Dear Family,
Well this letter will be exciting! Brief unfortunately, but really exciting! To start off I am doing great. I would lie if I said that there wasnt a different feeling the closer I get to the end of my mission, its mostly a depressing feeling. New Mexico owns my heart! I love this place soooo much! And it definitely is starting to become a reality that I am not going to always be here. Especially because I received my departing letter from President Miller that has my flight itinerary and everything in it... I know that there are great things ahead for me! I am excited to see everyone again, and to start school! Having Tiff and Kellan at home is definitely an answer to prayers as well. I am so glad that they will be close! Another indicator that things are drawing to a close is that my AP replacement came on Sunday and it is...... my son Elder Gibson!! :) I am so happy, I trained an AP haha! He will do great.
So many of you have been wondering where I will be for my final 2 weeks..... So I am first off ecstatic for this opportunity. After many discussions with President Miller he has decided for me to return back to ALAMO. It still hasn't really felt real that I am going back, but I am sure it will be an emotional over load as soon as I see the "Entering the Alamo Reservation" sign. I cant remember if I wrote it home, but when I left the Res and went to ABQ, at that transfer site over a year ago President Miller and I had a discussion on how he needed me as a zone leader, and that he had a strong feeling that I would one day return back to Alamo before my mission was over. I am so incredibly grateful for these upcoming 2 weeks! It is going to be an awesome end of the mission! I have goals set for what I desire to accomplish. Definitely the number one goal is too strengthen the converts I had out there. :) So a week from today I will be driving back.
Well this week is going to be crazy, along with Transfer planning we have MLC on Thursday. I will be mostly guiding Elder Snyder and Elder Gibson to makes sure everything gets done that needs too. It will be weird giving my departing testimony at MLC. My #16th one!
#5 thing that I have learned on my mission!
Priesthood has been restored/ "The priesthood can work miracles"
Throughout my mission I have felt the power and authority comes with the calling of a missionary, and that authority came when I had President Biddulph set me apart as a missionary (seems like that was yesterday) with the priesthood keys that he holds. I have been able to see and be apart of so many miracles performed by the priesthood, I could share countless experiences that have continued to reaffirm this truth to me of the power that worthy priesthood holders have. I would like to share one though that is incredibly personal to me and to me there is no doubt that I wouldn't be on a mission if it wasn't for a worthy priesthood holder of a father. So during the fall of 2012 I was experiencing the most constant piercing pains in my stomach for about 3 months straight, during this I was preparing to coming out on the mission, I was honestly terrified that I had something potentially wrong with me that would cause me to have to postpone the mission. When I had my physical I lied when he asked if I was experiencing pains anywhere, and thus passed my physical. During all of this I asked Dad one night when I was down from Rexburg for a blessing, that the pain would subside and I would be able to focus on finals at BYU-I and in preparing for the mission. This was about 3 weeks or so before I was to leave to New Mexico. A miracle happend and the pain left for the week of finals, but then returned. I knelt down one evening in prayer and pleaded with Heavenly Father that it would just leave for the next 2 years, and promised him that if it left I would dedicate my all to my mission. I continued to have the pain up till the morning I left to the MTC. The family probably remembers how quiet I was on the way to Provo, nerves definitely contributed to that, but I mostly just sat in awe that a miracle had been performed in my life, and that God had answered my prayer. I know that the priesthood has been restored and that it truly is the power of God on the earth! I have complete faith in that power!
I love you all! I am excited to finish my mission strong! :) There is work to be done!
Elder Nic Barrus
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