Called to Serve

Dear Sister Wilson,

You are hereby called to serve as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You are assigned to labor in the México Mérida Mission. It is anticipated that you will serve for a period of 18 months. 

You should report to the Provo Missionary Training Center on Wednesday, September 17, 2014. You will prepare to teach the gospel in the Spanish language...

I can't really explain how I felt when I read those words. 

The words that I kept saying over and over again (and I'm still saying it) was:

It's perfect.

I didn't really have a place that I wanted to go before I opened my call

But if I could have picked for myself

That would be it.

It's so perfect for me:

I wanted to speak Spanish

And go foreign

And I love spicy food

And I didn't want to be cold all the time

And it's surrounded by Book of Mormon history.

It's perfect.

And I cannot wait to go serve the Lord!

I was lucky enough to have my friends and family there.
That made it so much better. :) 

This is probably my favorite picture of the day.
They're staring at my call so intently. :)
Or a toy... probably a toy.

Also I didn't cry!! Be impressed.  

Yeah, I had no idea where it was. 

Mérida here I come. 

The Decision to Serve

I never really planned on going on a mission. When I was younger I thought girls only went on missions if they couldn't get married...

#ashamed 

Then when I was around 14 a speaker at a Youth conference asked the girls if we were preparing to serve missions. When she got a pretty resounding no, she asked us a question:

"Why not?"

She told us that we should all be preparing to serve missions.

And if we went, great.

If not, we were better prepared to be mothers and to help our children prepare to serve.

That seemed like a valid point to 14 year old me and so I began thinking about a mission.

Nothing very definite, just thinking and preparing.

And that went on for several years.

And then President Monson dropped the bomb.

Sisters could now serve at 19.

And so I...

was like that's cool. 

And moved on with my life.

So many sisters decided to serve at that exact moment, but not me.

But a mission was still floating around in my brain.

I graduated.

Went to college.

Then I decided I really needed to just pray about a mission 

and decide once and for all what I needed to do.

So I prayed about it,

And I got my answer.

But it wasn't yes.

It was more of a 

"You already know the answer to this. Of course you're going on a mission."

So now I'm going.

I told my mom and my best friend at my other best friend's farewell.

That may have not been the best choice...

#emotionalday

But everything has worked out and now I'm going.

Best decision ever.