Last email! I can't believe it! I've been doing the same thing today, just procrastinating when to write everybody for the last time. It's been so weird, reading "see you next week" from everybody!
Sounds like you guys had a pretty awesome week! Surprise trip to AZ, that's way fun. I'm a little bummed that I just barely missed Caleb's baptism on the way out, and Nolan's on the way back haha. Oh, well, I'm glad everybody had a fun time. I just remembered that I got the Melchizedek priesthood out in AZ at Hayden's baptism! Val was there, too! If I remember right, we were trying to cram everything in before the LA temple closed on August 1st. Speaking of which, we'll have to make some time pretty soon for a temple trip. Maybe on Saturday? I'm not really sure what the schedule is gonna look like when we're in Provo, but I would be game to wake up early to go. I'll leave it up to you haha!
Luke made the team! Haha that's super exciting from him. Noah said he pretty much had nothing to worry about, but I remember being pretty stressed out for the tryouts. I'm happy for him. It'll be fun to watch them all play this season!
The homecoming date sounds good! Haha it's gonna be sweet to do it the same time as Kai, I'm excited to hear all about his mission. I would anticipate that the European missions are pretty similar to each other. He's probably got a few good stories.
We had a really awesome week. Started things off well, we had a really good district meeting where we were able to set some goals for the rest of the transfer. Everybody was pretty pumped. Preparing a district meeting again was pretty weird, President has me as district leader here til I go. It's been a good throwback for me haha. On Tuesday, we took a train out to Wrocław for zone conference. It was awesome to see the city again! I almost forgot how much I loved the place! The conference was awesome. Elder Sabin from the Area Presidency came to visit. He prepared an awesome conference for us. Told some amazing stories, it was pretty easy to tell that he was an incredible missionary. There was a lot of talk about how we need to do better in letting our light shine. It's true, as members of the Church, we are the only people in the world who are promised the constant presence of the Holy Ghost. If we're worthy and willing, we should always stand out. It's been something I've focused on my entire mission: being a light for others. Part of that means making the choice to be happy, no matter what is going on around you.
That was kinda the basis for my last testimony in zone conference. President always invites the departing missionaries to speak one more time for everybody. I talked a lot about finding joy in everything. If we keep the commandments, we're meant to be happy. Period. I've tried to be better at believing in that, and then looking for that joy. It was cool that my last conference revolved around joy, it summed up everything very well.
We brought the fire back to Kielce! Haha when we got back we were able to put in some work, and we found some cool people to teach. It's been fun.
On Sunday I gave a talk. It was my last time in church here in Kielce, so it was an opportunity to say goodbye and leave some last words with them. It was pretty cool.
I guess, to answer your question, I'll be in Warsaw around noon on Sunday. I'm gonna miss church, but I'll get there right as 3rd hour ends, so I get to say one last goodbye to everyone! I'm really excited! I've already gotten in contact with pretty much everyone, so we're gonna have a little party to end things right haha.
We spend about half of this week in Kielce, then on exchange in Kato for the rest. It's a weird way to end the transfer, but it means that I'll get one last goodbye in Katowice, too. That's pretty cool. Elder Liechty and I will travel up to Warsaw together, which is gonna be awesome haha.
This will be the last email, which means that it's time to sign off! I want you guys to know that I have loved every minute of my mission! Sometimes it was hard to see in the moment, but looking back on it all, I can see God's hand my mission. The people here in Poland have had such an impact on the way I look at life. Being with them has made it a lot easier to see how blessed I've been. We are all so blessed to be a part of this church. I know it's true. I have seen miracles and heard answers to prayers here in Poland that I cannot deny. I can't deny the joy I've felt here either. Keeping the commandments is a sure way to be happy, no matter what else happens in life. I'm so grateful for my mission. It's changed who I am. It's going to be so hard to say goodbye, I know it. I want you guys to know that I'm excited to see you again. I've missed you a ton, but there's always been a peace that comes with missing you. I'm grateful that God has looked after things at home for me haha. He's blessing me, and He's blessing you. I love you all so much. I'll see you in a week.
Elder Haskett
