Baby its Cold Outside!!! QUE EN EL MUNDO

Hey everyone!!!

You know how everyone said that Peru meant hot, and sun, and tan, and etc etc? Ok guys. Let me clear the air, thats not exactly true. I had to pull out the parka in June!! My body does not understand how it is cold during this time of year haha. Thanks mama for making me pack my coat. 

This week I definitely was able to realize that missionary work is legit THE WORK OF CHRIST. If He was on the earth, rn, he would be doing the exact same thing. Walking the same streets, talking to the same people, He would be my companion! The thing that took me forever to realize is that He is my companion. Right now, He is the one teaching this people and I need to be an open vessel. Its a lot harder than it sounds tbh. You have to be willing to fully, fully become humble enough to open your mouth even when you can only think of 3 words in spanish. Im learning to get over it and try and talk anyways. God has such a great plan for us that we just gotta NIKE and do it! 

Yesterday I was able to go to the temple dedication for Trujillo. Right when I walked in I noticed 2 things. How much I MISS english -english hymns, apostoles talked in english etc- and how much God love his temple. Felt like I had walked into a wall because BOOM THE SPIRIT. You know how when I feel this spirit a lot of the times I just cry? Ya. Exactly what happened almost the whole time. The temple is the house of God and I want everyone to get to feel of this amazing, amazing blessing that we have. During the session, President Uchtdorf talked and spoke of a man who in a dream was told that he would be visited the approximate day. The man cleaned his whole shop and waited and waited and waited. While waiting, he gave service to a solider who needed food, shelter to a mother and child, and mercy to a little boy who stole. He never saw the Savior, but at the end of the day, he felt a voice mention that these people, the people he gave service to were Christ. When we are in the service of another we are only in the service of our God. Such a good reminder that we need to look at each person as if they were our Savior. With that much love. BOOM. BLOWN AWAY. You never know what difference you will make!

My prayers and fasts go to the Openshaw family. Broke my heart to hear about the news, but I hope they know how loved they are. I dont know why it was meant to happen like this, but I know that God has a plan for each and every one of his children. Sometimes we need to experience things to reach a higher potential and need to just have faith that He really does know what is best. If i can do anything at all, please let me know!

I love all you a ton!! I hope to hear from you guys! Knowing that you guys believe in me makes all the difference. I hope you had a fantastic Fathers Day and that my fam took care of Pops!! He deserves it!!! Send a hug around from me to all of you. Haha so much love for yall. Until Next Week!

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Xoxo, Hermana Adams :)

PICA PICA PICA[CHUUUU]DURA

Ok, I hope yall get my reference because its from pokemon. ha. ha. ha. AHEM. Anyways. Let me tell you, another week in and I found the real struggle of my lovely Peru. They are called picaduras and at first when they land on you you might think it a lonely piece of dirt, or dust, or booger. Sweet lanta you better hope it is a booger because if you brush it off and it flies away. YOU ARE IN TROUBLE. If bitten by this teeny tiny mosquito, you will wake up the next morning with an inflamed red HUGE bump and if you have la sangre de la gringa, you will have a bajillion on your legs haha. Yes Yes I look semi like I have a problem but luckily I am doing much better. Yes mom, I am now and forever and always spraying bug spray on my legs. 

This week I felt a lot more sure of myself in the mission field. I knew what to expect and even shared a little bit more in the lessons! One night in particular I felt the gift of tongues 10 fold as I ping ponged back and forth with my companion. It was amazing. I have learned to rely on my Savior and how much he loves ALL of us. I challenge you to pray for a love like the Savior because even a glimpse of it will knock your socks off. I love learning about this gospel and especialy what it will do for families! Gashhhh I miss my fam! And I hope my friends know they are included in the noun family haha. 

