Dearest Family & Friends & Fellow Missionaries, 5 June 2010
We will be departing for our home in Blackfoot, Idaho, in just 10 days after serving a 23-month mission in the Lima Peru Temple. Our hearts are full and we have many happy/sad feelings as we prepare to leave. If you have followed our quarterly updates, you have shared in our missionary experiences, our testimony and many of our adventures as we have visited many areas of Peru. But in this, our final update, we want to simply share the blessings we have received because of our service here.
We might categorize our blessings in three groups. The first is the great love of the people and the knowledge we have gained about the country as we have served a mission in Peru. Peru is a beautiful country with grand vistas like we have never seen before. But there are many beautiful places on this earth. One great blessing has come from getting to know the people of Peru.
* All the people of Peru have treated us with kindness and courtesy where ever we have traveled.
* The members of the church have been so loving and appreciative of us. They go out of their way just to shake our hands and thank us for coming to Peru.
* We have come to appreciate the church "pioneers" that live in Peru, the sacrifices they make for the gospel and the examples they set for us all.
* We have come to know a patient, kind and loving people. We feel their love and their great spirit even when we don't understand everything they say.
The second are the blessings which have come from the personal progress we have made in mind, body and spirit. We feel our lives have been changed forever and we will never be the same.
* We have been blessed with being able to learn the language, at least enough to be able to fulfill any assignment given in or out of the temple.
* We have found that we could do everything asked of us and more.
* We have been blessed with a feeling of peace and joy as we have done our Heavenly Father's work each day.
* We have had the opportunity to literally sit at the feet of 5 of the apostles, 10 of the seventy, 1 of the presiding
bishopric, the General Relief Society President, the General Young Women's President and the General Primary President and be taught about the kingdom of God. They made our spirits soar!
* We have been blessed with a respite from the world.
* We have been able to live and enjoy a much simpler life.
* We have had been privileged to serve and associate with some of the finest people we have ever met, people whose only desire was to serve God by serving others. We know that many will be our friends forever.
* We have learned more about ourselves---especially about our weaknesses and how we can overcome them and be strengthened through the atonement of our Beloved Savior.
* We have grown closer as a husband and wife.
* We feel our testimonies have grown even stronger.
* We see more clearly what the real priorities are in life and are more resolved to keep that focus. Oh, the joy the gospel brings!
The third group of blessings comes from an even greater appreciation and love for our Heavenly Father and His wonderful plan and our Beloved Savior and Redeemer.
* We have been able to see little miracles every day.
* We can more easily see the Lord's hand in everything going on around us.
* We have had our vision of the Lord's plan and work greatly broadened as we now see it from a world-wide perspective.
* We have watched as our Heavenly Father has blessed our family because of our willingness to serve Him.
* We find ourselves more and more in debt to our Heavenly Father because of all the many blessings He has given us.
Again, words cannot express the joy we have felt in serving a mission. We truly hope and intend that this will not be our last mission. We hope you have enjoyed sharing our mission experiences with us. We will return to our home in Blackfoot, Idaho. Please stop by to visit anytime you are in the area. We send our love and our appreciation for your support during the last two years.
Love,
Elder and Sister Ronald and Nadine Ramirez
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