Merry Christmas!

Knowing that I won't be home for Christmas next year, for the first time ever, just makes this Christmas that much more special. Even when I didn't get much fun stuff, it was just great!

I am now pretty much set with my new suitcases, coupons for temple clothes and shoes, my very own missionary library, Book of Mormon and Preach my Gospel in Portuguese, letters to write home in, notebooks, personal journal, jewelry, and a Brazil Vitoria Mission shirt. That was only what I could use for my mission. I also got a bunch of candy, a Glee CD and a BYU Bands CD, pajamas, a bunch of gift cards, and some new snow boots (for the impending snow storm this week).

Also, my family got an XBox 360 with Kinect. That is basically the coolest thing ever! Even if we need to stand on the couch to get far enough away from the sensor. Seriously, seeing a 44 year old man and a 5 year old on the couch jumping around seriously made my day! It's funny really. For ever we didn't have any gaming system, but in the last 5 years or so we have gone from a Playstation 3 to a Wii to an XBox 360.

Teagan got a Kindle Fire, Tyson and Trevor got millions of legos, and my mom got her dream blender and coffee (hot-chocolate) maker.

Also, Santa left us a winter wonderland. We woke up and found a bunch of snowflakes made out of paper taped to our living room ceiling. That was pretty cool.

All-in-all, this was probably one of the best Christmases I've had. I have felt the Christmas spirit this season, and I fell like I'm growing out of the "gimme, gimme" phase and into the "i just want what i need" phase.

Except for the part where I couldn't sleep last night until about 3 am and then woke my brothers and the rest of my family at 7 am. Yep, still a kid there. And probably will be forever :)

God can, but doesn't.

So, something that I've been trying to figure out in my mind for some time now is how involved God is in our lives. I understand that in the premortal realm, Heavenly Father accepted Christ's plan, and put it into motion. The plan was that we would be sent to earth as a test, and instead of being guaranteed a spot next to God in the next life (like Lucifer's plan would have done) we would have to earn that spot. I've also learned that God is in control of all things, that God has laid down a plan for all of us, and that God knows everything. For some reason I just couldn't get all of these facts to mesh, gel,, whatever, in my mind. Until I realized the one thing I was missing...

Free Agency.

After an interesting talk with my father, I see it like this. God has this helper who we call the Holy Spirit or the Holy Ghost. He can put thoughts into our heads, and whether or not we can distinguish them from ourselves or the spirit is up to us. Sometimes people can't but follow good promptings anyways. Yay! Sometimes people can't distinguish the difference, but ignore all good thoughts. No! Sometimes people distinguish the difference and only follow the spirit. Yay! Sometimes...you get the point.

Also, there is a plan laid out for all of us. When I got my patriarchial blessing I was told that those promises made in it would come to pass only if I was obedient. It is the same way with the plan God has laid out before us. If we listen to the spirit, or even the good thoughts in our heads, and follow Christ, the He will lead us along our chosen path. And even though sometimes we will run into hard times, which can only make us stronger if we lean on Him, most of the time, the only things on our paths are good.

The really bad things happen when we leave that path, that plan that has been laid out before us, and stop listening to the spirit, or the good thoughts inside our heads. This isn't a part of God's plan, this is a part of Satan. So sometimes God, through the spirit, tries to get us to do good, and Satan, through his dark angels, tries to get us to do good. God cannot force people into submissiion. That just isn't what he does. Free agency, remember?

So, basically, I believe that God has a plan for each of us. If we follow good, we will walk along that path and end up on God's right hand. If we refuse good, we will be cast out. God knows all things, and can control all things. But He doesn't because He gave us free agency.

There is no such thing as inferior with God.

The whole time I was "growing up" I somehow came to believe that those called to stateside missions were somehow inferior to those called to foreign missions. And those asked to serve a mission in English were somehow inferior to those asked to teach in a foreign language. Therefore, I came to the conclusion that the ultimate way to prove that you were completely capable in the eyes of God was to be called to a foreign, non-English speaking mission. I WAS WRONG! 

With all the mission calls being issued in the past few weeks, I see people I know going to Mississippi, Argentina, Georgia, Brazil, Germany, and many, many other places throughout the world. And let me be the one to tell you, those girls (and boys) who are being called to stateside, English-speaking missions are so much better than I am. 

I know that God calls His missionaries to wherever He needs that specific person. There is someone in Brazil who needs to hear the gospel from a tall gringo, with bad portuguese. And there is someone in Mississippi who needs to hear the gospel from a fiery red-head who knows her stuff. Mission calls are absolutely inspired from God.

Also, I thought that I might feel like I might want to go on my mission to another place, other than where I got my mission call to. But I was also wrong about that. I have never, ever been out of the United States (unless you call going to Victoria, Canada out of the states, which I don't), And South America never crossed my mind as a potential mission. I always considered England, or Australia, or Africa. 

Never. Brazil.

But I have had confirmation that there is someone in Brazil who needs me there. And that the Brazil Vitoria Mission is the best mission in the world. And to think I've never even been there. I can't imagine how I'm going to feel when I actually get there!

116 days and counting...I can't wait!

He has a plan for me.

The more I think about serving a mission on the southeast coast of Brazil, speaking Portuguese with the locals, I have way mixed feelings.

Sometimes I think, "What am I doing?!? I don't know the gospel that well, I don't know if I can get through the day on 8 hours of sleep, I don't know if I can learn Portuguese enough to speak fluently in 3 months, I don't know if I really want to go to Brazil, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know!"

Other times,  when I'm calmed and praying, I think, "I have been called to serve these Brazilian people. I don't need to know the language perfectly, all I need to do is love and serve them. Out of any of the places in the world I could have been called, I've been called to South America. It never crossed my mind as a possibility. I have a purpose in doing this and God is in all things. The spirit will help me in all I do because I am doing this for the salvation for mankind."

I leave my home in Pennsylvania in 118 days. I fly straight to Sao Paulo, Brazil and begin my mission. For 18 months, life isn't about me. Life is about loving those who live in southeast Brazil.

Eu sei que meu Pai Celestial tem um plano para mim. E servir uma missão só acontece de ser nas cartas. Vai ser difícil, mas vai valer a pena. Às vezes eu quero ir para casa e às vezes eu nunca vai querer sair. Deus vai se alegrar comigo e vai me fortalecer. Fui chamado para servir.

Chamado para servi-Lo, rei da glória celestial.

I have been called to serve in the Brazil Vitoria mission. I will report to the Brazil MTC on Wednesday April 10, 2013. I will be speaking Portuguese, and it is anticipated that I will serve for a period of 18 months.

This feels so unreal. Like I'm in a dream, or something. I have been waiting for my mission call all week, well actually all my life, and it finally came today. I let it sit for a little while, and then I took it down to my bedroom to open it alone. I said a prayer and asked God to help me know that this is where He needs me to go. And I feel like it is. I feel like I should be terrified right about now. In 4 months from Monday, I will be in a foreign country where no one speaks my language. I will have a few weeks to learn a new language and how to teach people in this new language and then I will be sent out on the streets of Brazil, with a companion, to teach people about the gospel of Jesus Christ. I should be terrified. But I'm not. I am excited, and nervous, and have had a good deal of second thoughts today. But every time I have one of those thoughts, I realize that God has called me to the Brazil Vitoria mission for a reason. And it is my privilege to find out what that reason is.

I will very soon be a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

And...

I couldn't be happier!