A LETTER TO THE STINKER
“So, what are your Thanksgiving plans for this year?”
“Oh, my little brother gets back from his mission in early December, so we are just waiting for him to come home to do Thanksgiving.”
“How exciting! How old is your little brother?”
“…..He’s twenty”
I have had many conversations similar to this over the past two years, and I just cannot seem to break the habit of calling you my “little” brother (#sorrynotsorry). It is crazy how the past two years have flown by, but have also been incredibly slow. I’m not going to lie, I can’t believe I missed you this much 😉. I’ve tried in my letters to express how proud and amazed I am of you, but I am not quite sure that I was able to completely get my message across. So, here I am trying not to cry as I attempt to adequately express what an example you are to me. And as we all know, I am terrible at expressing mushy, gushy emotions, so you best appreciate all the work I put into this 😉.
Despite being two and a half years younger than me, you have always been such a great example in my life. Even if you didn’t recognize it (or I didn’t give you the proper credit you deserve, because that would mean admitting defeat), you have taught me so much through your example. At first it was small things, like that Batman was the best superhero of all time (although, is that fact a small thing?), or the beauty that is the beautiful game. I can never repay you for these ever important life lessons, but there are so many other things you taught me on our journey together. I was always so impressed with the confidence you had in yourself. You were always proud to honestly and openly be who you were, and didn’t care what others thought. It amazed me how content and happy you were to just be yourself, and live the life you wanted to live. That is something I struggle with to this day. I try my best to be like you and mom, doing what is best for me, and recognizing the opinions that actually matter, but I am utterly failing. Like all the time. Hopefully, as you return home, you can teach me your Jedi ways.
When you left on your mission, I was so much more worried than I thought I was going to be (and the sister of the year award goes too…). I prayed so many times that you wouldn’t be too homesick, that you wouldn’t be to hard on yourself, that the language would come easy to you, and that you would have the best experiences. It’s like the only thing I could see was this little fourth grader, going out into a world that I worried he was not prepared for. Boy, did you show me! You took everything in stride, and killed it at this missionary thing. Just like before, throughout your mission, your example taught me so much.
It was crazy to see how much you changed in the mission field, and yet how much you remained the same. You let the mission change you for the better, and tried everyday to become a little more like Christ. That is something I definitely needed a reminder of. We were put on this earth to change and become better! We all have areas that we can improve on, and changing those things won’t make us someone we aren’t, but will add to the awesome people we already are.
Duuuude, you’ve got killer perseverance. I stink at being committed through trials, and think about quitting way more often then I should. You, however, seem to walk through trials with the epitome of grace. You rarely complain, (which is definitely not something that I can say about myself) and constantly put your trust in the Lord, knowing that He will always work things out. Over the past year and a half, I have not been so great at trusting in the Lord’s plan for me. However, when you share your incredible experiences with me, I am always reminded about how easy it is to put our trust in the Lord. He has literally never led me astray, so why do I doubt so much?
You have taught me so much through your incredible testimony. When I did get an e-mail from you (‘cause let’s be real, it was a little hit or miss getting an email from you. However, when the lottery of the email smiled down upon me, it always made things that much sweeter), it was always filled with these amazing experiences and descriptions of the incredible people you were teaching. One of my favorite parts, though, was at the end of every e-mail, when you bore your testimony on something you had learned or read that week. The sweet truths you testified of helped me so much, and always started my week off in the right way. Thank you, for always being willing to share your testimony with me, and being in tune with the Spirit to know what I needed to hear.
Dude. I cannot wait to see you in a few weeks. They are going to crawl by, but I know it will be all worth it to see Hershey tackle you to the ground. We miss you, but are so proud of the work you have done. You were able to serve others, survive two crazy winters, and share the happiest message on earth with some incredible people. You were able to show others that the Savior is always there, waiting for us to turn to Him, and help us with whatever problems we might face. Through the Spirit and the Gospel of Jesus Christ, you were able to put some light and hope back into this world. Although, I am positive that you would say your mission helped you the most, (because that is exactly how I feel about mine) be at least a little bit proud of what you have accomplished. Enjoy the last few weeks you have doing the most incredible job on earth! Can’t wait to see you soon!
P.S. No matter how old (or tall) you get, you will always be my little brother. Love you, Stinker!