You all were such a wonderful sight yesterday!!! I cannot believe you have grown up so much!!! Coming home will be like unwrapping a present and finding my family inside!! I am excited for that moment. But until then I still have much work to do here.
My mission had been full of wonderful experiences. I have been tried and tested, blessed and uplifted. Rinsed. Repeated.
I am learning so much right now about being a missionary. I am realizing now more than ever that this is pure service. For these two years we serve others. Everything we do is for other people. To be quite honest there have been times where I think too much about myself and what I need. It is at those moments when I feel less effective as a missionary. The best feeling in the world is helping someone else. Sometimes these helpful acts are small, like explaining to an 8 year old the meaning of a certain scripture. Other times these acts are rather large, like spending time with an individual on a daily basis, bearing testimony of Christ, and helping them resolve what concerns and reasons for hesitation they might have as they lead themselves to baptism. There is no greater act of service I have witnessed on my mission than helping another person express their faith, determination, and commitment to Christ by baptizing them. Their lives change.
It is all becoming more of a reality to me now that eventually, soon, I will have to leave this place. This is home for me right now. These people are my family. My friends. My inspiration. It is a bitter-sweet thought.
I am serving God. I am numbered among men such as the apostles who Christ Himself ordained to preach the gospel. I am a representative of Jesus Christ. Yesterday a family member mentioned how she had seen my goals in life change in the past 2 years. Oh how they have! I aim to act as His representative in every way. It is difficult and I am imperfect but with each effort He refines me.
Some awesome things are happening here in the mission. In June we will receive 18 new missionaries followed by another 33 in July! The summer months are always packed with new missionaries. Along with that, our mission will split on 1 July as a result of the success in this part of the Lord's vineyard. Nevada will then be divided into 3 different missions: Reno Nevada, Las Vegas Nevada, and Las Vegas West Missions.
I think the greatest part of what I am doing now in the mission is the opportunity to get to know all the other missionaries and their stories of why they are here and what they are doing to fulfill their mission. Truth be told, the missionaries I meet inspire me to be better each day. I feel the Lord has to send his best missionaries here to Las Vegas. Anyone less could not survive. This is the best mission in the world!
I love all of you,
Elder Cronin
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