The Journey

Hey Everyone!

Ok. So I am starting this blog so that all of you can follow me on my journey as a full time missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Olongapo Philippines! It isn't going to be easy, but I know that this will be one of the biggest blessings in my life and am so SO excited to start serving the Lord and his children in the Philippines. I have such a strong testimony of this gospel and I am so grateful for my savior Jesus Christ and everything he has done for me. I hope that through reading about all my adventures and experiences you will feel uplifted and inspired to live a happier life. Because isn't that the goal? We are all here on this earth to have experiences and try to be better. To live, to love and to grow so that we can reach our full potential as well as form bonds and relationships with those we love that will last the eternities.

So how did this whole mission business even begin you ask? Good question. Because it sure wasn't in my life plan haha. So I came back to BYU over the summer ready to conquer the world- new apartment  new roommates, new classes and about declare my major- but I kept feeling like something was missing and I was really having a hard time figuring out what I was supposed to do with my life. Then during the October General Conference, President Thomas S Monson made his groundbreaking announcement that the missionary ages had been lowered and girls could leave on missions at 19 instead of 21. The words hit me full forced like a ton of bricks and I was speechless. That lasted for a good 2 seconds and then my friends and I started jumping up and down like crazy people and had a full fledged freakout in the living room. Never before had any news announcement made in conference affected me so directly.  Here I was, a 19 year old girl, listening as they tell the whole world that 19 year old girls can start serving... like right NOW!

Obviously I started thinking about the possibility of going on a mission and the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to go! But I wasn't sure if it was really what I was supposed to do so I kept thinking about it and really prayed hard about for the next few weeks.  One day while in my New Testament class my teacher really emphasized a scripture in Matthew 7:7-8 which says:


7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

 8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

I really kept that in mind all day and later that night when I went to the temple. I sat there waiting to do confirmations and just prayed and prayed to my heavenly father asking to be able to receive an answer just like that scripture said I could.  I had such a desire to go, but I just wanted to be sure and receive an answer for myself because let's be real- giving up 18 months of your life to go serve the Lord anywhere in the world away from all your friends and family is kind of a big deal.  I started flipping through my scriptures and stopped in the beginning of the Doctrine and Covenants and started reading.  Suddenly, a scripture caught my eye and as I read the words my eyes started welling up with tears and my heart seemed to be pounding of my chest. The scripture was D&C 4:3 which reads:

 3 Therefore, if ye have desires to serve God ye are called to the work.

Never had any scripture i've ever read touched me so strongly or rang so clear to me before.  I felt such a strong confirmation that going on a mission to serve the Lord as a full time missionary was EXACTLY what I was supposed to be doing at this time with my life.

I then continued reading the rest of the chapter and couldn't believe what I was seeing as I read the last verse of the chapter:

 7 Ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.

The Lord truly does listen to and hear our prayers. We are his children and he loves and cares about us so much. He wants to help us and all we have to do to receive his help is ask.  From that moment on I knew I was going to serve a mission and I couldn't be happier :)