8 September 2019
Dear Elder Ryan Seal
It’s crazy to think that our two year emailing streak is about to end. It’s been a good two years, Ryan!! It seems like just yesterday we were dropping you off at the airport with you telling us "We aren't going to cry!" and then giving you our final hugs and sending you through the security line with Elder Lambert with tears streaming down our faces as we watched you leave us for two years.
I know that you are not the same 18 year old boy that we sent out two years ago. The boy who was scared of change and was determined to come home the exact same person. You have changed and grown and even in the few paragraphs that you have shared in your emails each week it has been obvious that your mission has shaped you into a strong, loving, and faithful man.
I’ve loved every Monday...every email, surprise birthday card or Christmas letter from you in the mail box, chatting on google hangouts and the occasional video chat. Having a child out on a mission is harder than I ever imagined and better than I ever imagined. I’m grateful and so excited to know that in just three more day you will be back home with us. Thank you for sharing your love for Christ with those in your mission and with us back home. I am excited to have some family time with you and hear all about your mission experiences. I am also really excited to go back to your mission field as a family over Thanksgiving and meet the people who meant so much to you these past two years!
I am so excited to hear your discourse on Sunday but I am the most excited for the airport and to give you a great big hug on Thursday! It doesn't seem real that it's really been two years since our last hug. Time is a crazy thing. Some times it seems like it's been longer than two years and other times it seems like we were just dropping you off at the airport. Do you remember how we weighed you on the luggage scale at the airport when we dropped you off? I'll have to see if I have a picture of it so we can get your weight again and see if you were successful at gaining weight these past two years. I know I was! Well I lost it for Jack's wedding but then found it (and more) so you can just call me an over achiever! Haha
I still remember how difficult it was for me to leave my mission and go back home. It may not be that way for you because everyone responds differently to change and I don't respond well. It was hard for me to leave Argentina and the people I loved. I had a layover in Miami and it made my heart so happy to still hear everyone speaking Spanish in the airport. It made me feel less far away from my mission. I was excited to see my family but it was so hard to say good bye to a country, language and culture that I had learned to love. Luckily for you, the world seems a lot smaller these days with social media and free video chats. It will be easy for you to stay connected to those members and investigators that you grew close to on your mission. And you served in one of the prettiest parts of the world so it will be fun for you to go back throughout your life.
(Pics of me leaving my mission and coming home)
I'm sure you will feel all kinds of emotions as this chapter in your life comes to an end. So on Thursday when you get on the plane and look out the window, with maybe a few tears on your face, (or maybe that was just an Hermana Stewart thing) seeing Florida fade into the distance, remember that your mission is not over. That flight home will be just the beginning of a lifetime of dedicated service and love for your fellow men. It may look different without your name tag and not speaking Spanish but I know that true joy comes through service and love and I hope you will continue serving and loving just like you did on your mission for these past two years. If I could give you any advice it would be to remember the goals in your "My Plan" and remember why you felt like they were important when you wrote them. Just because you are no longer on a mission doesn't mean they shouldn't matter anymore or were "silly goals". Be grateful for the change that has occurred over these past two years and use this change to direct you in your future path...find the hope, love and joy that you felt on your mission as you continue to serve and give of yourself to others.
Thank you for you short but sweet emails. Thank you for taking lots of selfies (and car pictures). Thank you for keeping your same sense of humor and tender heart. Thank you for being willing to give of your life these past two years to serve your Savior and the people of the Fort Lauderdale mission. Thank you for working hard and being obedient. Thank you for being a good example and companion. Thank you for being a good leader to your fellow missionaries. A mission is so hard...emotionally, physically, spiritually, mentally. . . and you made it! You have proven time and time again that you can do hard things. You are a true disciple of Christ and determined to do your part for Him. Don't forget all that you've learned as you go throughout your life. Dedicate yourself and give 100% percent in everything and you will find happiness and success. If a job is worth doing, it's worth doing it well (including cleaning your bathroom)!
We have missed you like crazy around here and can't wait to have you back with us right where you belong! I am so very lucky to be your mom. Thanks, Ryan!! I love you forever and ever...even a million (y mas)!
Enjoy your last few days in the mission field and WE WILL SEE YOU SOON!!!!
Te quiero sin cesar,
Mom
