Fear is a self-centered emotion.

Yesterday I went up to Girls Camp with my dad (bishopric) so I could help my neighbor drive her car home late that night. She doesn't like to drive in the dark.

It is amazing to me how I can go up for just a few hours, but still get so much out of it. I didn't expect to get anything out of it because hey, I was only going up to drive a car home. But the speaker they had that night was talking to me I swear.

She is an LDS life coach and she talked about loving people, and when you have fear you are only thinking about yourself and you can't love and have fear at the same time. Great message! I can apply this directly to my mission. I feel like if I can remember to just love the people and love what I am doing, fear won't have a chance to creep in. And if fear DOES creep in, I can remember that I am being self-centered and the cure for that is using my loving super-power.



How cool is that!?!

And a complete side-note, I counted the days until I leave....SEVENTY-FIVE!!!!

Splits

I went on splits yesterday for the first time! I went with a sister from Australia/New Zealand. Needless to say, I was quite intrigued with her accent. I just can't get enough.

We taught a nine-year-old girl about Queen Ester and the importance of fasting and faith. I love that story.

It is interesting because when I think about teaching people, I usually imagine adults. I felt totally in my element teaching this cute little girl. (Thank you primary children!) It has made me so much more excited about my mission, mostly because now it isn't as foreign. Of course I was in my hometown, not the border of Mexico. Slight difference? I would venture to say si (That means "yes" in Spanish. Yup, I'm like a pro now).

And on another side note, I made an appointment today to have a special life-changing experience in a beautiful white temple next Tuesday!!!

Flashcards

Last night we went to buy Spanish flashcards so I can really start practicing.

Did we get the box with 1000 cards? Does my dad want me to learn all those words/phrases/verbs before I leave? Am I overwhelmed?

The answer to the above questions is "yes," in case you were wondering.

P.S. We may or may not but most absolutely did get locked out of our car in front of Barnes and Noble and had to have the amazing Brittany Bowman come save us. Yup, that stuff still happens.

Busy Day

My dad announced to the ward today where I am going on my mission. He cried. He loves me. :)

There is a guy in my ward that served in McAllen a few years ago, and he shared some interesting info me me.

1) The humidity there is about 110%. What does that mean? Will I be breathing water? I don't do well with heat so this is going to be AWESOME!

2) He once stopped and talked to a guy still wet from crossing the Rio Grande into Texas. Yup, that actually happened.

3) If I get to a house with a lot of men and food on the ground, it is probably a stash house and I can't go inside.

4) About every other house speaks spanish.

5) People will mix their spanish and english together so it is going to be harder for me to pick up the language than if I was completely immersed in it.

That being said, I am still super excited!

After church, I took a suggestion from a very good friend to read my scriptures out loud to practice how to pronounce words. I am not half bad! I started off pretty bad though. Already sound like I have a Tex-Mex accent (Sweet). I got better after awhile. Then my dad tried to teach me some words/phrases in spanish. What to I remember? Yo tengo que ir al bano. For those of you that don't know spanish, it mean, "I have to go to the bathroom."

Useful phrase, I know.

After hours of Spanish practice, I went to mission prep where I was chosen to give the first discussion. All by myself. I rocked it. Just sayin'. :)

Is that really spanish?

Today I got my spanish scriptures. I opened them up and had to ask my mom if they were, indeed, spanish. Yup, that is right. I don't even know what spanish looks like. I'm in trouble!

The Big Unveiling

I told all my friends yesterday where I was going on my mission.

I told them I would tell them at 9:00 p.m., so right at nine, the people that were at my house wanted me to tell them, so I started reading the letter. Every time I started the letter, more people would show up so I would have to start over. It was killer for everyone else, but I was loving it because I already knew. (Obviously)

Eventually I got to read the letter and everyone was excited for me. Duh. Who wouldn't be excited for someone that is going to serve!

(Shelby Willis and I at my house after I told the friends) 

All my spanish speaking friends then proceeded to speak to me in spanish, as if getting a spanish speaking call would mean I magically understand what they were saying. I know I will understand eventually, but I just stared at them with a blank expression, thinking to myself, "With time, I might be able to understand that..."

