always learning

one of the most wonderful things about the Holy Ghost, among many others, is that it can teach you in new ways all of the time. As I've been studying and preparing to head to Guatemala I decided that I was going to re-read the conference talk that helped me decide it was time to serve a mission.

The talk is entitled, "A Priceless Heritage of Hope". By President Henry B. Eyring.

These are the notes I took during conference:

-each day we can choose to make and keep covenants with God
-Accept calls in faith (this is really what softened my heart)
-*It's time to go on a mission*
-Things will work out
-Families can be forever
-Heavenly Father never forces righteousness because righteousness must be chosen
-our faith WILL be tested
-where does your faith lie?
-Doubt not. Fear not.
-Are you tied back to man or tied back to God?
-Truth is truth
-All truth emanates from God
-Do not hide your faith. Let your faith show.
-God's laws must always be our standard
-Go to God first and ask him your questions
-Evil error and darkness will never be truth. Even if it's popular
-"Don't worry about me. I know I'll be alright" -Emily Neilson showing her faith as she was dying
-Let us have courage and not compromise
-Each day grow your faith
-PROCLAIM YOUR FAITH
-Baptism is very important
-***marry a faithful, returned missionary in the temple***
-SERVE THE LORD FIRST (school comes second)
-sincerely love those whom you wish to help
-your love will help them find God's love
-As you love and serve others you will find solutions to your own problems
-*MISSION*
-God's purpose is to bring the immortality and eternal life of man
-ALWAYS seek to strengthen families
-Showing love is very important in serving those you want to help
-Trust. Even if it's hard
-We all grow line upon line
-Keep proclaiming and sharing your simple testimony
-The atonement of Jesus Christ is the most fundamental teaching to our gospel. Study it diligently.
-Whenever there is a chance speak in great reverence of Christ
-Teaching, Serving and Loving others
-Follow His perfect example
-Share our knowledge, trust, light, peace and love of the gospel with others
-*MISSION*
-out of all the key factors in life, OBEDIENCE is vital
-be careful whom you follow
-"Not my will, but thine be done"
-^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ *MISSION*
-when we obey we accept his sacrifice
-"if you love me, keep my commandments and follow me"
-seek forgiveness for thoughts and actions that are not in line with God's will
-we need to overcome man's desires and selective obedience--*MISSION*

and well my notes go on for about 20 more pages of little 'one liners' that I heard all through out General Conference. As you can tell, most of my notes pertain to being obedient and serving and loving and proclaiming your faith and accepting God's will. As I go back through the talks now, I don't really know how I came about my 'one liners', but I know the spirit knew that it was exactly what I needed to hear in that moment, because let me tell you, I did NOT want to serve a mission in April. I had let go of that desire and felt like I was on an excellent path with school and friends and life simply had not been better. And I remember when I had felt like I needed to re-think about a mission, it was spring break and I was driving home from one of our golf courses and, "It's time to serve a mission." just popped into my head, but I quickly brushed it aside. The next time it happened, I was sitting in my Human Biology class listening to the lecture and taking notes and "It's time to serve a mission." popped into my head again, and so I bubbled the word mission in my notes and forgot about it until later when I was studying for the test and that was around the same time General Conference was on. God truly works in mysterious ways.

I am so grateful for that little one word note. As I was contemplating serving a mission I was sitting in the library by myself one day in the garden room and studying for my test and as I flipped the page and saw that one word, my heart filled with warmth and I knew that going on a mission would be a decision I never will regret and although I had already decided to serve, this tender mercy helped me be sure of that decision.

Going back through President Eyring's talk, new things stuck out to me this time. Bringing me an even greater peace and appreciation for Heavenly Father and how He always knows exactly what we need and when we need it. These are a few of the quotes that I have highlighted that touched my heart, 

-"you have the opportunity to show many people the way to greater happiness"

-"He knew that the happiness of eternal life comes through family bonds which continue forever"

-"never neglect this . . . important duty [to assemble] with the Saints"

-"Faith and hope that was in his heart."

-"He accepted those calls because of his faith"

-"Each covenant brings with it duties and promises. For all of us, as they were for Heinrich, those duties are sometimes simple but are often difficult. But remember, the duties must sometimes be difficult because their purpose is to move us along the path to live forever with Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, in families"

-"Keeping our second estate depends on our making covenants with God and faithfully performing the duties they require of us. It takes faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior to keep sacred covenants for a lifetime."

