I'm getting set apart tonight as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Days Saints.
I leave for the MTC in Guatemala in 2 days. What? And I'll be in the MTC in 3. What?!?
Time HAS FLOWN.
When I received my mission call, I had over a hundred days to do everything I wanted/needed to do. And I said to myself, "That's plenty of time." Now, as I look back, I wish I hadn't procrastinated on some things. Time flies when you're preparing for a mission. It's like a spaceship taking off into space, it goes by that fast.
To anyone preparing for a mission - get as much as you can done NOW so that you're not doing it later. That time later you'll want to spend with you're family. You're not going to see them for eighteen months/two years and you'll want to have fresh memories with them as you go off into the world. Whether you're going to Chicago, Illinois or Stockholm, Sweden or Guatemala City, you're still going to want to spend time with you're family before you leave and getting shopping and packing done early is one way to spend your time with them wisely.
To anyone deciding whether or not to go - don't let anyone pressure you into any decision. Make sure that whatever you choose is what the Lord wants you to do and what you want to do. Don't let anyone decide for you or pressure you into something that you don't want to do.
I am three days away from
being in Guatemala. It seems like yesterday I was a hundred days away from going
into the Missionary Training Center, but now it's only three days.
It boggles my mind at the prospect that in a few days, I will have to learn
Spanish fairly quickly and will be somewhere I have never been and
experiencing things I have never before thought of experiencing. It's
exciting and I am definitely going forward with faith, because I know
that with God, all things are possible.
I know that I am supposed to go to Guatemala. I know that I will have wonderful experiences and that I can do hard things. I know that this will be one of the hardest - if not the hardest - things I will ever do in my life.
I know that the Gospel is true. I know that I can be with my family for time and all eternity. There is a life after this one and I get to spend it with my family. I know that there is indeed revelation on the earth today through the Prophet and the Twelve Apostles and in our own individual decisions. I know that President Thomas S. Monson is a true prophet. I am grateful for the Atonement and that Jesus Christ was willing to go through that for everyone - my family, my friends, me, everyone. I have felt the power of the Atonement in my life and I am so grateful that I can partake of that gift. I know that The Book of Mormon is true and that there is definitely a "power" in that book. I am so grateful for the opportunity to serve in the land of Guatemala and that I get to meet so many wonderful people and have enriching experiences.
Sunday, August 4, 2013
Sunday, July 7, 2013
One more month...(July 7 2013)
July 7, 2013
In one month, I'm going to be in Guatemala. The time has FLOWN since I received my call on April 10th.
I was thinking recently about why I decided to go on a mission and came up with a few "reasons" of why I am going on a mission. [NOTE TO ME: this will end up just being a story, you know that, right?]
1. The age change - in the October 2012 Semi-Annual General Conference for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Days Saints, the missionary age was lowered for both the men and the women. For men, it was lowered from nineteen to eighteen and for women, it was lowered from twenty-one to nineteen. When this happened, I had just turned twenty the day before and was shocked at this announcement. It was unprecedented and completely out of the blue (or, at least for me it was). At that time, I did not have any real desire to serve a mission. For a while (about two months), my response to any questions about the age change was, "It's definitely revelation and I know of several of my friends that will take full advantage of this opportunity. I just don't know if it is the right thing for me."
About mid-December, it was the last Sunday as a ward for the semester and all the missionaries from our ward spoke. Several of my friends spoke in that Sacrament meeting and I was extremely touched by what they had to say about missionary work and deciding to go on a mission. That was when I decided I needed to seriously consider and think about going on a mission. So through winter break, I prayed and thought and tried to decide what to do. I ended up just preparing myself for the next semester and kind of put the topic on the back-burner for a while.
Enter Winter Semester and all the shenanigans that came with it. Within the first two weeks of being back, I helped with freshmen orientation, met and began dating my first boyfriend, began my English major classes, and was again thinking about a mission and whether it was the right thing for me to do in my life. My first date with my (now ex) boyfriend ended up being a good conversation about missionary work and how this decision was eating away at me. I wanted to know whether or not I was supposed to go.
About mid-January, I got an answer that felt like, "Prepare to go on a mission - if you go, you'll be prepared. If you don't go, you'll be a better mother" and I thought that was the end of it. But, it wasn't. A few weeks later, I felt like I needed to truly consider the idea of going. I made a pro-con list of the reasons I would or would not go (yes, I actually did this). All the pro list were positive and faith based things whereas the con list were all fear based and had no real standing. While looking at this, I realized that I needed to go on a mission. The feelings were so overwhelming.
