There is an uncommon feeling when you are preparing to leave on an adventure that will upset life as you know it, and when you return the world will be different; people will move on, get married, start adventures of their own, and the life that you came to know will be just a figment in your mind -- a memory --.
So this last week has been a week of overcoming, and I'm not ashamed to say that it hasn't been easy. I love my Heavenly Father, I love Jesus Christ, and I love the Holy Ghost. Without them, I would literally be nothing. I am not a perfect missionary, nor am I a perfect person, but I know through Christ's Atonement for us, I have received strength. Emails in the mission are always a plus. Letters are even better (but I don't expect people to waste money on postage). At this time, I'd like to make a declaration of my faith. I don't really care if you don't agree, but it helps me to put it out there. I know that Jesus is the Christ; the anointed of God to come and cleanse us from our sins. I know that we have a loving Heavenly Father who knows us intimately, and we knew him before this life, and through a concerted effort, we can know him again. I know that the Book of Mormon is true. I know it, I know it, I know it! I know that Joseph Smith was a