Meet My Best Friend. :)

This is my best friend. 

His name is Dakota Wilson. :) 

We met in 6th grade when he moved to my little town. The moment we started talking, I knew he was someone special. :) A lot of the girls had a crush on him...(as did I) sooo... I fought them all off. (As you can tell in the picture. ;) Haha yep, that's me! I look a little feisty, huh! I knew that he was a good catch though! And I knew that we would be the best of friends.

We "went out" in 6th and 7th grade. We were quite the rebels and would give each other a .5 second hug every day after school. Sometimes we'd even ride our Ripsticks home together! We were pretty big deals. ;)

Throughout High School we were on and off. I liked him.. and then I didn't. Then he liked me.. and then he didn't. We just couldn't make up our minds! But we stayed the best of friends. He would even give me advice on some of the guys I was dating. He was seriously always there for me!

As the end of our Junior year was approaching, we both knew that we really liked each other. He was my escort for Junior Miss and was thee sweetest boy in the world. The night of Junior Miss he looked at me all done up and said, "Woah. You look beautiful!!" It pretty much melted my heart. 

That summer we hung out as much as we could. We had many late night phone conversations as we tried not to get caught by our parents. ;) We talked a lotttt about our relationship and what we wanted to do. We were afraid to be "officially" boyfriend and girlfriend. Mainly because we knew it would be dang hard! Dakota was going to serve an LDS mission, and I didn't want to get in the way of that! I guess I just didn't want to be a distraction for him... 

Senior year started and we were definitely unofficially official. I knew that I completely loved this boy! But yet, we didn't do anything about it. In October of 2012, the announcement was made that brethren could serve missions starting at age 18 and the sisters at age 19. I couldn't believe it. I was sure that we would have a whole other year together before he left! But, now we didn't. 

So.. what the heck. :) On December 13, 2012 Dakota asked me to be his girlfriend. And guess what?! I said yes. :) We both knew that it was going to be hard to leave each other for 2 whole years, but we knew that is was the right thing to do. And it's something that we both wanted! We were both blessed to have been raised in this gospel, so why wouldn't we give back? Why wouldn't we want to share with the world the joy and happiness that we have received because of this gospel? 

Dakota received his mission call on February 9, 2013. He was called to serve in Busan South Korea Mission! And he was to report to the MTC on May 29, 2013. One week after High School graduation. :) 

We knew that we didn't have much time left, so definitely enjoyed every moment that we had together. We were pretty much inseparable! 

We went to prom together

We went 4-Wheeling 

We made food. ALL the time. 

We worked out together... And he totally kicked my trash.

We rode Ripsticks like we did back in the day! 

We graduated from Seminary! 

We graduated from High School! 

He went through the Temple! :) 

We went to the Temple and did Baptisms! And he even got to baptize me! :) 

He had his farewell 

And then off he went.. :) 

Elder Wilson has been gone for almost 8 months now. I couldn't be more proud of my best friend! :) He is blessing the lives of SO many people, and he has definitely blessed mine. I love him and miss him like crazy, but I know that we're doing the things that we need to be doing at this time. :) 

In 62 days I'll be serving a mission for The Lord in Washington Federal Way. I can't wait to get to work! :) I know that it's going to be rough and very challenging, but I'm excited for this experience to learn and to grow. I'll get home about 3 months after Dakota, but I know it'll be ok. After waiting 2 years, what's 3 more months?? ;) It might feel like an eternity, actually. But I know that it will be more than worth it. :) 

I love you perfectly Elder Wilson!! See you soon :) 

I Love To See The Temple.. :)

On December 28, 2013 I was able to go through the Rexburg, Idaho Temple to receive my endowments. It was such an amazing experience!! As I walked through the front doors, the biggest smile came across my face :). I just felt SO happy!! :) 

I know that Temple truly is The House of The Lord. I can't wait to be able to be married there someday! :) 

All of my endowed siblings were able to go with me! As well as my parents and my Bishop :)
I truly am blessed. 

Called to Serve!!

On November 22, 2013 I received my mission call!! Friends and Family came over and then we Skyped those who couldn't come. :) The hardest part was opening that darn envelope... I was so nervous! I wasn't worried at all about where I'd serve though because I knew that The Lord would send me where he needed me. :)

When I finally got the envelope opened I read...

Dear Sister Flamm:

You are hereby called to serve as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You are assigned to labor in the Washington Federal Way Mission. It is anticipated that you serve for a period of 18 months.

You should report to the Provo Missionary Training Center on Wednesday, March 19, 2014. You will prepare to preach the gospel in the English Language.

