Jaw dropping thriller.

I always love when I get to reflect on my mission. I know, that sounds silly...I should be doing it all the time. And people may get annoyed at someone who "always talks about their mission," but I will be the first to tell you that you shouldn't slam it until you've been through it. So, if you want to hear a cool mission story, keep reading. If not, well...too bad! Anyway, I'm extremely guilty of not giving myself enough time to really study and reflect. But thankfully, what I'm busy with also gives me some time to sit down and think about why I'm busy in the first place.

Today at rehearsal, we talked about why we perform. Why do I want to get on a stage with costumes that look like a kid threw up neon crayons on a piece of paper and pull facial expressions my face has never formed to yet? For the thrill. It's as simple as that. This thrill of performing is amazing. It rushes through me, and gives me confidence in a matter of seconds. It's something I can't describe. However, the "thrill" has changed the past couple of years that I was on leave. 

When I was in my last area, 5x5ing a potential investigator, (that sounds painful--but believe me it's not) Sister Steel and I came up on a woman sweeping her driveway. We could tell that she was stalling so we could come and talk to her, maybe because she was lonely. Her name was Shawntia; a single mother of three. Of course, we seized the moment. She quickly invited us up to her porch, and asked us what we had to say. We dove right in, and began to tell her the story of the Restoration, and how Christ's church was not lost, but back here on the earth. After awhile, she said to us, "you mean to say, that the same exact church that Christ founded back when He was here, is here again?! Are you serious??!!" You would think someone just told her she one a million bucks. You all know that point where you're so excited to tell someone something that you're to the point of laughing? Yep, that was us. As we continued to tell her more and more about how the Church came back to the earth, her jaw continued to slowly drop. I realized, that this is the "thrill" I was looking for my whole life.

Oh wait, it doesn't stop there. After we had finished teaching our lesson and set another appointment (of course, by leaving a cliff hanger so she'd let us come back for more) Shawntia asked us if we knew two guys who had the same name-tags on as us. We said yes, there were two other young men that were in the same city, but not in the same area. She was really confused, because just ten minutes prior to us walking up, she told us she saw these boys across the street wearing what we had, and felt something in her heart. She told us there was no way she was going to go talk to them, because she was so scared. But when she saw us walking up, with the same tags, she had to stall just for a minute. Let me translate that: she felt the spirit from 30 feet away after only a minute. You guys--it's really powerful. 

Now, I don't know what happened to her after I left New York. So why did I gain a bunch of weight, get yelled at and told I was stupid for 18 months straight? For the thrill. It's as simple as as that. This thrill of teaching the gospel is amazing. It rushes through me, and gives me confidence in a matter of seconds. It's something I can't describe.

Where does your "thrill" come from?

All I have to say about this is...little did we know. HOW GREAT IT IS.

Wanderlust.

As the incredibly accurate Urban Dictionary states:

wanderlust, n: a deep, uncontrollable desire to hit the road and travel, by whatever means desired, to explore and enjoy the world. 

This describes exactly the feeling I have living here in Washington, D.C. I don't have words to tell you how much I absolutely love being here. The history, the massiveness, the people...did I mention people? It's like they plucked the smartest, most driven twenty-somethings, and threw them all in a city and made them my friends. In a normal conversation, I feel the need to Wikipedia every other word. Anyway, back to traveling. Growing up, my parents never bought a boat, or ATV's, or anything in that form. Why? Because we traveled. I remember how my mom would assign us each a country or a city to where we were going. It was our job to research it, to find everything there is to know about it...and to be the tour guide. It instilled in all four of us a knowledge that there was always more out there than we ever imagined, and gave us a desire for something greater than ourselves.

And THAT'S what makes traveling so great. The desire to learn more about myself, and more about this testing ground I was sent down to by my Father. But man that word...uncontrollable desire. It's the passion I have to experience change. I crave the feeling of change, which is absolutely uncontrollable in my heart, so much so that I would give up food for a week just to road trip to New York City. (Oh wait...that's exactly what I'm doing this weekend.) Resiliency is what keeps my flame going. I love the feeling of not knowing where I am, and having to figure my way back. I love walking through a whole crowd of people, and not having to look back and wonder if my troop is with me, because I'm alone and I can go wherever I want. However...even better is having a buddy with me who I never have to look back and wonder if they are caught up with me--they are right beside me, soaking it in just as much as I am.

I should marry an ambassador. Just sayin.

Osorno, Chile

Bryce Canyon

Bristol, Connecticut

Uniform.

I made it! I had quite an eventful journey. 

While sitting on the runway in Salt Lake City waiting for the plane to de-ice, (and for most of the flight) I read all of the published accounts of the First Vision. I kept thinking, "How do all these people on here not know about this?" My second thought was, "I wonder how many missionaries are trying to get a hold of someone here." As I kept reading, I pondered a lot over the fact that Joseph had to actually make a conscious decision to choose light over darkness, and that many people don't realize it's a choice. That definitely made my first leg of the trip a lot quicker.

