Dear Family
Well indeed the end has finally come to my stay here in Russia. These past two years have been the most difficult,rewarding of my life. I think the greatest feeling is knowing that you have accomplished everything that you wanted to. I have no regrets and that is what makes me so happy.
So I will be coming home Wednesday night. Please everyone pray that my bags wont get lost on the journey. Especially the bag that I call santas present bag ha. It should be a good time to reflect on my mission and remember all of the good times because honestly I don't remember the bad, difficult times. The happy memories and the fun times out number the difficult times by a 100. I am excited for the journey home. Time to finally relax and kick the feet up...Oh wait I probably wont be flying business so looks like no feet up ha. To be honest I am utterly exhausted. Relaxation is something I look forward to a lot.
So saturday we had a little get together with a lot of people at Sveta's house. We had a little going away party. It was really fun. To be honest I don't like saying goodbye to people. There are going to be a lot of sad people on Tuesday morning. We have really grown close to a lot of members, investigators and just people. Elder Wimber and I were quite the dynamic duo. I love Tyumen.
I want to talk a little about my companion, Elder Wimber. This kid has changed my life. We have cryed a lot together and have been through a lot. We have seen cloudy days where it just seems that nothing is going our way and that the world is against us. We have also seen glorious sunny days. I will never forget the life lessons that I learned with Elder Wimber. He has become my brother and we have grown so close. Mom looks like you are going to have to add another son to the family. Trust me he isn't a trouble maker ha. I wouldn't have asked to end my mission anyother way then to end in Tyumen with Wimber. It sure has been a ride.
Sometimes I find myself comparing my mission to Lord of the Rings. Frodo is the main character and he always has Sam by his side. No matter how hard the journey gets Sam stays by Frodo's side. I have had the privilege of having many great companions by my side. They have been ministering angels that have been miracles to me. Growing up I never had a brother but now serving a mission I have so many. No matter how hard the journey got there was always one goal in mind. For Frodo it was to destroy the ring. For me, my end goal was to become a better person then I was when I went into the mtc on Sept 28 2011. I have wanted many times to become the son of God that my Heavenly Father sees in me. I know and I testify that only through selfless service can I reach that. I have so much more progress but with tears in my eyes I can surely say, feel that my Father in Heaven is proud of me. That is the only thing that matters to me.
Family and everyone else who will read this email. Please know that God loves all of us and sees in us our true potential. Never live short of your potential. As written in the bible "with God all things are possible". I know this to be true and I testify that with God on our side we will see miracles and we will live up to our royal potential. I love you and see you all on Wednesday.
Elder Flitton
