¨High school (or the mission) wasn`t meant to last forever.¨
Flash back to the St. George marathon 2014. I have been running for more than 4 hours. My Walter Mitty soundtrack is getting old. I have no idea where the finish line is. I hear someone yell, ¨keep going! It`s at the end of this road!¨ I break off from my pace group and start to sprint. I feel dizzy like death living off sacrament cup sized gatorade and bananas, and through squinted eyes see Thomas and Caley! Yay! But where are the balloons, people, ice cream? Did they pack it up and go home? I yelled, ¨Where is the finish line!¨ And they told me that it was around the corner. I wanted to cry but couldn't for the shortage of water in my body. I had nothing left to give, but kept running. Because I knew that there were wonderful things awaiting me at the end of the road. I remember the satisfaction I felt as I crossed the finish line and heard my name announced, got my medal, someone handed me ice cream, and I collapsed under a tree in the racers only area and cried. I could not believe that I had run 26.2 miles and I also couldn`t believe that I still had a body because I was pretty sure I had died and left my body back at the volcano on mile 9. It was the most beautiful experience and so is the mission. I am completely and utterly amazed that this is my last email as Hermana Park in a strange Bolivian internet. These (almost) 18 months have been extremely hard yet wonderful as I have come to the knowledge of my Savior Jesus Christ and that He has always been beside me guiding me. Everything was worth it because I have seen the conversion of my best friends here in Bolivia.
Flash back to the St. George marathon 2014. I have been running for more than 4 hours. My Walter Mitty soundtrack is getting old. I have no idea where the finish line is. I hear someone yell, ¨keep going! It`s at the end of this road!¨ I break off from my pace group and start to sprint. I feel dizzy like death living off sacrament cup sized gatorade and bananas, and through squinted eyes see Thomas and Caley! Yay! But where are the balloons, people, ice cream? Did they pack it up and go home? I yelled, ¨Where is the finish line!¨ And they told me that it was around the corner. I wanted to cry but couldn't for the shortage of water in my body. I had nothing left to give, but kept running. Because I knew that there were wonderful things awaiting me at the end of the road. I remember the satisfaction I felt as I crossed the finish line and heard my name announced, got my medal, someone handed me ice cream, and I collapsed under a tree in the racers only area and cried. I could not believe that I had run 26.2 miles and I also couldn`t believe that I still had a body because I was pretty sure I had died and left my body back at the volcano on mile 9. It was the most beautiful experience and so is the mission. I am completely and utterly amazed that this is my last email as Hermana Park in a strange Bolivian internet. These (almost) 18 months have been extremely hard yet wonderful as I have come to the knowledge of my Savior Jesus Christ and that He has always been beside me guiding me. Everything was worth it because I have seen the conversion of my best friends here in Bolivia.
One of my best friends, Hortencia, came to church yesterday and we`re taking her to a relief society party tomorrow to make panetones (half bread, half cake). And I am so excited because she`s going to get baptized. I wont be there to see it, but all that matters is that I was there to help her along her way. And many other beautiful people here are progressing along their way toward true happiness in Christ that I will tell you all about next week...
Also, I have no idea how I learned to speak and understand the beautiful Spanish language.
Also, I have no idea how I learned to speak and understand the beautiful Spanish language.
My life won`t be the same without peanut soup, chasing people down to secure them their salvation, walking miles, and being too close for comfort in buses, but I have absolutely loved representing Jesus Christ in this time.
For the last time,
Good morning how are you?
ReplyDeleteMy name is Emilio, I am a Spanish boy and I live in a town near to Madrid. I am a very interested person in knowing things so different as the culture, the way of life of the inhabitants of our planet, the fauna, the flora, and the landscapes of all the countries of the world etc. in summary, I am a person that enjoys traveling, learning and respecting people's diversity from all over the world.
I would love to travel and meet in person all the aspects above mentioned, but unfortunately as this is very expensive and my purchasing power is quite small, so I devised a way to travel with the imagination in every corner of our planet. A few years ago I started a collection of used stamps because trough them, you can see pictures about fauna, flora, monuments, landscapes etc. from all the countries. As every day is more and more difficult to get stamps, some years ago I started a new collection in order to get traditional letters addressed to me in which my goal was to get at least 1 letter from each country in the world. This modest goal is feasible to reach in the most part of countries, but unfortunately it’s impossible to achieve in other various territories for several reasons, either because they are countries at war, either because they are countries with extreme poverty or because for whatever reason the postal system is not functioning properly.
For all this I would ask you one small favor:
Would you be so kind as to send me a letter by traditional mail from Bolivia? I understand perfectly that you think that your blog is not the appropriate place to ask this, and even, is very probably that you ignore my letter, but I would call your attention to the difficulty involved in getting a letter from that country, and also I don’t know anyone neither where to write in Bolivia in order to increase my collection. a letter for me is like a little souvenir, like if I have had visited that territory with my imagination and at same time, the arrival of the letters from a country is a sign of peace and normality and an original way to promote a country in the world. My postal address is the following one:
Emilio Fernandez Esteban
Avenida Juan de la Cierva, 44
28902 Getafe (Madrid)
Spain
If you wish, you can visit my blog www.cartasenmibuzon.blogspot.com where you can see the pictures of all the letters that I have received from whole World.
Finally I would like to thank the attention given to this letter, and whether you can help me or not, I send my best wishes for peace, health and happiness for you, your family and all your dear beings.
Yours Sincerely
Emilio Fernandez