Today is February 24, 2014. This day is a very big day for many reasons, one of which is the fact that February 24, 2014 will only ever occur once. EVER. So that's kind of huge.
But, it is also my 86th last day before I report to the Provo MTC. Annnnnd, that's a big deal. Not because the number 86 holds any significant meaning for me (it really doesn't, in all honesty), but rather because....... this is the only "86th Last Day Before I Enter the MTC" day I'll probably ever have. Suddenly every day becomes significant when you think of it that way, eh.
On a totally different note, I'd like to take you for a ride in my time machine. *you hop in* I'm just going to turn this dial here until it reaches, oh, I don't know, 2009? That's probably a good place to start.
A quick intro, however: I was raised in a Mormon family. My father was raised in a Mormon family as well, his parents being converts to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. (Random fact: my father was named after President David O. MacKay.) My mother joined The Church not long after discovering it, and now here we are, a happy family. From the time that I was a little girl, I think that the thought of a mission was on my mind. I wanted to serve because I knew that it was a good thing, and I wanted to be a missionary. Those feelings only became more and more convicted and strong as I got older.
*time machine starts humming*
*the world around you is spinning*
*everything goes black for a second*
*a hand hits the wall of the machine, and the lights flicker back to life*
"......Sorry, our power sometimes goes out as we travel. It's just a little ting. We've.. we've learned to deal with it."
ARRIVAL: 2009 A.D.
Here we are, in the fabulous year of 2009. At this point in my life I was leaving the world of elementary school and entering into a new realm of existence: h i g h s c h o o l. Growing up, I spent many of my years in the LDS Primary and Youth programs (ages toddler-11, and 12-19 respectively) with a dear friend by the name of Natasha. We went to each other's birthday parties and knew each other's families better than we probably even understood. The two of us are so very different in so many ways, but the Big Guy knew that it would be important for us to be present in one another's lives, and so we were. In fact, for many years, it was just the two of us in the female portion of the LDS Youth Program that existed in our Branch. We got to know each other very well throughout those years, and she became like a sister to me, experiencing things with me in a silence of understanding. We didn't need words. She's a special kind of friend. Though this friendship extends to FAR before 2009, it is important here too.
Usually the topic of missions would come up something like this: at a youth conference (probably Best of EFY). We're billeting together at a member's home - of course we were billeting together, are you joking?? We talk about all of the cute boys we met at the dance. Actually, scratch that. I talk about the cute boys, she laughs and somehow manages to get off without saying much. Sneaky girl. We laugh about a joke we've had for a while now: The Forbidden Question. "Those boys better not ask ...... *JAWS theme song* ..... THE FORBIDDEN QUESTION!" *unnecessarily ridiculous girlish giggling*
........ Ask me what the forbidden question was. I dare you.
Uh, okay. Kathleen, what is the forbidden question?
"Will you marry me?"
As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we understand the important role that a mission plays in the life of the young man or young woman (or senior couple) that serves. Young men are strongly encouraged to serve because they are needed to further the Lord's work here on the earth today. When they return home they are encouraged to marry in the Temple and raise a family in the gospel. Their mission will help them to be the best husbands and fathers that they can be. Young women are also welcomed into missionary service, and boy do we ever gladly accept our calls to serve (holla atcho gurl). :) However, if the opportunity arises for a young woman to marry a worthy man in the Temple, and she feels as though it would be the right decision to marry him, and he has already served his mission and so on and so forth, she is encouraged to pursue her role as a wife and a mother, allowing that to take presidence over her role as a full-time missionary. Natasha and I jokingly feared that our own personal opportunities to be married would come up before we turned 21-years-of-age and were finally able to serve missions, and so from a young age we joked about avoiding marriage before our missions.
That all changed two Octobers ago, however, when the Prophet, President Thomas S. Monson, announced an age-change. Young men and young women were now given the opportunity to serve at younger ages: 18 and 19, respectively. This meant that I would be able to serve a mission at a younger age and then return home, attend post-secondary education, get a job, and somewhere in the mix of those things marry my best friend and raise a family in the gospel. Being able to leave at age 19 meant that I could still serve, but I could now serve earlier instead of whittling away my time or beginning my post-secondary education and then leaving partway through to serve a mission....... and the list goes on. Of course I could still serve at an older age, too, but serving younger worked better for me. This was wonderful news.
I knew that serving a mission was something that I wanted to do, but it took a lot of praying and talking with my Heavenly Father to receive that confirmation that it was what I was supposed to be doing. I always felt that serving a mission would be a good thing, but I wanted to know for sure that it was something that I was supposed to do. And here we are, about a year and a half after I received the answer to my prayers. My answer came in a Priesthood blessing, when I was told that Heavenly Father would support me in righteousness. So there you have it. Some of the essential background facts regarding my choice to serve a mission. VOILAAAAA!
I know that this is the restored gospel of Jesus Christ on the earth today. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints contains the fullness of the gospel. I'm so grateful to know that I have a loving Father in Heaven who hears and answers my prayers, and knows my heart inside-out and backwards. He understands me better than I understand myself, and He blesses me more than my little heart can even begin to fathom. I am happiest when I live the gospel and apply its teachings in my life, and THAT, my friends. THAT is why I want to serve a mission. Not because everyone else is doing it, not because I've just always wanted to. No. I want to serve a mission so that my spiritual brothers and sisters can receive the happiness that the gospel brings to our lives. I want them to find hope in the Atonement of their Elder Brother, our Saviour Jesus Christ. I want them to know that they can one day return to their Father in Heaven. I want to see them on the other side and embrace them as we prepare to enter the Celestial Kingdom. That. is why I have chosen to serve a mission.
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