Well, it's here. In less than an hour, I will be set apart as a missionary to the Missouri St Louis Mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I will be an ambassador of the Lord. I will be on the Lord's time. I'm very nervous, but so excited. I know that this is where I need to be. Before I go, let me share with you my testimony.
I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior and Redeemer. I know He lives. I know He is the very begotten son of a loving Heavenly Father who knows each of us. I know that His plan is for us to return to Him. This has been made possible by the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I love Them and want to serve Them with all of my heart. I know that these truths which we understand were restored to the earth by the prophet, Joseph Smith. The true priesthood is on the earth today. I have felt its power as I have exercised it worthily. The Book of Mormon is convincing evidence that Joseph Smith was a prophet, that he restored the priesthood keys, and that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the Kingdom of God on the earth. By reading the Book of Mormon, we invite the Spirit into our lives.
Most of you know that I am a very logical person. I don't think I'd call myself a skeptic, but I definitely appreciate evidence. Among logical people in the world, religion is not a popular topic. Many believe that you can't "prove" the points of religion. I contend quite the opposite. In Moroni 10, we are promised that if we will ask with a sincere heart, real intent, and faith in Christ, we can know if the Book of Mormon is true. By the very nature of that promise, a witness of the spirit is logical evidence that the Book of Mormon is true. I have read the Book of Mormon, and felt the spirit witness to my heart that it is indeed true.
I love you all so much. I will miss my family and friends so much, and I'm sure there will be tough days when I really miss home, but I have been called by a prophet of God, who communicates directly with my Heavenly Father, to serve the people of St. Louis. I'm not going to let them down. Pray for me, as I will pray for you. May the Lord bless you all as you keep his commandments and the honor covenants you have made.
See you in two!
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Once upon a time, in the land of mission preparation,
Okay, something kinda ironic about me. I have given thousands of shots to myself. Literally, thousands. The shots that I give now, for my insulin pump, are not that much smaller than the shots you get for an immunization like a flu shot, tetanus, Hep A, whatever. The shots that I give myself do not freak me out. It's not my number one hobby, but it takes me about 3 minutes, and no big deal, doesn't really hurt that bad.
When it comes to doctors/nurses giving me shots, I get freaked out. I don't know what it is. It might be that the vaccine going into you hurts way worse than insulin going into you. It might just be that I'm not in control, that someone else is stabbing me. I don't know, but whatever it is, I don't like getting shots from other people. Kinda weird, I know.
So I need to get my hepatitis A and a tetanus (am I spelling that right?) booster before my mission. So this morning my mom calls our general practice doctor and makes sure that I'm good to come in and get those immunizations. For the reasons stated above, I was not in the least excited about this, but I want to be a missionary, so I agreed to go in.
My mom actually called in twice just because there was a little miscommunication about what records I needed to bring, what immunizations I needed, etc. Anyway, I went in today, checked in at the front desk, let them know what vaccines I needed and everything, and they sent me to the waiting room to fill out a big, long insurance page and sign for my dad. After all of this, the nurse opens the door and calls my name. I had actually just finished saying a prayer asking Heavenly Father to help me to be brave (yep, just like a Kindergartner, you better believe it). And as I stand up to head back, the nurse informs me that they don't have two of the vaccinations that I need.
"Uh...I only need two. Hep A and a tetanus booster."
"Yeah, we don't have either of those."
"Uh...okay."
"When you come in for your appointment on Monday, we should have them, and we won't charge you again."
"Uh...okay."
"Thanks for coming in!"
Seriously? You couldn't have told my mom when she called in? Or maybe the second time she called in? Perhaps when I came to the front desk? Maybe before you had me spend 20 minutes filling out insurance information? The detail that YOU COULDN'T HELP ME didn't seem relevant until then?
That's poor customer service, folks.
Trust me, I was once a customer service rep.
When it comes to doctors/nurses giving me shots, I get freaked out. I don't know what it is. It might be that the vaccine going into you hurts way worse than insulin going into you. It might just be that I'm not in control, that someone else is stabbing me. I don't know, but whatever it is, I don't like getting shots from other people. Kinda weird, I know.
So I need to get my hepatitis A and a tetanus (am I spelling that right?) booster before my mission. So this morning my mom calls our general practice doctor and makes sure that I'm good to come in and get those immunizations. For the reasons stated above, I was not in the least excited about this, but I want to be a missionary, so I agreed to go in.
My mom actually called in twice just because there was a little miscommunication about what records I needed to bring, what immunizations I needed, etc. Anyway, I went in today, checked in at the front desk, let them know what vaccines I needed and everything, and they sent me to the waiting room to fill out a big, long insurance page and sign for my dad. After all of this, the nurse opens the door and calls my name. I had actually just finished saying a prayer asking Heavenly Father to help me to be brave (yep, just like a Kindergartner, you better believe it). And as I stand up to head back, the nurse informs me that they don't have two of the vaccinations that I need.
"Uh...I only need two. Hep A and a tetanus booster."
"Yeah, we don't have either of those."
"Uh...okay."
"When you come in for your appointment on Monday, we should have them, and we won't charge you again."
"Uh...okay."
"Thanks for coming in!"
Seriously? You couldn't have told my mom when she called in? Or maybe the second time she called in? Perhaps when I came to the front desk? Maybe before you had me spend 20 minutes filling out insurance information? The detail that YOU COULDN'T HELP ME didn't seem relevant until then?
That's poor customer service, folks.
Trust me, I was once a customer service rep.
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