-"However, our loving Heavenly Father gave us the gift of His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, as our Savior. That great gift and blessing of the Atonement of Jesus Christ brings a universal inheritance: the promise of the Resurrection and the possibility of eternal life to all who are born. The greatest of all the blessings of God, eternal life, will come to us only as we make covenants offered in the true Church of Jesus Christ by His authorized servants."

-"Then, with the help of the Light of Christ and the Holy Ghost, we can keep all the covenants we make with God, especially those offered in His temples."

-"From those examples of the power of the Atonement working in human hearts, you can receive courage and comfort."

-"He has made promises to us as we keep trying to gather people to Him, even when they resist His invitation to do so."

-"He does not quit, nor should we." (this one is my favorite)

-"We can depend on that unfailing desire of the Savior to bring all of Heavenly Father's spirit children back to their home with Him."

-"Heavenly Father and the Savior are our perfect examples of what we can and must do. They never force righteousness, because righteousness must be chosen."

-"Every person born into the world receives the Light of Christ." (another favorite!)

-"God makes it attractive to choose the right by letting us feel the effects of our choices."

-"If the blessings were immediate, choosing the right would not build faith." (another fav!)

-"There are things to wait for patiently, in faith, knowing that the Lord acts in His own time and in His own way." (LOVE this one so much)

-"Young children are often more sensitive to the Spirit than we realize."

-"They (talking about the prophets) also know the way of the Lord, and so they are always hopeful about His kingdom. They know He is at its head. He is all-powerful and He cares. If you let Him be the leader of your family, things will work out."

-"After all we can do in faith, the Lord will justify our hopes for greater blessings for our families than we can imagine."

-"In it are the keys of the priesthood, and so families can be forever. This is our priceless heritage of hope."

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/04/a-priceless-heritage-of-hope?lang=eng (here's the link for the full talk--it's amazing)

I am so grateful for the Spirit and for how he helps bring peace into my life. I am very grateful for our Heavenly Father and His special plan that He has designed for each and every one of us. I know sometimes I'm stubborn and think I know better and get frustrated with the way somethings happen. But I truly know that God has a better plan for each of us than we have for ourselves, and it's a perfect plan. I know that He desires us to be faithful and return home to live with Him and I know that the only way to do that is through living the gospel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I know with my whole soul that it is the true church on this earth today. I know that Joseph Smith saw God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, in the Sacred Grove. I know that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are two separate personages with the Holy Ghost being the third member of the Godhead. I know that The Book of Mormon is the most true book to ever be written and I love it dearly. I know that Thomas S. Monson is the prophet in these latter days and that he was called of by God. I know that we have the true and everlasting priesthood on this earth today and I am so grateful for all the worthy male members who hold the priesthood and use it to bless my life and the lives of all the other women of the church. It truly is a blessing to have it in my home. I know that our Savior Jesus Christ, hung on the cross and suffered for our sins. I know that He did this out of love for us. I know that He died, and that He lives again. I know that Heavenly Father needs me in Guatemala and I know it will be hard and tough and some days I'm going to want to give up. But I also know that through fervent prayer and through fasting Heavenly Father blesses us with faith and strength to do anything He's asked of us. I know that you too can know all these things for yourself if you get on your knees and sincerely ask God if they are true and if He really is there listening to your prayer. You may not have this big lightening moment where you talk face to face with God; you might. But more often than not, God lets us know of truth through a still small voice that pops as a thought into your head or your heart fills with warmth and you just feel good and happy. I'm feeling that warmth right now as I type this. We all feel the spirit in different ways. Some people cry, some get chills, and some, like me, simply feel warm and happy. Whichever way you come to know this truth, I know that if you honestly want to know for yourself, Heavenly Father is waiting for you to ask. So ask, I know He will answer. 

(I don't know who owns this picture, I do not claim the copyright. I just like how it shows our Savior)

june 12th

on june 12th I had the privilege of entering The House of The Lord. It was an amazing and spiritual experience. Never in my life have I been so overwhelmed with peace and love. I can't help but think that's what heaven is going to feel like.

I would encourage all of those who have not yet received their endowment, to make that a goal and to live your life in a way that you will be worthy to enter the temple when the time comes. It is a day of great joy and a decision you will never regret.

