Dear Sister Brink,
You are hereby called to serve as a normal member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. You are assigned to labor in the USA Home Mission. It is anticipated that you will serve for the rest of your life.
You should report to the Salt Lake International Airport on Thursday, May 26, 2016. You will prepare to preach the gospel in both the English and Swedish languages. Your assignment may be modified according to the needs of your Heavenly Father.
You are hereby called to serve as a normal member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. You are assigned to labor in the USA Home Mission. It is anticipated that you will serve for the rest of your life.
You should report to the Salt Lake International Airport on Thursday, May 26, 2016. You will prepare to preach the gospel in both the English and Swedish languages. Your assignment may be modified according to the needs of your Heavenly Father.
well. Here it is. I feel like when I started this journey I never really grasped that one day it would all come to an end. 18 months of joy, sorrow, swedish, life lessons, restoration lessons, testifying, studying, prayers, public transportation, companions, best friends getting dressed in white, persians, swedes, syrians, love, hope, trials, scares, snow and sunshine.
And here I am.
I had the realization earlier this week that I'll be going back to a world that knows me only as Janessa, and I've been living as Syster Brink for the last year and a half. That will be an interesting adjustment, but bear with me.
There are no words to sum up the time I've spent here in Sweden. I wouldn't be able to do it justice. I feel so grateful that Heavenly Father chose me to serve here. My life is forever changed because of the people and places and experiences I have had. It's not so much the things we see as it is the way we feel, and I have felt closer to God here than I ever have before.
I am grateful that missionary work comes included in my baptismal covenant. That even though I have to be released and take off the name tag and wear pants again I can still be a full time servant of Jesus Christ. I'm excited to get on facebook and talk with the people I've met here and continue sharing the gospel with them (sorry I'm such a nerd, but facebook is probably the greatest missionary tool that was ever invented).
I am excited to see you guys again. While my heart is still breaking into pieces for leaving all of this behind, I am excited to see my family, they are the reason why I decided to serve in the first place.
cheers to the last 18 months, the savior who helped me through them, and God who called me to them. I love them.
-syster janessa brink