After chatting with everyone about the mission news, we went to Harry Potter 7, Part 2. I don't know if I was more excited about telling my friends my call, or going to Harry Potter 7. My priorities might not be in the right place right now, so what?

Irony

So the title of this blog post is because I was complaining on Tuesday about how I couldn't be patient and wait another week or two to get my call, but guess what? I got my call yesterday!

WHA?!?!?!

I know! I was shocked too! I seriously didn't think I would get it that fast! But when I look at the whole process I went through, it has been nothing but fast! I mean, I started my papers three and a half weeks ago, then submitted them last Sunday, then got my call a week and a half later. It literally blows my mind.

So yesterday at work, I thought to myself, "wouldn't that be so funny if I got my call today?" Totally didn't actually expect to get it. I went home and grabbed the mail and lo and behold, there was that big white envelope! CRAZY! I got right back in my car and drove up to the cemetery by the temple (not as weird as it sounds. I wasn't actually in the cemetery, I was on a bench on the sidewalk overlooking Bountiful). Keep in mind that I am shaking this whole time and kind of driving super fast.

I got out of my car and crossed the street, sat down, and ripped open the envelope. Thank goodness I wasn't shaking as bad at this point or else I wouldn't have been able to open it that fast!

I pulled out the letter and honestly just search for the place where I was going. THE TEXAS, McALLEN MISSION! When I saw it I was kind of shocked because I had not expected that whatsoever! Then I pulled open the map to see exactly where it was (I never thought I would have to do the whole "pull out the map" thing, but honestly, I had no idea where is was). I found the map and saw that the McAllen mission is the southern tip of Texas, with the Mexican border on one side, the Gulf of Mexico on the other.

After seeing where it was, I got a little nervous. My little brother watches a show called "Border Wars," that shows people trying to get into the US and the Border Patrol stopping them. Yup, that is my mission. Hence the nervousness. :)

After I figured that all out, I looked at the letter again and found out that I would be leaving October 12th, and I would be speaking SPANISH! YAY!!!!! I am so excited to learn Spanish! It is going to be so helpful! I seriously can't wait!

After I took some time to process everything, I drove back down to my house to tell my family that I had my call, because they, like me, did not expect it at all.

I walked into my house and I didn't say a word; I just held up my awesomely huge white envelope. My brother and dad were in the kitchen and they were both as surprised as I was. My mom wasn't back from the Church Office Building (she does tours there) yet, so I made them both wait until she was home before I told them.

After many attempts to get me to tell them, my mother finally got home and I told them I was going to McAllen, Texas, Spanish speaking. My dad served his mission in Mexico, so he is fluent in Spanish, which led to his utter excitement because he will now have a buddy in the fam that can speak en espanol.

The rest of the night consisted of me telling family members the good news, then processing and doing a little research with my family and a few choice individuals.

The more I think about it, the more excited I get. I really just can't wait to get out there and learn the language and teach!

The Waiting Game

I dislike this game. My papers have been in for a mere nine days, and I am already anxiously awaiting that big white envelope that decides my future.

It is amazing how I have had to learn the lesson of patience quite a lot lately. I think I have it down, then another thing happens in my life, and it is like I never learned how to be patient in the first place. 

Waiting for my call has definitely taught me to trust in the Lord though. Giving an adolescent about three weeks to ponder where they are going for the next year and a half is slightly cruel, but really, it just reaffirms to me that the Lord knows us all individually and he knows exactly what we need. I know that wherever I get called is exactly where I'm suppose to be. 

Map

I enjoy maps. Plain and simple. They are so neat! I can just sit back and look at a map for ages! The world is so big, and I am so grateful that I get to see a new part of it in a few months.

That being said, I have a huge map hung up in my kitchen right now that is just waiting patiently (someone has to) for people to put their guesses of where the soon-to-be Sister G will be spending the next year and a half of her life.

Feel free to either show up to my house to take a guess, or let me know via some form of communication and I will put up your guess.

If I have enough guesses, someone is bound to be right....right?

Passed with Flying Colors!

I just finished my interview with the stake president and now my papers are submitted! Because I have the best timing in the world and decided to submit my papers in July (the General Authorities' vacation month), my call is going to take about 3 1/2 weeks, so I am guessing July 27th!

Let the waiting begin!