Mission Call!

Whew! It finally came! For a while there I was afraid my application to go on a mission would be denied.

Maybe they'd found out about the time I stole that toy from my cousin and took it home with me...

Or the fact that I'd run that red light recently.

BUT it came!!!! And I am hereby called to serve as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Utah Salt Lake City Temple Square Mission!!!

Confession: my very first reaction was actually not one of complete and ecstatic joy. Mostly because a sad thing about our church is that we are taught to be excited about missions....to other countries. If your call is to Montana or Wyoming or Ohio (anywhere stateside, really) people look at you with those pitying eyes and say, "oh...congratulations... You'll be a wonderful missionary there." Whereas if you get called somewhere like Guatemala people are ceaselessly patting you on the back, wishing you the very best, and baking you cakes.

So for a girl to get her call to Temple Square, well, I just never thought it was that exciting. Until now.

Now that I am actually going to go out there and be a missionary, I could not be more stoked! This will be just as much of an adventure as if I were going anywhere else in the world. People from all sorts of crazy countries are going to be coming to ME. And I am going to be sharing the gospel with people who are actually interested in what they are looking at and what they are hearing.

It is going to be amazing. The Lord knows exactly the best places for us to be. I know I KNOW that Temple Square is the absolute best place for me to serve my mission. Not only will I grow and gain confidence and the testimony that will make me stronger, there are people waiting to hear about the gospel from ME.

I just can't think of anywhere else I would rather be going. Salt Lake City, HERE I COME!!!

First Story!

http://heraldsun.com/view/full_story_news_durham/7587074/article-Bull-City-streets-to-be-open-to-fun-lovers?instance=main_article

I am officially a real reporter! My very first story in the Herald-Sun just came out today. I have to say, I am very proud and extremely excited. :)

I love being a journalist.

Waiting

I found this in my inbox today. It's a writing response I had to write for my Communications class two years ago and I kinda liked it.

The assignment was to write our thoughts about this quote: "How much of human life is lost in waiting." --Ralph Waldo Emerson.

One of the things that Americans are best at is waiting. With theme park lines, college acceptance letters, and true love, we are constantly waiting for something. But, like Emerson ponders, how much of our life are we wasting by waiting? Much of my life has been squandered away because I have been too afraid to take action to obtain something that I want, reasoning that if I wait just long enough, surely that thing will come to me. Life is partly about taking risks. You don't learn if you never find the courage to get out there and experience life, even when you are terrified of making a mistake.

I have had many experiences with waiting. My personality is one that often dictates just how outgoing or courageous I am (or am not) when it comes to what I do with my time. I have often been stuck inside of myself...waiting. Waiting for the right words to say, waiting for the perfect moment to tell someone something, waiting for someone else to make the first move. Often I've been told that to override my fears I have to be willing to jump in headfirst. Waiting just prolongs the inevitable and makes what's coming that much harder to deal with.

In our society, particularly within our Mormon culture, this situation comes up regularly. Girls are taught during young women lessons and youth activities to make up lists about their perfect spouses. They devise long and lofty goals of who and how their perfect guy should be. Then, when confronted with an opportunity at being happy with someone, if that guy does not possess everything on her perfect list, she throws away a chance at happiness because she continues waiting. Waiting for something that will never be there. Perfection is not found in every day experiences. Perfection comes over time. It is a never-ending process. One too long to be waited for.

Our lives could be so much more enriched, enlivened, and experienced if we would only stop waiting. Although it is said that the best things in life are worth waiting for, it is my personal belief that the best things in life are actually the things we go out and attain ourselves.

FHE Talent Show

So Sean and Justin come over for Family Home Evening on the first Monday of every month. I'm trying to get them to come every Monday but they won't do it. Something about having their OWN families to have FHE with. Sure, sure.




I had the great idea this week to do an official family talent show! Although I gave plenty of heads-up about the event, pretty much everyone threw something together last minute. Which was fine, because Sean's and Justin's on-the-spot rendition of "My Girl" was priceless. (I would post the video of it, but it won't let me. Rude.)

Dad showed us a painting he did a few years ago. Nice! And Kylie and I did a song. I played away on Cocoum and she belted it out on those pretty little lungs of hers. And yes, we did a Taylor Swift number. It's really unfair that she has good songs AND good hair.

So after the talent show we played ninja destruction, but this is really the only good picture I got:

Ahh good times. :)

ZuMbA!

Tuesday morning...

I got off the spinning bike, finishing up my last couple of minutes on the workout cycle I was doing. Thirty minutes of hills and inclines-- I was feeling good. My mom walked past me and opened the door that led to the gym, turning around and gesturing for me to follow.

We walked into the gym where 7 or 8 women were standing around, some stretching their legs, others chatting, a couple rolling up their sweatpants.

Well, this should be interesting, I thought as Shakira's "Hips Don't Lie" started playing on the stereo. All at once, a short, blonde-haired woman sashayed over to the front of the group. She was wearing purple gym pants and a bright pink t-shirt that had Zumba! written across the front in bright letters.

Her hips never stopped moving as she called for the ladies to get in rows and follow her movements. I looked uncertainly over at my mom, who smiled back encouragingly.

"Just follow her. The movements aren't that hard if you just memorize the routine," she said.

The instructor then began a long series of hip-shaking, grapevine-ing, and arm waving. The other ladies followed suit while I stood there, smirking, and watching. The other Zumba-goers all seemed to be in their 50's and 60's. More power to 'em, but I couldn't help feeling out of place. Not only did everyone look absolutely ridiculous...they were shaking their hips better than I could ever hope to.

But I dove in anyway, trying to mirror the instructor's moves, but somehow always seeming to be off a beat. The Latin music filled the room and obviously inspired the instructor because she suddenly began a complex combination of kicks, twirls and shakes that no one could keep up with. The ladies kept trying, however, and I couldn't help but giggle a little bit at the slight chaos of it all.

So, I mostly stood there, watching, silently laughing, and thinking about what I was going to eat when I got home...

But oh, I'm definitely going again.