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. :)
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