Post Return . . .

As you have left your mission and "family" in the Dominican Republic Santo Domingo West Mission and returned to your home and family in the United States Salem, Utah, you have been released as a set apart full-time missionary. However, you are always a missionary in your words, deeds, and actions. You will have many experiences in your life to come as you keep progressing forward in this mortal journey.

We each have a unique set of pressures and challenges that we face each day. Sometimes it can be difficult to remember what matters most. It can be hard to think of the perfection of the Savior without thinking about how flawed and imperfect we are. But remember that no matter your circumstances, the Savior is ALWAYS mindful of you. He understands your needs and sees your efforts. He knows what it is like to have the cares of life press upon you. As you strive to REMEMBER and follow Him today, you will receive the confidence that, through Him, you can have a better tomorrow.

I love you, Garrett! I know that you will have experiences that will be challenging and will seem overwhelming. The Savior can always reach us no matter where we are or where we've been but WE must reach out and take His hand. I hope that you will always REMEMBER that as you strive to follow the Savior, you will always have the pure joy that the gospel of Jesus Christ brings.

I Love YOU Forever and Always!
Mom

He's H-O-M-E . . .

Elder Garrett McEwan has returned from the Dominican Republic Santo Domingo West Mission! Thank you to so many family members who met him at the airport to welcome him home. What a beautiful sight to see him coming down the escalator! I love that "momma hug" and will NEVER get tired of them :).

What an amazing day! He has grown so much and we are forever grateful to a loving Heavenly Father and the wonderful people of the Dominican Republic and the entire mission who took care of him and loved him!

Truly our BEST DAY SO FAR!

He's On His Way . . .

Last time at the mission "photo board"

President Nuckols and Elder McEwan at the Santo Domingo Airport

He's on his way!!!

He's on American soil!

Last P-Day . . .

June 29, 2015,

Dear Family,

Sounds like everything is going great!  Congratulations on all that you have done this week!  I am not going to write much this week, just got lots of stuff going on, but I will tell you about it all on Wednesday!!

Love,

Elder Garrett McEwan

Love from Momma . . .

A mother's and son's last communication before he returns home from his mission. I hope he will always remember the wonderful and difficult times he experienced the last two years. It is my prayer that he will also remember to look for the tender mercies of a loving Heavenly Father:

June 29, 2015,

Dear Elder McEwan,

I just wanted to send you one "last" email on your mission to let you know how much I love you. You are a great example of hard work and perseverance. I'm so proud of the decision that you made to serve a mission and take the gospel to the people of the Dominican Republic. I know that they will always hold a special place in your heart. I am forever grateful for the blessings I have received from our loving Heavenly Father as you have served. I have often been gently reminded that blessings definitely come in different shapes and sizes and not always how we think they should come. Life is not "perfect" when we are doing what the Lord wants, but when we are doing what the Lord wants, we are always blessed. The outcome of those "blessings" depends on us and how we act on them. I'm so glad that I had a glimpse of that many years ago and have tried to learn from challenges rather than feel sorry for myself. Sometimes it's been that the sun comes out on a cloudy day or that the sun goes behind a cloud when I'm working outside on a hot, scorching day. I find the tender mercies in all aspects of my life and I know that Heavenly Father is aware of me.

Enjoy your last few days in the Dominican Republic until we will be together again as a U.S. family :). I am so thankful you have had this opportunity to preach the gospel and share what makes you happy for the last two years. I know those you have come in contact with will be forever grateful and will always remember you. I can't wait to see you and hug you.

I Love YOU forever AND always!
Mom

Dearest Mother,

Thank you so much for your last email, it means a lot to me.  I love you too, and I can not wait to see you again!  

Love,

Elder Garrett McEwan

Keep Pressing Forward . . .

June 22, 2015

Dear Family,

It sounds like everything is going well for you guys!

Not much happened this week.  We were able to have a ward activity to watch the movie "Meet the Mormons".  It was really good!  I had already seen it at the President´s house, but it was good to see it again.  We invited tons of people to this activity, and lots came, including investigators and less active members.  All went according to plan as far as that goes.  We are continuing to contact lots, trying to find new people.  It is a struggle because lots of the people are very closed off to the message of the gospel, but we just keep pressing forward.

My comp is doing great.  We found out that he will be getting a Mini Missionary to finish out the transfer after I leave, so he is nervous for that, but I know that he will do great.

I am going to donate all of my mission clothes to youth in the ward who leave on missions soon and don´t have the funds to buy clothes.

I love you all and hope you have a great week!

Love,

Elder Garrett McEwan

P.S. Happy Father’s Day, Dad! Thanks for being such a great example to me J. I Love YOU!

Some of My Lasts . . .

June 15, 2015

Dear Family,

Sounds like you guys all had a really good week!  Lots of work, but also sounds like you had a lot of fun too, which is always a good balance to have!

This week for us was just packed with meetings!  On Wednesday, we had our monthly meeting with the Stake and Mission Presidents to talk about how things are going for us in the zone.  It is always super important, as we try to identify the difficulties that we have and find solutions for them.  It was interesting that you guys said that you learned about the importance of Ward Council, because that is something that we are focusing on right now.  It is a struggle sometimes, as the church is still trying to grow in the DR, but we are making progress!  On Thursday we had the Leadership Council, my last one, with all of the Zone Leaders.  It was good, and we talked about the importancia of the Book of Mormon, as well as our weekly planning sessions and the process of true conversion.  It was good, but a little bit sad because it is the last time that I will see the majority of the people who were there, so everyone was taking pictures and saying goodbye. It feels like when I left home.  You feel sad to leave, but you also feel ready, like you have learned what you need to learn and have changed what you need to change.  There was a lot of learning and change that had to happen for me before I came out on the mission, and now there has been a lot to be able to go home!

We also had the opportunity to teach a lesson to a less active family with President Nuckols.  We taught the Valdez Family.  The husband is the first missionary from our stake to have left the country on a mission, and now is inactive!  It was sad, one of the pioneers for mission work in the stake just went inactive.  He wasn’t there, but his wife was, and we had a very spiritual lesson as we talked about covenants and how they can be a protection for us. 

Today I went and visited La Mella, a woman that we used to go eat lunch with every PDay in my first area.  Barnett and LeFevre also went, and we just had a little reunion there.  It was amazing.  She is a lady who truly loves the missionaries like sons, and it was great to see her.  We are going to go back on these last two pdays that I have left!

Mom, thank you for getting all of my college stuff in order!  I am hoping to get into the spanish class, because that would be super easy to test out of!  Even people today were making comments that I speak like a Mexican, so that would be good.  Thank you for getting the EMT course in order.  I am nervous to start, but the best way to start a new life is to just jump in head first!

I hope all is well with you guys!

Love,

Elder Garrett McEwan