So You Want To Be A Missionary...?

So, I STARTED MY PAPERS! I am in the Missionary System and I am slowly but surely checking things off the list of forms to complete. It is so exciting and I am incredibly grateful to be able to start! You can't turn your papers in more than 120 days before your availability date... which means I will turn mine in come March. My call will come a few weeks later. I know that being a missionary is part of the Lord's plan for my life, and I look forward to the adventures and experiences I'll have over those 18 months!

So many people have been asking me how I made the decision to serve, and I tell them that I was really REALLY lucky. Let me explain. I have always had the desire to serve a mission- as long as I can remember it's been a part of my plans. When the age was lowered for Sisters to 19, I had already made up my mind. Most of my friends, however, now had the tough choice of choosing whether or not to serve. Let me tell you, it's okay to not want to go on a mission! You are not a "bad person" if that's not part of your life's plan.  Definitely pray about it and choose what feels right. Sisters are not held to the same obligations as young men. Plus getting married is great too, so I've heard ;) But I'll be talking to the girls that are still deciding, or have definitely decided to go. It is a wonderful opportunity that you are taking advantage of, and your service is greatly appreciated!

When I made my plans in those first few months after the Oct 2012 General Conference, I guess you could say I was (a little) naive. At first I had no idea what I was getting into. I had this fanciful idea that my life would be absolutely perfect until I was almost 19 and I would fill out my papers, get my call, and leave for a foreign land where I would wear long flowy skirts and hand out tons of Book of Mormons and it would be rainbows and butterflies!!! This isn't a bad picture, but as I've prepared more and had some experience, I'll tell you what I've observed SO FAR:

• If anything, my life has been harder in almost every aspect. 
• I feel like my trials are harder. 
• Relationships with friends and family are impossible to keep up with.
• My temptations seem bigger and more difficult to overcome.
• It's HARD to want to read my scriptures and say my prayers every day.
• The natural (wo)man in me is definitely there and it is a struggle.

BUT... I have never felt so much peace, and I know that is the Holy Ghost comforting me. A Young Women's leader taught me a long time ago: "You can either dwell on everything that's falling apart around you, or you can stand tall." That phrase has always stuck with me. Please do not let distractions stand in the way of nurturing your spirit. When you sacrifice your time for the Lord, He will help you with whatever you need. Daily prayer and scripture study opens the door for personal revelation, which you will need! 

I've had the opportunity to go on one "split" with the missionaries in my ward plus my dad. It was a great experience and I definitely suggest helping out your local missionaries as much as you can!  It was nothing like I expected. You just have to rely on the Spirit. Experience is the best teacher and it will lead to testimony-building opportunities!

My cousin returned from his mission not long ago, and he said "Obedience brings blessings, but exact obedience brings miracles."  I'm sure I will understand this better once I have entered the mission field, but I intend on living true to this now. Exact obedience must mean that you have to be perfect and never make mistakes, right?! WRONG. The thing that matters the most though is that your heart is in the right place and you are making your best effort. Heavenly Father knows if you are trying and you want to do what's right. 

I just have to remind myself that I am a work in progress, and that I am enough. God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called. 

That is all for today!