THE WHITE BIBLE

LOOK!!

I got myself a Missionary Handbook or the  word on the street says it is the White Bible! Time to start living the missionary life!

And the best part? It is so small that I actually end up bringing it with me everywhere!!

Who can guess what today is?
If you guessed the day I start my MISSION PAPERS than, you are correct!!
I am sooooooo ecstatic I can't hold it in! (You see, when I get excited about something, I HAVE to go and tell EVERYONE around me. So the first innocent passer bys walking down the hallway in church got the full oh happy dance)

BTW I LOVE PRIMARY. I am loving my new calling. It amazes me how the teachers totally absorb their attention with anything and these kids learn the true lesson of things in minutes! I have always said that if you want to learn the gospel, sing a primary song. There is nothing quite like the gospel in it's purest and simplest form that strengthens my testimony.

During our lesson, we were watching the basic first vision video and I definitely started tearing up! I felt so blessed to have this gospel and wanted to share it's truth. I also thought about the day when I get to talk to my Father in Heaven face to face. The other teacher pointed out to the kids that I am going on a mission, and asked if I would share my testimony. I have found that sharing your testimony is one of the best ways to strengthen it. Keeping it to myself has not done me much good. I was desperately trying not to choke up but failed once again. There is something so humbling about a 6 year old's face when they feel the spirit.

In other news:
Dominique is hopefully getting her call this week!! We also will get to skype with the bestie in Colorado when she opens it which I am ecstatic for!
Fresno California is about to get one of the cutest girls ever because Megan just got her mission call there!! WOOT WOOT! 
Oh and I got sick of my VERRRRRRRY long hair so...

I chopped it all off!

GOODBYE 10 INCHES!!

PS sorry about the picture quality, I am currently trying to locate my actual camera!

We are getting SOOOOO close!!!! I can officially start my papers! And I am going to talk to my bishop in.......1 WEEK!!!! I am so beyond ecstatic! It is finally starting to feel so real and close, because it is! Now I am starting to get scared about preparing hahaha! It finally hit me! So here are the main things that I have been doing:
1. Going to mission prep class(I seriously cannot function without this class anymore)
2. Writing all of the missionaries(It is so inspiring to hear the words of those that I am close to as they serve the Lord)
3. Going to all of the farewells of said missionaries(It gets me pumped and excited to serve!)
I am also starting my basic missionary stockpile which I will really start on as soon as I have a call!
4. Going to the temple once a week(blessings immediately started to come! yay!)
5. Teaching a primary class!! (So this one is new, but there is nothing like the gospel in very pure and simple ways that get you ready for a mission!)
Here is the latest news:
DOMINIQUE TURNED IN HER PAPERS!!!!! Oh my goodness, we have been waiting soooooo long for this moment!
Elder Martinez is officially in the MTC as of Wednesday! I thought that I was going to miss saying goodbye because I got an early call into work, but Dominique saved the day on Wednesday and we got to help pack him up, and watch him drive off :( You know that overwhelming desire to hug someone because you are not going to see them for like 2 1/2 years but you can't? Yeah, total awkward handshake moment there, we were all on the verge of tears. Very bittersweet moment :)
And again 1 MORE WEEK FOR ME UNTIL THE PAPERS START!!!!!!!!!

Work, sick, work, sick, church! work.

So this week has been a little, well...weird. First of all, everyone at my work started going crazy!! Well crazier I should say. Everyone started getting sick and acting funky! They also cut shifts so basically, each CNA is in charge of half of the building...
(imagine us running up and down halls for about 8 hours and that is a pretty accurate portrayal.)
Well, after all of the residents started getting sick, all of the workers started getting sick. FUN.
To add on to that, my brother also got sick and I played nurse for a day. :)
The really fun part of the week was when I got sick and my poor co-worker had to find someone who wasn't throwing up or busy. Hahaha poor girl.
Although, for being sick, I do have to compliment my stomach on timing. Every hour I threw up. no joke. It was gross. I do have to give a HUGE thanks to my best friend Dominique who risked getting sick to drive me to instacare, watched me throw up in the waiting room(classy I know) all while missing her sister's soccer game.
 I am just grateful that I was well enough to go to church. I got that familiar heart pounding/spirit screaming at me to go up and bear my testimony. So I did. :) big success there. Apparently, not EVERYONE knew my intent was a mission because I got a million and a half compliments on my testimony LOL.

