June 10, 2025: The End.

It's crazy to say, but this is the last email from me as a full time missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  

Not a lot has happened since my last update, we've just found a few friends and went on exchanges with our ZL's. Today we spent our PDay in Frankfurt with Harry, a new member from Trier, and visited an art museum. It was awesome.

Because I probably won't send another email next week, here is what the next few days is going to look like for me:

Friday- Leavers temple trip. All of the people ending their mission are visiting the temple together with our mission president and his wife. 

Saturday- Elder Gong Missionary Conference. Elder Gong is an apostle visiting our mission and this is a super rare and unique opportunity to hear a modern apostle of the lord speak to us.

Sunday- Elder Gong Stake Conference. Thousands of members from the surrounding area will be gathering to listen to Elder Gong. 

After that, I have my final interview with President Cropper.

Monday- normal day except I will ride to frankfurt in the evening to give my "final testimony"

Tuesday- Leavers PDay, we will spend a day visiting a castle and preparing to go home.

Wednesday- Fly home 

The time has flown by, and I can't really accept that I'm going home, and I can't really say much if myself but I really do feel like I've had the mission experience.

When I left on my mission, just like anyone else who has, I left my family behind. I missed (and still miss) them a lot, and sometimes it gets hard. Throughout my mission I met so many people and grew close to many people that I never would have otherwise, and now looking back, It's like my family has grown. I'm not saying anything can ever replace my parents and siblings, but now leaving the mission, I have similar feelings inside of me, like I'm leaving a few family members behind. I've grown so many friends, members and companions, and I will miss them a lot.

Serving a mission for two years has been the most important decision I have ever made, and the most important thing I have ever done in my life, and this time is truly irreplaceable. Before my mission I wanted a few specific things. I wanted 1. A firm testimony of Jesus Christ, 2. The cool experiences that everyone talks about coming from a mission, and 3. to become a better person. Now I can see that all 3 of those things happened and so much more, but not in the way I expected. I only started to accomplish these goals as I focused on others and how to serve the Lord rather than myself, and learned to work diligently. 

Because of that I now have a sure testimony of Jesus Christ. I also have a testimony of his Church, and that it has been restored on the earth. The Atonement of Jesus Christ and his Gospel, have changed my life and that change was made exponential as I shared it with others throughout my mission and saw the same effect in them. I am so thankful for these two hardest, greatest, and most pivotal years in my life, and I wouldn't trade it for anything.

I love you all, see you soon!

Elder Tage Rex