Preparing to Serve

Now that I've received my call to Nampa, Idaho, I've been doing nothing but preparing to enter the Mexico MTC on March 4th. Everyday I get more and more excited to finally become a missionary! I got an email yesterday from Mission Travel with my travel itinerary and I started hyperventilating in a public restaurant..And just last week I was evaluated by Mission Language Services about my Spanish skills. Looks like I'll be paired with another intermediate sister at the MTC! Not too shabby, eh? Both of these experiences has re-enlightened my mind of why I want to be a missionary. President David O McKay said, "True Christianity is love in action. There is no better way to manifest love for God than to show an unselfish love for your fellow men. This is the Spirit of missionary work." This has inspired me to focus on chapter 1 of Preach My Gospel: My Purpose as a Missionary. I want to preach the gospel because I want others to have the blessings of eternal life with their families. Preach My Gospel says, "As your understanding...grows, your desire to share the gospel will increase. You will feel as Lehi did, the 'great... importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth.'" Lehi's dream came to my mind- the Tree of Life. He said that the fruit was sweet and filled his soul with great joy and he wanted his family to partake of it also - so that they can experience joy for themselves too! This reminded me of a quote I found to encourage me to continue the work: Missionary- Someone who leaves their family for a short time, so that others may be with their families for eternity. This truly brings tears to my eyes because this is the exact reason why I'm going on a mission.