At first, I was not happy about it, at all. I had never really wanted to go on a mission and why was I going? Thank you, Satan, for those thoughts the first few weeks. After about a week, I was excited about the idea of going and I talked with my Bishop. The nest few weeks were a flurry of getting dental records and doctors appointments and filling out forms, but it all worked out and my call was in. After two and a half weeks of waiting, I got it.
And now, I am a month away from Guatemala. It seems like yesterday I was a hundred days away from going into the Missionary Training Center, but now it's only thirty-one days. It boggles my mind at the prospect that in a month, I will have to learn Spanish fairly quickly and will be somewhere I have never been and experiencing things I have never before thought of experiencing. It's exciting and I am definitely going forward with faith, because I know that with God, all things are possible.
In one month, I'm going to be in Guatemala. The time has FLOWN since I received my call on April 10th.
I was thinking recently about why I decided to go on a mission and came up with a few "reasons" of why I am going on a mission. [NOTE TO ME: this will end up just being a story, you know that, right?]
1. The age change - in the October 2012 Semi-Annual General Conference for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Days Saints, the missionary age was lowered for both the men and the women. For men, it was lowered from nineteen to eighteen and for women, it was lowered from twenty-one to nineteen. When this happened, I had just turned twenty the day before and was shocked at this announcement. It was unprecedented and completely out of the blue (or, at least for me it was). At that time, I did not have any real desire to serve a mission. For a while (about two months), my response to any questions about the age change was, "It's definitely revelation and I know of several of my friends that will take full advantage of this opportunity. I just don't know if it is the right thing for me."
About mid-December, it was the last Sunday as a ward for the semester and all the missionaries from our ward spoke. Several of my friends spoke in that Sacrament meeting and I was extremely touched by what they had to say about missionary work and deciding to go on a mission. That was when I decided I needed to seriously consider and think about going on a mission. So through winter break, I prayed and thought and tried to decide what to do. I ended up just preparing myself for the next semester and kind of put the topic on the back-burner for a while.
Enter Winter Semester and all the shenanigans that came with it. Within the first two weeks of being back, I helped with freshmen orientation, met and began dating my first boyfriend, began my English major classes, and was again thinking about a mission and whether it was the right thing for me to do in my life. My first date with my (now ex) boyfriend ended up being a good conversation about missionary work and how this decision was eating away at me. I wanted to know whether or not I was supposed to go.
About mid-January, I got an answer that felt like, "Prepare to go on a mission - if you go, you'll be prepared. If you don't go, you'll be a better mother" and I thought that was the end of it. But, it wasn't. A few weeks later, I felt like I needed to truly consider the idea of going. I made a pro-con list of the reasons I would or would not go (yes, I actually did this). All the pro list were positive and faith based things whereas the con list were all fear based and had no real standing. While looking at this, I realized that I needed to go on a mission. The feelings were so overwhelming.
At first, I was not happy about it, at all. I had never really wanted to go on a mission and why was I going? Thank you, Satan, for those thoughts the first few weeks. After about a week, I was excited about the idea of going and I talked with my Bishop. The nest few weeks were a flurry of getting dental records and doctors appointments and filling out forms, but it all worked out and my call was in. After two and a half weeks of waiting, I got it.
And now, I am a month away from Guatemala. It seems like yesterday I was a hundred days away from going into the Missionary Training Center, but now it's only thirty-one days. It boggles my mind at the prospect that in a month, I will have to learn Spanish fairly quickly and will be somewhere I have never been and experiencing things I have never before thought of experiencing. It's exciting and I am definitely going forward with faith, because I know that with God, all things are possible.
Friday, June 28, 2013
Opening my Mission Call
40 days, everyone!
So, here's the story of when I got my call. It's funny, so I want to share it.
At my final interview with my Stake President, I was told I would receive my mission call on April 3 - in just ten days - this is how quickly the mission assignments were being sent out at that time. I was was SO excited until a girl in my ward told me that she had been waiting for her call for three weeks, and that I would probably have the same wait - an additional two weeks. I was crushed. That night and the next day became one of the longest days in my life. I had been really excited and motivated to get my mission assignment, but when I realized that I was going to have to wait that much longer for my call, the adversary started to mess with my brain and heart. At that point, I prayed hard to have the feelings of disappointment and frustration abated, so I could continue with my mission preparation and school. Peace came to my soul and waiting was infinitely easier after that.
