He's HOME!!!!!!!

Best weekend ever!  So happy to have him home.  What a wonderful 2 years it has been!  Thank you so much for the love and support all of you have shown Brad and our family!

He is off to Utah State in August!!

Last Letter from Elder Skalla

Hey!  

It was nice to see my truck is still in good shape!  Now just don't drive it for 3 days so it survives haha That parade and stuff looks pretty fun.  It was weird seeing Jason Grover in that picture too haha.  

I was thinking the same thing of saying just see you Saturday but I guess I will tell you about the week.  I was supposed to come home Thursday but a few months ago we had to switch some things around with transfers so it is on a Friday this week.  That's why I am coming home on a Saturday.  

We had a great week this week.  Tuesday we had mission council for my last time and had a great meeting.  At the end of the meeting all the missionaries going home just share some thoughts.  It was a weird experience just because I have sat there and watched missionary after missionary stand and bear their testimonies in that room at mission council and never believed it would ever be me.  On the 4th we had my last zone training meeting.  It went really well, we talked about the Book of Mormon and all the missionaries going home share their thoughts in that meeting too.  Between all these meetings and things I think I have shared my "farewell testimony" like 8 times now.  haha Hopefully President doesn't make me do it again at transfers.  I think everyone is getting sick of hearing me talk haha I have been some of these missionaries leader for their whole missions I think it is time for someone else haha.  We had some miracles happen this week too.   We have found a lot of people and we are meeting with them this week.  I wish I could stay so bad.  Every time we have set an appointment this week I have tried to make it before Friday haha Things are finally starting to pick up a lot.  One cool experience was with a Less Active.  The other Elders were in the library and someone came up to them and gave them his number and he lives in our area so we called him.  Turns out he is a 29 year old convert of 3 years who just got back from his mission 6 months ago.  His name is Darren, he served in Minnesota and has the coolest conversion story.  He went less active shortly after his mission and just got caught back up in the business of living.  He has no family and lives alone.  It was so cool though we just talked to him about his mission and we went through his journal with him and talked about the things he experienced and read some scriptures.  It was a great conversation and he is so committed to coming back.  We need him too.  A solid black return missionary that has overcome the things of the world will do wonders for so many of the people we are teaching. 

I am gonna miss it, I am going to miss all of it.  I have never been so happy in my entire life.  I am so scared for it to end. I never thought I would ever feel like this or be where I am.  I thought I knew what sacrifice was before my mission.  I thought giving up worldly things and life at the age of a missionary was a great thing to do.  I thought that I was showing Heavenly Father something giving up a great life and school and a girlfriend and a truck and sports and everything that I love. And it is a great thing but I know what a sacrifice is now.  A mission is not a sacrifice.  And the only thing that can teach us that is His great and last sacrifice.   Learning it and applying it and becoming what it is intended to make us become.  It is hard to know when we have done enough for the Atonement to change who we are and what we think and what we do to qualify us for the blessings promised.  The last few weeks and in my interview with President I have talked and thought a lot about that.  Have I done enough?  Did I miss someone? Have I learned and changed enough? Have I helped others enough?  Have I done everything Heavenly Father wanted me to do on a mission?  Do I know why I was sent here? It is hard to know.  But what I do know is that for some reason I was sent here by Heavenly Father and have done all that I know how to do.  I feel good about it.  As hard as it is to leave I am prepared to do it because I know I have given it my all.  I know I will be forever changed and will continue to learn from the experiences on my mission.  It honestly still hasn't really hit me.  I think about it and talk about it but part of me still expects to be in district meeting next week or to the lessons we have this weekend.  I will work these last 3 days though like that is true and will continue to learn in my time left.  I am eternally grateful for missions, for the people I have met and the experiences I have had that have shaped who I am today and who I am becoming.  I pray I will be able to remember them and never look back at who I used to be.  

Love for one last time, 

Elder Brad Skalla 

ps I told President I was going to get some Panda Express at the airport before I met you and he told me you would shoot me if I did and if you didn't he would haha.  So I guess I will have to wait till after I see you haha

Final stretch!!!

Hey!! I cant believe its the second to last letter but I am excited to see everyone and start the next chapter in my life. We had an ok week this week.  Frustrating with the comp still but I am trying to work through it and be happy and work hard even though we sit in the apartment half the day.  I just miss Elder Curtis and Weaver and Ingersoll haha but it isnt too bad. 

I did talk to Chaz this week!  (the guy from the bus)  we are meeting with him tomorrow night.  I am actually really excited... For some reason I feel like I need to teach this guy.  I hope it keeps.  

My interview with President was really good.  He was running behind so he let me go over to the Thompson's in Lakewood and visit so I really enjoyed that. We talked for over an hour haha I took way too much of his time but there was so much I wanted to talk about.  I could talk to him all day haha I miss those 4 hour car rides with him. He is incredible at giving advice and council and he has a story for EVERYTHING from his life.  He definitely made me feel more calm about going home and more confident in myself and the future.  It was a conversation I will look back to often.  It was kind of weird talking about all that stuff and then just coming back to work for 2 weeks haha. 

Ya I thought it was weird too being the only white guy....  there are some funny things that happen on the bus and just in the streets in Cleveland haha I would love to take you there sometime.   

I am glad Joeys homecoming went well...  It sounds like he has changed a lot on his mission.  I did hear about Tom haha President and Elder Ingersoll have been calling me and keeping me updated.  Sounds like he is still going through a rough time though...  

Tell Elder Johnson Happy birthday for me on the 9th since I cant because he never e mails me so I don't have his address.

So for things at home the stuff on Saturday night sounds good.  Definitely put it on FB and you should also but that I am speaking in church and the address and stuff.  Who knows maybe someone will come.  Have you invited any of your friends to come?  Its a good reason to invite!  

I would love some new underwear haha I am planning on getting rid of most of mine cuz they are nasty.  So get me some large spandex ones and medium tall crew neck shirts.  Thank you!  I will probably get rid of most of my shirts but I don't need any new ones.  I actually have 1 long sleeve and 1 short sleeve still brand new in the package that I never used.  As for food I eat special K (the fruit and yogurt kind is the best)  Or honey bunches of oats peach and raspberry and a banana every morning so it would be nice to have that! haha Sorry the cell phone thing is so hard!  You have usually had your way with sprint so I am sure you wont fail this time haha  Just get an I phone.  I am pretty sure that is what I want but you should have like 30 days that you can still take it back right?  

Man I can't believe Ryan is going to be an Elder...  that will be cool to be a part of and to bless Ali's baby.  I have never done that.  

Sorry for the randomness of the letter haha it will be so much easier to just tell you about everything next week haha
Although I probably wont know where to start like all the times we have skyped.  Well I will send you my last e mail on Tuesday next week!  Love and miss you! 

Elder Skalla