I hope you guys know how much I rely on you out here! I know that I want my family to be eternal and in turn, when I see the little kids of Peru especially, I want them to be eternal as well. They are my favorite. I know that I have said it before, but all children really do have the light of Christ. They have so much patient and love and I can feel it even though half the time I have no idea what their cute little voices are saying. [You are really cute but i have no idea what youre saying!! shoutout my district from the ccm haha] 

This week we have 3 investigators with the potential of baptism and one with a date!! YAY YAY YAY. So excited to be a part of this work! Every bit of work makes a difference and I hope everyone, even at home, never forgets it! Stay strong, read in the scriptures. Seriously, reading them crazy slow in spanish has forced me to read them in depth and its amazing how each is applicable. I love you guys so so much! Christ loves you and God listens to each prayer. I can testify of that!! 

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Xoxo, Hermana Adams :) 

Hermana Barbie Has Landed!!

Hi everybody!! I know thatI am awful at this whole email thing, but while in the field I will try harder. Well I am finally an actual field missionary and holy cammoli it is definitely different than anything I ever imagined. Everything is different. The people, the place, and the language!! Dont even get me started! Haha thankfully I am doing ok and I can get my words out.... less than half the time, but more than a fourth and apparently thats pertty good so I am counting my blessings!! 

What can I say? I am tall, white, and blonde with blue eyes and so lots of the time people just stare at me and ask me why i am there. WELL LET ME TELL YOU. Guys they basically aske me to teach the gospel. Its sweet. Many of them call me Hermana Barbie ahem HENCE MY SUBJECT LINE and I think I have seen a total of1 person that is taller than me hahaha. I love the kids here, you guys. They are so precious and even though I have no idea what theyre saying they totally accept me and take me hand. Alright. My heart is stolen.

This place makes me appreciate all that I have for sure. First day I walk out and the streets smell like... how do I putthis nicely,,,, poop. Dogs Everywhere. Dirt Everywhere. and I showered with a bucket. HAHAHA. Ohhhh baby. ice ice water and in a bucket. Let me tell you, that experience woke me up in more ways than one. But the people here are so apprecitative of what they have. They dont need much and when they said that Peruvian food was the best THEY WERENT LYING. Its delicious! I normally eat fruit in themorning and at night and a huge meal for lunch. Occasionally we will get some sort of pan which is always heavenly. And get this! They have a banana apple baby fruit!! HOW AWESOME ARE YOU PARUANOS.

My companion is a sweet heart and has all the patience in the world with a gringa who speaks little to no spanish and has helped me aton! She is teeny tiny and a spunky Ecuadorian who will definitely speak her mind, but say it in a way that just makes you want to be better and knows the scriptures like no ones business. 

My third day in and I was able to ask an investigador (juan jose) to baptism and he accepted a date!! The only problem is he didnt go to flabbin church on sunday so we gotta him a hard time forthat.haha. And so, the time gets pushed back. We are hoping on another man and his son how look promising and I legit say his face disharden when I felt the spirit enter. SO COOL:

Guys. The mission life is hard. Never have I ever had to encounter something like this. Satan knows our weaknesses, but the good thing isthat God knows EVERYTHING. When I am having a rough time, when I have done my best. All I have left is to rely on the Lord and I literally feel the weight lifted off my shoulders. I miss you all! Attend the temple, pray for missionaries. Honestly, we need them. Ciao Ciao. 

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Xoxo, Hermana Adams :) 

Week 2

 i have been DYING to talk to my family. Dying dead. gone. splat. haha jk jk. 

I miss having our family dinners so dont you dare forget how great our family is! Being at the CCM is so awesome and I am loving it and meeting everybody. Our district and the district above us is getting really close which is awesome. I am able to go play volleyball almost everyday and am able to get in a little run even though it is like 21313 degrees outside!! Ok not that bad, but man do I miss the beach. 

Sometimes when I wake up it smells like fish. ya. fish like when you go to the harbor at oceanside but 10x more intense than that. Also. I am so close to the beach I just want to go swimming!!! Esecially when I am crammed on one of the buses to go out into the city. You are seriously like a pack of sardines in a can and they just push more and more people onto the bus in order to get more money out of it. Because we are a pack of white people, buses love to stop for us because they know that we have money and will get on. It is half a sole to get on a bus which is like less than a quarter so its not too bad of a deal. 

