Glorious rain, awful voices, familiar faces, awkward kissing, whistling, tostadas, bikes, curbing fiery feelings, sleeping like a rock, and only one Mexico picture

HOLA FAMILIA!!!!

Soooo I LOVE MY MISSION and I LOVE MEXICO. Oh my gosh, I am having so much fun and I have so much to say. BUT I LOVE IT HERE! Seriously, I am so happy and thrilled to be serving a mission. My comp and I laugh every day.

Yes, I got your package and it was the greatest thing ever. Seeing those hand sanitizers was like Christmas. Haha. Those things save me cause we shake hands so much and you just have no idea where they’ve been. And I have been really good about picking up after myself... at least trying to be. :) And I am taking a ton of pictures, hopefully they work and come through. 

We do have one small problem though... I love the food. Seriously, it is much better than I thought it would be. It’s different, and I’m craving some yummy normal food, but it’s all good. Haha. I love tostadas! They’re way better than the tortillas. Whoever said the tortillas here are amazing and better, are wrong. I miss home tortillas. The ones here are super dry and aren’t quite as good, but hey, it’s food. 

I absolutely adore my companion. Her name is Hermana Ortiz and she is great. She’s been out 8 months and we laugh every single day. It’s awesome. We have bikes here and she crashes constantly and it’s hilarious. We constantly make fun of each other, in the best way of course, and have a blast. She’s from Ecuador!!! How neat is that... oh and she speaks 0, yes 0 English, so I’m learning Spanish real fast... ;) yay.

So the street we live on is called a cerrada. Pretty much everyone lives on one of these. It is a street that has a locked gate on the outside and a dead end on the other. Yes dad, very safe. :) Haha, but as far as feeling safe, I have felt safe the entire time here and been totally fine. There was a dog- fight, but even then it was fine.

Oh but one thing is that the guys do honk and whistle at me. It’s a daily thing, but I don’t mind. They call me guera here instead of gringa, in which I am the only one within miles. But hey, people wanna talk to me, so it’s all good. The hardest part of it all, the mish in general is curbing my fiery feelings. When guys (of all ages) whistle at me, I wanna yell at them, “I AM NOT A DOG, DO NOT TREAT ME AS SUCH”. But then I think, Jess, I mean Hermana Anstee, you are a rep of Christ, so then I just sing Jimmy Buffet’s “Breathe in. Breathe out. Move on” and I’m ok. Do as Jesus would, and sing Jimmy, am I right? :) 

One funny thing, ALL THE HOMES ARE THE EXACT SAME. No seriously. Exact same. Ours too. You walk in and there is a open area and then there’s stairs to go upstairs and then past the stairs is the kitchen and up the stairs is your bathroom and two rooms, which, my comp and I have our clothes in different rooms, but sleep in the same one. It’s pretty nice. Every family has a TV, of course, and cell phones. And everyone has a couch. We have a table and squeaky chairs. Looove it.

But one thing that’s fun is all the homes are the same, but everyone tries to spiffy it up - either painting a tree on the inside (just got done helping with that!) or colors on the outside. It’s all an attempt to be different and I absolutely LOVE IT. Oh my, I just can’t express how happy I am.

All the women greet each other with a kiss on the cheek and a hug and sometimes a handshake before all of it. Kinda different and I’m trying to figure out when you do what. I definitely have had some awkward pauses and moments where I didn’t know what to do and also close calls of actually kissing some women... so yeah. Love Mexico. Hahahaha.

Um, we definitely don’t have warm water, so we borrowed a little metal thingy that gets super hot and you plug it into the wall and it heats up and you put it in the water and it warms it up. We get a little cup and pour it on ourselves. Have I said how much I love Mexico? Seriously it’s actually really fun.

I love teaching people and there’s no pressure because people know I don’t speak Spanish and that I am trying so hard and they just laugh at me. A lot. But I love it. I adore the people here. Everyone is willing to talk to us and no one has been super rude. The way they say no is rather than give us their real address they give us the wrong address of where they live, and we go there and it’s not them, but then we find out it’s another family and teach them, and now their son is coming to teach with us this afternoon. Funny how the spirit works that way.

