My next adventure is coming right up. In six days to be exact. And I couldn't be more ready to get there.
While I was living in Taiwan, I made the decision to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. In July, I was called to serve in the Finland Helsinki Mission. I will be learning to speak Finnish, which will not be easy. In fact, this will be the hardest adventure of my life, but also the best. On Wednesday when my family drops me off to the Missionary Training Center a mere 45 minutes away from my home, I will not see them for 18 months. I will have about four chances to speak to them on the telephone, and other than that, it will be a year-and-a-half full of weekly emails and letters. It's going to be cold, and it's mostly going to be dark. But it's also going to be awesome. This is something I have wanted to do for awhile, but the timing was never right. There were many things I needed to learn, places I needed to go, and people I needed to meet before I was ready to take on this adventure.
It's going to be hard to leave "the world" (we aren't allowed to watch tv or movies, listen to music, read celebrity gossip [major weakness], stay out late) but I know that the blessings I will receive will make it worth it. And plus, all my music will still be on my hard drive when I get home, and I'm going to have days and days full of new (or 18 months old) releases to discover upon my return. My Harry Potter books will still be on the same shelf. The movies and tv shows will be on DVD and Netflix, and Taylor Swift will still be writing songs about her failed love life. Amanda Bynes will still be hitting and running. The Bachelor series will still not make happy couples. And Harry Styles will still be beautiful. It is all going to be fine.
I'm so excited to share with the people in Finland the things most important in my life. To take away these other distractions, and help others to find the same joy, comfort, and happiness that this gospel brings into my life.
My mom will post some of my letters home on this thing, so if you want to follow along with this adventure please feel free to do so. With my luck, there's bound to be some pretty awkward and embarrassing moments to share with you all, because let's face it, not normal things happen to me all the time. Normally, when a future missionary opens their call, they are surrounded by their friends and family waiting to hear where they will spend their time serving. Nope, not me, read it through an envelope containing visa papers a week after my real call came. My sister talked about it HERE. So, with that said, I can't wait to see what the next 18 months bring me!
Hyvää onnea!
