Reporting in 6 Days!

Here I am.  Writing the first post to a blog chronicling the events of this great adventure of the mission I am about to go on.  I have T-minus: 6 days until I report to the Missionary Training Center, and I am so excited!!  Many people and events have brought me to this point in my life, and I want to share a just a little bit of my journey.

I am not one of those people who has always wanted to serve a mission.  In fact, until the LDS missionary age change a few years ago, I didn't really consider it a possibility.   Even after the announcement, though, serving a mission still didn't seem like my cup of tea.  Here I will have to give to credit to my wonderful older sister, who faithfully and valiantly served her mission and showed me what sister missionaries actually do and the great blessings a mission can bring to the missionary, her family, and most importantly, the people she helps teach.  When I saw the joy that came into her life as she served the Lord and the light that she helped bring into other peoples' lives, I began to realize that I wanted that for myself.

When it came time for me to start filling out the paperwork, though, I still wasn't sure if a mission was the right thing for me pursue.  I knew that I wanted to go, but I didn't yet know if a mission was part of God's plan for me--and I wanted to know without a doubt that this was what Heavenly Father wanted me to do.  But as I prayed to know if I should go or not, I soon came to feel like the heavens weren't listening.  For weeks I continued to pray, and I didn't understand why I was not being given an answer to my sincere question.  Finally, I decided to move forward, submit my application, and trust that I would later receive a confirmation, or that things just wouldn't work out if it wasn't right for me.  I think that this act of faith was crucial for me to receiving my answer, and the confirmation has come, time and time again!  Throughout these last few months, I have received countless moments of peace, love, and confidence from the Lord as I have prepared to serve a mission.  I know, without a doubt, that I have been called by the Lord to teach and serve the people of West Virginia.

And so here I am, pumped and ready to go! I can hardly wait to leave, and even though it will be hard to leave my family, friends, and life behind, I know that I will return a better woman.  I look forward to the day when I will be able to see and talk with all you again, and write me until then!!