It rains a ton here and I LOVE IT. I wore my rubber boots and my coat and my umbrella and was the happiest camper in the world. Seriously, I played in puddles and my companion just laughed at my childishness. Haha. It is so fun and everyone loves my boots and say they’re gonna buy some. Yeahhh trend setterrrrr.

They have the cutest babies here - just sayin.

But they don’t have the best singing voices. Awful. Seriously. So I feel right at home. :) Hahahaha.

They also have terrible teeth.

People are telling me they wanna learn English, but won’t ever get up the courage to tell me what they know, but here in a little while I might be teaching some English lessons. I am working with my comp to teach her English, because it’s a good thing and the mission president wants me to. So yay. It’s fun to hear her say words... absolutely hilarious.

I am in Tecamec, in an area named Bosques, by the way.

So we are super close with a specific family in the ward named the Corona family. They’re the ones we are painting a tree on the wall for and they’re the ones I cried with when I bore my testimony that families can be together forever. Yep, gets me every time. But anyway, they are super kind to help me with words and Spanish and stuff, but yesterday they asked me to say the prayer in English so they could hear it and I FORGOT HOW TO PRAY IN ENGLISH. It was awful. I had to really think about it and even during the prayer I said por favor instead of please. Haha, the struggle is real.

The days feel like weeks and the weeks feel like days. We are working so hard and I love it. Every minute, every second, every hour of the day (ay ay ay ay - for jeni townsend) we are working toward our purpose. It’s the greatest thing ever and I go to bed exhausted and so happy. I sleep like a rock.

Oh, at church, not everyone wears dresses, so that’s interesting. There are guys and girls in jeans and I thought about dad and how he’d dig it here. Mom too, I guess... ;) 

The mish is SO MUCH BETTER THAN THE MTC. Holy smokes. I love and miss my MTC peeps, but couldn’t wait to get out. The mish is incredible and I LOVE IT.

Ok well, I love you guys and I love hearing how everything is going. Thanks for the package. I was a cool girl in town because I already got a package. Haha. I love and miss you so muchhhhh.

Hug each other for me and know that I am incredibly happy and living it up and working so hard! The church is true and I am loving life. Thanks for being the best parents ever and know I love you more than words can describe, to the dark side of the moon and back. Mwah, mwah, mwah. Tell Buddy I love him too. I pray for you all in Spanish every night, so if blessings aren’t coming it’s my bad, because I’m probably not saying it right. :) Haha.

Love you. Really. Can’t wait to have an update next week. 

MWAH

Hermana Anstee!!!!! :D 

No time to rest. First day in Mexico.

HOLA FAMILIA! I don’t get a lot of time on the computer. We have an investigator to go teach, but I am alive and loving it! My p-day is Monday, so this is an extra email to say I’m alive... it is absolutely crazy! I love my new companion. She is from Ecuador and doesn’t speak Engilsh, but I know we are gonna get along super duper well. I am so excited to share the gospel! And my Spanish is working! I absolutely love it here - it is amazing. The houses are all different colors and it is all just so fun. I can’t wait to tell you more. I love you all and miss you, but I am having the time of my life!!!!

con mucho mucho amor,

hermana anstee!!! 

Finally some pictures

              

A nickname, crying a lot, flying to Vegas, and companions with "The Destroyer"

Ok so I have so much stuff to say and not a ton of time to say it alllll, but I mainly want to say that I love you guys so so so so much. I tried uploading pictures but the computer wouldn't recognize my flash drivy thingy and it’s such a bummer. But I promise I am taking good ones and I will work on sending those to you! :) 