For those who do have their endowment, you know what a blessing the temple is in your life and I would encourage you to make a goal of attending the temple on a regular basis.

For those of you who are not a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and are unfamiliar with our temples, let me tell you a little bit about them;

The temple is a place where we go to make covenants with Heavenly Father and promise to Him to live our lives worthily. It is a place where we learn more about Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father. It is not a place of secrets. We simply do not talk about the things that happen in the temple because they are very sacred to us and we want to respect them. Any one is welcome inside our temples, if they are willing to live their lives in the way God has commanded us to live in order to enter His home. The temples are full of peace and reverence. It is a place you can go if you are seeking answers and directions in your life and want to be able to feel the Holy Ghost whisper promptings to you. It is a place of love and respect for our Lord. It is the place where we are encouraged to marry because only in the temples are we able to be sealed by the proper authority to our spouse and children for time and all eternity. It is a beautiful place and anyone is welcome to tour the grounds and partake of the spirit you feel as you look upon and walk around outside the Lord's temple.

The temple has brought me much peace and happiness and I am so grateful for this opportunity.

There is no feeling that compares to that in the House of The Lord. My heart is so full of peace and happiness.

I could not stop smiling all night. 

I love my parents dearly and am so grateful they were able to be there with me in the temple.

My sweet mother and her sister Lisa. I look up to both of these women so very much and am grateful for their influence in my life every day. 

Anndddd.....this just goes to show how big of a dork I am. My aunt made me stand on the famous married couple stand and she told me to dip myself since I don't have a man. How could I resist?? ;) 

another sleepless night .

tonight my heart is so full. I am taking out my endowment at the Salt Lake Temple tomorrow and I am so happy. When people hear that I am going through the temple and still have three months until I leave they tell me I am going through way too soon and say that I should wait. There are a few reasons why I am going to the temple so soon.

When I moved home from school my Aunt Lisa and Uncle Ron went on a vacation and I went to Salt Lake and babysat their three kids for a few days. While I was down there and the kids were in school I got to spend some time with family members I hadn't been able to see very often with me being at school so far away. One of my cousins' Ari, began telling me about what she and her husband were doing to prepare to be sealed in the House of the Lord to each other and their sweet baby girl for time and all eternity. As we were chatting she invited me to come watch the sealing if I would be going through the temple before the sealing. I told her I would talk to my bishop and see what he thought.

At church the next Sunday I passed my bishop and briefly mentioned to him that my cousin was getting sealed soon and I had been invited if I would be able to go through the temple beforehand. So he told me he thought it was a great idea and to set up a temple recommend interview.

My bishop is one of my neighbors and a good family friend so for the first few minutes of my interview we just chatted about life and he asked me how I was feeling about this whole experience and if I was excited. I told him I was excited, but I was also very nervous and kind of second guessing myself and at times just simply pure terrified. But I also knew that those feelings were Satan trying to get at me and sometimes I did good at not listening to him and not feeding those doubts, but other times I let him get to me and scare me to death. My bishop explained that through the temple I would find peace and comfort and through regular attendance to the temple I would find an extra added strength from God and that to be endowed meant to be given power to help overcome the adversary.

I am so grateful for this opportunity to find that deep peace. Growing up one of my favorite songs was 'I love to see the temple'. It goes like this;

I love to see the temple.
I'm going there someday
To feel the Holy Spirit,
To listen and to pray.
For the temple is a house of God,
A place of love and beauty.
I'll prepare myself while I am young;
This is my sacred duty.

I love to see the temple.
I'll go inside someday.
I'll cov'nant with my Father;
I'll promise to obey,
For the temple is a holy place
Where we are sealed together.
As a child of God, I've learned this truth:
A fam'ly is forever.

When I was little, before we moved to Heber, we lived with my grandparents in Salt Lake for a few months and at night through my bedroom window I could see the Angel Moroni on the Jordan River temple all lit up. I think it was those few months when I was 6 years old that I truly began to love seeing the temple and singing the primary songs about it. I loved the feeling I got as I would look at it each night and as I grew older, the feeling only deepened.

