Mad's Happy Life: MONDAY - October 8, 2012

all the single ladies...

Dear Girls 19 and up (and everyone else reading my blog)

I could write this week about how I got attacked by a dog (learned my lesson, don't go in a gate with no one there) or I could tell you about my first on the lips kiss here on the mission.. don't worry, he was at least a cute man....or i could tell you about amelia, our rat, or i could tell you about the fact I have a new Brasillian companion AND SHES 37 YEARS OLD.

But that can all wait for another week, because this week I want everyone to know how from the bottom of my heart, I love revelation from our Prophet. And incredibly enough, sister arnell and I were talking about the age change for sister missionaries this past week.

Maybe it is because I have now been on a mission for 6 months and can see things a little more clearly and in hindsight, but for real girls. GO ON A MISSION. And I want you to realize right now that if I was the one reading this about a year ago, I would have been very angry and not wanting to actually admit I should go. (The Lord works in mysterious ways I tell you) But as you read this, if you feel even the slightest tug at your heart realize it is the Spirit telling you this is for you.

When I first decided to go on a mission I had a lot of fear. You know, that Sister missionaries are crazy. And they dress horribly. And they all turn up strange after their missions and never get married. I think to be honest, i had this fear until my first day in the MTC where I met a ton of girls, just like me, that had normal lives and normal friends and normal clothes. There are normal, just like you sisters out there. I promise.

Also, I cant even begin to describe the amount of happiness you experience on a mission. The MTC is like EFY on steroids minus the flirting. It is the fastest place your testimony will ever grow. It is the only place in the world I bet you can meet so many people from all around the world who are just like you-about to go on a mission and serve the same God they believe in. It changed my life. And as awesome as the MTC is, nothing compares to ``the mission field``

There is nothing on earth that will make you happier than serving a mission. You will grow closer to the Lord, you will grow in your testimony and you will learn more about yourself than anywhere else. I have been pushed to the edge of my comfort zone over and over again here on the mission and it is the thrill of a lifetime.

Nothing compares to the feeling you will get when you share the first vision and a light switches on in your investigators eyes. Nothing compares to the feelings you will get when they are then baptized. Or when children in the street call out ``oi seester!`` or when people run after you with knives (story for after the mission). Or when you eat the intestines of a cow without knowing it, or when you throw up all over the street in the favela, or when a woman comes up and tells you you are just glowing and look like an angel. It is in reality, the best adventure your life will ever have up to this point.

I wish someone had told me that everything would be okay before I started my mission. I wouldn't have believed it, but i wish someone would have. Because literally, everything is okay. Life is more than good, its incredible. You will be far more happy living on a cot in Brasil or in a hammic in Africa being eaten alive by bugs then you ever could possibly be in the warmth of your own home. Nothing brings more happiness than sharing the gospel.

SO. If you are reading this and thinking well maybe i should..........START YOUR PAPERS TODAY! They take forever anyways. Start your papers, get them done, kiss mom and dad goodbye and go on a mission. You'll grow up. You'll be happier than you could ever imagine and you will be blessed. I promise.