It's my Song: Stepping out of Klurisa Land!

Two years ago I embarked on a journey that has forever changed who I am. In the beginning I felt a lot like Laman and Lemuel saying that God had asked a hard thing of me. If there is one thing that I learned in Michigan it is that I CAN DO HARD THINGS!

A mission was not what I expected at all. In fact I really had no clue what mission all entailed. The one thing that I did know was that Missionaries got fed. As you can see through my pictures I got fed REALLY well! I was really just trying to measure my spiritual growth and I wanted something I could physically see. Haha

A mission is so much more than the dinner appointments and the weird food stories. It sounds selfish to say that my mission was about me but it is true. No matter how much I feel like I contributed to Michigan I got so much more out of my service to the Lord than I was ever able to give to anyone else.

God taught me who I am. He did that by allowing me to help others see who they are. One of my favorite parts of being a missionary was the amount of love I was able to feel for complete strangers! I could knock on a door of someone who lived in very humble circumstances and little going on in their lives or I could knock on a door of a mansion of someone who felt they had it all- and I would feel an overwhelming amount of love for them. No matter where people were at in life I knew that God loved them. I could feel it. As I would teach them the Spirit would confirm to me that they are children of God and He desperately wants them to be happy and return to live with Him again.

As I learned who I am my thoughts and actions changed. My desire to live in alignment with God's will increased. I learned how to communicate with my Father in Heaven and to urgently follow promptings. I yearned for a deeper connection with the Spirit. I knew that obedience to God's commandments was where it started, I often heard that there were three reasons people were obedient.
1-Fear

2-Duty
3-Love

It was a process for me to be obedient out of love. I went through all three of these phases and thank heavens for my wonderful companions who were so patient with me as I was learning and growing. I felt a day and night difference as I began to be obedient because I loved the Lord not because I was fearful of what might happen if I was not obedient or because I had to due to the name tag that I had taken upon my self. It didn't happen over night. It is still something I am improving on every day. I have had to learn to rely on the Savior and his grace to help me as I strive to become more like Him. I had to take the focus off of ME! I was no longer in Klurisa Land! I was in the Lords Land! And in His land there is no time for selfishness.

Because I know who I am I served. God showed me what I had and I knew I had to share it. The Gospel has changed my life. It brings me purpose, understanding, and allows me to live more abundantly. This is why I LOVED my mission. I got to share what is most precious to me with so many wonderful people who have left such a positive impact on my life. I will forever remember these people and the memories I was able to make with them. They were each a piece of the puzzle that made up my mission. Each piece is valued and essential in creating the big picture of the wonderful 18 months I was able to spend in, the Lords Land, My Sacred Grove.

I CAN do hard things. That is because God is real. He is my Heavenly Father. He is aware of me and He knows me personally and He loves me. I can do hard things because I have a Savior who suffered for me and knows how to help me overcome my sins and weaknesses.

I can do hard things because I have a Heavenly family, an Earthly family, a mission, and a ward family who are always there cheering me on and helping me all along the way.

I know this church is true. That is something I cannot deny. I have watched the gospel work in so many people's lives and in my own life. I know that the Book of Mormon is inspired of God. As I have read it my love for it increases. It is what has helped my testimony to grow and to understand more of the nature of God and where I fit into His plan. I know that Joseph Smith is the prophet of the Restoration. He did see God and Jesus Christ. This knowledge came from diligent scripture study and teaching others what I know. Through this process the Spirit was able to testify of truth to me.

I am so grateful for my mission and all that I was able to learn in Michigan. I cannot believe it was two years ago that I entered the MTC. I could never imagine in that moment the amount of good I was doing for myself and my family. My mission changed me. It saved my life!