O N E W E E K

So.....I leave in a week to serve the Lord as a full-time missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints....to Edmonton, Canada...not a big deal, right? 

ACTUALLY IT'S A REALLY BIG DEAL!  

I'm so excited, nervous, happy, sentimental, crazy, anxious, stoked for it all!!!  It's happening so fast, I can't quite handle it.  Oh I'm just so excited.  It's FINALLY happening. 

If you have any questions regarding my religion, beliefs, or what missionary work is, click here for my personal profile on our church website, or here for an overview of the LDS church.

Also, this past week I made the last decked out package I'll ever make for my cute missionary!!!  WHHHAT???  Crazy, right?  He'll get home about 10 months before I do, so after that, the package making/decking out/sending will be his job. ;)  

His birthday is early in August, so my mom's going to send it for me after I leave so it gets to him around his birthday. :)  

I'm actually REALLY proud of this package....since he's been gone, I've come into terms with the crafty side of myself.  MISSIONS ARE MIRACLES I TELL YOU!  

Without further adieu, here's the package:

 

Simple directions for the package:

Cut out 13 (or however many you need) triangles of the same size, and write the letters on them..super easy, right?

Next, cut the ribbon so it reaches across the package (it's really up to you how long you want it)

Hot glue the triangles to the ribbon.

Next, get your scrapbook paper and cut it to the dimensions of the inside flaps of your box, and hot glue them to the inside (I wouldn't risk using glue sticks, they don't seem strong enough)

Lastly, I hot glued the ends of the ribbons to the OUTSIDE of the flaps.  (I tried to glue them to the inside before gluing the scrapbook paper, but it DID NOT work, but maybe I'm just not that talented hahah)

Contents:

I did a little "party in a box" type thing, so I got...

Cake mix

Frosting

Candles

Foil cake pan (like $2 at maceys)

Tie

And a special present I got for him (Canada T-Shirt) cute, right? :)

SUPER easy package.

On another note, I'll be posting on here probably once more with info regarding my mission address, email, blog and the like.

I hope you all have a fabulous day! 

brookelle

temples, cousins, & a skype sesh

Quite a bit has happened in this past week, so I figured I'd blog about it for all of you who read this (aka probably only my mom and grandma.  thanks guys.) 

Anywho, since I have my mission call, I was able to go through the temple and receive my endowment!  I chose to go through the Jordan River Temple since that's where my beautiful family was sealed a little less than 18 years ago.  (wow, I'm old.)  Here's a little throwback for ya'll. 

Yeah, I know.  My dad had hair.  Weird, right? 

On Thursday, May 8th, 2014, I received my endowment.  It was a little overwhelming, but I felt the spirit so incredibly strong.  Now it's time to go as much as possible before I head out to Canada!  :)  

Also, thanks so much to my wonderful family and friends who were able to join me in such a big event in my life, it really meant so much.

 

 This weekend I got to go to my cousin Andrew's state soccer games!  He's only a freshman and he's starting varsity!  I'm so glad I was able to go to watch him play.  Although they lost in the state championship game, they played their little hearts out.  Annnnd they got to play at Rio Tinto--kind of a big deal.  Anyways, he did fantastic.  I also got to watch my cousin Josh's baseball games!  This kid has been my bff since birth and I'm so proud to call him my cousin.

Andrew and I after his first game^^^

Now for the skype sesh...Sunday was Mothers Day, and as you all know, Mothers Day is one of the two days a year that missionaries get to skype or call home!  On Sunday morning, I was surprised to get a text from Adam's mom saying that I was welcome to come over during his skype call!  I was so not expecting it, and it made me super nervous to be honest.  I didn't know if I should go because I didn't want to freak him out or distract him or anything, but eventually I ended up going.  Let me just tell you that it was probably the greatest thing I've ever done...seriously.  Just hearing his laugh and his voice that I haven't heard in over a year put me on cloud 9!  And I'm still on cloud 9..I'm not sure if it's supposed to last this long...but I'll take it! Only one more year until I talk to him again when I'm out on my mish and he's home!

Although this wait/decision to serve as well has been one of the most difficult things I've ever had to do, I know it's going to be more than worth it.  1 year and 9 months til we're together again?  We're getting there.

xoxo
brookelle

Dear Sister Jones. . .

