August 31, 2020
Elder Trezise sent some pictures with his email this week :)
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| Elder Orindolph and Elder Trezise (not sure who is in the middle) |
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| Elder Trezise and Elder Critter |
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| Elder Trezise and Elder Nolan |
Hello family!
Man. This might be the last weekly email I write. I
don't know if one is really necessary next Monday, although I'm sure my
mom will beg me to write one anyways.
As my time and service
here as a missionary comes to a close, I wanted to share a few things
that I've been able to learn with all of you.
First and
foremost, I've learned that this church is true. Any inklings of a doubt
that I had before are gone. This is the Church of Jesus Christ. The
Book of Mormon is not only true, but it is life changing and incredible.
The lessons it teaches us, the stories it retails to us, are amazing
and inspiring. It has helped me find faith in my darkest hours.
Secondly,
I've learned that we have a Father in Heaven who loves us with a
perfect love. Who loves us despite our mistakes. Despite our
shortcomings and faults. This truth has been vital to my spiritual
progression out here. As some of you know, or maybe don't know because I
keep it to myself, I'm pretty hard on myself. I don't particularly care
about what others think about me, or about making a scene. (Like the
time I sat on the floor of Circle K because mom wouldn't buy me two
things... remember that mom :) But I do care how I appear to myself.
When I make a mistake, when I fall short, it is the bad habit that I
have of being harder on myself than anyone else is on me. Nobody is more
disappointed with my shortcomings than I am. And that negativity and
self doubt has been extremely hard for me throughout my life. But coming
to learn that God loves us no matter what has changed my life entirely.
It hasn't stopped me from being hard on myself, but it has allowed me
to take a step back and realize, even when I'm down, and I feel alone,
that I'm still loved. That I'm always loved. And this knowledge has
given me the desire to pray. Because I know that there is no question or
concern that is too small to God. Because to Him, the most important
thing is that we are speaking to Him. He's a loving Father who just
wants to hear our voice. Jeffery R. Holland once said, "God is anxiously
awaiting to fulfill your dreams and answer your prayers. But, He can't
do that if you don't dream. And He can't do that if you don't pray."
Perhaps
the most important thing that I've learned, at least for me, is the
potential each of us have. Like I said, I'm prone to be hard on myself,
which, while it pushes me to work hard, also pushes me to get
discouraged. But as I've been out here I've come to realize that we are
capable of so much more than we realize. In every aspect of that! I've
pushed myself to the brink physically, emotionally, and of course
spiritually as I've been out here. There have been days where I've
studied hours upon hours of the Gospel. There have been days where I've
had people I'm teaching run into anti material and not want to learn
anymore, there was even someone who I was teaching, a sweet old lady,
who was progressing amazingly. She quit smoking, she started attending
church, and then after a few months of teaching her, she passed away.
I
had a day where I ran 20 miles. And throughout all of this, what I've
come to realize is that the edge that we think stops us from moving
forward, isn't there. There is no cliffside, no end of the trail. Are
there barriers? Certainly. But what I came to find out is, at the end of
all that studying, there was more material in front of me. At the end
of those heartbreaking moments with the people I was teaching, there
were other people to help. At the end of those 20 miles, there was more I
could do. That doesn't mean it wasn't hard. That doesn't mean after 2
miles I didn't want to quit. What it means is we are capable of so much
more than we realize. Infinitely more than we realize. We are children
of God. The most powerful Being to ever exist. We are His literal sons
and daughters, with a potential in our blood that allows us to become
like him. So pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and move forward.
Whatever crisis' you have faced, whatever hardships are in your past, it
doesn't matter. President Monson once said, "the future is as bright as
your faith." So keep your head up, believe in yourself, and move
forward. You got this.
I am so grateful for the opportunity I
had to serve. I cannot begin to express how much it has changed my
life. My attitude. My mindset. My beliefs. Everything. I am so excited
to see you all and be with you all again, and I love you so much. And I
testify to you, with all my heart. With everything that I am, that God
is real. That He loves you. More than you can understand. In the name of
Jesus Christ. Amen.
-Elder Trezise
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