So first off I miss you guys like crazy, but they keep us soooo busy. It's nuts. My zone is comprised of 10 elders and my companion and myself. I'm also the only one who isn't fluent in Spanish. It is really hard because they can joke and stuff in Spanish and sometimes I just can't follow along. But you know I'm really grateful for all of them and that I am in the accelerated program because I think I will learn Spanish so much better and fuller once I just get out into the field. The first few days have been so hard. I mean so hard. Mainly because of the whole spanish thing and my teacher doesn't allow us to speak anything but Spanish and I just don't have the confidence in saying the right thing. But they are so fun and nice that they take 30 minutes out of their companionship study to teach me Spanish. Haha. It's hilarious to watch them try to dissect a language they've always just known. Sooo funny. But, often times they will have trouble speaking English and boy do I have their back! :) Haha. I've felt like I've just always been playing catch up, you know? Like I haven't quite gotten the hang of things yet, but each day gets somewhat better. I really am loving it here. I am suuuuper close with my district. So funny story, we all made up nicknames for each other. My nickname is "Snowflake" cause I'm white. Hahahaha. And my companion's nickname is "The Destroyer" because she's kinda bossy and has anger problems. But we love her. So as far as my companion goes she's great, but has an interesting story. We get along great because I can go along with anything and she pretty much always gets her way, so it’s all good.

Ummm... I love Latinos. They are so funny and fun to talk to. It's been a blast getting to know them and it's gonna be so hard to say goodbye in 6 DAYS. Oh mannn this is going by so fast. And back to the Spanish (that's just the main part of my life right now so I have a lot to say), I SAID MY FIRST PRAYER TOTALLY IN SPANISH and right after everyone said amen, they clapped for me and were so excited. They keep telling me that I am doing so well and improving every day, but all that does is make me think how awful I must really have been to begin with. :) Haha, but really. 

Wasn't general conference AWESOME?! Oh my goodness I just absolutely loved it. It was so cool to be sitting in a room with 2000 missionaries and to feel the spirit. And yet I still managed to fall asleep during most sessions of conference. Awkward. I guess I even started snoring too. Haha, so embarrassing... But back to conference I just LOVED Elder Bednar’s talk. It was so good and I hope a lot of my future investigators got to see that! 

Oh and I've seen so many people here! Even though we're on west campus and separated (we're moving up to main on Thursday... dang) we still go up there a lot anyway and I get to see people. I saw John Nelson, Brad Hollingsworth, Ashlee Young, Alyssa Bakker, Kate Anderson, Elder Hyde, and Issac Ridge. It's crazyyy. It's so fun and SO NICE to see a familiar face. 

So as you know I flew to Vegas yesterday to the Mexican consulate to get my visa. It was just myself and 6 other elders. We partied hard. Haha, not really. It was an exhausting day but I wanted to tell you about the flight!!! So all of us were joking around about how we should start up a conversation with the people around us on the plane and basically convert them. Easy right? Haha, but as I was going, there was a really nice guy that sat by me and we ended up talking a ton! The whole 53 minute flight! He was in the navy and then was a pilot commercially and is now retired in Cottonwood Heights. We got to talking about river trips and climbing and seeing the world. I said something (can't quite remember) and he said that I sound just like JIMMY BUFFETT!!!! WHAT?! Oh my goodness, it was the greatest compliment I've ever gotten. We started talking about old Jimmy vs. new and how great he is and that Zac Brown is similar in that they tell stories and that we were both parrotheads. It. Was. Awesome. So great. 

Also my companion and I are sister training leaders, because there's sooo many options. Oh wait, it's just the two of us. Haha, but it's fun and we have a title so we are pretty cool I guess. :)

And THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE LETTERS!!!! Thank you for the treats! Will you thank Renae for me? I am so so so grateful for those. Oh geez, I miss you so much. This is the greatest part of my week to hear from you guys! I love you more than words can say. I know this is the place for me, even though it is so hard. I have laughed harder than hard and also cried. A lot. But it's all part of the growing experience and I love it. I love you all and can't wait to talk to you again next week! Eat more Panda and Cafe Rio and LA PUENTE for me!!! :) Oh and the food here is ok, not gourmet, but edible. I haven't had any issues yet! :)

LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!! You are amazing. Whenever I get sad because I can't speak Spanish, I think of you guys and I'm ok. Oh and we leave the 13th, so Monday, for a connecting flight in Texas and then to Pachuca. I'm the travel leader and I have 4 other people traveling with me. Hopefully I get another chance to email you before we fly out, but if not, know I love you and I will email you as soon as I possibly can!!! Thanks for the pictures - they're awesome. LOVE YOU!!! 

