My dad and I had a whole plan schemed out, so once he got home from work, he opened my call (without looking), scanned it, and emailed the file to me. He then placed my call back in the envelope and when I was ready I logged onto my email and read my call to everyone. Right before I began reading I started shaking and became really nervous. For a moment I just wanted someone else to read it to me, but I finally pulled up the file and before I could even finish reading the first sentence, my eyes were drawn straight to the words, "You are assigned to labor in the Chile, Concepcion Mission." The next thing I looked at was the day I would be leaving, "You should report to the Mexico Missionary Training Center July 16, 2014. You will prepare to preach the gospel in the Spanish language." I'm not sure how to explain the way I was feeling at this moment. I was no longer shaking and immediately knew that Chile is where I need to go. There was no disappointment, no fear, and no anxiety. Peaceful is perhaps the best way to describe my feelings at that time. It may have been strange that I was unable to hold the envelope with my call inside, and rip it open myself. It was definitely a unique experience compared to what one usually imagines for opening their mission call and I would have loved my family to have been right by me to share such a special moment, but I wouldn't change the way things happened. It is interesting to consider the way different experiences can alter the way you perceive things. Because I wasn't physically with my family, I felt their support even more and have realized how fortunate I am to have been blessed into such a wonderful family. I realized how grateful I am for technology and the way my dad was able to scan and send me my call clear across the world by the simple click of a button. I can log onto a computer or my phone and talk with my entire family. I am constantly being blessed and being here has helped me to realize that.
As most of you already know, this week was very special for me. I had been expecting my call to arrive at some point, but it was difficult not knowing when it would be here. My guess was it would come either Wednesday or Thursday which meant I wouldn't realistically be able to open in until Thursday or Friday my time. After teaching on Wednesday, I figured the mail arrives around 10 a.m., but that my mom would be working until 12:00, so I wouldn't know if it was here until 9:00 p.m.. I waited in anticipation and was only about an hour away of hearing from my mom when the power went out. The internet connection was cut off leaving my hanging the whole night. I set an alarm at 2:00 a.m. to check my phone, and when I did saw there was a messages saying it hadn't come. The next day was the same thing; I waited to hear from my mom. Around 9:00 I received a text saying, "Kate, this is Chris. Guess what I have?" I turned to Kristina and started screaming! It was such a strange feeling knowing my call was finally here. I told my family that I wanted to open it once my dad was home from work and to plan on 5:30 p.m. At 2:00 in the morning my alarm went off and I quickly got things ready to skype. I may have mentioned this in a previous post, but our bathroom gets better internet connection than our room and is kind of like our place to go if we want to be alone, so that is where I had planned to open my call. Once I was ready to skype, I woke Kristina up. It turns out that my dad wasn't home from work yet, so I brought our pillows and blankets into the bathroom and we sprawled out on the floor while I talked with Alyssa. My dad and I had a whole plan schemed out, so once he got home from work, he opened my call (without looking), scanned it, and emailed the file to me. He then placed my call back in the envelope and when I was ready I logged onto my email and read my call to everyone. Right before I began reading I started shaking and became really nervous. For a moment I just wanted someone else to read it to me, but I finally pulled up the file and before I could even finish reading the first sentence, my eyes were drawn straight to the words, "You are assigned to labor in the Chile, Concepcion Mission." The next thing I looked at was the day I would be leaving, "You should report to the Mexico Missionary Training Center July 16, 2014. You will prepare to preach the gospel in the Spanish language." I'm not sure how to explain the way I was feeling at this moment. I was no longer shaking and immediately knew that Chile is where I need to go. There was no disappointment, no fear, and no anxiety. Peaceful is perhaps the best way to describe my feelings at that time. It may have been strange that I was unable to hold the envelope with my call inside, and rip it open myself. It was definitely a unique experience compared to what one usually imagines for opening their mission call and I would have loved my family to have been right by me to share such a special moment, but I wouldn't change the way things happened. It is interesting to consider the way different experiences can alter the way you perceive things. Because I wasn't physically with my family, I felt their support even more and have realized how fortunate I am to have been blessed into such a wonderful family. I realized how grateful I am for technology and the way my dad was able to scan and send me my call clear across the world by the simple click of a button. I can log onto a computer or my phone and talk with my entire family. I am constantly being blessed and being here has helped me to realize that. I apologize for not having a lot of pictures from this week, but on Saturday our host family took us to Pyrohiv Park to celebrate Maslenitsa. Pyrohiv Park is a village from early settlers of Kiev. We were able to go inside old houses, an old church, and walk around the village. Throughout this week they eat a lot of pancakes (crepes), so we packed a lunch of chocolate crepes, cream cheese, jam, and tea. There were a lot of food stands and people to celebrate. Sunday was amazing as always; fast Sunday has a special spirit. Our small branch has mostly couple missionaries, and a few families from the Embassy, and they all have such strong testimonies. I have learned so much from each one of them just in the short time I have been here. After sacrament meeting, the Mission President asked if I'd meet with him in his office for a few minutes. He congratulated me on my call and offered some advice that could help in preparation for my mission. I was so grateful that he was willing to share his wisdom with me; everything he had to say touched and inspired me to put forth every effort I can in preparing so that I may be the most effective missionary once I'm in the field. I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the true church upon this Earth and I will proudly stand as a witness and testify of Jesus Christ.
1 Comment
1/17/2015 09:13:36 pm
I had been expecting my call to arrive at some point, but it was difficult not knowing when it would be here. My guess was it would come either Wednesday or Thursday which meant I wouldn't realistically be able to open in until Thursday or Friday my time. After teaching on Wednesday,
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Author“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” Archives
December 2015
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