WAHOO!! Washington here I come!!! :)
I still can't believe it though.. This has all happened SO fast! And before I know it, I'll be gone! I'm so excited for this journey to learn more about myself and my Savior Jesus Christ. :)

My Decision to Serve

I must admit, it was never in my plans to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. But lo and behold, my plans have changed! So first of all, both of my parents served missions. My dad served in Wisconsin and my mom served in New Zealand. 2 of my older brothers also served. One in Brazil and the other Switzerland. My mom always said that she wanted one of her 5 daughters to serve, but it wasn't really looking like it was going to happen! I have 3 older sisters and 1 younger sister. 2 of my sisters got married and the other one works as a Nurse. So...I told my little sister that it was up to her! :) Haha and now I'm the one going! ;) But who knows, maybe she'll go too!

In October of 2012 President Thomas S. Monson announced that the mission age had changed from 19 to 18 for the brethren and from 21 to 19 for the sisters! Umm.. what?! I couldn't believe my ears. I remember thinking, "In a little over a year from now I could be serving!" What a crazy thought. Also, all of my guy friends would be leaving that NEXT year! Man.. there was so many new changes!

In February of 2013 my best friend Dakota was called to serve in the Busan South Korea mission. He was to report on May 29, 2013. ONE WEEK after graduation. My Senior year flew by and before I knew it, graduation was here. Then right after that my best friend was gone. Ok.. that sounds really sad. Haha. I was SO excited for him though! He is the most amazing guy that I have ever met and I knew that he would make one heck of a missionary. :)

During the first month after he left, I was extremely lost. What in the world was I going to do without him?! I knew that I would be starting school at BYU-I in the fall, but I didn't know what I was going to do from now until then.

One day my Bishop called me into his office. I sort of panicked and wondered why in the world he needed to talk to me. But little did I know, this interview put everything into perspective for me. My Bishop and I talked about what I was doing in life, what I wanted to accomplish,  and then quite a bit about Dakota. He pretty much told me that I needed to move forward with my life because Dakota would be doing the same! He told me that I too needed to grow spiritually while he was gone.
Man, Bishop's are just the greatest!! He told me everything that I needed to hear. No more sulking around for me. ;)

Right after that we started talking about whether or not I wanted to serve a mission. He said, "Maurcine, you could submit your papers in 4 months if you wanted to."
I couldn't believe it. I was old enough to serve a mission?? Where did the time go?!
After the interview I went home and prayed. I asked Heavenly Father if going on a mission was the right thing for me to do or not. I kept praying every day for like... ever. (Okay, it was probably only a week or two :) But it felt like forever because I wasn't getting an answer!! I'm not the most patient person and this wait was killing me. So finally I kind of gave up on asking. I told Heavenly Father that I was just going to prepare now, and if it was right, then he would tell me.

 A few days later I got a letter in the mail from Dakota. I told told him about my mission dilemma and he tried to help me out. He told me to ask Heavenly Father what personal revelation feels like so that I would know when he gave me my answer. That day I was reading in my scriptures in Mosiah chapter 26. Verse 13 hit me pretty hard because it talks about how Alma was troubled because of the sins of the people. It says, " And now the spirit of Alma was again troubled; and he went and inquired of the Lord what he should do concerning this matter, for he feared that he should do wrong in the sight of God." That was me! I was troubled with the decision of whether or not to serve because I wanted to do what was right. I continued reading and it says that Alma "poured out his whole soul to God". Right then I knew that I needed to pray again. But this time, I needed to pray with my whole heart and soul! I told myself that I was going to finish the chapter and then kneel down to pray. Then I got to verse 20 which says, "Thou art my servant; and I covenant with thee that thou shalt have eternal life; and thou shalt serve me and go forth in my name, and shalt gather together my sheep."

After reading those few verses, I couldn't read anymore. The Spirit was SO strong and I got on knees right then. I asked Heavenly Father whether or not I should go on and mission, and to let me know and understand the answer that I would receive. Before I even finished saying that, tears were streaming down my face. I heard the spirit say to me, "You already know what you should do." I bawled and continued praying. I KNOW that Heavenly Father truly listened to me and that he heard and answered my prayer.

I love this gospel. I love my Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ, and I want everyone to feel of their love. That is why I'm going on a mission, to testify to others that they. are. loved. I know that I am a daughter of God and that He loves me! And I love Him too. I testify that prayer is real and that Heavenly Father always hears and answers our prayers. We just need to be patient and willing to listen. :)