The Prologue

Well, it is April 3 which means there are only three days until I start my mission! In a lot of ways it still has not hit me that in a few days I will be a missionary. Don't get me wrong: I am super excited! However, even with my suitcases packed it still feels so far away. It probably will not fully strike until I say goodbye to my dad at the MTC or when I lie down to sleep that first day.

For the next 18 months I will be a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, or the Mormon Church, as it is commonly known. I will be serving in the Russia Moscow mission in the Russian language. Next Wednesday I report to the Missionary Training Center in Provo, UT where I will be for the next three months learning Russian before I depart for Moscow.

I'm still in shock because I have always wanted to serve a mission for my church As far back as I can remember it has always been in my life plan. But when I was 14, after my sister returned from her mission in Italy Rome, I realized I only wanted to serve if the Lord wanted me to be His missionary. Thankfully, I received the answer to my pray and the strong impression that I was going to serve and as I have continued to pray this has been reaffirmed multiple times. Now it is hard to believe that the time is here and I'll be serving in Russia! I remember when I was seven and living in Saudi Arabia my mom and I talked about missions. I said I wanted to serve in Russia because at the time I was obsessed with the animated movie, Anastasia. Who would have thought!

Thankfully, I have not been overwhelmed by fear yet. Most of you reading this know me and are aware of my shortcomings. As my sister and I drove around Nogales we talked (or rather I rambled on) about missions. I mentioned that I knew everything I was going to do was outside my comfort zone. I do not like talking to strangers, especially when it comes to something so personal to me as the Gospel. I don't mind sharing what I know to be true but I rarely instigate that conversation. I know I am going to have to change and push down that fear. It will be hard but I know if I work hard and try my best the Lord will help me.

In this blog I've asked my sister to upload my weekly letters home so check back weekly for updates and information!