Goodbye house, hello Salt Lake!

April 12, 2021

Goodbye house, hello Salt Lake!

March 3, 2021

Sending out my first email is making this thing feel official. I had my last MTC class on Monday and I simply can't believe how fast these few weeks have flown by. I've absolutely loved home MTC. It was sad to see my district go, but I know they're all going to be amazing missionaries!! Thankfully, it sounds like Sister Peery and I will fly together to England once we get our visas, woohoo!!! She is the absolute BEST companion I could ask for and her genuine love for the gospel and for Christ inspires me every. single. day. They expect that we'll leave for England in about three weeks, so in the meantime I'm actually going to be serving in the Salt Lake mission! I'll be assigned to a trio to work with each day and then go home in the evenings. I definitely feel spoiled... do missionary work all day and then come home to sleep in my own bed?! It's pretty much my mom's dream scenario. Most of all, I'm so, so grateful for the opportunity to start serving. I just hope I can convince my family to start including me in their morning carpool routine... turns out when it comes to driving on a mission I feel a lot like a 15-year-old again, haha! But on a real note, my family is unbelievably supportive and sharing my time in the MTC with them is something I will treasure all my life.

Last week for Come Follow Me I read D&C 18-19 (probably like a lot of you), and all of it felt relevant to missionary work, but section 18 verse 44 stood out: 44 "And by your hands I will work a marvelous work among the children of men, unto the convincing of many of their sins, that they may come unto repentance, and that they may come unto the kingdom of my Father." I love the phrase "by your hands." It reminded me of the talk Elder Uchtdorf gave a few years ago titled "You are My Hands." In the story he shared, a statue of Christ was damaged in a WWII bombing and they were able to repair all of the statue except for the hands, which had been badly damaged. They ultimately decided to leave the statue as it was and attach a sign to the base with the words "You are My Hands." It was humbling to read that verse in D&C and think about my own responsibility to be Christ's hands as a missionary. I know that I'm under call to help others come unto Christ and feel His love, but I also know that missionaries are not the only ones who can be and need to be Christ's hands. Without a doubt, I know there are people in each of your lives who have been strengthened, comforted and blessed "by your hands," including me.

I'm so grateful for all of you!!! Thank you for the love and support. I hope you have a great week, and maybe I'll see you around Salt Lake! 😉