To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven

One of the things that I truly believe with all of my heart and logic, and that I have seen endless evidence of in my 23 years of life, is that there is a time and a purpose for everything. The experiences we have will always have some purpose and will almost always come at the proper time to help us learn something new that we need to help us in the future. Nevertheless, thanks to the greatness of our divine agency, we have the ability to make choices that can affect the way we have the necessary experiences to help us grow.

Seven months ago I made the decision to go on a mission. After graduating from college and having a summer to recover from my four years of arduous studies, I felt that perhaps the next logical step was to serve a mission. I felt a desire to follow in the footsteps of my sisters who had served before me, be an example to my younger brother, serve the Lord and share the great knowledge of truth that I have been so blessed to have in my life, and gain new life experiences. I felt that serving was what was expected of me by my family and by my beliefs; and although I never received a strong confirmation from my Heavenly Father that serving a mission was exactly what I needed to be doing, I felt that it would be a good step for me; and in general, people who share my beliefs could rarely argue that serving a mission could be a bad thing. Thus, in January, after receiving my mission call, I left for the Missionary Training Center and from there went on to serve in my assigned area in Ecuador.

From the time I left, I had a small inkling that perhaps, despite my decision and desire to serve the Lord and further the spread of his true gospel, serving a mission is not what I needed to be doing. In reality, this is a feeling that I have been told is common among missionaries. I know that the devil has true power in the world and a great deal of his works are focused on stopping the spread of God's light and truth. Thus, for the first 2 months of my mission, I chose to put aside the impression that the mission wasn't the place for me. However, with time, the feeling became more and more powerful and more and more constant. Once I was settled and working hard in Ecuador, suppressing or fighting the feeling that the mission wasn't where I should be became a daily, at times even hourly struggle. 

At times it was easier to fight the feeling because I had a love for the people and could find happiness in my work with them. I could see in many cases, the benefits of the work I was doing for the people in Vinces. I could see the gospel of Jesus Christ blessing the lives of people and I had a desire to continue helping spread the message of Christ's love. I found happiness in the work and the people, however, as is often the case in this life, a challenge was brought before me that I could not overcome alone.

Of course I know that I was not alone. I have a sure knowledge that God did not abandon me in my trials and that he was there to help me and comfort me in every moment; however, I know that there are things in this life that we need to experience without the fully intervening hand of God. There are things in this life that we are meant to seek the help of others to overcome; and my trial as of right now is exactly that. So, after much prayer and consideration, priesthood blessings, moments of hopelessness, and consultation with medical professionals, I made the decision to come home from my mission early.

It was an extremely difficult decision to make, and I couldn't have done it without the personal confirmation from my Heavenly Father, as well as the advice of my family, and medical professionals that it was indeed the right thing for me to do.

I know that there is a time and a purpose for everything, but because of my current trials, I feel confident in saying that at this time in my life, it is not my time or purpose to be a full time missionary. I made every effort possible to serve the Lord in the calling as a missionary, but because of my circumstances, was unable to fulfill the task for the full period of time. However, I served the Lord to the best of my ability until I could no longer reasonably do so, and thus I was honorably released from my calling as a full time missionary and have returned home to Utah.

I don't know what my next calling will be or what exactly my purpose is at this time, but I have confidence in the Lord and his power to guide me. Although I can't serve as a full time missionary, I know that every person who has the knowledge of the true gospel has the responsibility to be a missionary in their daily lives and thus I look forward to personally growing and sharing the gospel through whatever comes next for me.

I love my Savior and know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the kingdom of God on this earth and that it contains the power, principles, and covenants necessary to help us return to live with our Heavenly Father again after this life. I know that I have a purpose in every moment of this life and I look forward to finding and understanding my purpose in this time in my life. I am thankful for the opportunity I had to serve in Ecuador and for the experiences I had there. I feel like they have helped me grow spiritually and that I have more knowledge and recognition of the type of person I want to be and the life I want to have.

Thank you for all of you who supported me in my time in Ecuador, and thank you for continuing to support and love me.
Here are a few last photos to enjoy. My final baptism, my last adventure in "el campo," and finally, the view from my plane window when I saw Wasatch Mountains again.

Thus ends the short epoch: Hermana Eyre and the Chronicles of Ecuador.