In high school I had many fun times and experiences, but I also had trials and heartaches. One of those trials was my knees. The summer between my freshman and sophomore year I was goofing off with my dad and siblings and we were 'surfing' in a canal by our house and I fell and landed on my knee, which dislocated my kneecap. We tried getting it back in place, but it was stuck and would not budge. Finally, after a very painful five days it went back into place. Little did we realize that it had grabbed a piece of my meniscus and over the next few months would completely shred it to pieces, past the point of it being able to be repaired. From July 2010 to May 2013, my left knee had been operated on four times and my right knee once. I had spent countless hours in physical therapy, in doctors offices, being in a wheelchair, using crutches and I'm fairly sure I could supply the entire army with knee braces, I have so many. One of my surgeries had some complications and some things had been cut wrong and I was in excruciating pain. To this day, I have never been in so much pain in my life. I remember laying on the couch in my living room, it was the middle of the night and everyone was asleep so I was alone. The pain meds weren't even touching the aches and throbs and I began to get angry and upset with Heavenly Father. I couldn't understand why He let me suffer like this. I truly thought He had forgotten about me. Not only was I in so much pain, but I had missed try-outs for basketball and now softball (I never played sports in high school after my surgeries started.) and I was crushed. I was having a rough time with friends and felt hopelessly alone. I vividly remember laying there and trying my best not to cry, but not knowing what else to do. I couldn't walk and had been laying on the couch for two weeks. I. Was. Miserable. I started to cry out of frustration, and then I said a prayer and said this,

"Heavenly Father, just let me die. Please. I'm begging. Just let me go to sleep and never wake up. I can't do this anymore. I'm done."

And that's all I said. Well, obviously I woke up the next day and I am very grateful that prayer did not get answered. Instead of letting me give up, Heavenly Father gave me a beacon of strength to get through those tough times. My beacon was the Salt Lake Temple. Every time I would see a picture of it or go visit the grounds (by the way, DO NOT go to temple square at Christmas time to see the lights on crutches. Bad idea. Very bad idea!) I would feel peace and hope and happiness. And after that experience Salt Lake became my absolutely favorite temple and that is why I chose to take my endowment out there.

In my preparation to go to the temple I read the church handbook on preparing for the temple and have made sure to have regular scripture study and pray morning and night and all throughout the day if I ever need anything or just want to talk to Heavenly Father about how I'm feeling. I've also been reading, "The Infinite Atonement" by Brother Tad R. Callister. It is an amazing book and I highly suggest it to everyone! I am very excited and grateful for this opportunity to learn in the temple and to feel that peace offered to each of us in the House of the Lord.

diet coke miracle

may 31st was a day that God taught me very valuable lessons that I will never forget.

since I opened my call my emotions went from unreal levels of excitement to pure terror. I don't know why, but after about a week of excitement I began to realize how huge of a commitment a mission is and how different Guatemala is than what I'm used to and Satan began to set many doubts in my mind, and boy oh boy was I letting them get to me. Some nights I'd lay in bed wide awake just thinking to myself,

"What did I just get myself into? Am I really going to be able to do this? Do I even want to do this anymore?"

one morning I went to work and as soon as I got there I felt so nauseous and dizzy and I was absolutely miserable and wanted nothing more than to go home and fall into a mini coma. So I called all the other girls I work with to see if anyone of them could come into work and cover for me. no one could. I said a quick prayer to Heavenly Father that someone would call me back telling me plans had changed so I'd be able to go home and not have to work this 9 hour shift. No one called back.

lesson one: He doesn't always answer your prayers in the way you want Him to. He answers your prayers with what is BEST for you.

As the day went on I figured I might as well suck it up and be as friendly as I possibly could--no one likes a grouchy store manager. So I began chatting with all the customers that came in, asking them about their lives, their kids, what brought them to Midway and things like that.

During a slow part of the day where no one was in the store, the sweetest and kindest lady walked in that reminded me of my aunts Debra and Dianne, and so I liked her right away and asked her if she needed help finding anything and she said she was just looking around and she replied in a very thick accent and I said,

"You have a very cool accent. May I ask where you're from?"

She replied,

"I'm from Brazil."

and the conversation just took off from that point

"oh my friend just got home from an LDS mission in Brazil. He absolutely loved it there."

"I'm LDS too!"

"Very cool! I just got my mission call to Guatemala!"

"Are you serious right now? In 1980 I had a mission call to Guatemala! But they were in the middle of civil war so President Kimball reassigned me to Paraguay. You know Spanish?"

