Before I start I just cut my hair today!! I donated about a foot to Locks of Love. It took a ton of courage but I finally did it. It will be much better for where I am going....read below :)So I created this blog at the beginning of the last school year (Augustish 2012) and I haven't posted since. I have had exciting things happen and I am all like oh I should post about this on my blog then I think "I really just want to enjoy it and I don't have time". I really do have the time but I am a teensy bit lazy.
In General Conference last October President Monson said that they were lowering the age for sister missionaries (and elders) to 19 and 18 respectively. I did not want to serve an lds mission. Even though in the last couple of weeks I had talked to my mom about taking a break from school after Winter semester, it had not crossed my mind to go on a mission.
I was thinking about going to another country and teaching English for a semester or taking a break from BYU and going to cosmetology school. My desire to go to cosmetology school was hard to admit because I am fairly good at academics and my friends are all serious college students with rigorous futures in mind. I felt like whenever I mentioned it people's opinions of me would lower. I always prided myself on my ability to do well in school and this took a bit of courage for me. Some people responded well and other people would (with a kind heart) advise me to get a business degree or any degree first before starting something else. One thing I have learned is that my path in life is not everyone else's path. On that note I will move forward a couple weeks..
So I had just got out of the shower and I was doing my hair and makeup because we had to drive to Salt Lake because we had tickets for the afternoon session. We were listening to the morning conference and all the sudden people were freaking out. I admit, I was not paying as good of attention as maybe I should have been. All my roommates were freaking out that we could all go on missions now and they were so happy and excited. I was like okay.... this does not really apply to me. It was great for them but I had no interest in going.
I am a little (sorry I mean HUGE) romantic so my dreams were to get married and have a family and buy a cute little house and play in the backyard with the hose and my kids and cook nutritious meals and be a cute, sexy wife to my loving husband.
I called my mom the Monday after General Conference and I was a little upset. I felt like because I was not excited I was not spiritual enough. There was so much hype at this time and every time I talked to someone for the next few weeks it was "So are you going on a mission?" My mom was a little confused because in her mind this was perfect for my need to do something else other than school. She encouraged me to pray about it and ask if it was something that Heavenly Father wanted me to do. I grudgingly said that I would.
That night I prayed to my Heavenly Father, I put all my hopes and dreams on the line and said that if a mission was what I was supposed to do than I would give my dreams up for a time. I am not going to say that I struck a deal with Heavenly Father but I believe we had an understanding that I would receive all my dreams at the appropriate time, after my mission. I cried for a while, I felt the spirit and I knew that this was what I was supposed to do. It was hard to let go of MY pride and MY plans and MY dreams and follow the path that I was guided towards.
My roommate, Kellie, decided to start her papers but my other roommate that had been so excited prayed about it and decided that it was not the path for her. I was resolved by that time and set up an interview with Bishop Fox to start my mission papers. I was following what I felt was right but I was not excited or exuberant about it.
Over Christmas break I can home to Kansas and did all my doctor appointments while I was home. During that time I had a really hard time. I felt fearful and doubtful about the whole thing. I thought maybe I was not supposed to go now. I had heard of girls that felt that they should start their mission papers but the preparation was all they needed and they did not actually need to go on a mission. I thought maybe this is me?? I was very uncomfortable and nervous about leaving my family. We are pretty close and I can get home sick fairly easily. It got so bad that I did not even want to go back to school in Provo, UT. I was so fearful.
I forced myself onto the plane and left. The next morning when I woke up in my apartment I had had a dream about my Grandpa Catmull. I have not thought about him in a long time. He was so big on missionary work, he made it an essential part of his life. He and my grandma served more than 4 missions together as senior missionaries. I started thinking about him and how he would be so proud of me if I when on a mission. I felt him cheering me on from heaven. After that I knew it was going to be all right. I could go on a mission and I would be just fine.
The next Sunday in church I received another witness that God heard the prayer of my heart and my fears. For the opening hymn we sang "Families Can Be Together Forever". I knew that song was for me and I felt that no matter what happened on my mission my family was sealed together and we would be alright. My homesickness vanished and I felt confident.
After all these witnesses it is now impossible for me to dispute what Christ's will is for me. I would go on a mission for the Lord.
Even when I sent in my papers I was not antsy but calm. In about 2 weeks I got my call. It was the beginning of March.
I AM GOING TO URUGUAY!
When I first read this I was like where is that? I am not very good with South American countries so originally I thought it was somewhere in the East countries. I am also learning Spanish which I had not expected. I took french in high school and did not like the Spanish language in general so that was a surprise.
I am sorry about the length of this post but it has been a long time coming. I am excited to serve the Lord and the people of Uruguay. I am going to the Kansas City Temple to receive my endowments tomorrow so that is the next adventure in my book. Pictures to come... :)
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