. I have learned of the realness of his answers and the answer was not always immediate but the one thing that was, was his pure love. What a merciful God who gives us glimpses of his love and joy in the times we need it most. Looking back from today, every one of my prayers has been answered. Something that is invaluable to me is my love for the Savior and my Heavenly Father. That has come through long nights on my knees pouring my soul out to God. In those sacred moments I have felt true peace and the love of God surrounding me. I have come to know that He is real. He is closer than we think and He desires more than anything in the world our well being. My love for the Savior has also come through getting up every morning and going to work. Going and doing, by obedience, and trust. It has come through fervent study of the scriptures. Particularly the Book of Mormon. I have received very real answers as I have studied and pondered the scriptures. Before I didn't get what I get now out of the scriptures. Each morning it is an opportunity for me to receive personal revelation and motivation for my day. I have come to know the importance of daily study!
There have been countless mircles that I have experienced on my mission. Never before did I realize just how marvelous our Heavenly Father was! I honestly can say I saw a miracle sometimes even more than one each and every day of my mission. If that doesn't scream God loves us, I don't know what does. One of the greatest miracles of my mission has to do with the Book of Mormon. Each person I have taught who has been truly converted to the gospel has come to know the Book of Mormon was true for themselves. They have truly read it. Each progressing investigator, each and every person, me included, who reads the Book of Mormon with real intent is forever changed! That is a miracle.
One day as we were driving in St Peter we saw a Hispanic man walking on his break. Because St Peter does not have a very high population of Latinos we were very bold in talking with everyone. From the car we yelled out and said hi! We got his information and then returned to visit him another time. when we first visited him it didn't seem like much was going to come from our visits. Hermano Pablo Rivera started out as someone who knew God existed but didn't know what that meant. He was not necessarily the first on our priority list, but he took the Book of Mormon and he read it. He read it every day faithfully. as he read the Book of Mormon he taught himself the truths of eternity and he gained the courage and faith to leave all of his worldly cares behind. He knew that living the Sabbath day was a true commandment of God and that he needed to live it no matter how hard it was. He currently was working Sundays and his boss wasn't allowing him to change. With the power of the spirit in him he came to the conclusion he needed to leave the job or quit working Sundays. He went to his boss and told him that he was going to leave unless he got this day off to go to church. Because of his courage and willingness to obey God, his boss gave him Sunday's off. He also was able to quit smoking and drinking coffee on his own. Isn't that amazing? What a tender mercy. If he would have never started reading the Book of Mormon he would not understand the truth as he does now or be where he is today. for me personally I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. I have came to have the need to read it wvery day. It feeds my soul and never leaves me hungry. with the Book of Mromon we have it all. We know the way. I know Christ because of the Book of Mormon and that is priceless to me. The Book of Mormon is one of my most cherished possessions.
Brother Wade Woodrum is a man who was baptized and now has been apart of baptizing his daughter and another one of his friends. We knocked his door, I felt impressed to in the first place because he is so tan I thought he was Latino! We found out he was not Latino, but it was meant to be. We shared the restoration with him the first time we met him. we invited him to be baptized about 6 weeks later and he said yes. We were excited but honestly I lacked faith and didn't expect much to come of it. we started visiting him more, he started reading the Book of Mormon and coming to church and his whole life changed. we had taught him the restoration and about the Book of Mormon. The nexgt lesson we had a members restaurant. We were the only ones there. We started to talk and I think we just had said a prayer when Brother Woodrm started to ask us about the word of wisdom. He shared with us that the first night we had met him he saw a light around us and a halo over my companions head. we appeared to him as angels. He knew what we said was true. As he read from the Book of Mormon and prayed to know the truth of our message the spirit spoke to him and he made the decision to change. He was growing and selling and using illegal drugs. On his own with out us teaching the word of wisdom he got rid of everything and made the decision to stop everything. that has been one of the greatest miracles of my mission. His change was so fst and so intense he was truly ready. God gave him the power he had never had before. The power to do something he could have never done on his own. I am so grateful we were led to knock on his door to help in this mighty change he experienced. God is a God of miracles and I am so grateful for all he has allowed me to witness and be a part of. Every moment of every day being a missionary really is a miracle. Why? Because it is the greatest thing in the world! The time I saw miracles the most was when I was grateful, when I listened and followed the spirit and when I was actively searching them.
There has been so many elsson I have learned on my mission. I have been so grateful for all the opportunities to learn from others. There have been countless examples to me on my mission that have influenced me for good. I have so enjoyed serving with so many other missionaries and learning from them. It has been a very special experience to have a companion with me at all times. Some of my greatest learning moments have been within my compaionship. Patience, love, service, humility, charity, gratitude, trust are just a few of the attributes I have leaned and acquired. I have been so blessed to have their examples in my life and their love. Through the ups and downs I am a better person and who I am today because of them! I will never forget them and strive to help them always!
I now know the kind of parent I want to be. I will raise my children in light and truth. We will read the scriptures together and pray together everyday. I know the importance of allowing them to choose for themselves like our Heavenly Father has allowed us to do but also giving them all the tools they need in order to choose the right. I will be their example and my husband's faithful wife. The home is an extension of heaven and will be a temple for my family. The family is so important to God!