On April 10th, I was walking home from campus (around 5 pm MST) and was talking with my friend Austin. We started talking about my mission call. He said he wanted to be there when I opened the mailbox, just in case the call was there. So I got the key and opened the mailbox. There was the large white envelope. I screamed in excitement, and jumped and ran around the breezeway saying, "It's here! It's here! It's here!" I have no idea how many times I said those words in the first half hour. I kept jumping up and down and freaking out.
I ran to my FHE brothers' apartment and knocked and ran in (without waiting for someone to formally open the door) hugging my call and repeating, "It's here!" still jumping up and down in excitement. My brothers congratulated me and were extremely excited for me, too. They understood - they were all returned missionaries. I finally settled down enough to think about when I was going to actually open the envelope. My initial plan had been to wait till 9:30 when my boyfriend would be home from work. I could open it then with my him and my friends. But, 9:30 was an eternity away, and for those who have received a mission call, it's EXTREMELY HARD to wait.
I called my sister,who lives in Saratoga Springs, and coordinated going to her house and having her Skype with our family in California and Virginia (USA), so that all my siblings and my parents could be a part of opening my mission call, too. After calling her, I started going around to my friends' apartments, trying to figure out who was home and who could potentially give me a ride to my sister's house (which was a half-hour drive away). My friend, Tal, was able to give me a ride, along with two of my other friends, Evan and Josh. We drove to my sister's house and promptly opened my call around 6:10.
*Mission call opening!
Those words - "Guatemala Guatemala City Central Mission". I couldn't even say where I was/am going correctly because I was so excited. I was stunned. Guatemala? Me? Spanish speaking? ME? I thought of my Spanish experience in high school and realized that I don't remember a lot of Spanish - at all. And my mom, dad, and I had a conversation saying as much. I didn't say a lot during the next few hours because I was still thinking about where I was/am going.
I didn't tell anyone in my ward where I was going and told my siblings not to post anything on Facebook until I did (I did tell my roommates, though, where I got called to). I "opened" my call with friends form my ward at 9:30 and everyone was excited about it. I'm grateful that my friends supported me through turning in my mission application, waiting, and when I got my call.
So that's the story of when I got my call. Lots of excitement, a few tears of joy, and a spirit of love and service.
I know that Guatemala is where I am supposed to go. I am overcoming my fears as I prepare with faith. I know that I will receive help through the Spirit in learning Spanish and what I am to teach people. I know that it will be hard - it is definitely work and not a picnic or vacation - but I'm ready to go to work and to serve the Lord as a full-time missionary. I'm excited to serve the people of Guatemala and to help them in getting to the Temple to be sealed to their families. There's a quote going around that says something like, "Missionaries leave their families for a few years to help other families be together for eternity". That is definitely worth going out. I cannot even imagine not being sealed to my family and want other people to be sealed to theirs. The Plan of Salvation is real and works. The Atonement works and allows us to be together with our families for time and all eternity. I love the Gospel and know that it is true and I'm excited to teach - through the Spirit - the people in Guatemala about the Gospel.
*(I don't know if everyone will be able to see the video - I couldn't download it and it's only on Facebook with all the privacy settings. If you can't see it, I'll try to get it up here in another form.)
So, here's the story of when I got my call. It's funny, so I want to share it.
At my final interview with my Stake President, I was told I would receive my mission call on April 3 - in just ten days - this is how quickly the mission assignments were being sent out at that time. I was was SO excited until a girl in my ward told me that she had been waiting for her call for three weeks, and that I would probably have the same wait - an additional two weeks. I was crushed. That night and the next day became one of the longest days in my life. I had been really excited and motivated to get my mission assignment, but when I realized that I was going to have to wait that much longer for my call, the adversary started to mess with my brain and heart. At that point, I prayed hard to have the feelings of disappointment and frustration abated, so I could continue with my mission preparation and school. Peace came to my soul and waiting was infinitely easier after that.
On April 10th, I was walking home from campus (around 5 pm MST) and was talking with my friend Austin. We started talking about my mission call. He said he wanted to be there when I opened the mailbox, just in case the call was there. So I got the key and opened the mailbox. There was the large white envelope. I screamed in excitement, and jumped and ran around the breezeway saying, "It's here! It's here! It's here!" I have no idea how many times I said those words in the first half hour. I kept jumping up and down and freaking out.
I ran to my FHE brothers' apartment and knocked and ran in (without waiting for someone to formally open the door) hugging my call and repeating, "It's here!" still jumping up and down in excitement. My brothers congratulated me and were extremely excited for me, too. They understood - they were all returned missionaries. I finally settled down enough to think about when I was going to actually open the envelope. My initial plan had been to wait till 9:30 when my boyfriend would be home from work. I could open it then with my him and my friends. But, 9:30 was an eternity away, and for those who have received a mission call, it's EXTREMELY HARD to wait.
