Almost There

So I leave in 9 days to head out to Utah with my dad to go skiing for a couple of days, say bye to family out West and make the final preparations before I go into the MTC. I thought that I had almost everything, but after talking to the parents of some missionaries online, I now feel extremely unprepared again. My mom and dad and I are in the process of planning a farewell party, so that will be nice to have a last kind of final hurrah to all of my friends. I can't believe I have 2 weeks until I actually am an official missionary. I got my call way back in September, and January 2014 seemed so far away, until now.

My friends have disappeared one by one as they have gone into the MTC before me, and I'm telling you it is never easy. I've had friends going in since June 2013, but it seems like the most important ones have gone more recently and that is hard to accept. I am missing them now, but I know I will be so occupied in a couple of weeks that I will barely have time to breathe. AND I am excited for that! hahah weird enough as it sounds. I can't wait to be so utterly exhausted each day that I collapse into my bed and I am asleep before I hit the pillow. And on top of all of that, I will be learning Spanish!!!!! I am so pumped to learn another language! Not only do I get to learn Spanish, but I get to be fully submerged in the culture for 18 months. How incredible does that sound!?

The picture that went along with my missionary application

When I opened the call all those months ago, I had a million thoughts racing through my head. I had NO idea where I was going to get called. Everyone was guessing I would go somewhere cold, like Northern Europe. I wanted to learn another language, but was worried that I would be called to speak in Chinese or some other language that had a different alphabet and I had never heard about before. LUCKILY I am speaking Spanish! I was in a Spanish immersion class in 1st and 2nd grade, and then I took Spanish classes 7th grade through my junior year in high school. It's been a while since I have done anything, and I have forgotten most of it, but I am hoping that it will come back quicker since I already have somewhat of a foundation. Kind of embarrassing, I didn't even know how to pronounce the city when I opened my call, I hope that isn't foreshadowing of what the rest of my mission will be like! I was so nervous opening my call, I had checked the mail box every day, multiple times a day that whole week looking for it. I even interrogated that poor mail man. I was shaking, my voice was trembling and I had tears in my eyes. BUT, as soon as I read the name of my mission, I felt so calm, so assured that this was where I was supposed to go, and this was where I was needed. I am so happy, and so grateful for this opportunity. I could not have gotten to this point without the support of my friends and family, and I thank them for being the great role models that they are in my life.