Testimony Time!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE my Heavenly Father and Savior!
They have done so much for me personally and I will be eternally grateful for that. I am indebted to them.
I love this gospel! It is my rock. It is my foundation. It is the thing that brings me TRUE happiness.
No matter what...whether I'm having a good day or a bad day I can go to my Heavenly Father in prayer for guidance and comfort. I can tell Him exactly how I'm feeling and He helps me make sense of it all. I am so GRATEFUL for my relationship with my Heavenly Father! I have come to know that He knows me best. I know that He gives me trials to make me stronger. 
I love reading the scriptures! By reading them I gain a greater understanding of the gospel and learn more about Christ. Read them every day! I know that daily prayer and scripture study strengthens my faith and testimony.
I know that by following the commandments I am blessed to always have the spirit with me to lead and guide me.
I have a testimony of service and how serving others can bring us happiness.
When I am living the gospel, and I mean really LIVING it, the light of Christ shines from within me and that is a beautiful thing! That is something I am not willing to give up for worldly or temporal things. I know that as I continue on the straight and narrow path I will be blessed.
I know that the Atonement is real. With the gift of the Atonement I am able to repent and be forgiven and washed clean from sin. Nobody is perfect. We are all human and we all need to use the gift of the atonement every day. 
I know that Joseph Smith restored the gospel and that he translated the Book of Mormon. I know that both, the Bible and the Book of Mormon, are testaments of Christ.
I know that the power of the priesthood is the power of God. I am thankful for worthy priesthood holders and their willingness to to use the power of the priesthood to bless others.
I know that temples are the house of God and that the covenants and ordinances done there are real.
I know that the Prophet Thomas S. Monson is truly called of God and that he seeks His guidance in leading the church. I know that all the leaders of the church are called of God and that we can learn much from their teachings and examples.

"Your testimony of Jesus Christ is the most important anchor that you can have to help hold you, steadfast and immovable, to principles of righteousness, regardless of the challenges and temptations that may come in the future." - M. Russell Ballard 

Endowed!

Today was a very long but amazing day for me! I was able to take out my endowments. It was nothing like what I was expecting...but then again, I really didn't know what to expect at all. It was a very spiritual experience for me and I appreciate my family members that went to support me, as well as the members of the branch that went and others that were thinking of me today.

 Me and my parents :) 

 My dad wasn't able to go inside the temple but he still wanted to support me! It was a great surprise to walk out of the temple and see him waiting for me! :)

 Grandma, Tio Tonio, Lilly, Mom, me, Dad, Johnny, & Debbie.

 Another family photo. 

Getting Ready

Today was the day I got to go to the temple bookstore to buy the clothing I would need to go through my first endowment session this Saturday. It was super nice to be able to go and enjoy the temple grounds. The San Antonio temple is gorgeous and I love feeling the spirit that is there!

While I was there I ran into a guy who is also leaving soon to serve his mission in the Washington Tacoma mission. Not my mission area but it's still in Washington and he's being sent to the Mexico MTC too since he'll also be teaching in spanish. What are the odds of that?? Then I met this lady there that was from the area where I'll be serving! What a small world right?!!

When I got back home I had the opportunity to go out and teach with the elders serving in my area for, as they called it "official training." I've gone to teach lessons with them several times before but only to teach one or two people at a time. This time they had four appointments set up and I spent a good hour and a half getting the real experience of missionary life. It was complete with great lessons, cancelled appointments, nice people, not so nice people, lots of walking, and of course plenty of barking dogs. Haha! It was great being able to get a glimpse at what I'll be doing for 18 months! It was also great to see the elders make a point to talk to every person they saw. 

I'm getting more and more excited about going out and sharing the gospel! I report in just 50 more days!!

Called to Serve

So first things first, let's talk about when President Monson announced the missionary age change for both men and women at General Conference on October 6, 2012. Remember that?? Yeah me too! Young men would be able to serve at the age of 18 instead of waiting until they were 19 and young women, like myself, could serve missions at 19 years of age instead of waiting until they were 21.
I remember sitting in my dorm and my mouth just dropping when I heard the news! This was so exciting and what made it even better was that in just four more days, on October 10th, I would turn 19!!! I had always thought of serving a mission in the future if I felt that it was right but now the possibility of serving was so much more realistic because I wouldn't have to wait.

My mind was racing with thoughts like...
"Should I serve a mission?"
"I'm turning 19, should I serve now?"
& "Okay, I need to focus on the rest of conference..."

So from this point on the idea of serving a full-time mission was seriously planted into my head.

Fast forward to...

March 16, 2014. The day I had my interview with my Stake President up at school and my papers were sent in to Salt Lake. (Yes, it did take me a long time to finally decide to serve. I don't think I've ever prayed for an answer as much as I did for this one. Also now, looking back, I can see that I did receive answers but most were very subtle. So don't feel bad if you're having a hard time coming to a decision about serving a mission. Be patient and have faith and everything will work out!) My Stake President informed me that I would most likely get my mission call in 4-6 weeks so I had it sent home so I could open it after the semester was over.

March 28, 2014. I'm sitting in Anatomy Lab working and I get a text from my mom. Her text said, "Look what I have!!" along with a picture of her holding my call. I was in complete shock! I was supposed to receive it in 4-6 weeks and it had only been 12 days! Let's just say I had a very hard time focusing on class after that. Now I had to decide if I wanted to open my call over Skpe or wait two weeks until I was home to open it myself.

She was so excited she couldn't even wait to take her rollers out ;)

March 29th, 2014. At first, I was going to wait until I was home because I wanted to be the one to actually break the seal on the envelope and read it. But then I realized that I probably wasn't that patient to wait and whether or not I'm the one opening it, I'm still being sent to where the Lord needs me.

I was called to serve in the Washington Federal Way Mission. I will prepare to share the gospel in the Spanish language and will report to the Mexico MTC August 6, 2014.