The lingo of the CCM: que en el mundo!? (what in the world) hahaha thats what everyone says over here. also esta bien which just means its ok. :)

 So this week was a lot like the first week. it was a lot harder for me because i got super sick in the middle of the week and just wanted my momma and her soup and hugs haha but esta bien. my companions are awesome and i got through it and managed to make all of my classes. also, spanish is so crazy hard. i understand how to say things, i understand how to conjugate but when natives get talking i have the hardest time! and its kinda frustrating because my group expects me to understand everything and translate and respond about the gospel. i am just so excited to be able to be fluent haha. class is good though and im learning a ton! We got to go to the temple again and just every time it amazes me how the spirit works. so crazy. and how many temple videos do they have?! i have never seen a repeat haha. love it. 

this week we had a girl leave and so my trio turned into a duo which was kinda sad, but itll be better prep for the mission field. can i just say that i absolutely adore latinos?! every 2 weeks we get more people and send off a bunch of latinos y avancados (advanced) to the mission field. sad, but exciting because we get more friends! The latinas in this group are to die for!! soooo cute!!! i just gave my little intro and they just smiled and talked and gave me a kiss on the cheek. i. love. this. culture. There shops are so crazy too. and everyone just kinda stares at me and especially my hair haha.

The spirit is so strong especially when you enter into the temple. There you dont think of the differences or the stress.... it just disappears and you feel so insanely happy. I love it. Yall better get yourself to the temple because it is the place to be! I love being in here and how close everyone gets in such a little time! Dont forget that your Heavenly Father knows EXACTLY who you are and all He is waiting for is for you to be humble enough to bless you!! 

Spanish is hard. Really hard. But thats not the most important thing you learn in the CCM. If you cant learn how to speak through the Spirit than you are not going to be able to touch anyones life. I love you all so much and pray for you in my broken spanish every night. Pray for me and pray for the people of Peru.

-- 

Xoxo, Hermana Adams

Week 1

Hey everybody!!! So this week seemed like the longest yet shortest time of my life. Right when I got into the CCM I found another hermana and we became instant friends. I seriously love her so much. Her name is Hermana Wheelwright and she is from Morgan, Utah. Ya.... no one knows where that is so dont feel bad. The next one that walked on up was Hermana Osai from Idaho and she is now my companion and is going to go to Lima Norte with me which was SAWEEET CUZ FRIENDS. Im in a trio companionship and the otro hermana is Hermana Murray and first when I met her she was super duper quiet and the complete opposite from me. WELL, DONTCHA KNOW opposites totally attract because we are best friends. She is soooooo funny and our trio laughs 24/7. People even told me that it always seems like were having fun and that is definitely true. We were perfectly placed in this companionship to learn from one another and its totes working. Once you get in the CCM you just go and go and go until you collapse on your little bunk bed. Right when I got off the airport I was immediatly confused but luckily there was a whole pack of us that found each other on the airplane so we just were a huge mass of white, well dressed people wandering around. Mom and Dad you will be very proud that I do remember some spanish AND I USED IT AT THE AIRPORT. Ok yes yes yes it might have been the basics like how are you and and that, but hey whatever works right? Woot! I found the punctuation for emails. 

Well the CCM is beautiful, it is teeny, but so beautiful. It gets really hot and is humid so I dont really ever do my hair. Yup. Not at all except for today to go to the temple. Its funny because some of the latinas just delicately will pick up my hair to see the color hahaha. I love the latinas. Seriously my heart goes out to them and I cant wait to break out of the wall (thats what we call it cuz... #prison wink wink). We have gone out a couple of times for passports and what not and I loveeee it out there! When we went to migraciones I started talking to a little girl that was born without a hand. Her name was Arianna and she was the most precious girl in the whole world. I told her my name and she asked me if we were from the United States and started talking really really fast. I had to explain that I talked like a babe (un bebe entonces habla mas despaccio) hahaha. She just smiled and told me she liked our white skin. No wonder Jesus went to the children right away. Definitely my soft spot. We also were able to go shopping today which was an adventure. Yes Mom i kept my bag close to me and nothing happened. They have a store called tottos and its kind of like a walmart with evertyhing mashed into it. The american items are cray cray expensive, but besides that they have almost everything you would need.The TEMPLE IS AMAZING EVERYWHERE YOU GUYS. You dont have to understand to feel the spirit and hands down is the most beautiful thing I have seen yet. We had to wake up extra early today in order to go, but it was definilty worth it. 

