I Hope They Call me on a Mission

As you all know, I'm in the process of filling out mission papers for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. YAY! On Wednesday I have my first doctor's appointment and within the next week I plan on going to the dentist. The last thing I need to do is pose for a picture in my new missionary outfit!!! It's happening, this is really happening.

This whole process has been a little too natural and easy; I feel like I need to be going through some changes and making adjustments, similar to when a mother starts nesting before her new child arrives, but I'm not. So over the last few weeks, I've been searching online and going through blogs, trying to get in the "missionary" mode. I've been specifically trying to find advice from returned sister missionaries about how to prepare for a mission. What should I study? What should I wear? What activities should I participate in? Are there any little tips that will give me a jump-start, or help me avoid problems? Are there any things I need to get in order, that I haven't thought about yet? I don't know if this is a woman thing, or a human thing, or an Andrea thing, but I want to know how other people have done it, just to make sure I'm doing it right. Through my search, however, I've come to the conclusion that I don't care what other women have done, and I don't care if by anyone else's standards, I'm doing it all wrong. I can't get excited about the cutesy crafts, or care packages, or fancy stationary, or the trademark clothes. I can't relate to the memes, or blogs, or poems. It's just not me. I've never enjoyed that silly, fluffy nonsense because to me, none of that matters. I love the quote by Mother Theresa that says "in the final analysis, it is between you and God: it was never between you and them anyway." It's true. I feel like this whole mission thing, and the events leading up to it have been so uniquely personal.

I remember when I was 19, most, if not all, of my friends were gone serving missions and I was stuck at home trying to find a job. I was so bitter. There was nothing I wanted more than to be serving as a full-time missionary for the church. I was angry that I had to wait two more years until I could go. It didn't seem fair to me that I had to focus on marriage instead of a mission. Of course now looking back at the last two years, I know with all of my heart that I never needed a name tag to be a witness and a messenger of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Every time I try to overwhelm myself with study materials, and lists of things to memorize, a small voice whispers "Andrea, you know enough." or "Andrea, the preparing has already been done." I'm just starting to see that maybe, in His wisdom and omniscience, Heavenly Father has been creating me into the person I need to be for this mission thing. You know, I bet He knew long long ago that this would happen, that I would make this decision for myself, and so He's been planning for this and preparing me to serve. I have to trust Him. I have to trust that the experiences I've had and the people I've met have been just what I've needed to qualify for this responsibility. I feel horrendously unworthy, and exquisitely inadequate to be an effective servant of the Lord. But at the same time I know that "by small and simple things are great things brought to pass."(Alma 37:6) And so my hope is that the Lord can take my weak yet willing heart and hands and use them in His marvelous work.   

To answer the question I receive most often, I'll say that I have always (for as long as I can remember) wanted to serve a mission. It's been a dream of mine for years, but I never thought it would actually happen. I'm not going because I have nothing better to do, because I cancelled school and housing contracts I had already signed in order to do this. I'm not serving a mission because that's what is expected of me. Although being single at 21 is not what I had anticipated, this is not a reason why I'm going either. I'm going because sharing the restored gospel of Jesus Christ is the most important thing in the world to me. I'm going because I want all of my brothers and sisters to live with the same joy and happiness that I've been fortunate enough to live with. I'm going because I am eternally indebted to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and the least I can do is dedicate 18 months of my life to building their kingdom. I'm going because no other experience will better prepare me to lead, love, and nurture my children in righteousness. I'm going because the world is in need of men and women who aren't afraid to declare the truth and testify of Christ. The bottom line is, I love my Savior Jesus Christ and I want to do this for Him.

And to answer the second most popular question, I don't care where the heck I get sent to serve. I have the freedom to choose where I want to live and serve for the rest of my life. In fact, this freedom has already taken me to Texas, Utah, and Washington. If there's a place I want to go, then I'll pack up and go. But for this one and only time in my life, Heavenly Father is deciding where I'm going and I have no say whatsoever in any of it. So my golly, I'm ecstatic! Send me anywhere and I'll be happy! It's the same in every city; there are people to love, souls to save, hands to lift, hearts to touch and work to be done.