I called my sister,who lives in Saratoga Springs, and coordinated going to her house and having her Skype with our family in California and Virginia (USA), so that all my siblings and my parents could be a part of opening my mission call, too. After calling her, I started going around to my friends' apartments, trying to figure out who was home and who could potentially give me a ride to my sister's house (which was a half-hour drive away). My friend, Tal, was able to give me a ride, along with two of my other friends, Evan and Josh. We drove to my sister's house and promptly opened my call around 6:10.
*Mission call opening!
Those words - "Guatemala Guatemala City Central Mission". I couldn't even say where I was/am going correctly because I was so excited. I was stunned. Guatemala? Me? Spanish speaking? ME? I thought of my Spanish experience in high school and realized that I don't remember a lot of Spanish - at all. And my mom, dad, and I had a conversation saying as much. I didn't say a lot during the next few hours because I was still thinking about where I was/am going.
I didn't tell anyone in my ward where I was going and told my siblings not to post anything on Facebook until I did (I did tell my roommates, though, where I got called to). I "opened" my call with friends form my ward at 9:30 and everyone was excited about it. I'm grateful that my friends supported me through turning in my mission application, waiting, and when I got my call.
So that's the story of when I got my call. Lots of excitement, a few tears of joy, and a spirit of love and service.
I know that Guatemala is where I am supposed to go. I am overcoming my fears as I prepare with faith. I know that I will receive help through the Spirit in learning Spanish and what I am to teach people. I know that it will be hard - it is definitely work and not a picnic or vacation - but I'm ready to go to work and to serve the Lord as a full-time missionary. I'm excited to serve the people of Guatemala and to help them in getting to the Temple to be sealed to their families. There's a quote going around that says something like, "Missionaries leave their families for a few years to help other families be together for eternity". That is definitely worth going out. I cannot even imagine not being sealed to my family and want other people to be sealed to theirs. The Plan of Salvation is real and works. The Atonement works and allows us to be together with our families for time and all eternity. I love the Gospel and know that it is true and I'm excited to teach - through the Spirit - the people in Guatemala about the Gospel.
*(I don't know if everyone will be able to see the video - I couldn't download it and it's only on Facebook with all the privacy settings. If you can't see it, I'll try to get it up here in another form.)
Sunday, June 23, 2013
45 Days Left!
So I have forty-five days until I enter the Guatemala Missionary Training Center! I thought that it was about time to start my mission blog that my parents and other relatives can update throughout my mission.
I won't go into why I decided to go on a mission right now (that will be a later blog post), but I know that it is what I need to be doing in my life right now. I have prayed about it and have done a lot to get to where I can go on a mission and be prepared to go. I love the Lord and the Gospel and the peace that I get from it. I love being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Days Saints. I know that this is the true church on the earth today. I know that our prophet, President Thomas S. Monson, receives revelation for those on the earth today. I know that the Book of Mormon is indeed another testament of Jesus Christ and that there is a power in that book that can be felt when read. I know that the Atonement is a real thing that we can take part of to feel peace and clean from our sins, trials, and ailments. I know that I can be with my family for time and all eternity. I love the knowledge that I gain from the Gospel.
I will try to post as much as I can before I go. Hopefully I can help people through what I write. For those who are reading this, you can do hard things. You can turn to the Lord for His help, for without Him, we cannot do anything. But through Him, we can do all things. Go forth and be strong, to whoever is reading this. So, until next time, God be with you.
I won't go into why I decided to go on a mission right now (that will be a later blog post), but I know that it is what I need to be doing in my life right now. I have prayed about it and have done a lot to get to where I can go on a mission and be prepared to go. I love the Lord and the Gospel and the peace that I get from it. I love being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Days Saints. I know that this is the true church on the earth today. I know that our prophet, President Thomas S. Monson, receives revelation for those on the earth today. I know that the Book of Mormon is indeed another testament of Jesus Christ and that there is a power in that book that can be felt when read. I know that the Atonement is a real thing that we can take part of to feel peace and clean from our sins, trials, and ailments. I know that I can be with my family for time and all eternity. I love the knowledge that I gain from the Gospel.
I will try to post as much as I can before I go. Hopefully I can help people through what I write. For those who are reading this, you can do hard things. You can turn to the Lord for His help, for without Him, we cannot do anything. But through Him, we can do all things. Go forth and be strong, to whoever is reading this. So, until next time, God be with you.
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