Sending all my love and hugs, 

Hermana Anstee :)

She's not only ok

HOLA MI FAMILIA!!!!!!!! So I only have three minutes today to tell you all about my crazy experiences so forgive me if my grammar or spelling is bad. But I have an hour on tuesday and will write you guys mucho mas and send pictures! So it is absolutely CRAZY!!!! I am in a district where I am the ONLY GRINGA. Everyone else is latino. There are 10 elders and then my companion and I are the only hermanas. It is crazy. I love my companion. She's from New York and is going to El Salvador. She is fluent in spanish, english, and french and helps me so much. In class we only talk in spanish and it is hard to catch up and speak because I am so far behind, but they are so kind to help me and joke with me. They make fun of me a TON in spanish and I kinda understand but it's totally cool and we just laugh about it, I know it's all out of love...  haha gotta love being the ONLY white girl in our zone. In our district, 6 companionships and only one other white guy. I can tell he was the cool kid in high school so he doesn't talk to me... haha. I mean it's fine. Since my companion and I are the only sisters we are officially sister training leaders. Wahoo I have a leadership role over people who I can't even talk to fully yet. Hahahahahaha oh well I am learning. They take time out of their schedules to help a little white girl and give me a jumbled spanish lesson, but I love them all. My district is three companionships and our zone is 6, so 12 people together 10 boys and us 2 hermanas. We all love each other and really have fun and joke together. The gift of tongues is totally real and I am so grateful for it. It is so hard. I mean so hard. I am struggling with communicating but I love it here and am happy. I have felt like I am always playing catch up but it's ok, I think in a few days I will feel better. But no need for the dark people yet.  haha! I love you guys SOSOSOSOSOSOSOSO much and miss you! I just got the cinnamon rolls today - YUM - thanks to Renae! And I haven't even read any mail since I don't get it until tonight, but I am so grateful for it already! Thanks for your sweet letters - I absolutely loved them. I hope you know that I love you beyond belief and that I miss you but am having the time of my life. Growing so much and learning so much about myself and the gospel and of course spanish. LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!

LOVE YOU AND WILL WRITE MORE ON TUESDAY!!!!

P.S. I am going to Vegas on monday to the consulate to get my visa. and I love you. A lot.

(FYI - The "dark people" referred to are friends of friend's ready to remove Jess from Mexico if needed. Haha.)

Like

Farewell Talk

Good morning brothers and sisters! It is such an honor to be able to be up here to speak to you and also to do so with Ashley Carlson. She has always been one of those girls that I look up to and I am so grateful for her example of going on a mission and I’m so excited to hear about her experience, as I’m sure you are too, so I’ll try to keep this short.

I have been called of the Lord to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Days Saints in Pachuca Mexico. I am unbelievably excited about it. Some fun facts are that it is a fairly new mission, opened to boys last July and girls in December. It is at an altitude comparable to Snowbird, so the temperature ranges from 45 to 75, so I’ll be pretty spoiled. I will be eating rice and beans but also with a twist of maggot tacos or ant eggs or larvae or tadpoles and salamanders. So. Uh. Yeah, pretty pumped. :/ haha but really, I feel incredibly blessed to have the opportunity to serve a mission and share the hope and joy this gospel brings to me with the people of Mexico.

Today I was asked to speak on Joseph Smith. To tell you the truth, I wasn’t so sure about this as a farewell topic. Yes, I have a testimony that he restored the gospel to the earth in these latter days and that he was martyred for what he believed but I wasn’t sure how I could make this into a farewell talk. But, as I researched and pondered the things he did it made me realize that he lived. He had a cause and he wasn’t afraid to share it. And this reminds me of the Savior and His life and all He did and what His life represents.

