Got It.

Friday July 11, 2008 I received my mission call.

I was chillin' in the library with my friend Dan when I got a phone call. It was Natalie. Natalie never calls during the day. If she needs to tell me something she'll text.
I knew it was here.
I answered the phone and she confirmed my thoughts. Lindsey and Janiece were in the background laughing... I loved it.
I immediately hugged Dan and ran into the stairwell to call my family.

The rest of the day went by super fast. I barely had enough time to finish all my stuff before I opened my call at the set time (5:30).
Everyone came. The Camden Six living room was full of the coolest people on the planet (my friends).
I got everyone on the phone: Parents, Siblings, Grandparents, Friends in Kansas, Friend in Florida.... everyone was waiting.

I picked up the envelope and tore it open. My entire body immediately started shaking; I couldn't hold myself still. (I heard people around me talking about it, but I couldn't look up to see who it was, all my focus was on the packet of paper in my hands).
I managed to cover up the letter with the packet they gave so I could see only one line at a time. I managed to read the first line (my hands shaking all over the place), then I moved the packet down revealing the next. My eyes went straight to the call:

Chile Santiago North Mission

I screamed. My legs crumbled as I fell to the floor. I looked up and saw Megan Allen. I yelled where I was going but only she understood.
She screamed. We grabbed each other and I almost came to tears. (I didn't, though, which really surprised me). We released each other and Megan sat down. I didn't know what to do so I jumped on her again, curling up in her lap. I shot back up and stood there for a second. Everyone was staring at me. Zach said, "where are you going!?"
I answered. Everyone was excited.
I came back to where the phones were and tried, as calmly as I could, to tell them all where I was going. It took forever for my mom to hear. I think she was just in shock, though, so she didn't want to hear it (she was really hoping for Temple Square).
Everyone eventually heard and they're all excited. I'm going to take a Spanish class before I head out (since I haven't had any instruction concerning that, or any other foreign language).

I'm so excited to serve. It's going to be a long 3 1/2 months till I report to the MTC (I go in November 5th), but its ok, I need all the time I can get to prepare.

I can already feel the difference of having my call. I taught yesterday in Relief Society and I was more able to speak from my heart, my tongue is loosening up. And while that is the case, I am also feeling more pressure from a lot of things. My friend Michelle said, "now that you have you're call you have that added protection, but Satan is also working harder on you."

I feel the power of both sides already and I know I need to be on my guard more than ever. I can't just slack off and go into the MTC unprepared. If Satan can do nothing except keep me exactly where I am, then he has succeeded. If he can just stop me from progressing than he has won. I can't let that happen. I won't.

once upon a time..

..there was a little girl. She was expecting her mission call on wednesday but it didn't come. She felt really nauseous.
"Maybe tomorrow," she thought, "maybe tomorrow."

If not, look out, cause she might shoot someone.

Scripture/Talk Of The Day

"Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward."
-Hebrews 10:35
(Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, Liahona, June 2000)

Tuesday Devotional

Today's devotional was wonderful. A female spoke and she did typical things female speakers do: had lots of visuals.

That, however, is not what I'm going to complain about.

The speaker today focused on 4 things we can do to aid in our growth. They were all the typical, yet crucial, things focused on in church meetings, i.e. have a positive attitude, focus on how you serve not where you serve, etc. One thing she spoke on really got me thinking. It's another typical concept we hear very often but I think it should be dealt with from a different angle.
This concept concerns the love God has for us. For ME. Over and over we hear these talks about how God loves YOU. He loves YOU and ME and He listens to YOUR prayers.
I think, however, we would have a greater understanding of His love if instead we weren't focusing on His love for US, but His love for THEM. Instead of realizing he loves and is aware of "me", maybe we should emphasis the love he has for the person sitting next to us. He wants them to be happy just as much as he wants you and me to be happy. That is what this life is all about, is it not? We must learn to love eachother. We must learn to love them just as He loves us.

As I was walking to the library after devotional that thought kept running through my mind. Every individual is loved by God, He wants them all to return to live with Him. If He seeks for their happiness, how much more am I obligated to do so? That, I believe, should be the focus of His love. Not just towards us, but towards the person in the next seat over.

