A Step of Faith Towards Little Rock

                 

  "Dear Sister Case, You are hereby called to serve as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. You are assigned to Labor in the Little Rock Arkansas Mission.... You should report the Provo Missionary Training Center on February 11th. You will be prepared to preach the gospel in the English Language."

    I never would have thought 6 months ago I would be opening my mission call but as I read these words the Spirit was so strong. This was a moment when my testimony of God's knowledge and love of who I am as His  daughter grew stronger. 

      My life is completely filled with curve balls, I always have a plan of how I want life to be but Heavenly Father throws me a curve ball and completely changes everything but changes it for the better! It happened when my family situation changed, when I switched into a seminary class where I gained my personal testimony, when I chose to go to Herriman High school, when I dated a boy I never thought I would, and when I decided to go Utah Valley University. Seriously, these were choices that completely changed my life but for the better. They were never in my personal plans but I know that these events occurred on purpose because they lead me to this stage in life where I am now preparing  to serve the Lord. 

      When I emailed my friends who are serving missions all over the world, one emailed me back asking me to share how I received the answer to serve The Lord. So here you go.

       I didn't have the desire to serve a mission when I was younger, even when the age changed. I was just excited for my younger sister who has always wanted to serve a mission and all the boys I was friends with. I wasn't ever against the idea of serving a mission though, it just was never apart of my plans.  As a senior in high school I served as the seminary president and my mindset began to change. The Gospel has always brought me so much joy and It made me so happy to share my testimony with my fellow seminary students. The desire to share my testimony of Christ became stronger and stronger. So I prayed.

       My answers from The Lord come in the strangest of ways but they are personal to me. Sometimes they don't come in the way I though they would or take forever to come but his timing is always right. I prayed and prayed and prayed. The answer I received was very specific: "Go to UVU for a semester and then ask me" For awhile I was like "Serious? I could go on a mission right out of high school. That is the weirdest answer but ok I will do it." 

       So here I am and I love it and now I understand why I needed to come here first. Heavenly Father needed me to experience more of life then just high school. My faith needed to be strengthened but most of all I needed to experience sacrifice. I have a great job that I love, I work with people I love, I am at a school I love, I live with people I love, and my family are my favorite people and I love them. I am going to leave these blessings behind which isn't easy but it is nothing compared to the sacrifice that God made. He sent His only Begotten Son to this earth who sacrificed His own life to pay the price of all our sins.
        With a better understanding of the Gospel and the semester coming to a close, I continued to pray. As I was pondering in church one day, I was reminded of advise someone gave me; "Sometimes we need to take that step of faith to show Heavenly Father that we are willing to serve Him and if it is the wrong step, He will stop you." I was overcome with joy! Beginning the mission process was my 'step of faith'.
         This past month has been a roller coaster of excitement! With that 'Step of Faith' I filled out my mission papers, got my call, and now I am preparing to serve The Lord in Little Rock Arkansas! I can see myself there already.