Both the Savior and the Prophet Joseph gave their lives in a divine cause. Yet President David O. McKay once wrote, “I confess that [Christ’s shedding His blood] has moved me less than the realization that in His life He lived for His fellow men” Similarly, I am more inspired by Joseph Smith’s life than by his death. Quoting John Taylor, he “left a fame and name that cannot be slain. He lived great”. It is vital to commemorate the Prophet’s death; we must never forget. Yet his life is a model of one possessed of mighty faith in Jesus Christ. The Lord asked the Nephites, “What manner of men ought ye to be?” and then answered his own question, “Even as I am”.

The Savior performed miracles and taught sermons that defy human expectation. He rose people from the dead, healed the lepers, gave sight to the blind and cleansed those who were polluted. He taught of love and kindness and joy, yet did what some preachers fail to do. He lived it. What a phenomenal standard for us to live up to. Whether or not you believe in this gospel or any other faith or not at all, we can all be kind. We can all love each other. We can all find joy. And I’ve found the greatest example of all these attributes is Jesus Christ.

The beloved disciple John stated simply, “God is love”. Kindness and compassion flowed from the Only Begotten Son’s soul as pure water from a pristine spring.

President Spencer W. Kimball, another great prophetic example of love, taught: One can learn to be loving. If one patterns his life in the mold of love—if he consciously and determinedly directs his thoughts, controls his acts, and tries to feel and constantly express his love, he becomes a person of love, for “As he thinketh in his heart, so is he.”

I have often wondered what our purpose is here on Earth and how incredible it is to imagine that each of us have a divine purpose and God knows each of us individually. It is amazing that we have the knowledge that there is a hereafter and we can live with our families forever. But in order to achieve that blessing we must live our lives worthy and to the best of our ability now. I have always believed this life is about each other. We are meant to build each other up, love each other, and help each other in this crazy journey home. President Gordon B. Hinckley taught our responsibility:

We are all in this great endeavor together… Your obligation is as serious in your sphere of responsibility as is my obligation in mine. All of us in the pursuit of our duty touch the lives of others. To each of us in our respective responsibilities the Lord has said: “Wherefore, be faithful; stand in the office which I have appointed unto you; succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees”

And so comes the question. Why am I serving a mission? There is a story that really struck me when I heard it and I would like to share it with you. It is about a young man who had a dream as he was preparing for his mission call. It goes as follows: I was in the pre-existence and was awaiting my call to come to earth. In my dream, I was talking to a friend. He was a very dear friend, and I felt a special closeness to him, even though I've never met him in this life. As we talked, a messenger came and gave me a letter. I knew it was my call to go to earth. In great excitement my friend and I opened the letter I gave it to him and asked him to read it aloud. The letter said: You have been called to earth in a special time and to a special land. You will be born into the true church, and you will have the priesthood of God in your home. You will be raised with many advantages and many blessings. You will be born in a land of freedom. You will go to earth in the United States of America. My friend and I rejoiced as we read my call. And while we rejoiced, the messenger returned. This time he had a letter for my friend. We knew it was his call to earth. My friend gave me the letter to read aloud. The letter said: You have been called to go to earth in circumstances of poverty and strife. You will not be raised in the true church. Many hardships will attend your life. Your land will be fraught with political and social difficulties, which will hinder the word of the Lord. We wept, my friend and I as we read his call. And my friend looked at me with tears in his eyes and said, "When we are down on earth, come and find me." This story, one that I heard years and years ago, has impacted my whole life in a way most other stories haven’t. I feel so strongly that I have made the same promise. I know there is someone in Pachuca Mexico that I promised in the preexistence that I would find and share the gospel with. That is why I am going on a mission. The example of Jesus Christ’s life and how he lived and helped his fellow men is awe-inspiring and I want to imitate that. The sacrifice both Jesus and Joseph made of dedicating their entire lives to the spreading of the gospel is immense and makes 18 months not sound too daunting. I know it is going to be really hard. I know I am going to miss my family more than anything in the world. And yet, this gospel deserves to be shared. It has brought me hope in times of darkness, standards in times of unsurety, and joy in all times. I have been so blessed to have this gospel to help me along my way and look forward to the notion of inviting others to experience the same.

