2. Weeks.

I am freaking out.

2 WEEKS.  FREAK OUT.

In two weeks I will be on the plane heading to Chile for the next 18 months of my life.  FREAK OUT.

I've never been away from home longer than 3 weeks. FREAK OUT.

Me no speako español! FREAK OUT.

Its really weird going places and thinking "This is the last time I will be here in over 18 months" For example, "Grammy's" house has always been one of my favorite places in the world.  If I haven't been there in the past month or two its been far too long.  I need my monthly dose of family and chocolate chip cookies. The 24th of July was my last time there for a year and a half! STILL FREAKING OUT.

Its fine, sometimes I just sit in my room and cry.  And then I write my missionary a letter to make me feel better.

Don't get me wrong, I'm so so so very excited.  I guess it is just finally starting to hit me that this is for real! I'm actually doing this! And soon! Two weeks from yesterday I will be set apart as a missionary.  Two weeks from today I will board the plane to Chile.  Two weeks from tomorrow I will be in the Chile MTC eating different food, trying to understand a different language, in a different part of the world.  ...... YEP I'M FREAKING OUT

Last night as I got in bed and looked at the half-packed suitcases all over my room I sat there and cried.  I hopped on my computer to start typing an email when I saw "The Fourth Missionary" which was saved to my desktop.

I stayed up for another hour or so and read it.  So good.  For anyone planning on serving a mission you NEED TO READ THIS.

I took a good look at my attitude about a mission and found that for the most part I was headed into the mission with the right attitude, but there are a few things I need to do or change to be the best missionary I possibly can.  I want to be the right kind of missionary, with her head and heart in the right place.  Sometimes I don't adjust to change very well.  I can get really sentimental and I often think back on how life used to be and miss it.  This has been the case for most of my life, especially since Nikora left.  But now, its time to put my old life in a box to be opened only after I get home.  I'm not gonna miss life the way it was or the way it is right now before I leave, because its never coming back.  I'm just going to be happy with life the way it is.  I'm going to do my best to be happy with every part of my life as a missionary.  I'm going to do my best to look forward instead of backwards realizing that my mission is where I'm supposed to be.  So for now, there's no where else in the world I'd rather be than Santiago Chile.  I'm freaking out, but I'm ready.

Cumorah

Well... I believe I mentioned I'd be spending a few weeks in Palmyra New York while participating in the Hill Cumorah pageant.  The pageant has come and gone and I'm left with some wonderful friendships and memories that I will always cherish.

I'm sorry I didn't post more during the month.  We didn't get much time at home, when we did it was usually sleeping time.  And that small amount of sleeping time was often split between actually sleeping and letter writing, emailing, uploading pictures etc.  Not a lot of time left for blogging.  Whoops!

So here is a little glimpse of this awesome experience:

 We started out really tired but excited to start our new adventure. Some of us were so tired that we put our clothes on inside out (*cough cough* DAD).  Oh how we love red eye flights..... or maybe not. We were so tired that we got to palmyra, plopped down on a plot of grass and slept for a few hours.  Yes.  We looked like Hobos.

Of course I had to find the Maori Book of Mormon! Or the "Pukapuka A Moromona" I'm still missing my bestie Nikora can you tell?

 Lets just say spencer likes weird new foods.  Horseradish wasabi anyone?

We sure did work hard.  Falling asleep was a common occurrence.

Everybody at pageant spent their free time with their "cast team" which was determined by age group.  Mine was by far the greatest.  Loved it.  Love them.  I will miss spending my days doing crafts, playing games, and making fun crazy memories with friends. 

I spent a few nights "sleeping" with my friends in the dorms.  I'm not sure if we actually got much sleep, but it was fun!!

One of my favorite parts of pageant was sharing my testimony and a message with audience members before the show.  I love missionary work and I love sharing my testimony that Christ lives and loves us.  Guess who I found? Elder Zachary Harris (a friend from high school) has been serving his mission in New York for about 18 months now, so good to see him!!

I was especially grateful for the 3 opportunities I had to visit the Sacred Grove.  There is an amazing feeling of peace there.  I know that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph Smith.  And now I can say that I've been there where it actually happened!

Pageant was great.  BUT there was one thing I hated about it.  The ending.  Come on? Why can't we just stay here and do this forever? Ok jk jk I understand it has to end and we have to get back to real life but man I really hate goodbyes.  People come into my life, I love them, and then they have to leave.  Thats just how it works.  I get it. But I hate it.  It happened in high school, summer trips, college, and it even happened with Nik.  Today it happened with pageant, I had to say goodbye to these great friends.  Most of us will be serving missions over the next two years which means we won't see each other for a while, God be with you till we meet again! 

I'm so grateful for this opportunity.  It gave me the emotional and spiritual boost I needed.  It helped me to realize why I'm going on a mission, and how much I'm going to love it.  It helped me understand what Jesus is like and how much I want to be like him.  My heart has truly changed and I'm ready for the next big step!

I can't wait to get out there and serve at the same time time as my best friend. My testimony of missionary work has grown over the last few weeks and I'm so blessed to have so many people I love out serving the Lord.