Well, youre probably wondering about the food and what people tell you is right. Rice and chicken every single day BUT they didnt tell you how GOOD the rice and chicken are!!! I always ask for un poco or else they just mound that rice onto your place like there is no tomorrow and they have a veggie bar to make sure we have our greens but lemme tell you.... the poop problems are so real. Im not gonna sugar coat it and tell it to you straight because almost everybody gets it and its a pretty normal topic for us north americans. There are two types of dragons, the fire dragon and the ice dragon. Ice dragon is when you cant go, fire dragon is when it doesnt stop and let me tell you i have had the ice dragon my whole time hereeee. wow wa wee wah. Sometimes they refer to it as the nuncas and the siempres. Nuncas meaning never and siempres meaning always ahahha. For these problems you go to Hermana Gonzalez and she gives you pills and if its REALLY BAD the dynamite. The dynamite is some fruit that once you take it will totally clear out your system. Havent tried it yet, but i just might pretty soon. yikes. 

DRIVING! Driving is so crazy here. Ya. Never would I ever want to drive anywhere on these roads. of what seems to be 3 good roads, they divide so its like 6 roads and you are like an inch away from another car. there are roundabouts everywhere and you just sorta squeeze your way into traffic. if you want to walk across the road, pray before you go because if not you will die. haha. its like that one game frogger on iphones where you need to hope from one side to the other. crazy. they wont stop. they cant stop. and people just honk all the time. but not rudely like a yooo hooo im hereeee! kind of a thing. 

Well my day usually consists of classes and fake investigators. Things are going really well and im learning a lot! ill have you know that i am like the translator of our trio! Thank you Mom for making me stay in that spanish class because if not I would be toast!! The other day we were practicing contacting people on the street with one another and I totally felt the spirit come over me and I knew exactly what to say for her ¨[problem] those are quote marks ps. IT WAS SO AWESOME. She told me after that she felt it to and holyyyy cowwww I CAN DO THIS SI SE PUEDE!!! We had a fireside of a convert and he told the story of how he was converted by a gringo that couldnt speak spanish and told us to never ever give up. I know that I will find people out here who really need this gospel and I cant wait to give it to them. Well, me being the vessel and the conversion through the spirit of course. 

Gahhhh I guess I have to go. I love and miss you all so much. I hope Cami had the best birthday ever. I was thinking about you and please send me pictures of prom. I bet you looked stunning. Oh ps we were playing volleyball and i totally blocked an elder from his hit. ya thats right sisters before misters. anyways back on the spirit note. Yo se que Jesucristo es nuestro salvador del mundo. Yo se que el libro de mormon es la palabra del Dios. Yo se que estoy aqui por los familias de Peru y mi mision bendice mi familia. 

Love you, 

Hermana Adams xoxo

Day 1

ok so i only have like 5 minutes to write literally. and dont really know how to use this spanish computer yet hahahha but im doing so good!! made it to the airport and found a bunch of people that are so sweet. its weird that we are so alike. i have 2 companions and am in a trio. the mtc is beautiful and its really hot and humid. there are like a bajillion pizza huts and kfcs out here haha. our p days will be on wednesdays and next week i will have more time. my shampoo exploded in my bag, but besides that life is great. i serioulsy love being a missionary. 

hope all is well. 

write me.

adios

-- 

Xoxo, Hermana Adams :) 

Set backs... Sorry my bad.

