This is it...

Helloooooooo!!!!....(echos into eternity)

This is it, the last letter, the last post in my mission. ...And I'm not sure what to say. I had fully planned on writing something exceptional and helping others, and then my wonderful, amazing mother wrote me a very needed letter. My emotions are so mixed right now. As I read the letter I was crying, and then when I saw the pictures that she sent me I couldn't stop laughing (Dad has got to be the biggest dwarf that I have ever seen).

An Unexpected Party for Elizabeth's 17th birthday!
It was a Hobbit themed surprise party. :)

It's such a strange time in my mission. It seems like the mission will never really end and that this isn't really the last week, that all that everyone tells me is just a big joke and I'm going to stay in Ecuador preaching the gospel for the rest of my life. But I know that's not true. This is actually the last week that I will spend preaching the gospel in Ecuador, and in 8 days I will be on United States soil. As my wonderful mother stated, 

"The "end" of your mission really isn't the end at all - just like baptism isn't the end to an investigator. This is the BEGINNING son! Your mission has been like the preparation you did each day to get ready to compete in a track meet - arriving home is when the meet begins and you start to JUMP!"

This is not the end, but rather is the beginning. I have been armed and prepared with all that I will need to successfully overcome the obstacles that the adversary will throw at me, and there is nothing that I cannot do. I have gained a conversion. With that conversion, which founds me upon the rock of Christ, I cannot be overcome. I will have temptations. I will sometimes trip and possibly even fall, but I will always get back up, because as Isaiah said,

"Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that await upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint" (Isaiah 40:28-31).

I now have a wonderful opportunity to become anything that the Lord wants me to be, and as I do so, I will receive all of the blessings that the Lord has in store for me. It's an incredibly exciting time. 

It's also a sad time. I now have to leave behind the life I know. I won't be a full-time missionary anymore. I won't be walking the streets with the scriptures in my hand and a badge on my chest. That doesn't mean that I will stop preaching the gospel; I would hope that the way that I lead my life is testament enough of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. I will have to work at a job in which they pay me with worldly blessings. I will have to study. I will get married and start my own family. I've tried to do some of those things before, but I've never had to really dedicate myself to those things. Now I understand that everything that I do will have a direct impact on my future and that of my family. I will have to make decisions. I can't sit the fence anymore. Everything will be so different. I will have to find out where I fit in society. But I can do anything if I am firmly established on the foundation of Christ. I won't ever be alone. I won't ever be without direction. I am so grateful for that wonderful gift which I have, and I pray that I will be able to take full advantage of said gift.

I hope that during these two years and from the posts that I have sent every week that all you have been edified and have grown as well. I will continue with my weekly posts in hopes that I might be able to continue helping people throughout the world. I hope that you continue to tune in every week with the desire to learn, because I've got some topics that I would love to expound.

Thank you to everyone who has supported me in any way, be it through letters, packages, emails, thoughts, or prayers. I know that I have been strengthened because of your thoughtfulness and prayers. I will do my best to support anyone who needs any type of help.

I know that this is the true Church. I know that Jesus Christ is my Saviour and Redeemer. I know that the Church of Jesus Christ and His gospel have been restored through the prophet Joseph Smith, who was called of God to bring to pass this marvelous work. I know that the Book of Mormon is true and indeed is the most perfect book on the face of the planet. I know that that book was written by an ancient American people who was guided by Heavenly Father through His holy prophets. I know that today we are also guided by holy prophets. Christ, as the Head of His Church, has called men today to fill the rolls of prophets and apostles in order to guide us safely to Him. I know that anyone can come to know the things which I know, even the most hard-hearted. All anyone needs to do is sincerely ask Heavenly Father if these things are true, having a true intent to act upon whatever answer that is given. I testify that Heavenly Father hears every prayer and will answer those prayers in His own time. I invite everyone within the reach of this message to start taking a sincere interest in his own spiritual well being and diligently search for the truth. I invite everyone to investigate The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and ask God if this Church is the one true church upon the face of the earth. You all deserve more than just "good enough". I testify that Heavenly Father is 100% willing to give us the best if we will but ask Him. I hope and pray that you do so.

