Well there are officially 55 days until I leave on my mission...in 42 seconds it will be 54 days. That is less than two months. In fact, it is exactly 1.7741935483871 months. Crazy! I am so excited, but so not ready.
I realized that I never copied my call letter here, so I thought we would throwback tonight and revisit it.
Dear Sister Ritchie:
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 Peru Lima North Mission. It is anticipated that you will serve for a period of 18 months.
You should report to the Peru Missionary Training Center on Wednesday, September 11, 2013. You will prepare to preach the gospel in the Spanish language. Your assignment may be modified according to the needs of the mission president.
You have been recommended as one worthy to represent the Lord as a minister of the restored gospel. You will be an official representative of the Church. As such, you will be expected to maintain the highest standards of conduct and appearance by keeping the commandments, living mission rules, and following the counsel of your mission president. As you devote your time and attention to serving the Lord, leaving behind all other personal affairs, the Lord will bless you with increased knowledge and testimony of the Restoration and of the truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Your purpose will be to invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. As you serve with all your heart, might, mind, and strength, the Lord will lead you to those who are prepared to be baptized.
The Lord will reward you for the goodness of your life. Greater blessings and more happiness than you have yet experienced await you as you humbly and prayerfully serve the Lord in this labor of love among His children. We place our confidence in you and pray that the Lord will help you become an effective missionary.
You will be set apart as a missionary by your stake president. Please send your written acceptance promptly, endorsed by your bishop.
Sincerely,
Thomas S. Monson
President
Thursday, July 18, 2013
Sunday, July 14, 2013
If Ye Are Prepared Ye Shall Not Fear...At Least Not As Much
From the time I got my mission call, my life has been a flurry of mission prep. Growing up, my mom would remind me regularly that "if ye are prepared, ye shall not fear." I heard this before tests, interviews, and church talks, but its importance really hit me when I got my mission call. I realized that this is crunch time to learn all I can about the Gospel and prepare myself spiritually to teach others. I have been working hard to do everything I can so that I am well prepared for my mission.
Up until this past week I had been reading two chapters of the Book of Mormon everyday since I have been asked to read the entire book at least once from the time I got my call to the time I leave. This last week I decided that since I will be serving many people who are Catholic and greatly value the Bible, I should prolly freshen up a little on my knowledge of the New Testament before I leave. So instead of reading two chapters per day, I started reading three or more so that I can read at least parts of the New Testament before my mission. It has been an amazing experience to read the Book of Mormon over again with the eyes of someone who is preparing to teach others about it.
I have attended the temple as often as I could, and am hoping to attend once a week from now until I leave. This will be a little tricky since I live an hour and a half away, but going to the temple is always worth the sacrifice.
On my online missionary portal, I have a To Do list of items that need to be completed before I leave. I am 70% done with them. A few days ago I finished watching the last episode of The District--missionary training videos that track the progress of real missionaries and their investigators. Watching those episodes and learning more about the realities of missionary work has been such a great experience, and has made me so much more excited to go on my mission. They helped me to understand what missionary work is actually like, and the kinds of things I can do to be more prepared. And it didn't hurt that episodes 4-6 took place in San Diego, which is where I'm from. :)
Through the preparation process, I have realized that I have been preparing to serve a mission for my entire life--even though I didn't know that I was going to serve, Heavenly Father did, and he put opportunities in my way that would help me prepare to teach the people of Peru. For example, as I already mentioned, I attended a mission prep class taught by Jack Christiansen when I was in 9th grade. Although I wasn't planning to serve a mission at the time, I learned so many valuable things that will help me to be a better missionary. I took Spanish all through Junior High and High School, which will be a huge benefit to me when I get out in the mission field. When I first got to BYU, even before I knew that I would be serving a mission, I made it a goal to take advantage of all the opportunities that I had there. I attended every fireside, talk, meeting, and activity that I could. All of those things that I participated in helped me to prepare spiritually for my mission. It's crazy to me how well Heavenly Father knows me and how to prepare me for what is coming in my life. All of the experiences that I have had up until this point have brought me to the place where I am today: preparing to teach the people of Peru.
Even though I will never feel that I am completely ready, I know that the more I prepare, the more effective I will be as a missionary. And though I am still a little nervous to go to a foreign country where they speak another language and have different beliefs, I know that if I am prepared, I have no need to fear.
Up until this past week I had been reading two chapters of the Book of Mormon everyday since I have been asked to read the entire book at least once from the time I got my call to the time I leave. This last week I decided that since I will be serving many people who are Catholic and greatly value the Bible, I should prolly freshen up a little on my knowledge of the New Testament before I leave. So instead of reading two chapters per day, I started reading three or more so that I can read at least parts of the New Testament before my mission. It has been an amazing experience to read the Book of Mormon over again with the eyes of someone who is preparing to teach others about it.
I have attended the temple as often as I could, and am hoping to attend once a week from now until I leave. This will be a little tricky since I live an hour and a half away, but going to the temple is always worth the sacrifice.
