It was good to hear from a few of you
this week :) I want to thank my devoted fans. Hahah, just kidding, I
know you are all probably super busy. Things are going great here.
Sister Arnold and I are having the time of our lives. We are doing a lot
of stuff to make sure the rest of the year runs smoothly. Gladys Knight
is doing a fireside thing with her choir in October. We called them to
invite them to come to the Trail Center, so some of their board came and
Sis. Arnold and I took them on tour. It was good, it looks like they
will be coming! So that's exciting. I have learned so many
business/people skills on my mission and especially as a TC Leader, it's
crazy. It's so awesome though. Did I tell you we are going to be
singing in malls during the holidays? haha we are. It will be cool. To
try and promote people to come to the TC for the Gingerbread Festival.
The quilts are all up and look really great. I am
reminded every day but EVERYONE of how great of a quilter Mom is. I'm so
proud of her. She makes us all look good :) Anyway, there are a lot of
fun quilts and I quite enjoy it. It makes me really excited to start
sewing stuff again.
So, pictures this week:
1- Me and my roommates in our weird storage cubby thing. We decided to do our BOM study in there together. It was fun :)
2- The Wrights went home. How I will miss them and their nightly popcorn parties at their apartment
3- A bunch of us sisters last week at the Trost's apartment. They
were also going home so we had a little party with them. We are SO
SPOILED with all of these Senior Couples.
P.S. I
had no idea that Shayla Rowley was going on a mission. That is awesome
and I'm so excited that she gets to go to a VC! She will love it!
AND! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO JAKE ON THE 13TH!!!
So, this week my letter is different- yesterday we
had Stake Conference and this guy told a story from his Dad and Mom who
were serving a mission. It was their story of why they decided to serve a
mission. And, I realized that while some reasons of why I decided to
serve a mission were extremely obvious, there were a few that you don't
know about, so I wanted to tell you now :)
Of course, it all starts of when I was 18 years old
and in my Patriarchal Blessing it said I would serve a mission. I didn't
hear a thing after the Patriarch said that. We all know I was very
upset and very saddened by this. I was worried that I would miss out on
cool life experiences. That I wouldn't get to have a normal college
experience, that I wouldn't get married when I was 19 :), that I would
be a weird returned missionary. I didn't want any of it. For years, if
you wanted to make me mad or frustrated, all you would have to do is
mention that I should go on a mission. Oh man. Anyway, after a year and a
half, I decided to finally read my Patriarchal Blessing. Why? Because
it talked about my husband, and let's be honest, I thought that sounded
great haha. I would just skip over the part that said I would serve a
mission. Then, over the years, I became less and less sensitive to the
idea of serving a mission. The funny thing is that I wanted so badly to
travel somewhere and to help people, just in a humanitarian way, rather
than a gospel way. Sarah and I both looked into all the different
Humanitarian projects we could be a part of-- who were we kidding?
Anyway, serving a mission was ALWAYS in the back of my mind. No matter
how much I wanted to forget it, it was there. As I would walk through
campus I would think about it. Whenever people would talk about
missions, I would try and tune it out. So ridiculous. Anyway, it finally
got to the point where I realized that I would eventually serve a
mission, I just had to get over my pride. I thought about what it would
be like at the MTC, I thought about what my future companions would be
like, etc. When Sarah started thinking about going on a mission, and was
telling me all the reasons why she was going, it made sense. It was
only a year and half. I had been blessed SO much. I have been longing to
leave home to go serve in someway (When Sarah told me on the phone, she
started out with "don't be mad at me" hahahah, that just tells you my
attitude towards serving a mission). So, I decided to fast and pray
about it. I did the next day, and NOTHING. I had a lot of plans for the
future semester, I felt nothing and I thought I was off the hook. Then
Sarah and Nathan were getting ready for their missions, Reeve was
getting ready for his, and Jared was just about to start getting ready
for his. It all sounded so great. Everyone was so excited. I secretly
wanted a part of it, but I couldn't get over my pride. Then Sarah left
to the MTC. She was loving it. This excitement that everyone else had
for serving a mission was contagious and I couldn't stop thinking about
it. Then, one night at the end of February, KSL did a special on the
MTC. I watched that video and I wanted to be there. Every change that I
wanted to make in my life, I knew I could do there and on a mission. I
closed my computer, opened my journal and wrote that I wanted to serve a
mission. I knew that if I wrote it in my journal then I couldn't deny
it the next day. What would I write the next day? That I had changed my
mind? That the huge spiritual prompting to serve a mission was just a
joke? Of course I couldn't deny it, so I had to write it down to hold
myself to what I knew to be true. I also had to pray and commit to
Heavenly Father that I knew that I should serve and that I would serve.
The next day, I worried and worried about telling my parents about it.
This was a very humbling experience. Finally, it was Me, Mom and Dad and
Michelle's kids. We watched Veggie Tales- Jonah and the Big Whale (Dad
would like to attribute my decision to go on a mission to this movie,
but I assure you I had decided way before :) ). After the kids were gone
I finally got up the courage to tell Mom and Dad. They were elated. I
was scared. I was scared all the way up until I was dropped off at the
MTC. I didn't get to show my excitement or my passion for the gospel as
much as I wished I had. I was nervous, I felt stupid because I had to be
humbled, and I was sad to leave my family. Therefore, I just tried to
talk about it all as little as I could.
But, I can tell you this, as I have been serving, I have never been happier in my life.
I understand and appreciate the gospel more than I ever would have. I
have a stronger, sweeter relationship with my Father in Heaven. I am
more personally converted. I have seen the gospel change lives,
including my own. I have grown to love, appreciate, admire, respect and
look up to the faithful Pioneers. I feel way more prepared to have a
family that I can raise with the gospel as I have been invited into so
many homes- both those with the Spirit, and those without. I have been
able to use the talents that God has given me to share the gospel. I
have seen how much the gospel really does bless our families, especially
our own. I have never prayed more for my family than while I have been a
missionary. I prayed and prayed that Laura would find someone worthy of
her to marry. I have prayed and prayed that Casey and Clint would be
able to sell their house (this one is still to be determined :) ). I
have prayed for each of you because I love you and I know that Heavenly
Father loves you. I know that this gospel is true, not because I read
from the Book of Mormon and prayed to know if it was true (although, I
have done that and received that spiritual confirmation that it is
true). But, I know that the gospel is true because of how it has blessed
our family. "By their fruits ye shall know them", the "fruits" our
family has received from living the gospel have been so good and brought
us closer to God. I am so grateful that we have the opportunity to
share it with others. Think about how the excitement of others serving
their missions was contagious to me-- now think about how our excitement
to live and share the gospel can be contagious to those around us. As
we eagerly do our scripture study, prayers, sacrament and other meeting
attendance, home and visiting teaching, others will see our excitement
and they will long to have what we have. I know this is true. I know our
Savior lives, and that He loves us. The way He lived His life makes us
long to return to live with Him and Heavenly Father. Keep doing your
best. I love you all. Have a wonderful, wonderful week.
Love,
Sister Proctor
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