Chelsea has asked me to continue her blog for her! Our missionary has been out for almost two months already. Wow, time flies! Look to this blog every week for a new update of how Chelsea is doing out in the field of Peru. I will post her first emails to get caught up, and continue from there.
Xoxo
Cami

Quick Quote by President Hinckley

"You will come to know that what appears today to be a sacrifice will prove instead to be the greatest investment that you will ever make." -- Gordon B. Hinckley

I went through the temple on Thursday with my sister and let me tell you, everything that you have been "sacrificing" to be worthy to enter the Lord's house is worth it. It was as amazing as others have said. Believe it when I say that this is really your goal!

And a temple worthy outfit to top of the short and sweet Sunday post. Brought to you by Böhme with a splash of bright pink lipstick (from Target!) to complete the look.

xoxo,
Chels

The Infamous Instagram Post: The Bittersweet Goodbye

We have all seen the posts, "Not a goodbye, just a see you later" or  the "See you in *insert peace sign here* (2)",  and have all giggled at the over usage and cliche event of this, but you would never begin to imagine the kind of bittersweet emotions that are being held behind every share and hashtag.
Growing up in the area that I live in, seeing people leave everything behind seemed of somewhat normalcy, when in reality, to anyone else in the world, it is actually really, really weird. Like, what the? What kind of religion sends their teenagers during the prime of their life to far off places pledging to devote their best years in service to their religious beliefs? It took up until recently when friends that tended to seem closer than family started leaving to recognize the emotion that takes place at that final goodbye. To me, the sacrifice of a mission was finally real. 
It is no wonder that people struggle with the decision to go on a mission. It. Is. Scary. An unknown place, a different people, an obscure culture... and no cooking or step-by-step advice from Mom; saying hello to the unknown-- it is a huge choice to get the courage to say "Ok Heavenly Father, I am completely reliant on you for the next couple of years (or in my case, 18 months), so tell me what to do!". Although coming to terms with the amount of humility that this requires is seen as one of the hardest things a teenager is asked to do, it is often said as the most rewarding. Not experiencing this yet myself, I have been able to watch it transform  my brother and best friends as they tell me themselves what a difficult, but rewarding thing this is. Now, it might just be me, but hearing the quote "It was the hardest, but best years of my life!" over and over and over again grew old within the first 50 uses, but from what I have heard, that is the only way to describe it. I told Sister Durrans to tell me the truth, the whole truth and nothing, but the truth about her mission experience and she explained what that saying really meant to her. (Wubz I hope you don't kill me for sharing this, but you ain't here. #LOLZ) This was what she told me in her first email, "Chels this is really hard. No kidding. Its hard to be in provo, and to know that your house is right there. Especially after you teach a lesson and you know you just talked circles with your companion and confused your investigator beyond belief. But Cheeks. Its worth it. Not kidding this is the best thing I have ever experienced. Chelsea I feel happy. It is so amazing to talk to people on a spiritual level and honestly I wouldn't give it up for anything!" 
I guess you don't fully understand until it happens on a personal level to you, whether yourself or through someone you spent 24/7 with. In that first email I knew that everything I had heard about serving a mission was true: it was hard, but worth it. 
After hearing this, my fear dulled, it never left, but dulled as I recognized that not only am I going to be in good hands, but those across the world that I have had to say goodbye to are too. As Whit said, "I think it's harder to be left than to actually leave." Well gee, thanks give me the hard job. It really does seem true, I mean if you think about it, they get to be in as close to a godly state as possible while on Earth and we are stuck back home worrying and wondering what's going on. The tears shed at departure, at least in my case, are slightly selfish.  I worry about how the lack of their presence will affect me, who will I turn to for my needs? Who will I rant to about the latest drama? Or upon the return, will we be the same as when you left? Will we be as close? 
The answers to this may vary, but one thing is for sure. Missions will change a person for the better. They will come across their biggest weaknesses and strengths and find for themselves who they really are and if real friends before, there is no reason for it not to be the same after 18 months. 
My favorite scripture that I have shared about a billion times (or twice, but who's counting) is in Alma 17:13 "... they separated themselves and departed one from another, trusting in the Lord that they should meet again at the close of their harvest; for they supposed that great was the work which they had undertaken." Great is this work that I am about to undertake and multiple friends have already begun. I can't wait to meet back together and talk endlessly about our different stories and the amazing things that we witness while in the field. 

