I'm home now! It's great to be back in Orlando, at least for the time being, and it's been a blast getting to see my family for the last few days! I'll be taking time over the next few days to put up the weekly emails that Spencer didn't get a chance to put up while I was gone, and I'm not sure but I imagine they'll probably end up making this post rarely seen, but that's alright! It was a fantastic two years, and it went by sooo quickly I still can't quite believe it's over! But alas, life goes on even when we don't want it to. So, On to the weekly letters! I hope you enjoy being able to read through them!
Due to some silly people using robots to post things on their blogs, it's become ineffective for me to continue posting the weekly letters, for now. I'll try again tomorrow and see if I can finish it :) I hope y'all have a great day!
So, I guess I'll give y'all an update of what I've been up to since I got home, since it's almost been a week already! So, since my last email that will end up on here a lot has happened. For one thing, I had my final few days as a full-time missionary, which were an absolute blast! We saw a ton of people on Tuesday, plus I had to pack which took up way too much people-seeing time. Eventually Wednesday came, and it was time to head down to Moore for transfers! We got to go down with Kyle, which was a blast - plus, we got donuts on the way down which made a great time slightly better! Anyway, we eventually got down to transfers and I had a good time seeing so many missionaries I knew and saying good bye to them, but there were a ton more missionaries I didn't know - especially when compared to the ones I did. So, I heard throughout my mission that was a sign that you're dying soon and it was definitely true for me! At length we headed down to the mission home for lunch before heading to do a temple session, and then have a Q&A with the temple President! Apparently no other temple does that - so far as we know - so it was super neat. A lot of the questions that were asked he essentially responded that we need to go study it out for ourselves, which is probably because of the principle Alma teaches in chapter 12 verses 9-11: " 9 And now Alma began to expound these things unto him, saying: It is given unto many to know the mysteries of God; nevertheless they are laid under a strict command that they shall not impart only according to the portion of his word which he doth grant unto the children of men, according to the heed and diligence which they give unto him.10 And therefore, he that will harden his heart, the same receiveth the lesser portion of the word; and he that will not harden his heart, to him is given the greater portion of the word, until it is given unto him to know the mysteries of God until he know them in full.11 And they that will harden their hearts, to them is given the lesser portion of the word until they know nothing concerning his mysteries; and then they are taken captive by the devil, and led by his will down to destruction. Now this is what is meant by the chains of hell." So, forgive me for not going into what we talked about with him, but that's a topic for a more spiritually minded conversation than what I've got going here. After we were done at the temple we went out to Porto Fino in the city since our group was too large to fit in the mission home as seen in this picture:
So, we had a pretty solid night after that, and then Thursday was plane day! I flew to Atlanta with Elder Toiava in the morning, and then headed to my flight for Orlando! I got to the airport and was able to see a good deal of my family members! This picture pretty much sums up how happy they were to see me:
It was a fantastic time, and then eventually we headed out and my step mom made some delicious empanadas, while my dad made milanesa. It was a super tasty meal, and then I went to meet with my stake President and was officially released as a full-time missionary. President Munns really emphasized the important fact that even though I'm being released as a full-time proselyting missionary, I still have many responsibilities as a member missionary - which is now going to be much more of a focus than it was before my mission. That evening disappeared to the unpacking monster, though I did get to play tennis with Spencer! He beat me... but we're going to attribute that to my lack of sleep and general tiredness.
At length Friday came... and it was my first full day as a regular person - or at least no longer as a full-time missionary. I spent the majority of the day with my dad - since he took of work, so that was a good time. Plus, in the late afternoon/evening we got to go to my grandma's house and had a great time there with my cousins! They're all so big now it's absolutely insane! On Saturday we had a ward picnic which was an absolute blast! I met a bunch of the ward members, and we had a good time with a huge soccer game - where the Aaronic Priesthood boys faced the Melchizedek priesthood men! IT was a good time, and the men eventually ended up winning 6-2, so that made it even better! After that we ended up coming home to chill and hang out as a family for the most part of the rest of the day.
Eventually Sunday arrived - bright and early, since we had to wake up around 6:15 in order to make it so that I could report to the High Council at 7:15... Spencer took me, and it was a pretty sweet experience though so I guess it was worth the effort :) After that I went home and finished up my preparations for my homecoming talk - planning to talk about one of a few topics, and I had a couple different scripture chains I thought of using, and since you're probably curious I'll throw them up here: (If you're not... then skip it. Nobody said you had to read the entire thing!)
- 2 Nephi 4:15-16 > Moses 6:59 > John 5:39 > John 6:15,24,28-29,38,51,60-61,66-69 > 2 Timothy 4:2-3 > Philippians 4:8 > 2 Nephi 4:16
- 2 Nephi 4:19, 34 > Proverbs 3:5-6 > Alma 37:37 > D&C 11:12-14 > Ether 12:4 > Moroni 7:40 > 1 Corinthians 13:13, 1-3 > 1 Timothy 6:17-19
- 2 Nephi 2:5-8, 10, 13, 25-26 > Galatians 3:2> Mosiah 13:27-31 > 3 Nephi 12:19-20 > D&C 88:21-22 > D&C 130:20-21 > Alma 34:8-17
So, for those of you who weren't interested enough to go through one of the chains (since I obviously only had time in a sacrament meeting talk to use one) - essentially they all focused on the Atonement and/or the scriptures and their importance. But alas, eventually sacrament meeting arrived and when it came time for my talk I ended up talking about something totally different - focusing on a talk from President Eyring in April 2007 titled: "This Day" - it's super awesome, and you should totally check it out if you have a minute... I'll even throw a link :HERE!
At length we catch up to the present... but time keeps on slipping into the future and it turns out that another day has passed before I've actually finished this post. So, I guess I'll close up here and throw it to the world! I'd love to hear any comments you might have, and I'll do my best to include any suggested topics in future blog posts!
'Til Next Time,
Jordan Nielson
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