"A little bit. My grandma is from Puerto Rico, so I grew up with her speaking a little bit to me and I took it in high school and college, but I'm not very good at it!"

"I was a convert to the church only a year. I never took seminary or institute. None. But I knew I wanted to share the Lord's gospel. My family did not accept the gospel--my dad said to me, 'you joined this church without my permission and you can't come crying to me. You're on your own and this is your problem now.' If I cried I got spanked. I was so scared. I was deathly afraid."

"That's me right now! I'm terrified."

"Yes, I know. I know how you feel. But I went and I cried every night in the MTC. Once I got out there everyone would mock me because of my Portuguese. People say Spanish and Portuguese are the same. They are not. I had a hard time speaking Spanish and I would get mocked because they said my Portuguese was just bad spoken Spanish. I began to hate the people. I hated the country. I hated everything. Then one night I got down on my knees and said, 'Heavenly Father, I hate the people. I hate the country. Please just help me be able to learn to speak Spanish as perfect as I possibly can. Even if it means forgetting my own language.' And after that I could speak Spanish perfectly. And I did forget Portuguese. No one would believe I was from Brazil. Missionaries from Brazil would come over to renew their visas and they'd find out I was Brazilian and they'd talk to me and I'd have to reply in Spanish because I couldn't in Portuguese. And when I went home I couldn't speak to my family. But, right after I got released I could speak Portuguese just fine."

"That is amazing. I cannot tell you how warm and full my heart is right now. I needed to hear that."

"It was a miracle. And miracles do happen and they will happen to you on your mission."

(I got very choked up after she said that.) "Oh my goodness, I'm going to cry!"

"I know, me too. Come hug me."

She gave me a huge hug and then stood there for awhile and just held my hands in hers and said,

"I know your Heavenly Father will help you. Humble yourself and He will take care of you. You'll catch onto Spanish so quickly. You will never, NEVER regret this decision. I know that there are people in Guatemala right now waiting for you to arrive and teach them. Give it 6 months and after that 6 months you will feel like you can do anything. Just give it that 6 months."

"Thank you so much for saying that. I cannot tell you how badly I needed to hear that today. Thank you for coming in the store today."

"I wasn't even planning on coming in today. I told my husband we should go to Park City today and then I wanted a diet coke and he turned down this road and when we passed your store I felt that I should go in there and so I did."

"Well, I know you stopped for me."

We said our goodbyes and it is very likely I will never see her again in this life. It is truly amazing how our Heavenly Father can bring two complete strangers together and have this amazing spiritual experience.

Lesson Two: The Lord prepares a way. Always.

Following promptings from the Holy Ghost and simply opening your mouth can truly bring miracles into your life and the lives of others. That sweet woman could have easily brushed off that prompting by saying, 'oh I'll go in another day. I'm too busy today.' Little did she know that I was struggling and her words and kindness and love for the gospel would bring me much needed peace.

I don't even know this woman's name, but I will never forget her kind words and warm hug and the peace it brought to me. I am excited to be able to find her in the next life and thank her once again for spending those ten minutes talking with me. She really has helped change my life.

Lesson Three: NEVER, NEVER, NEVER ignore a prompting. Even if you think it's just you--if it invites you to do something good and wholesome. Do it. It may not be for you, but there may be someone who desperately needs you.

I wasn't supposed to work the double shift. But I did. I got sick--no one could cover so me. So I stayed. She came in right after a huge wave of customers left and not one person came into the store until after she had gone. The Lord's timing is very special and He has shown me this multiple times throughout my life.

Lesson Four: Timing is everything.

And last, but certainly not least,

Lesson Five: The Lord never forgets us and our needs. Tender mercies are all around us and for that I am truly grateful.

life changer

on may 7th I was staying in a hotel in Nevada with my grandparents and my little sister. Ellie and I had been at the pool all day swimming and that night after dinner my grandparents wanted to walk around but Ellie and I were so tired we decided to make a pit stop at the gift store and buy some bottle caps and mambas and then head to our room to watch Mulan on my iPad. Both of us fell asleep half way through the movie.