I have learned on my mission that we are all disciples of Christ. Truly many are called buy few are chosen. The chosen choose the way of God and not of the world. They do not get caught up in the pride of men but are humble and submissive. I am truly striving each day to be ghumble and submissive to the Lord. Being a missionary will not end when I get home from my mission. i will forever be his disciple. I will forever give testimony of him in all that I do and say, in who I am! I will each week go to sacrament and seek out how I can better serve him the next week and recommit to being his faithful daughter. I have learned how to be a teacher. If we truly hope to teach someone we must be listeners. we must ask questions and listen. The spirit is the ultimate teacher. I must call on that in all situations and be worthy of it so I can continue to learn and influence those around me. I have learned to recognize the spirit. I have learned maybe more than anyhting the ower of the atonement in my own life. That it truly does apply to me and that God cares more about the person that I am becoming than who I was. He is proud of me and I can be proud of myself. I am so grateful for the Savior and that I can start over again and again. I am so grateful for his forgiveness in my life and that infinte atonement and ability to change.
I have come to know the importance of sacrifice. Sacrifice truly does bring the blessings of heaven. each time we sacrifice something we are blessed in ten fold. We always receive more than anything we give up. The fame, fortune and glamour of this world really don't matter at all. what's imprtant to me is following my Heavenly Father's plan. before I didn't really always obey because I wanted to. Now I find joy in obedience to the commandments of God. My desires have changed. I desire to follow God not because of fear or obligation but because of love for my God. I LOVE my Father in Heaven. He has blessed me with so much and I am everything I am becuase of Him. I am everything I am today because of the Savior. he is ever so patient. I faler and stumble and He's okay with that because he expects it. He also expects me to keep going and to get up stronger than I was before. He gives me perfect strength in my weakness.
My testimony is the thing of most worth to me. My faith is not perfect but it grows every day. There are many things I have come to know are true as I have lived and experienced the atonement first hand. These are truths engraved on my heart that will not change or falter with time or trial. I will stay true to what I know. I know without a shadow of a doubt that God is the creator of my body and soul. That he truly is my Father. I am his daughter and I have the potential to become as he is. Perfected through the atonement of Christ. How amazing it is to know my father is perfect and he has everything under control. I know that He loves us and wants what is best for us. He desires us to come back to Him. He wants us to be joyous, happy and obedient. He has a plan. I do not understand his plan in full. I can not see what will happen next but I know his plan is perfect. I know that if I follow it I will have eternal life. I know our families can be together forever through the atonement of Christ. I know that this life is not the end. Really it is the beginning of eternity and now is the time to prepare. We must build up our treasures to be the things esteemed of God and not man here, so we may take them back with us in the life to come! I wish I could shout this at the top of my lungs for the whole entire world to hear, I know Jesus Christ IS the only begotten of the Father! He is the light, life and hope of the world. He is my SAVIOR, my redeemer, my king, my brother, my friend. He is my advocate with the Father. He makes everything in life okay. He makes everything in life good. Jesus Christ is my best friend. I know that He only can be if we let Him. He truly gave his life, he laid it down to heal every lost, hungered tired weary and beaten down soul. There is not one of us that can not be healed by his everlasting grace. Jesus Christ makes wrong right, fills the emptiness and doubt within us. He changes lives. I know that my redeemer lives, what comfort this sweet sentence gives! HE LIVES! He is here with us. He guides our way. I am so imperfect. I can not go through this life on my own. Through the Savior of the world I have been able to seek and receive forgiveness again and again. There is no limit. I am so grateful that he has allowed me to change and repent and come to him because I so need it. His love knows no bounds. He has overcome every fall in my life. I know the atonement is real and it is central in this gospel. It is to be used on a daily basis. I know that God has provided us with the restoration of his gospel. That Joseph Smith is a prophet of God. He was a powerful instrument in His hands and I know that through him the perfect church is back on earth. I know we have the priesthood power of God restored to the earth and through that we can make covenants with God that are essential for our eternal happiness. It allows us to fulfill our purpose here which really is to be endowed and sealed, to make sacred covenants in the temple. I know that the Book of Mormon is the evidence that we have the truth here once again and it is key in our lasting conversion. I know that all prayers are answered. I know that God desires to hear what's in our hearts and minds. I know that the gospel is living. It's not just something that is good in our lives but rather it is our lives. The gospel is my life. I know that we have the Church of Jesus Christ here today on this earth. the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is God's kingdom restored to the earth. I know that we have living prophets and apostles called of God. That Thomas S. Monson really is our living prophet on the earth today. I know the Church of God has order. I know that his commandments bring us happiness to follow them. That really they are guides to blessings. I know that there is no one here on this earth that is exempt to the blessings of this restored gospel. I know that all can experience a change of heart. A mighty one that I have had and am so grateful for. I am forever indebted and so grateful to my Father for what he has allowed me to become, see, and know through Christ.
Thank you for being the best mission President ever. It is hard to say goodbye to the people I love here but I know great things are waiting up ahead. Even greater miracles and chances to share the gospel. I appreciate with my whole heart your patience with me. How understanding you are and your ability to follow the spirit. Thank you so much for giving me hope and trusting in me. Thank you for all of your teachings, your example, testimony and your love. There is not a missionary here in the MMM that doesn't feel gratitude to be led by someone like you. You are an amazing missionary and tool in the hands of God. What you have taught me will change my life forever. I personally am so grateful for your sacrifice to serve and for all those nights you are up worried about us missionaries. I can not imagine what gratitude God Himself has for you. Thanks again for everything!!!!!
I will never be the same after this 18 month mission. I never will go back to who I was before. My life will never be the same. Thanks to my Father in Heaven, I am changed into a real disciple of Christ and will cry repentance to all the ends of the earth. I will be a light on a hill that can not be hid. I will make sure each of my brothers and sisters knows their divine potential and the love of God. I will be an angel of mercy to each I meet. I will be a strong fighter on God's side. This is the truth. Good will win. I will fight the good fight until the end. The world will never be the same after I am done with it. You can expect great things out of me with the strength of the Lord.
With Love,
Hermana Ivory Ann Pentelute
