Called to Serve. Paris, France: Fin (The End)

Well, it's finally here. Tomorrow is my last day in Rennes, and then I'll spend a day in Paris, then I'll spend a really long day (32 hours, thanks to the time change) on a plane and with you guys. :)

The difference it makes to shine a shoe

It's been a really good last week here in Rennes. We kind of struggled to find much time to really work, with a bunch of other random things coming up. We visited a lot of members, and had lots of good experiences with them. We worked a lot with them as well, and we able to teach a lot of people in the streets this week thanks to their powerful testimonies. We saw Milan on Saturday, and she STILL hasn't read the Book of Mormon at all. She just seems really stressed with the baby and everything. We're going to be officially passing her to the Soeurs tomorrow, and hopefully that will help her. It was hard at times, physically, and mentally, but in the end, I feel satisfied with this last full week of missionary work.

I don't really have much to say except that I'm really excited to see you guys! The end of a mission is about as stressful as the beginning. I'm getting a lot of the same nervous type feelings, and a lot of the excited ones as well. It really feels like the mission has become my life, that all of my friends are from here and that all I really know is here, so the idea of going home is a bit scary. I don't know if I remember how to be "normal" anymore. But in some ways, maybe that's good. I think I've changed quite a bit, and it would be a shame to lose the growth that I've made here. Most of my thoughts right now are geared towards setting good goals and setting my standards so that I can maintain the person that I have become on my mission, and continue growing, cause I still have a lot of that left to do.

My "dying wish", you could say, is that I can maintain the direction I've turned to on my mission, and that I can keep growing and learning for the rest of my life, and that the people I've met here will be changed because of the time that Heavenly Father let me spend here. The French a tough people, that's for sure. But, just like a baguette, they're delightful on the inside. I've grown to love them so much and that love has helped me to do my best for the salvation of these people. I'll always have a part of my heart here in France.

But, I'm coming home to where most of my heart still is, back with my amazing family. I've missed you guys so much, and I can't wait to be in all your arms again. T-minus 75 hours!

Une dernière fois,

(One last time),

Elder Bigler

Photos