I finally got my mission call and I have been on an emotional and spiritual high ever since.
So I'll start and share my experience starting with last Wednesday. Wednesday was the day that my mission could've come in the mail, so I was anxious and nervous all day. When 3:30-4:00 finally came when the mail was supposed to come in, I was a wreck. I never got the call and was initially pretty disappointed, but then just felt relieved that I didn't have to worry about it anymore. I was fine the rest of the night, but it started all over again on Thursday. By 3:30-4:00 on Thursday, I was so nervous that the mission calls weren't going to come in because I didn't think I could last until Friday. Thankfully, the Lord looked down on my poor worried heart, and I was finally able to pick up my call!
But finally, the time came and I called up all of my family on skype to listen and watch. I think I was too in shock that I was finally opening my call when it was happening to even focus on the words I was saying or what I was doing. I felt like it wasn't real life, just a dream that I had waited months to experience. I successfully opened the envelope (very smoothly might I add) and pulled out the contents. After flipping the letter to be behind the book (so that I read the letter line by line), I proceeded to read it out loud. "Dear Sister Taylor, You are hereby called to serve as missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. (In my mind- IS THIS REALLY HAPPENING?!). You are assigned to labor ..." and that's when I read it. My eyes widened and I couldn't believe it. "... in the Tahiti Papeete mission." All I saw was Tahiti and all I could think was nooooooooo, this can't be real! When I read it out loud, I honestly didn't even believe the words that were coming out of my mouth. TAHITI! What?!
I then read out that I would report July 24th. After that, "You will prepare to teach the gospel in the Tahitian language." Like WHAT?! I couldn't believe that either. So crazy. I'm just a crazy little white girl and they want ME to go to these gorgeous islands and teach?
Despite being so shocked to even comprehend completely, I will say that opening my mission call was one of the most spiritual experiences I've had in my life. I was on such an emotional high that I felt like I was the only one in the room. After a few days of trying to believe it, I can definitely say that I know that I am supposed to go and teach the gospel in Tahiti. The more I research and learn about the Tahitian people, I just know it's a perfect fit for me.
Here's the link for the video of my mission call opening-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXJNypZ6aCg
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| Mission call twinsies! Canada and Tahiti here we come!! |
While I will officially be speaking Tahitian, the official language of Tahiti is French because it is a part of French Polynesia.
Learning and googling about Tahiti is seriously so addicting because I know so little about it. My mom found this great link of someone speaking Tahitian which I was so grateful for because I couldn't find any on youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2TuGPTR5Tg&feature=share
The first guy that speaks is speaking Tahitian. The girl that speaks after him though is speaking French.
Because the mission is not a very big or common, I've had a hard time figuring out if I will only be speaking Tahitian. From what I have been able to gather, I will most likely speaking some French too. This works out pretty nicely for me because I took French all through high school so that is a definite advantage.
Another interesting thing I found regarding Tahiti is this article in an ensign on lds.org-
https://www.lds.org/ensign/1986/06/the-lost-island-of-saints?lang=eng
Overall, the more I learn, the more I come to love Tahiti already. I am so excited to experience everything that Tahiti and the Tahitian saints have to offer for me. It'll be an adventure and certainly not an easy one, but I can't wait.
Lessons from the Book of Mormon:
This past week in Book of Mormon we talked about the nature of the straight and narrow path. It's not just a straight line, but rather an uphill bumpy climb. It's a journey and we certainly can't do it on our own. At times when the path is so steep that we can't stand, we can only move forward by getting down on our knees. One of my all time favorite scriptures is in 3 Nephi 14:7-8, "Ask, and it shall be given unto you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh, receiveth; and he that seeketh, findeth; and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened." I love this scripture because it is such a testimony to me that God is always there for us. If we seek him out, he will ALWAYS be there. We all know that life is hard. At times, we may feel that we are completely alone. That's why this scripture brings me so much comfort; if I need help, I can always get it. If we let Christ in, he will not only help and comfort us in our times of need, but we then allow ourselves to become like him. Letting Christ in is the first step, and it only gets better from there. I am so grateful that I can always rely on my Savior and that through him, I can move forward on the path. I honestly don't know what I would do or where I would be in my life without this knowledge.
Laugh of the Day:
If you haven't gathered by now, I LOVE funny youtube videos. Here's one that my friend Micaela showed to me that I literally can not get enough of.
"Hey.. Whatever!"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUyKpfbB9M8
