Replace Fear with Faith

I was not one of those people who always wanted to serve a mission. It never really entered my mind until I graduated from Primary and into the Young Women Program. The lessons change dramatically. You start learning soooo much more about the gospel. I began to understand missionary work and why we want to share the gospel with everyone we meet. It is because it is simply amazing. Nothing on this earth compares to it. I loved it then and I still love it now. And now I have the opportunity to share it with others and show them something that has made me happier than anything else I have experienced on this earth.

When I started high school I thought maybe I would serve a mission. However, at that time the age for sisters was still 21. A lot of things could happen before I reached that age. I decided that when that birthday was upon me I would think about it then. AND THEN MY PLANS WERE FRUSTRATED. DUN DUN DUN.

The age change. I actually didn't wasn't even watching General Conference that morning because I was in Student Council and we were setting up for the Homecoming Dance that was going to be that night. There were a lot of us Mormon girls setting up that morning and when we got word about the change the amount of shouting was crazy. All of us could hardly believe it. 

Fast-forward to my first year of college. BYU. The freshmen class at BYU is a bit messed up because of the age change for missionaries. We had a 5 to 1 ratio of girls to boys in my ward. So many people (girls) in my ward were filling out their papers and receiving their calls every week. My mind was going crazy. I had never planned for this. For much of that year it was all I could think about. I was praying and praying for an answer but I wasn't getting any answers....yet.

The 10 of January 2014 was a really, really late night (and when I say late night I actually mean early morning) and I was (finally) getting ready for bed and was starting on my nightly scripture reading when I had the strangest vision of myself opening up my scriptures randomly and reading from them. So I did. I randomly opened my scriptures to Alma 42:31 and read "...ye are called of God to preach the word unto this people....go thy way, declare the word with soberness, that thou mayest bring souls unto repentance...." BAM. It hit me like a ton of bricks. I was stunned and I think I sat there physically frozen for several minutes. My mind was going a million miles an hour. WHAT?!! IS THIS SAYING I SHOULD SERVE A MISSION?! WAIT. AREN'T THERE LIKE 50 BAJILLION SCRIPTURES ABOUT MISSIONARY WORK IN HERE? THIS HAS TO BE A FLUKE. I THINK. THIS IS A PRETTY SPECIFIC SCRIPTURE! (and so on and so forth)

So here I am. Just like that. I guess that sometimes I have to be hit upside the head to understand the answers to my prayers. YAY for missions!