Halfway

Dearest Friends and Family,

 

What a great week it has been here in the Ohio! President Sorensen left on Thursday and his departure was emotional for me. I had no clue how much he had rubbed off on me until now. Thursday was his final day in the field and we got to some spend some precious time with him. President Sorensen put his whole soul into the Ohio, in a way he is a leader that you cannot replace. We went to one final dinner with he and Sister Sorensen and got a chance to tell them how much our mission has meant to us and let them know that we truly do love them for all they did to help us. We met President Sorensen at the mission office to meet our new mission President, President Vellinga. It was an emotional experience giving President our final goodbyes. It hit me how much he truly trusted me and expected of me. President Vellinga has a goodness in his eyes and was so happy to finally meet his first set of missionaries. He kept repeating over and over "You two look great!". Sister Vellinga immediately came up and hugged me, it'd been a while since a female had given me a hug, she squeezed as tight as she could and said " That was from your Mom!". She is great! This week has been a blast helping President Vellinga get his feet under him. It has been such an amazing opportunity! I never ever dreamed one day I'd be training a mission President, the Lord certainly has a sense of humor. This week we have been hosting a mission tour for the Vellingas to meet all the zones in the mission. During the second day of tours President Vellinga impromptu asked me to get up and tell all the missionaries what my mother means to me? Wow... he knows my soft spot. It was an honor to share what my mother means to me. I told them I understood her love before I understood God's love in this life. A mother's love brings remembrance of the pre-existence. I told them how my mother taught me to pray, taught me to listen and that I owed who I am to her. The whole theme was what it meant to have love at home and how we were supposed to help our brothers and sisters here in Ohio have love at home; a love only the gospel of Jesus Christ can bring. This week has changed my life. I have reflected oer and over again on the lessons that President Sorensen taught me, he has been my biggest role model in my year away in the Ohio. I am grateful for what President Vellinga has all ready taught me. The first thing I observed about President Vellinga is his pure humility. It has been an honor answering all of his questions this week and showing him how the mission is ran. His first night with us he asked me if I would give him a blessing. I also never dreamed one day I'd be giving my mission President a blessing. It was a sacred experience I will always remember. We are all in this thing together out here in the Ohio. The work of the Lord is going to go forward in an unprecedented way! We are all hand in hand in doing this great work! The Lord calls the weak and simple like myself and he qualifies us for the work. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ and I know that I walk with Him everyday. The Lord is my Shepherd!

Love Always, Elder Prince