Revisiting my Mission!

Okay...so I completely stink at updating my blog! So I'm going to update you on something that happened at the end of May. I know that was like 3 months ago! But this post is such an important thing because I was able to revisit my mission! The end of May marked two years since I have returned home from my mission! Holy cow! It seems like yesterday I was returning home and having surgery! Time really does fly on by! The Year I spent in Texas was one of the best! I learned so much and met so many wonderful people who have had such a great impact on the person I am today. I will forever be grateful for the opportunity I had to be a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints. I learned so much about service and how much happier we become as we give selfless service to all of those we come across. It is important to let people know how much our heavenly father cares for them and as we do so, we learn just how much our heavenly father cares for us personally. That was one of the greatest things I learned from my mission. I also learned that the basics of the gospel of Jesus Christ are so important...as long as we can stick to the basics we will be okay. The basics of the gospel give us a sure foundation. Our foundations will remain strong as we consistently do the basics. So we need to continue moving forward and constantly improving.

Here is me as a missionary:

Anyway, I was able to go back to San Antonio and visit for the weekend. A family that I was able to serve was finally able to adopt such a wonderful and cute baby boy, which has been such an answer to many prayers! They were able to be sealed together for time and all eternity in the San Antonio temple! I cannot tell you how happy I was that I was able to be there for such a wonderful and spiritual experience! I flew into San Antonio on May 23rd and I first got some Blue Bell ice cream of course! I got in around 12:30 so I headed straight to my hotel and went to bed. The next morning I woke up and decided to get ready and head over to the alamo and the river walk! It was so much fun to just walk around and tour the Alamo. I mean I was able to give a Book of Mormon away on the first day I arrived in San Antonio as a missionary, but I really wasn't able to tour around and learn about the history. So that was very neat! The Riverwalk is so beautiful! I loved just walking around and looking at all the shops and restaurants they have along the river. After walking around for a while, I decided to head over to the best barbecue place from my mission Rudy's. So I drove over to the first Rudy's restaurant and had a pound of Brisket of course! So yummy and my absolute favorite!

After eating my weight in Brisket, I headed back to the hotel and got ready to head over to the Temple to meet up with the Breinholts. I got there a little early and ran into the Breinholts in the parking lot! I can't tell you how excited I was to see them and to finally be able to meet Baby Mason! He really is the cutest. I was able to watch Baby Mason in the lobby of the Temple while they were getting ready for the sealing! It was such a wonderful experience to just play with him and tell him how much his parents loved him and that they had been waiting for him for so long and that he was the answer to so many prayers from both myself and his parents. It was such awesome to see how much god loves this family and how important family relationships are to our Heavenly Father. The temple really is the house of god and I'm so grateful that families can be together forever. It was just such a wonderful day at the Temple and I will forever be grateful that I was able to be a part of such a special day for some very wonderful people.

After the temple, I headed back to the hotel and decided to go back to the river walk and enjoy some dinner at one of the restaurants. Yes, I had dinner on the river walk all by my lonesome. I sat right by the water and enjoyed my dinner while people watching. It was wonderful but, I couldn't help feeling lonely. Funny, that in a big city full of people I was feeling kinda lonely. Anyway, after dinner I stopped and got some Banana Pudding Blue Bell ice cream...I think I pretty much ate Brisket and Blue Bell my entire trip! It is the best! The next morning I woke up and headed on bus tour around San Antonio. It was awesome just hearing different facts about the city and also visiting the different missions around the area. The city is truly beautiful and wonderful. I could do without some of the heat and humidity but its a wonderful place. After the tour I just walked around for a while and then headed back to the hotel to get ready to leave the next morning and to just relax. The next day I flew home and I was so sad to leave! I really felt like I was leaving a part of me behind. I think I will probably always feel that way about leaving Texas because it has become such a part of me. I learned so much there and I really learned how to serve and love. It forever changed my life.

Here are some pictures of my adventures!

 Rudy's is the best!

Cute Baby Mason!

 San Antonio Temple!

 Me and Baby Mason

Me and Sister Breinholt 

 The Riverwalk

 The Alamo!

Brisket is the best!

I had such a wonderful experience! I can't wait to go back! Next time with more time so I can head over to Austin as well. It was a wonderful weekend and definitely reminded me how wonderful my mission was and helped me relive some of the lessons I learned!