Mother, Father, and my dear sister, Hope...
Sometimes, when I am reading your emails, letters, reliving our phone calls, or just thinking about you during the day and night...I think and feel that I could not possibily be more proud of or in love with my Eternal Family than I am in those moments. Today, that pride and love went up a few notches...enough to make me cry with gratitude, laugh with joy, and make my heart ache with love for my Heavenly Father for blessing me to a degree that I cannot understand. Sometimes I wish I already knew the language that we will speak in the Celestial Kingdom, so that I could finally completely express my feelings in the way I know that my soul would like to express them. Ya know, some missionaries have girlfriends that love them, some have fat bank accounts waiting for them, or a fast car sitting in the garage waiting for their return...but I dont really want any of those things right now...would you like to know why? Because I have an infinitely loving Heavenly Father who has blessed me with an eternal family that I am EXCITED to spend eternity with. Some could call me prideful about my feelings towards my family, but I know that Ammon felt the exact same way after he completed his mission among the Lamanites. It`s righteous, eternal pride that I enjoy because of you. You make me so happy...I can`t explain it fully, but it`s so awesome that it hurts to be far away! If I had not received the blessing of increased understanding, I would hate this hurt that I feel inside...but I love it because I know that it`s there. I love you. I love you infinitely because I`ve been blessed with a partial understanding of the love that Heavenly Father already had for my family before the world even existed. This is amazing...and I can only hope that my emails reflect a little of what I am feeling in these very moments...it`s truly incredible. =)
I am grateful that you, my parents, do not spare me details of what is going on at home. Of course, I would like to be there, experiencing it right along side of you, but I feel like I have enough information through the blessings that is my hour of email time each week. Some families slack off as their missionary`s time goes on, but you have not, and I hope that you never will. Those families explain less, have no variety, and are basically just waiting out the time until their missionary is home. You are not one of those families, and for that fact, I am grateful.
Now, to tell you a little bit about the blessings I received this week. I now feel adequate to fulfill my assignment. I feel like the Lord truly did call me to be a District Leader at this time and that I am doing His will and allowing Him to speak to His missionaries through me. The sister missionaries started the change with challenges, big ones, but are now working hard in harmony. The elders started with sickness, but are now healthy and being shining stars of hard work (35 lessons this week for those two). Elder Ostler and I love being together and are slowly learning the potential that this area has waiting for us to tap. We found two new families this week that are very positive and are thinking about Baptismal Dates for the end of the month of January. Salvin, our current and next baptism is ready, humble, and waiting to enter the Waters. Tonight we are going to watch The Testaments with the two new families of last week and a new family of this current week in the house of a member family. I`m very excited about this activity and I believe that we will see the fruits of the Lord`s labor soon. Also, I was contacted by a man on the bus who wanted to know why I was in a white shirt and tie. We will be teaching his family this week as well. All of these families are small, but humble and ready for the Gospel. Your efforts, family, have brought them to me, not it`s our efforts that will bring them to the Lord.
I`m out of time, but I love you. I could continue writing for hours, but that`s against the rules. I hope to see more wonderful news next week and every week to come. Keep praying, keep fasting, and keep reading. Dad, I`m proud of you. You`re going to be AWESOME in this new job! I know you will. Dad, thanks for being my Dad! Mom, keep working, you`re the best teacher I know! Guess what? You know what... Hope, I cannot express how freaking proud I am of you and your swimming! I SO want to be there, cheering you on, but it sounds like you do your best, even whille I`m far away. I love you TONS!
Love Always,
-Elder Preston William Tucker
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