I woke up at 2 in the morning very disoriented and while I was trying to piece everything together, it hit me that today had to be the day! Well, needless to say I was WIDE awake. I tried going back to sleep, I laid there with my eyes closed and relaxed all my muscles and got as comfortable as I could--but my mind was not cooperating. I looked at the clock, 3. So I gave up on trying to sleep and decided to finish watching Mulan. Once that got over I tried going to sleep again hoping the bright light from the movie would make my eyes tired. No such luck. I looked at the clock, 3:45. So I thought it would be a good time to go through all 1,000+ pictures I had saved on my iPad. After my trip down memory lane, I looked at the clock, 5. So I laid there and thought about what the future had in store for me; where will I go for the next 18 months? Will I go back to SUU when I get home? Will I ever be able to decide if I should change my major? How mad is dad going to be when he sees what I got on my anthropology final? Where will I live? Should I apply for school at USC? Another glance at the clock, 6:20. I figured it was safe to text my dad:

"Has is come?? Have they called??? Is it here??? I think I've waited long enough!! These have been the longest 25 days of my life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

He replied at 7:55

"No call from the post office."

My heart sank. I was devistated and so exhausted from being awake all night, after I got that text I finally fell asleep for the next two hours.

When I woke up I texted my dad back:

"Is there any possible way it could be there?"

"Where?"

"At the post office. Ellie said they didn't call Taylor or Spencer."

"Depends on the day. I'll check at lunch."

"I'm pretty sure if it doesn't come soon I'm going to start losing my hair. I've been wide awake since 2. If it's not here today I'm going to take a butt load of sleeping pills tonight."

By this time we were back in St. George picking up one of our trailers and Ellie and I wandered over to the pool while my grandpa hitched up the trailer and I left my phone in the truck. After we had been there awhile we decided to go back to the truck to see if we were leaving yet. I checked my phone and saw that I had a few missed calls from my dad and a text that said:

"I called the post office. They're holding it for me, I will pick it up in 10 minutes."

I was dancing around the parking lot on cloud 9. We left St. George ten minutes later. Normally it takes me about 3 1/2 hours to get home from Cedar so I figured we'd make it in a little over 4 hours. I did not account for the fact that we were pulling a trailer and you can't exactly go 80 mph while pulling a trailer. It was the LONGEST car ride of my life. And it didn't help with my dad sending me this picture and telling me he was just going to open it and tell me where I was going.

We finally made it to Provo and met up with my mom so we could go home. I don't think I've ever seen my mom drive that quickly up Provo canyon.

The second we pulled into the driveway I jumped out of the car and ran inside. I saw my call sitting on the island in our kitchen leaning against the fruit stand. I picked it up and it was so thin so I immediately thought I was going to go stateside and wouldn't have to worry about applying for a visa or a passport.

People started showing up to our house; first my grandparents from Logan and then my aunt Suzy and Uncle Scott and their adorable kids. Then some neighbors, young woman leaders and friends from high school. Once everyone who wasn't able to make it was in our living room via FaceTime and Skype it was time to open it.

I stood in my living room and had a big knife to open the envelope because I don't like when letters get torn and I remember my mom making fun of me asking me if I wanted a bigger knife. I couldn't get that thing open fast enough. I set the knife in the window seal and reached into the envelope and when my friend Paige opened her mission call she pulled it out backwards and upside down so I glanced down to make sure I had my call facing the right way and I truly had no intention of peaking and wanted to find out where I was going as I was reading it out loud. But the second I glanced down my eyes went straight to my assignment. I stood there and my eyes got so big and I put my hand over my mouth and started laughing and said,

"Oh my gosh you guys. I saw it. I know. I know where I'm going."

Right away I started shaking almost uncontrollably. And my mom said,

"Well read it out loud!"

So I started reading,

"Dear Sister Tuddenham, (I began to get choked up right after those three words left my mouth)

You are hereby called to serve as a missionary for the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. You are assigned to serve in the Guatemala, Guatemala City South Mission. You should report to the Guatemala Missionary Training Center on September 17, 2014. You will prepare to preach the gospel in the Spanish language."

I'm pretty sure my mind turned straight to mush after that because I could not think straight at all. I was so excited and was not expecting that at all. I figured because I wanted to leave the country and learn Spanish so badly that I would go in the states and English speaking. I couldn't have been happier. I felt the spirit so strongly in that moment confirm to me that Guatemala is exactly where the Lord has planned for me to be and He has been preparing myself and people in Guatemala for this. This is a moment that I will truly never forget and one that I hold very dear in my heart. I am so thrilled to go serve the Lord and the lovely people of Guatemala.