xoxo, 
Chels

 

Investigators Appreciate Pretty Too

First impressions are huge right? That's sort of opposite what they originally tell you in Young Women's, but it appears to be the truth. When an individual is wearing cute attire in bright colors they appear to be more welcoming and less intimidating to talk too. Missionaries already come in pairs and have legit name tags with Jesus Christ's name on them and I don't know about you, but if I had no speck of knowledge about our religion, I would be a little wary to talk to them. In that first impression you really only have that one shot to present yourself in a way that fully portrays who you are and once that moment is gone, *POOF* it's hard to take back. Now I know that you should not base everything on looks and such, but personally speaking, when I look presentable, I feel more confident in myself. I am more outgoing and happy and ready to help others. So wouldn't it make sense to have the same mindset throughout a mission?

Now I'm not saying you have to go all out what with the powder and the mascara and the eyeshadow and blah blah blah, on and on and on so that you end up looking like a picture perfect pageant queen, but I still believe in doing your best to look like a beautiful daughter of God no matter where you are called to, no matter if that means make up or just dressing in a figure friendly way. We are still girls and we are still representatives of Him after all so we should always try and look our best.

My father, a missionary himself a few decades ago, argues with me that the Spirit should be the only bit  of confidence that you need which is in a sense, very true. Now I don't know if this is his way of ensuring that I stay focused on my missionary purpose and from protecting me from any single Peruvians that I happen to bump into, but rest assured that dressing nicely to impress is not my thought process. Having the Holy Ghost with you will undoubtedly give you the confidence to say what you need to say, but, pardon my boldness, looking cute makes women feel great! Most time you'll notice that their efforts aren't for that cute boy next door but really, they dress up for themselves. Not to mention the fact that when you look more presentable, more people are okay with you coming into their homes. Investigators appreciate pretty too! Let's face it, a church of beautiful people is a bit more enticing.

With going to Lima, Peru my outfits will portray more function and comfort than anything else-- but will integrate my style into it because who says that you can't have both? ;) Bringing items that are intermixable are key to make sure that I don't get bored with the limited amount of space that I have. I mean, 18 months with only about a weeks worth of clothes? "You have to be pulling my leg," --Gru, Despicable Me.  Make sure there is an ample amount of varying prints and colors to make for an exciting wardrobe and make it FUN! If you don't love what you bring, you're going to have a really hard time liking it a year down the road. Down below you can see the different looks I can get by just adding a different skirt!  Putting a fun, yet comfortable cheetah sweater with my skirts add a different twist onto the outfit! Goodbye grandma sweaters and hello cheetah power. Rawr.

Feel free to comment on what you think about this! Am I just being a bit too... "Chelsea" about this or are people picking up what I am putting down? Thanks for reading!

xoxo,
Chels

Background Check

Hello to all, or should I say, Hola a todos y bienvenidos a mi blog!
Ok, I am still working on the spanish, so please excuse any of my grammatical/vocab errors. I have not been blessed with the gift of tongues yet as you can probably tell-- BUT I have downloaded the app Duolingo which is a pretty good start right?

I wanted to start a blog for many of the reasons that countless others have started blogs (PS thanks to all who took my original name for my blogspot... no hard feelings, still love you Hermana Adams the first) and whether everyone reads this, or no one reads this, I will be able to look back at it when I have a plethora of wrinkles and too many past stories and remember this huge decision that is sure to change me for the better.