On my online missionary portal, I have a To Do list of items that need to be completed before I leave. I am 70% done with them. A few days ago I finished watching the last episode of The District--missionary training videos that track the progress of real missionaries and their investigators. Watching those episodes and learning more about the realities of missionary work has been such a great experience, and has made me so much more excited to go on my mission. They helped me to understand what missionary work is actually like, and the kinds of things I can do to be more prepared. And it didn't hurt that episodes 4-6 took place in San Diego, which is where I'm from. :)
Through the preparation process, I have realized that I have been preparing to serve a mission for my entire life--even though I didn't know that I was going to serve, Heavenly Father did, and he put opportunities in my way that would help me prepare to teach the people of Peru. For example, as I already mentioned, I attended a mission prep class taught by Jack Christiansen when I was in 9th grade. Although I wasn't planning to serve a mission at the time, I learned so many valuable things that will help me to be a better missionary. I took Spanish all through Junior High and High School, which will be a huge benefit to me when I get out in the mission field. When I first got to BYU, even before I knew that I would be serving a mission, I made it a goal to take advantage of all the opportunities that I had there. I attended every fireside, talk, meeting, and activity that I could. All of those things that I participated in helped me to prepare spiritually for my mission. It's crazy to me how well Heavenly Father knows me and how to prepare me for what is coming in my life. All of the experiences that I have had up until this point have brought me to the place where I am today: preparing to teach the people of Peru.
Even though I will never feel that I am completely ready, I know that the more I prepare, the more effective I will be as a missionary. And though I am still a little nervous to go to a foreign country where they speak another language and have different beliefs, I know that if I am prepared, I have no need to fear.
Saturday, July 13, 2013
Dallas Temple Trip
I got to go back to the temple! My mom and I took a trip to Dallas this weekend to drop off my nieces after they visited us in Oklahoma for a few days. After we got them home, my mom and I headed to the Dallas temple. It is very similar to the Lima, Peru temple (at least on the outside) and I can't wait to be able to compare them. I was also excited to be able to attend another temple since I had never been to the Dallas temple.
We arrived early so we took photos outside and then were able to do Initiatories before the next session started. Going through the temple for the first time for someone else was an amazing experience. I loved knowing that I was bringing someone the happiness that I was able to receive only ten days ago. I realized that when I went to the temple for the first time after turning 12 to do baptisms for the dead, I had been baptized four years earlier. Of course I still felt strongly about my baptism and remembered the covenants that I made during that ordinance, but it was years ago, and I didn't clearly remember how I felt. In contrast, yesterday as I went through the temple for someone else, I remembered exactly how I felt as I received those ordinances for myself, and I was so happy that someone else would be able to feel the same way that I did on that special day. It was a wonderful experience.
It was so good to be there with my mama. It is a beautiful temple and the spirit was beautiful. I can't wait to go back!
We arrived early so we took photos outside and then were able to do Initiatories before the next session started. Going through the temple for the first time for someone else was an amazing experience. I loved knowing that I was bringing someone the happiness that I was able to receive only ten days ago. I realized that when I went to the temple for the first time after turning 12 to do baptisms for the dead, I had been baptized four years earlier. Of course I still felt strongly about my baptism and remembered the covenants that I made during that ordinance, but it was years ago, and I didn't clearly remember how I felt. In contrast, yesterday as I went through the temple for someone else, I remembered exactly how I felt as I received those ordinances for myself, and I was so happy that someone else would be able to feel the same way that I did on that special day. It was a wonderful experience.
It was so good to be there with my mama. It is a beautiful temple and the spirit was beautiful. I can't wait to go back!
Thursday, July 4, 2013
I Love to See the Temple
I finally was able to go through the temple for the first time this weekend. It was an amazing experience. I chose to go to the Kansas City Missouri temple. I had never been to this temple before, so it gave me the opportunity to visit a new city with my family. I felt strongly about this temple because the Church history of the site is incredible and the temple itself is so, so beautiful.
We left to drive to Kansas City early on Friday morning. It is about a 7 hour drive from my house to Kansas City, so we got there in the late afternoon and spent the evening going to historic church sites. First we went to Liberty Jail where Brandon Ogletree's sister was our tour guide, which was pretty cool. The Spirit there was amazing. It is one of the places that I grew up learning about in Primary and Sunday School, but going there made it so much more real to me. Then we went to the Visitor's Center, which was also a great experience.
The next morning we had to be at the temple at 7:00 AM. Sleeping the night before was like trying to sleep on Christmas Eve..it was impossible. I woke up at least five times between 4:00 and 5:00 when I finally got up. We got ready and drove the six minutes from our hotel to the temple.
The temple was beautiful, and everyone was kind and helpful. I felt so loved and special. My hostess kept telling me that she wanted me to feel "just like a princess today." I loved the spirit of the temple. It was so strong and makes me want to be better. I want to keep the feeling that I had on that day with me always. I am so happy that I was able to make covenants and learn more about the Gospel. I love the temple!
We left to drive to Kansas City early on Friday morning. It is about a 7 hour drive from my house to Kansas City, so we got there in the late afternoon and spent the evening going to historic church sites. First we went to Liberty Jail where Brandon Ogletree's sister was our tour guide, which was pretty cool. The Spirit there was amazing. It is one of the places that I grew up learning about in Primary and Sunday School, but going there made it so much more real to me. Then we went to the Visitor's Center, which was also a great experience.
The next morning we had to be at the temple at 7:00 AM. Sleeping the night before was like trying to sleep on Christmas Eve..it was impossible. I woke up at least five times between 4:00 and 5:00 when I finally got up. We got ready and drove the six minutes from our hotel to the temple.
The temple was beautiful, and everyone was kind and helpful. I felt so loved and special. My hostess kept telling me that she wanted me to feel "just like a princess today." I loved the spirit of the temple. It was so strong and makes me want to be better. I want to keep the feeling that I had on that day with me always. I am so happy that I was able to make covenants and learn more about the Gospel. I love the temple!
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