Called to Serve

Kaylie, Jesse, me, Chantel, Jake, Natalie

I received my mission call in the mail on Thursday February 21st 2013.  I had my call sent to my home in Spanish Fork, because I am going to school in Salt Lake and wanted to make sure it arrived safely!  I was at school when my mom sent me a picture message of my letter.  I pretty much went ballistic. I started jumping around like a crazy person and then started crying (slight bi-polar moment).  I didn't expect my call to come that soon because I had only submitted my papers a week and a half ago, and Monday was a holiday so I didn't get it on Wednesday which is the day that missionaries normally receive their calls in the mail. Another contributing factor was that I hadn't heard anything from my Stake President of whether or not my call had been assigned so I had it in my mind that it would be another week before I would get it in the mail.  As I began to collect myself I realized that I would not be able to open my call until SUNDAY!  I had to work Thursday and Saturday and I had a trip planned down to Ephraim with my best friend on Friday.  I knew that the next few days were going to be treacherous with having to wait....But the great news is is that Heavenly Fathers timing is 100% perfect.  He knows exactly what we need and when we need it.  Although the days waiting to open my call were distracting and filled with anxiety, I am so grateful that I waited until Sunday to open my call(even through the numerous times I just wanted to sneak home and peek for myself).  Thursday, Friday and Saturday flew by and my excitement and anxiety kept growing more and more.  Finally Sunday was here.  I decided on five o'clock to open my call, so I stayed in Salt Lake and went to my singles ward to keep me from going crazy at home with anticipation.  It turned out that this Sunday ended up being one of the most incredible experiences of my life.  I started off the day listening to a conference talk my sister had suggested to me to listen to on how missionaries are called. (http://www.lds.org/liahona/2010/05/the-divine-call-of-a-missionary?lang=eng).  That set my day off to a great start.  Then comes Sacrament Meeting.  Turns out that the entire meeting was based on missionaries (I told you the Lord's timing is perfect).  The mission committee in our ward spoke to us and the spirit was so strong.  After Sacrament Meeting I had the opportunity to meet with the bishop to interview for a temple recommend and also to be set apart for my new calling in the ward (mission committee...perfect right?).  The interview process to receive my recommend was one of the neatest spiritual experiences I have had.  I have been interviewed several times prior to this to receive/renew a temple recommend, but this time was different.  As I was answering the questions, the spirit was so strong and with each answer I gave, I felt Heavenly Father's love for me.  A very similar experience happened as I met with the stake president about two weeks prior.  Meeting with President Featherstone was the final step in my process to submitting my papers and he asked me the temple recommend questions to be sure of my worthiness to serve a mission.  As Pres. Featherstone finished the series of questions, he paused and looked at me and said "doesn't that feel good?"  Immediately the spirit filled the room and my heart and I felt an overwhelming feeling of love and acceptance from my Father in Heaven. ....Back to Sunday, after my temple recommend interview I had the privilege of being set apart by my bishop.  The blessing he gave me as he was setting me apart had very little to do with my new calling and had everything to do with what I have been needing to hear lately.  Talk about a man of God who is in tune with the spirit.  Bishop Tempest has only known me for a very short time.  He has no idea what my struggles or my fears are, but he addressed EVERY tiny detail in my life and blessed me with so much peace and comfort with everything I have been struggling with and worrying about lately.  The power of the priesthood is quite the incredible gift.  What a great blessing it is to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints where the priesthood has been restored to the earth, where man can act in God's name, which is exactly what Bishop Tempest did as he set me apart and gave me a blessing.  After my meeting with the bishop I went to Relief Society which was combined with the Priesthood that Sunday.  The missionaries who are serving in our area taught the class that day.  It made me so excited to be a missionary. I loved being able to hear from people who are doing exactly what I'll be doing in just a few short months.  The missionaries had such an incredible spirit about them and you could see the love they have for the gospel.  After church my wonderful roommate Kaylie curled my hair and painted my nails to keep me from going crazy waiting to go home.  Finally the time arrived for us to make our trek to Spanish Fork.  I was able to keep my cool until we made it to Orem and made a quick stop to pick up something for Natalie.  As we waited for her mom to meet us everything really began to hit me.  Being so close to home and realizing that I would be opening my call in less than an hour made me beyond excited and anxious.  As I pulled into my driveway and got out of my car I was shaking with excitement.  My incredible family and friends all arrived and my sister and roommate were all set up on Skype and finally the moment I had been waiting for was here.  As I opened my call and began to read my letter the spirit was very strong.  I read that I had been assigned to labor in the New Hampshire, Manchester mission. I know that this is truly a divine calling that came from my Heavenly Father and He knows that New Hampshire is where I need to be for the next 18 months.  I can not wait for the incredible experiences I will have on my mission and for the wonderful people I will be able to meet and share the gospel with.  I know that if I put my whole heart into my mission that the Lord will be with me throughout it all.  I know without a doubt that this church is true, and I'm so excited for the opportunity that I have to share the beautifully simple message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ with the people of New Hampshire.