Please introduce yourself.
I’m a student at Appalachian and I just finished my junior year. Not the most conventional time to go on a mission when you have one year left, but hey it’s all in the Lord’s timing I guess! I am studying marketing. We’ll see where it takes me. So I’ll come back and finish out my senior year when I get back! I’m from Dallas, Texas and I’m in North Carolina because I just felt like trying somewhere new and venturing out and I just LOVE it! I’m super grateful to be where I am. I wouldn’t trade the people I’ve met or the experiences I’ve had for the world! And finding the church is most definitely included in that!
Where will you be serving?
I will be serving in the Guayaquil South, Ecuador mission!
What led to your decision to serve?
This is a complicated question haha! So I joined the church when I was 18. I was a freshman in college. I never even imagined myself serving a mission. Well, 2 or 3 years went by and I just felt called. I pushed it aside and pushed it aside. I have a boyfriend serving in San Juan, Puerto Rico and one of his first weeks out (with the new video chat rule) I was able to hear him talk about it. I have never felt more strongly the need to serve myself. It kind of kickstarted me actually considering it. But I had so strongly decided not to I was so conflicted. So, I locked myself in my room and prayed and studied for hours. At one point when I just felt so defeated, I heard a knock at my door. It was the elders! They just felt prompted to stop by…I just knew the answer at that point. Heavenly Father was aware of my struggle and I just needed a little nudge. So that’s how I decided to serve in a nutshell! It wasn’t easy, but I know it’s right.
What advice do you have for others making that decision?
For anyone considering serving a mission, use your resources. Prayer is so powerful and your Heavenly Father is so aware of you. He loves you and wants the very best for you. Don’t let the world influence your decision. This is a decision between you and the Lord. Try not to lose sight of that!
What special opportunities does being a convert help you in your future service?
Truthfully, I’m thrilled to go out as a convert! I have seen the church from an outsiders perspective. I’ve had a more worldly view. I know exactly what someone can gain from the gospel because I have done just that, and it makes me all the more excited for others to have that joy in their lives that I was able to find from having a relationship with Christ. Not only do I know what great things can come from the gospel, but I know how uncomfortable it can be at first. That’s something I think is hard for people who were raised in the church to understand, but I lived it. I still do sometimes! It’s hard to turn your life around like that, so I hope that I can help guide people through that part.
What are you most excited about in your mission?
What I’m most excited for is the opportunity to share the thing that has brought the most joy and love into my life with others who may be struggling with that. And I’m thrilled to be doing it while learning a totally different language and culture! I know it’s going to be really hard sometimes, and let me be frank. I’m terrified. But I’m so excited to serve the Lord in that capacity! I hope to help people down the road to change their lives, and I know in the mean time they will change mine as well. I’m very lucky to have this opportunity! It wasn’t an easy process, but I am so grateful for the people the Lord has surrounded me with. With Him by your side, all things are possible, and I am so eternally grateful.
