Why I'm serving a mission

When I was in high school I made the choice that I wanted to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. There were several things that influenced this decision but as I advanced through my high school years my certainty and desire grew. Yes, I wanted to be an EFY counselor, yes I wanted to perform in the Navoo Pageant, and yes, I wanted to volunteer abroad and bring medical care to a third world country. But more than anything, I wanted to serve a mission.

I began to realize, once I became way less angsty, that my Heavenly Father has done so much for lil' ol' me. I couldn't fathom how much he had done and the amount of care and planning he had put into my life. Which blew my mind because he didn't grant this gift to only me. He did it for every single one of us. I wanted to give back to my Heavenly Father a little piece of what he had given to me. To get "even." But even if I worked for the church for the rest of my life on this earth, even if I went to church every week and valiantly seek to bring others into this gospel whether or not I was set apart, I knew that I could and would never be able to fully pay my Heavenly Father back.

And thus launches a while 'nother spiel as to why I'm serving a mission.While they are for others- those that we are serving and those who's lives we are impacting, they are also largely for us. I know that I will come back a changed person. I can never be adequately prepared for my mission, even if I was fluent in Spanish or have all the lessons in Preach My Gospel memorized. But the point of it all is that I will learn to rely on my Heavenly Father. That hand in hand we truly will be able to preach this gospel to all those that know it. 

I have a testimony of this church. Of the happiness it brings into mine, and countless others lives. I'm so grateful for this opportunity and can't think of a better thing to be doing for the next 18 months of my life. I'm grateful for all of your support, and I can't wait to see what kind of adventures I'll be having. :)