You have your call. Now what do you do? The answer is shopping, shopping, shopping!!!
Missionary style is something that females are naturally more concerned with than males. So without further ado, here is a guide of what you need in your wardrobe and some ideas for being a cute sister missionary!
If you haven't looked on Pinterest yet, do it right now! It'll change your life. Seriously. http://pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=sister+missionary
Also, go here: http://missionary.lds.org/dress-grooming/sister/
The church has lots of really great examples of everything you need!
Anyone who has ever opened up a mission call would probably agree with me that it's one of the most exciting things ever. Mine would definitely be in the top 5 of my "Most Exciting Things" list. Well, that is if I had one of course.
To say that it was hard to wait 4 whole days from the time my call arrived at home to when I got to open it would be the understatement of the century!
My call arrived on a Thursday and I opened it the following Tuesday.
I had it sent to my home address (St. George) even though I was currently in school up north (UVU). When my mom told me that my call arrived, I wanted nothing more than to drive home right away and rip it open! Sadly though, it was the start of finals and there was absolutely no way I could go home until after they were all done. Lucky for me, I had 2 finals get changed to being online which made my last in-class final on Tuesday. That meant I didn't have to wait a whole week to open it!
I also moved back home after the semester so it was a CRAZY all-nighter that involved packing, studying, more packing, more studying, then more packing, then more studying.
I took my last final at about 2:00 PM, loaded my car with the help of my sweet roommates, drove straight home, waited patiently for all my family to get to my house, and finally opened my call around 8:00 PM!
P.S. I was the only one to put a sticker on New Zealand. I loved guessing my own mission right!
I couldn't believe my eyes when I read those words. My dream had just come true:)
To serve or not to serve? That was the question.
If you haven't noticed, there are LOTS of people going on missions lately. Especially sisters!
It amazes me that almost every time I read someone's "story" of why they decided to go on a mission, it is unique. Family and friends influence our decision, environmental and financial circumstances also, and marital status among other things. Whatever the reason, though, in the heart of every elder and sister that becomes a missionary should be the desire to serve.
D&C 4
2 "Therefore, O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day."
3 "Therefore, if ye have desires to serve God ye are called to the work;"
My own "why" for going on a mission could be a long story but I'll make it short.
A mission was something that I'd always thought about doing but never seriously considered.
The year before the age change happened, I kept thinking about a mission a lot more but made excuses for why I wasn't going to go.
The age change happened. For me, it wasn't a big deal because I'll be 21 in just a few short months. It did do one thing, though, and that was to take away my only good excuse for not seriously considering a mission. I couldn't say, "I'll wait until I'm 21 to decide" anymore.
...just to recap that wonderful announcement!
After a little push from the spirit, myself, and my mom (bless her heart), I started to seriously consider it.
Through the promptings of the spirit, LOTS and LOTS of prayer, reading my patriarchal blessing, the tender mercies of Heavenly Father placing certain individuals in my life at that time, and about a good month's time, I decided that my answer was yes. I was going to serve a mission. 100 percent.
The rest is history!
FAITH OVER FEAR. The letter above is one from my old bishop, the bishop I had at the time I decided to serve a mission. The Relief Society sisters were invited by our bishop to a special evening with dinner and a fireside to start off the semester and reconnect with everyone. For most of the sisters, this may have been just another fireside. For myself, however, it was the fireside where the spirit confirmed the answer to my prayers, as clear as ever.
Like I previously said, I had excuses as to why I wasn't seriously considering a mission. "I'm not 21 yet", "I've already registered for school", "I might lose my scholarships", "Everyone is going on a mission now and I don't want to follow a trend", and other excuses were all ones that I used to convince myself against deciding. While all of these factors were legitimate things to consider, none were really preventing me from serving a mission.
At the core of my excuses was simply fear.
I feared that I wouldn't be able to handle the demands of missionary work. I feared that I wasn't smart enough in my gospel knowledge and scriptural doctrine and memorization. I feared having to enter a new country all alone and adjust to new culture, foods, language, and customs. I feared everything.
Alma 26:12 "Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever."
Proverbs 3: 5 "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart' and lean not unto thine own understanding."
6 "In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."
I love these scriptures and know that they are true.
They have taught me this simple principle: Faith Over Fear.
Fear does not come from God but from the adversary. What we need is faith. Gordon B. Hinckley, a beloved prophet of God once said, "If ye are prepared ye shall not fear." A big part of preparation is developing our own faith in God and Christ.
For me, it was only when I let go of the all the fear I had that I was able to put my faith and trust in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. I know that they will strengthen me as I continue to exercise faith in them.
My name is Megan Nielsen and I am the so-called "author" of this blog. As I'm sure you all guessed from the title, this is a place for me to document my soon-to-come experiences as a sister missionary! Since I took the liberty of using the "About Me" space to announce my call, I figured an introduction was in order.
(P.S. This may or may not be the exact same introduction from my mormon.org profile:) I apologize beforehand for my not-so-great writing skills!)
"I'm 20 years young and about to serve a mission in the beautiful land of New Zealand! I love big families and am the youngest in my family of 8. I was born in the freezing cold but have grown up most of my life in the hot heat of St. George, UT. I'm a big fan of sunshine, milk, bike rides, temples, anything red velvet, nature, and country music. I play the violin and piano and love all good music. As for other hobbies, I like doing pretty much anything, as long as I'm in good company:). As a missionary, I'm in-between my schooling at Brigham Young University and who-knows-what-school-next. I'm also a licensed cosmetologist with a special liking for haircuts and waxing. A few short weeks is all that separates my skills and fellow missionaries who will surely test and use them!"
I love reading about people but even more, I love seeing pictures of people! Maybe I'm the only one but I feel like I get to know someone better through photos than a lot of things (except face-to-face communication, of course, which is irreplaceable). So whether it's for your benefit or mine, here are some pictures of myself and the people that are most important to me!
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