In Dallas, I only had a few minutes to get to my connecting flight, so I grabbed some lunch and sat down next to a girl my age. We had a fantastic conversation about her religion called, "The Brethren." (Well, for short. I can't remember the whole name.) I was so curious as to--first of all--her wardrobe, what their baptism consisted of, their living arrangements, etc. Her name was Hannah, and I could tell was ready for a reaction from me when she said there were seven kids in her family. I just laughed and said, "My dad is the youngest of ten!" That's when she felt more comfortable to answer more questions that I was shooting at her. After Hannah answered all of mine, she started to ask the same questions back. We discussed the devoted lifestyle we had in common, and was especially impressed when she told me that she is proud to be seen in the dress and bonnet she made herself. "You know how the military wears a uniform," she said, "That's how I feel about it. No one questions what I believe when they look at me."

How cool is she? And why don't we all think like that? So many of us try to hide our real identity in order to "fit in." But for those of you who understand anything about the Church, you know we were not made to "fit in." We we're put here to stand out and build the Kingdom.

One of my favorite scriptures in the Doctrine and Covenants that I always have running through my mind in a time like that is, "But verily I say unto you, that it is not needful for this whole company of mine elders to be moving swiftly upon the waters, whilst the inhabitants on either side are perishing in unbelief." (D&C 61:3) What good does it do to serve a mission, come home, and never speak about the gospel in public again? If you feel weird about it, maybe you should see if you actually believe it yourself. Please don't use any soap boxes, because that would be strange. But why can't you just ask questions? Remember: "Enthusiasm overcomes all obstacles."

Anyway, I'm here in my cute little house in Virginia, about ready to give myself a tour of the city. And after church tomorrow--dinner at the mission home followed by a night at the Visitors' Center. I'M BACK! But this time, with my own uniform on.

Share the good news!

“Sharing the good news of the gospel is easier and the effects more far-reaching than ever before. . . . Perhaps the Lord’s encouragement to ‘open [your] mouths’ might today include ‘use your hands’ to blog and text message the gospel to all the world! . . .with the blessings of modern technology, we can express gratitude and joy about God’s great plan for His children in a way that can be heard . . . around the world. Sometimes a single phrase of testimony can set events in motion that affect someone’s life for eternity.”  — President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

I thought I would just copy the quote from the title page of the Church's social media site because it's fantastic...and because I can't come up with anything better myself. So, does everyone know why social media was even invented in the first place? Satan wants us to think that he created it for his own purposes, but in reality, God's always in charge. He always knows what's going on. It was created for us to share the gospel--plain and simple. Have you ever thought of how we are going get the gospel to the four corners of the earth? Like I said, He's a genius.

When I got an iPad today (!!) after selling my laptop, I realized I could not just read the scriptures and listen to conference talks, but I can have Preach My Gospel read to me and I can study from the most cherished book of the NYRM--Church History in the Fullness of Times. (Okay, I don't know how cherished it was to everyone else, but to me it is like gold.) AND IT'S FREE! Aside from the cost of the actual iPad...but it's the same price as a textbook. Totally worth it. And right now, I'm typing this up right on it. And I could e-mail my investigators back in New York, or post a scripture on a member's wall on Facebook. I'm in a technology shock right now, you'd think I was living under a rock for 18 months! Oh wait...

Anyway, missionary moment of the day I just have to share: I called my landlord in Washington, D.C. today to introduce myself. It didn't take five minutes to have him invited to lessons with the missionaries, and he is excited to talk to me more about it in January. All I had to do was say, "I just returned home from an LDS mission..." and that was it. They ask all the questions, you just have to know how to set the questions up. 

You see, it's all quite simple. People won't think you're stupid. In fact, they'll be wondering how in the world you love your Church so much to share it in everyday conversation, and they'll want to be a part of something that great, too. 

Just open your mouth...or in this case, your hands!

Courage.

That seven letter word that can make you do anything. It's not just giving a speech in public, attempting to study for a test you know you're going to fail, or flying in an airplane by yourself for the first time. That's all courage, but that's not what I'm talking about.


The last couple years, I've noticed both my mom's and grandma's personality coming out in me..that I'm not afraid to say anything. It used to embarrass me when we'd get the check at a restaurant and my mom would tell the waiter that he didn't ring it up right...when it only saved a few dollars. Both of them are the kind of people that would call "1-800-Hows-My-Driving," but they also would take the time to e-mail the manager at Taco Bell to let them know their employee gave them their taco on time. It didn't start in me all of the sudden, just little things I noticed. Stuff important for people to know, that nobody else would bring up. Then I realized, what do I have to lose? I started caring less about what people think about me...because it's me. I'm not going to change for anyone, just because they might think it's embarrassing.


Why don't people just say something? I'll never understand. You have the power to fix any problem, any relationship, AND the power to create something...if you just say something. SAY SOMETHING! With courage comes confidence. You'll find yourself more and more confident when you've made a difference. Trust me, it works. Consider it a challenge.


When I think people are doing a great job, I tell them. If I were on the other end it would be a day-maker! Especially if I worked at Taco Bell. (Not that working Taco Bell is bad...I heard fast food can be quite enjoyable.)


When I have a problem with something, I make it aware and try to fix it. I don't do it very often, because nothing really bothers me. There are too many things to think about to dwell on just one thing. But if something does, I'll do the best that I can to make it understood and right. Then if it can't be fixed--whatever. At least I did my best. 


When I love someone, I tell them. Wouldn't you? Having just an ounce of courage could make someone's week.

via: Pinterest