Well everyone, this is it. Welcome to the series finale of Keeping Up with Elder Anderson. First of all, I'd like to give a big "thank you" to everyone who has stuck with me these past two years. I hope that you have enjoyed the ride as much as I have, no matter how difficult it may have been. Thank you for your emails and for your kindness, I'll never forget it.
This week was filled with goodbyes, including some really sad ones for me.
Tuesday was my last district council as district leader. This wasn't sad for me, however, as I didn't enjoy planning lessons, etc., haha. So it was a happy moment. Afterwards we had my last exchange with the Zone Leaders. Also a happy moment for me, as exchanges weren't my favorite thing (as I'm sure many of you can relate). Getting Tuesday over with was a relief which lifted a lot of my mission stress. The rest of the week was amazing!
Wednesday we went to the Banks house for service, where Peter awarded me with the "Golden Gloves" award and some medallions (2 British pounds). Afterwards, Janice fed us some vegan burgers with her grandchildren. What a lovely couple; I will miss them dearly!
On Thursday we went to Lannion for a lunch appointment with the Bousseaus. Our only option for a train there was one that left at 7 AM, so we took it. We then waited at the train station for a few hours, doing studies. As we were waiting, a 70-something year old woman (cougar) approached us named Sidonie. What a woman she was! She was very nice to us, but also very flirty. Oh how I'm going to miss these strange encounters. The Bousseaus had made me a candy necklace and we had a great BBQ with them. I'm going to miss them a lot.
The next day we saw Emmanuel and Stella for a little bit to say goodbye to them. Then we went to my favorite place for cookies, "Noj," so that I could get my final cookie and say "goodbye" to the workers there that really became good friends. If you're ever in the area, I highly recommend hitting this place up. Then we did service at the Meese's house. Afterwards they drove us to the Salas for a dinner appointment. I'm going to miss all of these people so much. The Salas made excellent food, as you'll see in my photo album.
We spent Saturday with the Le Bris family. They're awesome and really grew to be my family here. I've never before heard of a family that loved the missionaries so much that they wanted to spend the entire day with them, but I'm not complaining haha. We had lunch with them, then explored their town, etc., it was a day packed full of adventures from start to finish. Then we had dinner with them and the mom gave me a new shirt as a going away gift. Kind, kind people.
Sunday was a hard day for me. This was a day filled with goodbyes and tears all around. This branch really became my family these past 8 months and it's going to be weird not seeing them every week. Everyone deserves to be in a ward/branch as good as this one is!
Today we are visiting a castle with the American family, so keep an eye out for those pictures as well.
I want to let you all know that I have a strong testimony in the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. It hasn't been an easy ride, but throughout my mission, God was always there for me. I wasn't a perfect missionary and I'm sure I didn't merit His help at some points, but He was always good to me. It's because of my Savior that I've been able to complete my mission. It's because of Him that I've found happiness in difficult times. It's because of Him that these "goodbyes" are actually "see you soons". I'm so grateful for our Father in Heaven & our Savior and for their love for each and every single one of us. The message that missionaries share is one of happiness, and I know that by living it as best as we can, that we can truly be happy. If you are currently going through a hard time, start by praying. Ask God for help. He will help you through anything, all you have to do is come unto Him. He loves you and knows what you need. Don't give up! Find happiness in your life and come unto Christ!
I love you all. See you in a few days :)
Elder Connor Anderson
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