Allie the Aggie: I hope they call me on a mission

It all started on May 8th, 2016.

That was the day I officially started my mission papers, one of the best decisions I've ever made.

That day I met with my bishop and he told me I would have to get my mission papers done in 6 days. 6 DAYS PEOPLE. That is no time at all considering that I would have to get dentist and doctors appointments in that week, and trust me here in good old Utah county that's pretty hard because everyone here has approximately 15 kids per household so those places are always PACKED.

Anyways, to make a long story short, I ended up getting everything done within those 6 days and it was a huge miracle. The reason I had to get it done within such a small amount of time is because my stake president was getting released that following week so it was the last time he would be available for interviews. I met with him that next Sunday and I was able to submit my papers to the Church Office Building where they would eventually make my assignment on where I would be serving the Lord for 18 months.

The 2 week long wait after that was KILLER. All I wanted to know was where I was going to be called. That was all I thought about, dreamt about, and talked about. My family was probably seconds away from disowning me at some points. But guess what. It finally came on May 26th. I thought that would be the greatest day of my life because I would get to open my call, but guess what. I HAD TO WAIT ANOTHER DAY TO OPEN IT. My sister got called into work about an hour prior to when I got my call, so she wouldn't have been able to make it if I opened it that night. So I had to wait another night and it was pure torture, I even had to have my roommate Ashly get me out of the house because I was too afraid I'd open it.

Me and my awesome mailman

The excitement was so real.

Me, mom, dad

Grandpa Dave, Me, Grandma Sally

But the night passed and I knew when I woke up that I would open it that day. Let me tell you, it felt like Christmas morning that's for sure. That day was American Fork High School's Graduation and I had planned to go see it because a lot of my friends were graduating, so I knew after that I could open it. It was the only thing getting me through that graduation because it was super duper long. The Lord was definitely testing my patience that week.

After I got home from the graduation, I got word that my sister would be leaving Logan in about an hour. Right about then it started to hit me. This was really happening. As soon as people started showing up at my house the Spirit just kept getting stronger and stronger. The amount of love I felt for everyone that was there was unbelievable. Everyone that was there either in person or FaceTime all made a huge impact on my life and I know I wouldn't have been opening up a mission call if it wasn't for them.

The time came for me to finally open up my call and let me tell you, you can never prepare yourself for the overwhelming feeling of the love and gratitude while reading your call. I was a mess. But it's okay because I knew exactly in that moment that a mission was the right thing for me to be doing in my life right now. So this is what my call said:

Dear Sister Winter,

You are herby called to serve as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You are assigned to labor in the ALABAMA BIRMINGHAM mission. It is anticipated that you will serve for a period of 18 months. You should report to the Provo Missionary Training Center on Wednesday, September 28, 2016. You will prepare to preach the gospel in the English language.

HOLY COW I'M GOING TO ALABAMA!

In that exact moment I felt the Spirit so strong testifying to me that there are people there who need what I have to offer. I'm beyond grateful that I have the opportunity to serve as a full time missionary for 18 months and be able to give those people of Alabama the happiness that I feel through the Gospel.

So for the next few months I'll be working on my southern accent and learning as much as I can about Alabama Roll Tide Football because its pretty much their religion down there.

THE CHURCH IS SO TRUE EVERYONE!

Love,

Soon to be Sister Winter