There have been so many different chapters being written in my life, so I guess I should update you all on what this past chapter has been like. About 2 years ago, I dropped out of Brigham Young University Idaho after several things had happened, but a big one that really impacted me was I realized that the major that I was going into, wasn’t at all what I wanted to be doing. I was struggling with everyday life as a Marriage and Family Therapy Major, and it wasn’t my passion. I came home from Idaho, spent an amazing summer trying to figure my life out, met some of the greatest missionaries, and decided to move to Utah. I didn’t know why I was going to Utah, but there was a pull, and I needed to be there. I didn’t know my roommates or anyone in my ward. I had one friend, Tara, while she was a missionary here in Nebraska. I got a job working at this cute little restaurant called The Bluebird Restaurant and I was out in utah for about 5 & a 1/2 months. There was some health challenges that brought me back home at Christmas in 2019, I started working for Lincoln Public Schools again for about 2 months before Covid-19 hit the U.S.A. I was blessed to be at home because everything shut down. My brother Joseph came home from his mission in the Philippines. And things were like a roller coaster after that.
As the 2020-2021 school year started, I again started to wonder what I was doing with my life! This is where things got interesting. I was placed on some routes with some of the greatest kids, and I got two drivers who encouraged me so much!!! (But a huge Thank You and Shout-out to all of my drivers at Lps! You all encourage me to do better and be better!!) In March 2021, after months of praying and searching and reading my Patriarchal Blessing, I felt impressed to go back to school to become a Nursing Assistant. This was a big thing, because I have always struggled with school, but I know how important education is! I went to Southeast Community College and signed up for a class, and took a big leap of faith in continuing my education! As the school year ended, I realized how much I loved the kids at the elementary school, and I applied for a couple of different positions, hoping and praying that I was going to be able to get a job at this amazing school where my 4th grade teacher was the principal now, and all the while I was also expecting to do school. This was a huge step! I was having these great experiences with these great kids, and awesome coworkers, but I started feeling like something was missing.
I started spending a little more time with the elders (male missionaries from my church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints), and started feeling prompted and impressed to be a missionary, but I placed that thought in the back of my mind. School ended, and class started for me. I was able to do really well with this class, and at the beginning of July, I sat down to eat breakfast and started talking to my mom about applying for the nursing program at SCC. I felt really good about the decision to go into nursing, but decided to pray about it and ask God. I wasn’t sure what answer I was expecting, but I can testify that God does answer prayers, and sometimes it is through other people. The next day, Wednesday July 7, I was talking to our Spanish elders, and one asked me if I had ever thought of serving a mission. I had thought about serving a mission, but at that point in my life (6 years ago), it wasn’t what I was suppose to do. He told me I needed to pray about it, because I would make a great missionary! Again, realizing that I had been feeling like I needed to go on a mission for a couple of months, pushed this to the back of my mind.
On Saturday, July 10, I drove to Omaha to attend the baptism of a young girl who I had been fellowshipping. As I sat back watching as she was baptized, I knew at that moment that I wanted and needed to serve a mission. I drove back to Lincoln in record time to attend another baptism, and again found myself talking to the elders. Elder Christiansen shared that he didn’t want me to feel like he was trying to pressure me into serving a mission, in which I reassured him that there was no pressure. He did share with me though that a mission is a very personal experience, but that there were so many people who loved me and would love to see me become a missionary. That as a missionary, there are very specific opportunities for each of us to invite people to feel the love of our Savior, Jesus Christ, and that if I served a mission, I would find those individuals! That struck me.
So, you might be asking yourself, “What does this have to do with the next chapter?” Well, I decided on July 10, that I wanted to serve as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I made the decision to to help people find and know the love that our Savior, Jesus Christ, has for each of us! He knows us and has a plan perfectly designed for each of us! I prayed to know what I needed to do, and I received an answer to that prayer. With the decision to become a missionary, I started the process to becoming a missionary. I met with my bishop, who opened the recommend forms for me to start filling. I completed those, went to the dentist, one week later went to the doctor, and submitted my papers to my bishop. I met with my bishop two weeks ago, met with my stake president the next night and submitted my mission papers this week! I am so excited to serve as a missionary! This is an opportunity that I have wanted for such a long time! I am ready to go have this experience and do God’s work, serving his children! I’ll update you all when I find out where I am called to! It should be any day now!!
