This is the end

26 October 2016

This is the end. We are now daisempai. Three Nihonjin came in
yesterday and maybe five more will get here today. They are really fun
to talk to. Also, we get a ton more kohai today as well.

Saying goodbye is going to be really hard. Saying goodbye to our
sempai (A really small group. Just one class of them.) was hard. We
may have had a better relationship with our daisempai, but because
there were fewer sempai, we knew them a lot better. Also, with them
the two Nihonjin shimai and the Kankokujin shimai left with them. They
were all so great. I'm really going to miss them. And because they all
went to the north side transfer, it's likely I may not see them again
for a very very very long time.

Waddel shimai told us something on Monday. She said because we are so
close to the end of our stay here, we need to think of where we want
to get our investigators before we leave. That was pretty much heart
breaking. I realized that not only do we have to say goodbye to our
branch presidency, each other and our teachers, we have to say goodbye
to our investigators. It sucks. I love our teachers so much. I have
grow to love our investigators so much. And now, it's almost done.
We're leaving to Japan. It should be exciting. But it's also just so
sad. I'll survive probably. I'll have a million hour plane flight to
get over it, haha.

I kind of makes me wonder if this is how we felt in the pre-existence.
If despite we knew where we were going was exciting and where we
wanted to go, if it was hard to say goodbye to everyone. I'm sure it
was.

I'm so thankful for the infinite and eternal gift of the Atonement. I
don't understand it as well as I could. I may never fully understand
it. But the more I learn about it, the more I am reassured that it is
the most incredible event that has ever taken place on earth, and
maybe the greatest event that ever will occur. It's the pinnacle of
our entire existence. Without it, we never could amount to our
potential. It would have been impossible. To read about the things
that happened as part of the Atonement is heartbreaking and inspiring.
To think that Christ has literally felt every single feeling that
every single person has ever felt is impossible to comprehend. And he
did it for us. So that he can take our pains, our sins, our
disappointments, our sadness away and there is no law that can
justifiably stop that. He literally stands with OPEN ARMS OF MERCY. He
waits for us to come to him and to willingly and courageously allow
him to take these things away from us.