Of all of the examples of Christ like love and kindness and goodness, the absolute first person who comes to my mind is my mother. Oh mom, glad I have the tissues. Mom, you are my best friend. You are my rock and my cheerleader, my personal secretary and fellow ice cream lover. Thank you for teaching me to love others. You emanate Christ. From never missing a birthday card or thank you note to making and delivering cinnamon rolls to people in the neighborhood. You love others and you show it. I will miss our long talks where we laugh and cry together. Whenever I get sick, the first thing I want is for my mom to hold me. I don’t have proper command of the English language, well any language come to think of it, to properly express the love I have for you. Abraham Lincoln once said, “All that I am or hope to be I owe to my angel mother”, and I completely share this sentiment. Thank you mom, you’re the greatest example I have in my life of how to be. I love you so much.

Dad, you’re my hero. You showed me the importance of having an open mind to everything. You taught me by example to look out for the outsiders or those who don’t have a friend. You teach me everyday to look at the bigger picture and that kindness is most important. Whenever I am struggling with something or someone I know I can come to you and fully and completely speak my mind and you will not only feel that frustration with me but also help me come up with a resolution that will somehow fix everything. Thank you for teaching me to love the outdoors. Your love for the mountains has also been placed in me and given me such a great comfort in times of happiness and in times of sadness. Thanks for being my climbing, kayaking, knot-tying, backpack wearing, long boarding, story-telling, amazing friend. You have done more than the responsibility of being a father figure to me, you have been my closest friend when you didn’t have to. Since we’re family we have to love each other, but I genuinely like you dad. But more than any of that stuff, thank you for loving mom and me no matter what. I love you dad, so much.

I want to thank the neighborhood. The saying, “it takes a village” is completely true. And I’ve had help across the country from Kansas to Texas to California and even Vanuatu and everywhere in between. A special thanks to those who traveled near and far to support me, I truly appreciate it. There have been so many people who have taken an interest in me and been so kind to me that didn’t have to. And it’s not because I am anything special, but because of their genuine spirits and loving souls in helping a little piece of work like me grow up. Thank you so much. Our bishopric is incredible, whether it be a helping hand in getting tables and chairs, doing interviews, or my endless texts trying to figure it all out because I was so nervous. Thank for your patience and love and smiles. Thank you to my teachers, my leaders, my peers, and my friends. I have been blessed over the years with the best of friends. Whether we ran or swam together or are friends through school I am so grateful for our friendship. I am grateful for the many examples I have to look up to of missionary service and those who couldn’t be here now because they are serving the Lord in various countries around the world. I can’t wait to join them. I am also grateful for the people who couldn’t be here today due to college starting up. I wish all of them and all of you who are gaining a further education the best of luck and I know you will all succeed no matter where you are. I am moved and humbled by the immense love I feel as I look out at each of you.

I also want to thank my extended family. My grandma is amazing. Her love and service for her fellow man is beyond my comprehension. She never fails to help someone else, including myself with sewing mission skirts for me. You know, mission shopping is exhausting especially for my mom and myself. We go for a solid 45 minutes then need an ice cream break. My grandma has saved us by doing it for us. She always has a place at the table and a story for anyone who wants one. Thank you grandma. And grandpa thank you for making me feel beautiful. Whenever I go over to your house I get filled with new knowledge and insights about the gospel or what the meaning of life is and leave feeling refreshed and whole. Thank you both for your unconditional love to each other, the family, and myself. I have been blessed with such an incredible family on both sides. Aunts, uncles, cousins – thank you for the laughs and the love throughout my life. Thank you for your examples. I am blessed to have my dad’s sister and her husband serving a mission in Vanuatu right now; I miss them so much but I am so excited to see them when I get back. Maryanne taught me how to smell and appreciate books and laugh and Larry taught me how powerful a testimony can be. I love them and adore their kids. So thank you to all my family, you have been the most important role in my life and I feel so lucky to have been a part of yours. Love you guys.

