SOMEDAY SOON I’M GONNA MISS THIS

Someday soon I’m gonna miss this. This life. The adventures every day. I’m gonna miss the manga. The mongo and the passion fruit. The hot sun in my hair. The smell of rice. Even the smell of dried fish. I’ll miss the rats that are bigger than kittens, the Coke I can buy at the Sari-Sari store in a little plastic bag, and the individually wrapped Mentos that are just a peso. I’ll miss ordering “clean” water from jugs, wearing Crocs every day, and taking a shower out of a bucket. I’ll miss those days where we just walk and walk and walk, and days where we practically run in between appointments. I’ll miss the feeling when I come home and feel like my legs are going to fall off. I’ll miss “kaintayo” and “magasawa kana.”   

I’ll miss waking up every day at 6:30am and going to bed at 10:30pm. I’ll miss studying in the morning and working through the afternoon. I will miss meeting all sorts of people every day. I’m gonna miss the “baptism high” and the discouragement lows. I’ll miss feeling so happy. I’ll miss feeling so sad. I’ll miss mission meeting. I’ll miss mission conferences. I’ll miss reciting “My Purpose” and Doctrine and Covenants Section 4. I’ll miss teaching. I’ll miss speaking Tagalog. I’ll miss helping others pray. I’ll miss expounding on simple scriptures. I’ll miss praying every time we leave the house and come home.

I’ll miss my foam mattress. I’ll miss my electric fan. I’ll miss the dogs chasing me and the kids yelling my name as I walk by. I’ll miss everyone feeding us and giving us food to take home. I’ll miss washing my clothes in a bucket. I will miss the p-day rush: the chaos of trying to fit EVERYTHING in one day.

I’ll miss the name tag; that my name is right next to Jesus Christ’s. I might even miss the affectionate (and over used) tawag na [Sister]. All the time.

I will miss being Sister Jackson.

I have one more week to enjoy all of these things. I’ll send a brief email again next Monday and I’ll just print all the emails that y’all send so that I have something to read on the plane ride home. Here’s to making this last week the best week of my mission.

Sister J