Maligayang Pagdating, Elder Jones

Elder Stetson Jones (who now prefers using his middle name of Slade), son of Teak Jones and Corwin and Diana Smith is newly home from 2-years of missionary service in the Philippines Cebu Mission.  He writes the following as his days of fulltime missionary service come to an end:

My heart aches thinking about the end of my mission ... I don't really want to leave... as much as I want to go. Only a missionary will understand that sentence.

Really, I don't want my last words to be ones of sadness and heartache, but of peace, hope and encouragement.

I wish to testify above all else I have learned here on my mission … our Savior Jesus Christ LIVES! He loves us. He knows us. We are children of the divine, of a loving Father in heaven, with potential exceeding all human comprehension. I testify we have a purpose here on Earth! It is to prepare us for greater things to come.. I know without a doubt God loves us and because of His love he gave his son to us, that through him, and by him, and of him, all good things will come. I know families can live together forever in happiness if we just follow His plan. I fear above all the waves and torrents and temptations of the world it will never dull or drain the truths I have come to cherish so deeply and fully here in my mission.... because I know the adversary will try with all his might to estrange me from the path I have started down. I pray we all may receive the strength to see above and through those "mists of darkness" which sometimes cloud our judgment.

I have loved being set apart from that which is worldly. It has showed me more fully how to enjoy what is in the world and how to reject and avoid those things which would take me from enjoying the fullness of it.

I testify to you this church was established by the Lord himself, through the Prophet Joseph Smith.  I know him to be a prophet, the very instrument of the Lord in doing this great work. I know the Book of Mormon is true. It is the very word of our living father in Heaven.  He gave it to us that we might more fully come to know him and know of his love and the plan he has for us. READ IT! It has brought me more peace and comfort among the raging torrents of depression and uncertainty the world has to throw at us. There is no question which remains unanswered to me. They have all been answered here though study and prayer... I will never be confused again about what is right and what is not.

Brothers and Sisters my mission has been sacred to me... It has given me the greatest foundation for a happy life I recommend it very highly to all.

I have said this many a time in my email, but I say it again ... I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY and I WILL ALWAYS BE A MISSIONARY!

I am a disciple of Jesus Christ and thus shall I remain till the day I behold his face and feel his palms and kiss his feet myself.

This is His work. And, I will forever be in debt to have been so blessed to be a part of it.  This nametag may be taken off but the name which it bears will always remain in my heart. Jesus is the Christ, and I am His servant. Now. Tomorrow. Forever.

Mission is over? Nah, it is just starting!

What are Slade's plans for the future?  He is jumping into the real estate field following his mother’s advice hoping to earn enough money quickly to be able to attend BYU-Hawaii for the upcoming winter semester.  He is also make the necessary arrangements to test at DSU to hopefully earn at least a semester of college credit for his proficiency in the two Filipino languages of Tagolog and Cebuano.  Most importantly, Slade is helping his younger brother Haus get ready for his mission.

Glad to have you back safe and sound, Br. Jones.