Called To Serve

For all of you who are near and dear to my heart know that I have been called to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and those of you who didn't know that now you do! I report to the MTC on 12-12-12, and I have the greatest support system of family and friends and I want you all to be able to know how I am doing. I also want my family and friends to know that their love and support never goes unnoticed! I love you all. My amazing sister, Zoey has agreed to update this blog for all of you and me while I am serving. 

Heart, mind, and Seoul Korea.

I am so grateful for this undeniable desire that I have to serve a mission. I have been called to labor in the Korea, Seoul Mission. That is where the inspiration of my URL came from, just in case ya'll didn't catch that ;) I can't take the credit though, I'm not that clever.

Many of you are interested about how I'm feeling about being on the other side of the world, literally. I am so excited to serve the people in Korea. As I was awaiting my call, everyone asked me where I thought I was going. Obviously I didn't know, but I honestly thought I would stay state side, and I was perfectly okay with that. On my mission papers I did say that I would like to go foreign, but doesn't everyone say that? I didn't think anything of it. I was set on the Southeast, like Tennessee, or Louisiana. But who was I kidding, those states are full of cowboys and I would be so distracted! ;)

Just a few days before my call arrived my mom, sister and I spent a few days up in West Yellowstone just getting one last trip in before the summer ended. Zoey and I spent a lot of time talking about where I wanted to serve, and we all know how many tourists are up there in West. When we drove through the park all we seen were a ton of buffalo's and tourists. We were joking about counting to see the ratio between buffalo and tourists. I said to her, "In all seriousness Zo, I don't want to go to Asia. I'll go any where but Asia."

...So there you have it, Heavenly Father works in mysterious ways! :)

It took a couple days for it to actually sink in and become a reality, and to be honest it's still sinking in. Some days I still can't believe I'm going to Korea, but in those moments I feel the Saviors love and I know I am going to be okay. After a few days from opening the call I fell to my knees and pleaded with my Heavenly Father, I knew I couldn't survive this mission without him. I cried to him. Korea is everything I'm not. I don't like big cities, humidity, or anything out of my Utah/Idaho "norm". I remember saying, "I don't want Korea." And I knelt there sobbing, for which felt like hours. Before I could mutter anymore words I felt my Saviors love, and I knew that even though I didn't want Korea, I needed Korea.

It's been about six weeks from when I received my call, and all the bitterness has found its way out! I am BEYOND BLESSED to be serving in Korea, and even though I don't know the people in Korea, I love them already. I have about nine more weeks here at BYU Idaho, and I cherish every moment.