Wednesday, December 17, 2014

103rd Letter: "Bye bye ABQ..."

Dear Family,
Hello again!! Well amid the craziness around me of arrival day, I still hope to get a decent letter to you with the short breaks that I get. This morning we welcomed 10 new missionaries here to the New Mexico Albuquerque mission, it is always exciting to see their nervous and excited faces! Ha they have no idea what they are getting themselves into! They are going to do great things I can already tell.

First off I have to clarify the picture that I hear is floating around on facebook. haha I am not watching Sunday night football, its the Christmas devotional and I got really sleepy sitting next to the fire, BUT I never did fall asleep! :)

Well tomorrow I depart for the promised land! I am so so so so so so so so so emotional, ecstatic, happy, glad, and feel so incredibly blessed to be able to go back and finish my final 2 weeks. I couldn't put it into words what a remarkable experience it will be for me to be able to go home before I actually go home. Last night I packed everything up, and it was late Elder Gibson and Snyder had already gone to bed. As I was packing up my 50 ties (dont worry I condensed from my 80), I had an emotional overload just thinking about how amazing my mission has been. I am so grateful for all that I have been able to experience. I don't know why I have been able to have such an awesome mission... man has the Lord blessed me!

Leaving the office, and the University YSA is difficult, I have loved serving here amid the many stresses that have accompanied it. I am really going to miss all of the amazing people here. Especially President and Sister Miller those two are just so awesome! They really have changed my life, I love them a ton!!

#6 Thing I have learned on my mission! "Temple is the house of God"
The term you dont really appreciate something until you dont have it, has proved to be true to me with this. I have missed being able to go to the temple whenever I want, that is something that I am so looking forward to doing. (We have to go the week I am home as a family) But the 4 experiences that I have had on my mission at the temple have been amazing, many of them I have already wrote home about. Something that has been a continual testimony to me that the temple truly is a refuge from the world, a place for relief and definitely a place of strength. Why don't we as Latter day saints take advantage of it then? Everyone that has gone to the temple knows that they feel those same things each time. We become complacent, and busy, and our priorities become out of place. My prayer is that each of us recommit to go to the temple more frequently. I will be going weekly with my immediate family for sure! (I will force them!) :)

Love you all so much! Make sure you dont send me any items for Christmas, just wait till I come home. I would love a letter in the mail from each of you to open Christmas morning though! :)

Love
Elder Nic Barrus

Alamo address: (same as back in the day)
P.O Box 5130
Alamo, NM 87825

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