I am going to be serving a mission in the New Zealand Wellington mission! I am so excited, and I cannot wait to be getting out there! I report to the New Zealand MTC in Auckland on July 18th. I am currently awaiting the travel plans from the mission office! Whoo.... no anxiety what-so-ever! Haha, actually it was a bit stressful, but as I have not heard anything from Church Head Quarters I haven't worried too much. In order to get my visa I had to get a bunch of blood work done, a chest x-ray (just to make sure I didn't have or had have TB) and a whole bunch of other things... (Seminary certificates, you name it! :) But compared to all those going to Brazil I certainly got off easy!
I just love this Gospel. If anything these last couple of months waiting to go have been nerve wracking (leaving the country for eighteen months without much contact with your loved ones can be a hard thing), but my desire to share this Gospel has trumped those things of nostalgia. One of the biggest things I have realized is this Gospel is all about Families. The reason we are here on earth is so we can be a forever family. That is something that is so dear to me heart and being able to give others that same joyful message is something I really want to do, and I am grateful that the Lord is helping me and letting me do this.
So New Zealand... That was a fun day when I opened my call! February 15th I recieved my call and on the 16th I opened it with my family and friends. It was neat my cousin Elise guessed New Zealand right before I opened my call, and she was right! She was very excited about that! :D Joe Hyde was kind enough to give me a ride down from Provo to Pocatello the 15th. He and his family have been great friends to me... though that particular day he kept teasing me about opening my call right then in the car! Haha, luckily my disposition is not violent in nature otherwise I think I would have had to give him a friendly punch in the shoulder to show him my resolve not to open the call until I was home! (JK Joe :) No but we did have a fun bantering session on our way down from Provo to Pocatello. Luckily for me I didn't get nervous at all or anxious until about an hour and a half before I was able to open my call. For all of those who have already gone on missions, I suppose you know the feeling. But it was so neat, when I opened my call I just knew New Zealand was exactly where I needed to go, and I couldn't picture myself going anywhere else. It just didn't fit.
So Why did I decide to serve a mission?
To be truthful, I hadn't really considered it. I did think about it seriously after I graduated high school, but by the time I was the age girls were able to serve then (21), I thought I could potentially be married or stuck deep fast in the Nursing program. So, due to that, I didn't really think about it much. I figured I could think about it more after my schooling was complete and if that was an option by that time. Then, the fateful day happened where the mission age for girls was changed to 19! I was 20 that year, one year from being the age of going on a mission historically, and about 2 more years of Nursing school left at BYU. It was crazy to see the transformation of everyone deciding to serve. I came home from conference to find one of my roommates knowing the day of the announcement that she needed to go and my other roommate seriously considering it. (both of whom are currently serving in the Indianapolis mission and the Tokyo Japan mission) For me the decision came much more gradually. I starting thinking about it a lot, talking with my parents, reading talks, and praying (lots and lots of praying). And one day I just knew it was right. After I made the decision that I needed to go, I have still had instances where I have wondered if I heard correctly and made the right choice, and each time I would have a little nudge from the spirit saying yes. I am grateful that I can confidently say to you now that I know I am supposed to go on a mission. I can just feel it in :) It is such a wonderful neat experience to have the Holy Ghost speak to your spirit, spirit to spirit. Those are moments that I treasure deeply and think about often and this is one of those experiences I have had. I wish I had some powerful transforming moment that I could share with you, but for me, knowing to serve a mission just came in little moments and slowly over time. I suppose for me this was one of those moments where I was filled with "fire and the Holy Ghost, and [I] knew it not." (3 Nephi 9:20 Book Of Mormon) until now :)
