Well, I have some news to share. I have decided to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I will leave soon after my 21st birthday, in April.
Most of you probably know that boys in our church go on their missions at 19 and serve for two years. We women have to wait until we are 21 and we only go for 18 months, which is fine by me! I know I will really miss my family during this time. So, how did I come to this decision?
Since I was 17 I have struggled with the question of serving a mission. I have never had a desire to do so, nor did I feel like I was going to. In my church we receive these things called a patriarchal blessing. (To learn what that is click here.) In my blessing it says that I will serve a mission for the church "in some fashion." I never thought that that fashion was an actual mission. This past month I have thought more and more about a mission and if I should go. Then, on Wednesday night I really started to ponder it. In fact, I was thinking about it so much that I didn't sleep that night. I was really struggling with what to do. I finally came up with a plan and it felt good. On Thursday after class, I went to the temple with my roommate Jallyn. While we were in the temple I prayed some more about a mission and if the plan I had come up with is the right now for me. I felt peaceful. When I decided that I was going to serve a mission I finally felt relieved from this burden that had been holding me down for so long. I felt joy because I knew that I had a small piece of my life's plan figured out. So, this is the plan. I'm going to finish out this semester with work and school, then I'm going to go live with my parents and work my behind off. I will defer school for the Winter Semester and then, in April, I will leave for 18 months to serve wherever the Lord sends me, even if it is Temple Square. :)