In recent mission news(not my own sorry):
-A total of 5 of our young men got their calls this week!! FIVE!! The Lord is hastening the work!
-Dominique has started her papers!!!!!!!!!!!! I AM ECSTATIC. In a little over a month, she will be back in the neighbourhood and she can go to mission prep with me! WOOHOO!!
-I am also getting one other girl to go with me now. Buddies make everything better guys.
-A total of 16 days before I can START my papers for my own mission!!!!!!! Another 77 before I can turn them in :/ The Lord is teaching me patience guys..

Mission prep tips

This is seven things I have learned in my mission prep class so far and I wanted to share:
1. Know how to invite

2. know how to help them do what invited
    a. Invite to pray
    b. Invite to read the whole BOM(someone that reads to entire BOM is more likely to stay active and strong in the church)
    c. Invite to attend church
    d. Invite/help to repent

3. You have 5-15 seconds to make an impression on someone.

4. WHAT. WHY. and HOW of principles

5. keep things simple

6. The more awkward you feel, the more awkward they will feel(and who wants that?!?)

7. You can either have a positive or negative effect on someone.

Preparantion:

Now, I don't turn the wonderful age of 19 until November. So.....I have a while until my mission comes. But I have gotten excited about this and I want to prepare early so I can give the Lord my best! Here is what I have been doing so far:
-Go out teaching with the sister missionaries. I have done this around 10 times and every time I want to go more and more! Every time is beautiful and unique. This has really helped me to get a great idea of what missionaries really do.

-I am taking a mission prep class through the institute program. Although, I am sort of the black sheep because I am not leaving in 2 weeks or starting my papers yet!

-Spiritual preparation of all sorts, more BOM reading, Preach My Gospel and a ton of books written by general authorities, yeah...I like to read :)

-PINTRIST!!! I love looking up RM blogs, tips, exercise programs, outfit matching, hairstyles, etc! I'm getting all excited! :D My current favorite blog is bellainberlin.blogspot.com

-Going to all of the farewells. In case you haven't noticed, there is currently a tidal wave of missionaries going into the field! Every time I go to one, I not only get to eat lots and talk to a lot of people that I don't see very often, but I get all pumped and even more excited to go on my own mission! This is a very exciting time!

-Callings. I was barely called to be a Primary teacher and I am sooooooo excited! I already know that this is going to be a big challenge and challenge accepted! I love kids, and this will help me learn how to prepare a lesson and teach it in a very simple and pure manner.

Mission Prep!

After lots and lots of prayer, playing the waiting game, getting blessings and watching others, I have decided to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints! Yep, this is really going to happen people.
I have wanted to serve a mission for several years now. I have received blessings that have suggested a mission and every week at church, I looked at the missionary board and told myself that I was going to be the first sister missionary in our ward up there! And then General Conference came.
LIFE. CHANGING.
When the announcement came that the sister missionary age change was decreasing by 2 whole years, I couldn't believe it!! I thought that I had 2 years before I had to even seriously consider this! I could be out in a year! This is crazy people. Let's just say that Conference spoke to me. But I was not very willing to listen. Don't get me wrong, I love conference weekend, I was scared that the Spirit was going to tell me that a mission was were the Lord needed me. Did it make any sense that I always wanted to and now was too afraid to admit to myself that I was feeling the Spirit tell me to go? NONE. Was it absolutely horrible of me to put my hands over my ears, do a little dance and sing, "I'm not listening!!" Yes, yes it was. Repenting soon followed after that. The atonement is real my friends.
After I repented for not listening to the Spirit, I decided that I really did want an answer if this is really where the Savior wants me. I prayed, and prayed, then prayed some more, and guess what?...I prayed more. After about 2 months of this, I started to get a bit discouraged. My prayers were not as from the heart as they used to be and I was not as earnestly seeking for an answer as much as I knew that I should be. I am so human you guys, It's ridiculous. My prayers started to change. I put a lot of thought into this and decided that I wanted to serve a mission. In my prayers told that to Heavenly Father and asked him if that is where he wanted me as well. I have learned that being on the same page as Heavenly Father is SO MUCH EASIER in the long run of things. After a few weeks, I got my answer. It was in a blessing that my father gave me. The spirit was so strong. Although, I am probably not going to be the first or the only sister missionary on the board by the bishop's office, I am ecstatic to be included in this marvellous work!

A little update

I usually hate bathroom shots, but Mom helped me pick out a new shirt, slacks, and shoes.