I shall be off now. I love you all very much; that much has not changed nor will it ever. I hope that you all chose to follow Christ, for His path is the path of happiness. Have a wonderful week! I love you all! I'll see you later!

I have no idea - it's just a very happy Elder with a bottle of juice!

Love,

Elder Andrew Schomburg

IMPORTANT INFORMATION!

G'day chaps! (I'm not sure, but I may have gone my whole mission without using that one!)

IMPORTANT INFORMATION CONCERNING FLIGHT PLANS: My plane leaves Quito at 12:30 AM Tuesday, January 29th. I arrive in Atlanta at 5:52 AM, and then leave Atlanta at 8:10 AM to arrive in Denver at 9:24 AM local time. MORE IMPORTANT TRAVEL INFORMATION: I will be hungry when I land. 

Okay, now that all of that IMPORTANT INFORMATION is out of the way, let's get down to business (...to defeat the Huns...). This week has been a good week for me. In terms of lessons it hasn't been a good week, and it actually had to start off as a horrible week, but after that things took a turn for the better. We held a companionship inventory this Tuesday during weekly planning, and I was brought to a realization that I really needed to have: I am a very prideful man. There were many things happening in our companionship that were a result of me being prideful that caused my companion to become very sad and unmotivated. I had basically been trunky and had just been moping about because of it, and I finally realized that I had sunk very, very low, to the point where I couldn't really sink any more. I was completely unmotivated to work and that just depressed me more, and I wouldn't accept help. Then I realized all of this, and things started to change. I've been studying a lot about humility lately and have come to really appreciate a very well-known scripture in the Book of Mormon.

And if men come unto me I will show unto them their ^aweakness. I ^bgive unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my ^cgrace is sufficient for all men that ^dhumble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make ^eweak things become strong unto them. (Ether 12:27)

The Lord already knows what our weaknesses are and is only waiting for us to allow Him to show what those weaknesses are. Once we recognize our weaknesses, we must rely upon Him 100% so that He can make those weaknesses become strengths for us. It requires one to be humble if he is to allow the Lord to work on him, and it also requires that he relies on the Atonement of Christ. I found out that I had been in this downward spiral because I had been trying to do everything alone. I wasn't allowing the Lord to help me, and because of that I didn't receive His help and ended up hurting a loved one. But thankfuly the power of the Atonement is available to all people at any moment. I am desperately trying to repent now, and I can now recognize how difficult the repentance process can be. Part of my repentance process is to work like a workhorse these next two weeks. In order to do so, I have the goal of contacting 140 people during this week. It's a feat that I've never been able to reach in my mission, but there's still time, so miracles can still be wrought. I'll have to go way outside of my comfort zone, but I'll be able to do it...if I allow the Lord to help me. I'll have to pray a lot during the day so that I may receive strength to talk to roughly 25 people per day, but I can do it. It will be done. I shall not go out without a fight. I shall not go silently into the night. I will go on. 

JEFFREY HAS HIS TEMPLE RECOMMEND!!! WOOOOO!!! That's amazing! Incredible! I get to go to the temple with my brother right when I get back! Yay!! I am stoked!! Yeah! ...Woo!

Congratulations Elizabeth for earning your Young Women's Medallion!! That's a wonderful feat to have accomplished! I am incredibly proud of you! Now keep up the hard work, and you will see blessing upon blessing for your diligence. 

Oh, and I will be writing next week, because next week is my LAST P-DAY. The week after is the week in which I will be FLYING HOME. O.O Blwaaaaaaaagggghh!! That's about all I can write to properly sum up my feelings.

Well, I believe that's all that I have for right now. I hope everyone has a wonderful week that's full of excitement and wonders and amazingfulness! I love you all! Oh, and....

HAPPY 17TH BIRTHDAY ELIZABETH!! AAAAHH!! WHY HAST THOU GROWN UP?? DIDST I NOT COMMAND THEE TO DO NO SUCH THING?? AAAAHHH!! Anyway, I hope your birthday is fantabulous and filled with friendly friends and familiar family! I love you!

Love,

Elder Schomburg

It's all about the Goals

Hello to all!!