Well, I wish that I could say that my heart had always been set on an LDS mission. I wish I could say that growing up in the church when the song "I Hope They Call Me on a Mission" came on, it rang truth to my little heart. It's not that I have ever thought that the choice of a mission was a bad thing, I just expected my life to go down a different path. I was going to go to college, meet an RM and get married and live happily ever-- cookie cutter, I expected my life to be a sort of Disney Channel original movie LDS style, but man did God have a different plan for me.

The general conference that shook so many individuals and the announcement of a younger missionary age for men and women was huge for our church. The effect was not just one domino, but a mound of dominos all at one time as girls stepped up to the plate and finished their mission papers just weeks after hearing this life changing news. Again, I wish I could say that this had answered some mighty prayer of mine or that when I heard it, everything clicked, but it didn't. I was proud as I saw countless friends leave on missions, but I never believed it was for me. Proclaiming the gospel, knee length skirts... it just wasn't for me.

Almost a year after, I found myself up at the U-- something I also had never planned on. Growing up in Provo, BYU was always the priority and I did everything in my power to make that happen. I got the grades, the ACT score, and the extracurricular activities to make an impressive resume. Sure, I had thoughts of going to the U. I wanted to be different and as most teenagers do, liked the attention that one gets when you aren't the generic stereotype. Even with this in my head, you can imagine the shock as I was declined from admittance and felt my entire world do a 360. My planned housing arrangements, the blue and white hoodies suddenly were replaced with red and black t-shirts as I took a scholarship to the rival school, University of Utah; it was time to break the bubble of Provo and branch out. Good things come in odd packages, my friends. You just have to be patient to wait for your prize and let me tell you, patience=my weakness so I understand the frustration.

Luckily one of my best friends, Whitney Durrans, had a similar experience and that day when Facebook was overloaded with pages upon pages of BYU admittance letters and as the #zoobie term became overused, we stepped into a completely different world than 99% of our peers. Salt Lake City is different than Provo. If you want to escape the Mormon culture, I was told that this was the place to do that. It allowed creativity and innovation and the acceptance of being who you are-- it was were many went to escape the parent's all-seeing eye and it was not uncommon to see individuals reject everything they had once been told to do. It was nicknamed the "Devil's School" and I was told that I needed to watch out or I would become the next excommunicated member. Yes, I see how this could happen what with the crazy parties and the "dry" campus and the sororities and the frats and the drugs and the sex, but let me tell you, when you are finally forced to stand up for what you believe in, you understand just what you are capable of and where your beliefs really stand. The U changed my life in a way that I never thought possible.

Through various personal experiences and the internal prayer to better myself before a certain missionary came home, I realized a few things about myself. For one, I feel the actual urge to share the gospel. I have seen the change. I have felt the difference that happens when those around you have the Holy Ghost. Never before had I had to rely on a testimony. After all, in a completely different city, no one knows if you are breaking your religion rules and the .5% of the student population that knew who you were in high school were a rare occurrence to see. This was both an empowering and yet scary thought. Beyond sticking up for my values, I now looked forward to each Tuesday night when my friends and I would attend a missionary prep class or a Sunday when I knew that I would be among friends that would understand really why I did not "pre-game" or anything of the sort. I felt the difference among happiness between college raves and the truth that this gospel brings and the weird part was that I wanted everyone to know about it! Never had I ever wanted to serve a mission until I was pushed to serve one every day of my life by example and now there is nothing more that I want to do than serve the people of Lima Norte, Peru. I know that they need to hear what I have to say and if nothing else, I need to learn what it is like to be one of God's trusted missionaries. It will make me a stronger person and build the foundation for who I want to become.

Sorry for the lengthy first blog post! Just wanted to get my story out there so you could understand where I am coming from! This is just the first of many posts as I prepare for the hardest, yet best 18 months of my life. It will be anything from favorite moments and scriptures to outfit choices because HOLY CANNOLI I am not going to look frumpy. I cannot. I will not. Slam a door in my face, I will still feel confident. If all goes well this will continue during my mission with weekly updates as my sister (congratulations Cami you have been appointed) puts my experiences on my blog. Feel free to comment or ask any questions!

xoxo,
Chels