Almost.

Today is Monday. Thursday is about 3 days from now. Hopefully I will have my call by then.
I bought new scriptures saturday with Sister Mayhugh written on the front.
There's no backing out now.

My idiot classmates.

I am so pissed right now.

I just got out of Philosophy.

We’re discussing Ethics.

Today we had a debate between the Ethical Relativists and the Ethical Objectivists.

I’m an Objectivist.

The relativist standpoint states that there is no moral truth. The truth we know depends upon our culture and the time in which we live.
Objectivism says there is an objective moral truth. People may or may not know about it, but there is a moral truth, nonetheless.

God exists. As members of the True and Everlasting Gospel (true and everlasting, huh, that means eternal, never-changing, continual…), we know that God is our Father. As members of this restored gospel we know that Jesus Christ atoned for our sins. Jesus Christ atoned for all the sins of the world. If little Billy in Africa never heard about Jesus Christ, does that mean the atonement doesn’t apply to him? Does that mean Billy is forever damned because of his ignorance?

The atonement of Jesus Christ covers every soul who has lived, now lives, and will ever live in this mortal state. Just because Billy doesn’t know about it doesn’t make it any less real.

There was one point that the idiot relativists could have brought up that actually would have had a huge affect on the argument. They didn’t do it, however, because they had no idea what they were talking about.

God’s commandments change. He commanded to kill, to destroy nations, men women and children. Now He has commanded not even to hate. He commanded to steal; Nephi was commanded to take the plates. Now we cannot even covet. These laws are changing depending on our time and culture, they are objective.

But, it’s all according to our capability of fulfilling certain commandments. God will not give us commandments we are not ready for. He will not condemn us with greater laws than we have the ability of carrying out. We gain knowledge and with that comes greater responsibility. Eventually we will come to know the all of the eternal law and commandments which are written upon.

There is an objective moral law. Whether we know about it or not does not make it any less real.

Operation Domination

BEEP BEEP BEEP

My eyes shot open and began to dart around the room in bewilderment. What was that hellish noise drowning my thought process?

No sooner after I found the source my hand slammed down upon it ceasing the god-awful blare.
I stared at the alarm clock as a big 3 a.m. stared right back at me.

I was pissed. What the hell was going on? Why the hell was my alarm going off?

Then I remembered. Joy and excitement quickly filled my body leaving no room for the uncontrollable anger I’d felt seconds before.

I opened my bedroom door just in time to see Lindsey’s light turn on. We met in the hallway and proceeded to wake up the rest of Camden Six. Three Zombies, dressed in black, dazedly shuffled out of their rooms. We congregated in the bathroom and put mascara under our eyes. We then placed the finishing touch, matching camouflage hats, on our heads, and moved towards the kitchen.

We each grabbed about 6 bags of the trash we’d been saving for the past week and went out to Natalie’s car. Amy, Janiece and I, carrying the trash bags, began the long trek from Camden 6 to Shelborn South Tower. Lindsey and Natalie got into Natalie’s car, full of trash from Natalie’s family reunion, and drove it over to the Shelborn parking lot.

We all arrived at the same time and set the trash in a big pile. The light from 16’s living room window beamed down on us. I decided to take a risk. I crept up the stairs and found their door wide upon. No TV on, no one sleeping in the living, everything appeared to be clear. I came all the way up the stairs, grabbed the door handle, and slowly pulled it shut. All systems were a go.
I came back down the stairs and Camden Six was ready, trash bags in hand. One by one, we made our way up the stairs of south tower and handed the trash to Janiece as she strategically placed them in front of the door of Shelborn 16.

It was beautiful. We created a masterpiece.

There was about a foot between the top of the trash pile and the top of the door frame and there was about a foot from the pile of trash to the edge of the balcony. There was no doubt the trash would come falling in on the poor sucker who first opened the door in the morning.

Camden Six returned home with smiles on their faces and a new disposition about life. What a beautiful world we live in.

Operation Domination was a success.