This week finds me with exactly two to three Mondays left to write to y'all....that's an interesting thought. I say two to three because I don't know if I get to write home that Monday in which I'll be flying home, so I have exactly two to three Mondays left to write to you. Craziness. By the way I'm in Esmeraldas, diga! (When I get home I'll teach y'all how to say "diga" and "ve" and all sorts of things.)

It's pretty exciting that there will be another YSA (Young Single Adults) ward in the Stake. I've been contemplating whether or not I should attend a YSA ward when I get home or not. I would really love a calling and feel like I would probably have more chances of getting one if I were in a YSA ward, but we'll see what happens when I get back.

"When I get back" is a more frequently repeated phrase now that will also come to pass within a short time. Ve.

Some will ask what that slightly ugly Captain America doll is, and I shall tell you. Remember the año viejos that I told y'all about? That's what a small one looks like. They come in all shapes and forms, but some Elders here were kind enough to buy me one while I was in Quito. Why Captain America? 'Cause I am Captain America. It's pretty darn cool, and it says "Andrew" on the bottom of the foot in reference to Toy Story (they were going to put Andy but remembered that I don't really like to be called Andy that much). I might have to use it for its original purpose and burn it before coming home because it's hollow, there's some newspaper wadded up inside that rattles around, and customs might not like that so very much, which all makes me sad, but we'll see what I can do.

Souveniers that are "of" the country...would a hammock from Esmeraldas qualify? I was wanting to buy some shirts for my family (maybe the Ecuador soccer jersey [ojo, all will be fake because the real ones are $45 each], and there's one that says, "The Beatles" and has pictures of Ecuadorian beetles that I absolutely love [I'm a nerd, I know]), and the hammocks here are pretty cool and a cultural item from Esmeraldas (everybody and their dog has a hammock). I'll keep thinking of that. Luckily there's a kind of outdoor souvenier mall two blocks from the offices in Quito, so I'll see what I can find there.

So, has anyone made any New Year's resolutions? I've made a couple, and I tried to make some for the time that remains in my mission, but that was a bit difficult. One of the ones that I've made that I want to uphold is read the Book of Mormon every day. I know it'll be a tad difficult, but I will do it. I always feel more edified when I read the Book of Mormon, so why not read it every day? I also want to learn to play the piano, work out every day (except for Sundays), magnify my office and calling in the Church, and regularly invite my friends to attend and investigate the Church. There are a couple more too (find a good job, study at BYU, get married, etc.), and I'm sure that I'll make more as the situation presents itself, but for now I thought those would be some good goals. I will be putting into practice something that was taught in the zone leaders counsel; how to make goals. For example, I have the goal of participating in the 2016 Olympics. Well, in order to do that, I need to set some smaller goals and keep setting those goals until I reach my big goal. It's a gospel principle as well, as it says in Alma 37:6; "Now ye may suppose that this is ^afoolishness in me; but behold I say unto you, that by ^bsmall and simple things are great things brought to pass...." I'm excited about the prospect to be able to set and reach goals throughout my life. Also, I like something that Elder Ballard says in "Preach My Gospel";

I am so thoroughly convinced that if we don’t set goals in our life and learn how to master the techniques of living to reach our goals, we can reach a ripe old age and look back on our life only to see that we reached but a small part of our full potential. When one learns to master the principles of setting a goal, he will then be able to make a great difference in the results he attains in this life.

If I don't have any goals, I won't do anything with my life. My life won't have a purpose if I don't give it one. I know that I am here to prepare myself to return to the presence of my Heavenly Father, but that is a big goal, and if I don't set smaller goals now, I'll never reach that main goal. It's just something to think about. :)

Also, speaking about zone leaders counsel, I felt that the testimony which I bore was what the Lord wanted me to bear. I had been thinking beforehand that I should tell them how I had become to be known as the papá de los cajones (Father of the Drawers, but in the mission a cajón [drawer] is someone who is really obedient and expects obedience from others, and the term is generally derogative and used by the less-than-obedient missionaries) and then bear my testimony of obedience, but when I opened my mouth I just bore my testimony of obedience. I felt that the words I spoke were sufficient for what I know and of what Heavenly Father wanted me to bear testimony.

Well, I shall go now. I love you all and wish you all the blessings that Father can give. I know that by following the Saviour we earn the greatest blessings in life. Have a wonderful week! I love you all!

Love,

Elder Schomburg