The Decision and Call To Go!

I am almost a missionary! And this is almost a missionary blog where I will share missionary experiences(my mom will update it for me with some of my emails)! But I still have 7 days to wait, so to start off I suppose I will tell a little bit about how this all came to be. So I think it was sometime in high school when I realized that I was interested in serving a mission someday. I have an older sister and brother who have served a mission and I saw what a great experience it had been for them. I knew that I would also grow a lot from a mission. Most importantly, I had (and have) a testimony of this gospel.  As I started my first year of college, I kept having this desire to serve a mission resurface, but I would just kind of try to not think about it too much because I was only 18 and I knew I had a loooong time to wait. I made a tentative plan to serve a mission between my third and fourth years of college. A little bit later, I think the day before general conference, I was talking to my sister Cammie(who served a mission) and was telling her about how I was interested in serving a mission, and how I felt like maybe it was something that I was supposed to do. But again, I sort of just of tried to put off the thought because it was so far away until I could start my papers. But then the next day, President Monson was talking about the age at which young men could now serve my missions. As I was watching this with my roommates I remember saying, “Wouldn’t that be so cool if they changed the age for sisters?” and then  President Monson’s words, “Today I am pleased to announce that able, worthy young women who have the desire to serve may be recommended for missionary service beginning at age 19, instead of age 21”

His words really hit me. I was shocked and happy and excited and I just cried. At that moment I had an overwhelming desire to go. After that I still did a lot of praying and planning and stuff but looking back on it, I recognize that moment was the Spirit telling me something. This memory has been a great thing to look back on when I ever felt unsure or discouraged because it is a reminder that I know I am supposed to serve a mission.
 I started working on my papers in November, finished and submitted them in early January, and got my call a little less than 2 weeks later. When I held my call in my hands, I had no idea where I was going. For all I knew, it could have been anywhere from Texas to Taiwan. When I found out I was going to the Peru Cusco Mission I could not have been happier. For whatever reason, I hadn’t really considered that I would get called to Peru, but once I got my call it just made sense. Like a , “why didn’t I think of that?” type of feeling. It was just perfect. I can’t wait to be a missionary in Peru! I believe that it is part of God’s plan for me and is a huge blessing to be able to serve and share the gospel. . I know I need to serve a mission and I can’t wait!