Last Thursday was the day: the day I found out where I would be serving for the next 18 months of my life!  

Let me just tell you now that it was arguably one of the longest days of my life.  I didn't think  7:45 would ever come around.  I hadn't been nervous all week, but once I woke up Thursday morning, the butterflies in my stomach began.  They didn't leave me alone until I finally tore that envelope open and read those precious words.  

Upon arriving at my parents house, I was anxious as can be.  So many family and friends were already there, and that made me even more emotional!  My dad then gave me a priesthood blessing to help me feel calm and at peace.  Right when he started that blessing, a feeling of complete contentment fell upon me.  Complete trust in the Lord filled my heart.  I was ready.  

Finally, after hugging a few friends, it was time!  As I held back my tears, we gathered in the living room and I tore it open to read the words that will ultimately change my life forever:

Dear Sister Jones:
 You are hereby called to serve as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  You are assigned to labor in the Canada Edmonton 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, July 30, 2014.  You will prepare to preach the gospel in the English language.  

CANADA??!?  I can't even say that was the last place I expected..because I didn't expect it at all!  

I can hardly begin to describe my joy and complete peace that I have with this call to serve.  I know there's a reason I have been called to serve the people of Canada, and I'm so excited to share this wonderful gospel and happiness with the world!    THE CHURCH IS TRUE, MY FRIENDS.

 

xoxo

Sister Jones

Faith in His Timing

You may or may not know this, but just last Sunday, I started the process of completing my mission papers!  And I've had a lot of people ask me why, and why so sudden and all that stuff.  So I'm just going to explain why I've decided to serve a full time LDS mission.

For quite some time, I've been planning on going to China to teach English for this coming Fall semester.  I actually had most of my application done, and was ready to submit my paperwork.  I even already got my passport.  I'd been praying about this trip for a long time.  I also had the option to not go to China, and finish up my associates degree here at Snow College and be here when my sweet missionary gets home.  Neither of these choices made me feel bad in any way, but neither of them felt awesome.  Don't get me wrong, I was super excited to go to China.  I was so ready to get out and go!  The idea of going on a mission came to my head quite a few times, but I just kept pushing it aside.  I didn't really want to put my life on hold here to serve a mission for a year and a half.

A couple weeks ago, one of my best friends, Rachel, had her mission farewell!  That weekend, I went home to Spanish Fork, and my three best friends and I were able to spend time together and were lucky enough to sing together at Rachel's farewell.  Her farewell was amazing, and still, a mission for me kept coming into my head.  It started to freak me out a little bit, seeing as I could be leaving so soon!  There was so much going on that it stressed me out.  I also didn't really want to go because my boyfriend who is serving a mission has almost been out a whole year!  I've waited a whole year and now I'm just going to make this wait even longer??  Well.  Yes.  But I didn't come to this conclusion quite yet.

(aren't they the cutest??^^^)

All day the thought of a mission was on my mind.  That night, my best friend Kayci opened her mission call.  The spirit was felt so strongly, and I still felt that's what I needed to do. 

 For those of you who don't know, I turned 19 in September.  I actually almost went on a mission instead of college this past year, but when I prayed about it, it didn't feel right.  I was actually pretty bugged about it.  If I wanted to serve, why couldn't I??  The Lord was persistent in his answer to me that I needed to be at college this year.  Having faith in the Lord also consists with having faith in His timing.  And now the time is right.  It's my time to serve the Lord wherever I am called, and I couldn't be any happier.  I'm hoping to have my papers in within the next couple of weeks. 

This Gospel is true my friends.  The fact that I am so blessed to have been born into this church amazes me.  If I am blessed enough to have a testimony of our Savior and Lord, it's my duty to share it with those who don't have the knowledge that I do.  I'm so excited to share this wonderful faith by being called to serve as a missionary in the Lord's field.   

"Wherefore, be of good cheer, and do not fear, for I the Lord am with you, and will stand by you; and ye shall bear record of me, even Jesus Christ, that I am the son of the living God, that I was, that I am, and that I am to come." --D&C68:6

If you're having a hard time finding answers to prayers, this is a phenomenal video to watch!  It has helped me so much in this decision to serve. 

xoxo

brookelle