Feeling good today! Yesterday, I got my resume done, and I wanted to apply to a few places today. So, Mom and I woke up early, went to the mall to work out.(That always makes me feel good physically and happy that I am going for my goals) So 3 applications were put in today, I am hoping for one in particular, but all three are really great assisted living places that provides a higher quality than a lot. I was even lucky enough to be asked for help by a resident right in front of the person taking my application!! Here's hoping!!

Goals

I think it was in a history class or a seminary class a few years back when I heard of this little technique that I wanted to share with you guys. An owner of a company started having all of his employees make a goal list of 5 things every morning to accomplish that day. After this, the company supposedly continued to grow and progress, ultimately becoming much greater. I have given this a shot a few times and I really recommend it! I have not faithfully done it every morning, but when I do, I find it worthwhile. I challenge myself, get more done, feel better about myself, be more productive, etc. It is like a snowball effect for me. Once when I started institute, I felt so much better about myself! I was getting something done! I had to be somewhere at a certain time and that really helped me. I started working out, applied to a few jobs, and applied for college. Way too soon, institute ended for the semester and here I am being a bum again. I need to work on being self motivated and more productive. Institute starts again in a week so that should help. But I want to challenge myself again to start doing the 5 goal list. This really helped me in my Junior year of high school when I desperately needed motivation for change. Honestly, I did not always meet all 5 goals on the list but I was meeting some! It was a start! And any start is fantastic in my mind, we all begin somewhere. At some point, a tree was a seed.
The 5 goals is super simple and pretty self explanatory. I recommend starting out small so you can meet the goals. DO NOT put anything that is out of reach or you know that you probably won't do anyways, this will only cause you to loose motivation and confidence. Tell yourself: "Okay, today I am actually going to vacume the basement then research that thing I've been meaning to." Make it attainable but still something that is going to challenge you a bit. The biggest challenge and most important part is to JUST DO IT.  Personally tomorrow's is: Apply for 2 jobs, finish Ashley's present, vacume my room, read, and go over a lesson from Preach my Gospel. Let me know what your list is and we can motivate each other! Woot! Woot!

A shout out to my friends!

I have the most amazing friends and I wanted to say a quick thank you to some of them. I have known them for years and I am so grateful for everything that they do for me. The last month has been sort of really crazy for me. And they have been there for me 110%. I always feel that I can open up to them, be silly and express myself without being judged. I know I always have at least 7 places that I can confidently crash at if I ever need to make the call. I love them all to death and beyond. They have really been there for me over the past years.

Les Miserables

Okay, I'll be honest with you. I have just VERY recently gotten a vague idea about the Les Miserables story. I know, I know, It's a classic and I have no excuse. My brother in law tried to show me the 25th anniversary, and I loved the half that I watched before I started helping my sister. Recently, I re-watched it and fell in love!! My mom has to listen to endless ranting, singing, and opinions about everything Les Mis. I plan on one day watching every version and reading the story but, baby steps.
Any ways, I went to the new movie with a few friends and OH. MY. GOODNESS. It is incredible! It is a very real version of the story with a lot of emotion. Not something for young kids but soooo worth the watch. I bawled. a lot. We used up all of our tissues. During the quiet moments you could hear constant sniffling. It is definitely not a feel good story, but it is a very touching story that everyone can relate to.

Merry Christmas!!

This year, I had a FANTASTIC Christmas! Definitely, one of the best by far! It all started with the very famous and traditional Christmas Eve at Gramma Ruth's. This is one of my favorite traditions! It's pretty basic really, just EVERYONE and food. I sort of love it. This year, the family decided to pick names and it was a hit! I think that this might be a new tradition in the making! One of my favorite sights of the night every year is looking down after all the presents are open and just feeling the love.

The next day started out pretty relaxed. We slept in, ate and such. Later on, I picked up Carmen, Matt, and David! Oh my, I was ecstatic! I have not seen my sister in about 3 years and I have never met my nephew! It was a big deal! haha I took them over to my other sister's for a little Christmas party which was a blast. The kids played, everyone caught up, we ate food. Oh, and Kelly announced that she is PREGNANT!!!!!!!! I AM SO EXCITED!!!!!! The whole week after that was filled with a lot of trips and get-togethers. We went to the Dinosaur museum, saw the Hobbit, went out to lunch, etc. I loved having so much of my family in one place at one time, and if you know us, the entire family only gets together for a wedding! I hope that your Christmas was as fantastic as mine!