Well, I would like to end with my testimony…

I know that this church is true. I wouldn’t be going on a mission if I didn’t. I’m grateful for the hope it brings me. I know Joseph Smith restored the gospel here on earth and that President Monson is the living prophet today. I know that he loves us and would never lead us astray. I know the Book of Mormon is true, every word. If you haven’t read it, read it. Pray about it. That’s how we know for ourselves. I am so grateful to live in a free country and have the opportunity to gain an education and have parents who support me in that. I know that families can be together forever which is the biggest joy this gospel brings me, because there is no one I would rather annoy for the rest of eternity. And most of all, I love the Savior. He is my friend. And I can’t wait to introduce him to the people of Pachuca. I love you all, adios for now.

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Surreality

Holy smokes, this is real! I am coming to the realization that my mission truly is going to happen. As I have been preparing and getting ready I understand more and more of what a mission requires and how hard it is going to be. Yes, it will be amazing and such an awesome learning experience but it will be harder than anything I have ever done. How have I come across this idea? I had to say goodbye a few weeks ago to two of the most incredible guys I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. It just feels wrong to not give some ode to them in some way and this is what I’ve resorted to. Prepare yourself; it’s about to get sappy.

Braeden Black. My best friend in the whole world and the person who I can tell anything to, even if I wasn’t supposed to. He is the person who tells me my hair looks weird and asks me why I am so awkward around people. He is the one who will push me into that cute guy in the hallway so I can make a terrible first impression but still get to talk to him because I’m too shy to do it myself. He makes fun of me endlessly, but to the point where I look forward to it. Our conversations range from the newest movie coming out to him telling me about the girls he wishes he were dating to how excited we are for our missions to deep intellectual discussions about the gospel. With him, I am completely myself. He is one of the best examples to me of faith and how to make connections with people. He has this amazing ability that when you talk to him he looks at you, not just glance but truly looks at you and makes you feel like there’s some deep friendship as if you’ve known him forever. He left to go to the Mexico CCM about a week ago and then will go to lovely San Antonio Texas. All I know is that I miss him and I hope he comes back fat.

Then there’s Mitch. Oh man, where do I even begin? I had the amazing pleasure of getting to know Mitch really well the past few months and it has been one of the funnest rides. I had gone to Lake Powell with him and Braeden and two other guys a couple summers earlier where I learned he was pretty neat but really fell in love with his family more than anything. His siblings are hilarious and sweet and his parents even more so. They made me feel so welcomed and happy that I just wanted to be around them all the time and couldn’t really care less about Mitch himself. Then school started and he got a girlfriend so we didn’t hang out. To make a very long story short they broke up and I was being particularly lonesome in the hallway and he gave me a pity hello and asked me out. And then we kept going on dates and it kept being more and more fun each time as we got to know each other better. He has the amazing ability to talk to people. He can start up a conversation with anyone on the street and brighten their day and leave them better than he found them. He makes me laugh like none other and is an extreme gentleman (in my opinion to a fault) and makes me so very happy. As I have had the pleasure of dating him I have learned through his example what it means to be Christ like and look out for others. But all wonderful things must come to an end – the dreaded date came. July 30^th. He left to go to Guayaquil Ecuador and save the whole stinkin’ world. It was the hardest goodbye I’ve ever had to face because I was so excited for him, rather for both of us, to go on missions and learn more about our gospel but having seen him everyday to not at all sucked. Not hugging him for two years? How could I possibly do something like that? Well overall lots of ice cream and crying (like, a lot. I mean a ton of both) happened and it’s still super hard and I miss him a lot, but I know that this is exactly where we are supposed to be. His simple friendship and happy disposition is something I sorely miss in my life but I am willing to share with Ecuador for a couple of years.

These experiences have helped me realize and understand what a time commitment a mission is. Now I have to go through all of that again with my family. Man oh man, it is going to be so hard. Nothing even compares to the love I have for my family and I’m not sure what I’m going to do. But as my mission draws nearer, the excitement increases as well as the bittersweet knowledge of what October 1^st brings. I truly am so grateful for the opportunity to serve a mission, as well as have the blessing of having such great friends to lead by their examples. And hey, two years isn’t that long, right?

Braeden. He's into anything French, sushi, making fun of me, and serving the Lord in San Antonio.

Isn't Mitch handsome? I'm so jealous of Ecuador.