Week 4: P-Day #1 in Puerto Maldonado!

Ok so I only have 30 minutes and rules are that I can only send 1 email a week, so I'm gonna ask for your help. ANYONE can email me though, so you can send out my email address to everyone on facebook and such and just let them know that I can only write cards back and that if they email me, they need to write their address in the email. Also, let them know that they can respond to Dad's email and then he'll send it to me. I'm not sure people know that.

Ok so to start off, Lima is overcast and polluted and crowded and I'm not a fan. It is winter and it's not very cold. I was hoping for a little more relieft, but it was nice being in the MTC there. My district was REALLY squirly. They all just seemed so young. Even my 2 companions there. But I met some nice Chilenos and a guy from Buenos Aires! Only one of them is in my mission, well and one my my companions too. The others are all other places.

So in the MTC in Provo, they gave me scriptures, but I already had some. I was gonna give them back, but someone told me to keep them and then give them to someone as a nice gift. Well I wasn't going to bring them because I was limited on weight that I could fly with and scriptures are kind of heavy. But, I finally felt like I should bring them. My first Saturday in Lima, we left the MTC to go to an area and contact less active members. While we were out, when of the sisters was robbed... which meant she no longer had scriptures! Good thing I had an extra! She now has scriptures. I'm glad the Lord knew I would have an extra set and helped me to make the decision to bring them with me.

Well, last Monday, the best part was playing soccer! It was so fun at the MTC and they have a nice field there... well, nice for down here. It was so good to get out and run and not be stressed or couped up in a room studying.

SO..... Then Tuesday, I traveled to Cusco. Such a cute city. BUT, even with the altitude medicine, my head KILLED. President Calderon is lo maximo (aka the best) and he had oxygen and other pills to take. it kind of helped. But I still was kind of like great... this is going to take a while to adjust to.

Well, my companion and trainer is Hna Olivera. She is from Mexico, does not speak English and sometimes, it's hard to tell her stories about my life, but we always figure it out! We have been working and working and working. I'm in Puerto Maldonado!!!! AKA JUNGLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is hot and humid and there is so much dirt and I'm always disgusting. My goal of looking cute as a missionary is long gone out the window! My current goal? DRINK TONS OF WATER! But it's winter here... from what I understand. There really isn't winter. They call this season Summer... odd, because we're in the southern hemisphere which means winter. But essentially there is summer and rainy season. There are nice homes (nice for Peru) and there are homes that are definitely not nice at all. We share our area which is Puerto Maldonado, Rama Huerto with out district leader and his companion. We have SO much work to do here. People are always willing to listen to us and we rarely get a rude response. The biggest challenge is getting people to keep their promises.

So biggest blessing? I have absolutely no blisters. The other sisters are kind of jealous that I don't have blisters. But what they don't know is that I suffered more than they did when I was in Argentina with the blisters and infections I had there. So I haven't missed out on anything. I'm super grateful that I don't have to go through that again.

So a little more about my companion. She is 26 and from Mexico. She has a boyfriend waiting for her and they're planning on getting married shortly after she gets home. I probably won't be home for it. She has been out 6 months. She is super patient and super smart. She is short and was born in the church, so she knows her scriptures in Spanish like I know mine in English. I just hope I can grow to know my scriptures in Spanish better.

Ok so foods I HATE. Chicken liver. OMG.... makes me gag. I'm not sure I have ever had it before and it's not like it tastes super nasty, but something about it had my gag reflex going. I swallowed it as fast as I could and washed it down. And then agua cebada... which is water made from barley? That's what I understood. It kind of has a slight taste of coffee. UCKY!

There are different fruits here that are DELICIOUS. I LOVE carambola. Also, we had mumey (spelling?) That reminded me of a peach but more sour.

So last night, we were at a family home evening with a family and we were saying what we like about the people there. Well, my companion started by saying I could go on about my companion, there is too much to say in a few minutes and then this little boy who we are teaching his mom and her boyfriend, he raises his hand and goes I know what to say, she is pretty! It made me laugh. Especially since humidity and dirt are not a good combination for me! I looked pretty gross. But he's apparently not the only one with that opinion. There is a guy that the missionaries have beeen trying to teach. His mom is a member and he's like 18 or 19? Well he I guess he always gives an excuse to the sister missionaries of why we can't teach him at that moment. Well, when I came, he immediately let us in. He has the desire to be baptized, but he has a hard time making changes. So we shall see.

We are teaching a family who is awesome! There are 2 sisters who are both married. The one sister, Felicita lives in our area and is married and has a daughter who could be baptized too! She is commited to be baptized! So hopefully all goes well and she continues to progress. Her sister is awesome! her name is Jessica and isn't in our area, but she's a little more confusing. She is married, but her husband left her for another girl and she now lives with her boyfriend who is really great. He is so great to her 2 little children. So hopefully we can help her with her divorce and remarry!!!!

The kids here are adorable and they all love me! It was nice to go to church and have them want to sit by me and would come up and hug me and then wouldn't leave me alone. But it's hard to get to know everyone right now. SOOO many names, but I love the branch here.

Ok, that's about it.

I Love you all!

Love,

Hermana Carly Jo Lang

LOVE YOU ALL LOTS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Week 3: So Soon-I'm Leaving For Cusco!

Leaving For Cusco!

So yesterday I called Mom in Atlanta and then after that I was able to talk to Danny for just a few moments and then good thing I didn´t get through to Jamie because when I hung up and was walking back to my gate, they were calling my name on the intercom. So on the plane, the poor girl next to me was 16 and flying alone to visit a friend. Our customs and immigrations forms were only in Spanish. Which are kind of hard for me to even understand because those aren´t words that I ever use. But we got the forms and after she went through immigrations, I couldn´t find her to see if she was alright. I certainly hope so. Oh! So we boarded our plane in Atlanta and then were delayed an hour. Someone was complaining about some smell in their seat? I don´t really know, but I do know they had to call a cleaning crew to try and fix it. So I got into Lima at 1am. Then after going through everything it was 2am when I got out. I had seen 3 other elders in line behind me and then I couldn´t find them. I proceeded outside of the airport and a Taxi man approached me. I was really uncomfortable at first and then he actually ended up being really nice. He was saying that for missionaries, there is normally someone inside waiting. We tried calling the numbers that I had on my sheet and he couldn´t get through. I had the address of the MTC in Lima thanks to Katie for writing all of my addresses on a piece of paper for me. He said he knew where it was. I said I was going to go back inside to make sure I couldn´t find the other elders. I then found them. But I´m glad it all worked out. The other 3 elders never received their visas and so they were in Provo for 9 weeks. But they don´t speak Spanish very well, so I had to translate everything from the driver. It was fun. They speak a lot clearer here than they do in Argentina.

Then I got to the MTC at about 2:30am. I walked into my room and met my 2 companions (Mangrum and Warner?) They both are from the US and I don't think they speak very well either. But Hna Warner is going to Cusco with me on Tuesday. I am here until then. I woke up at 6:30 as usual and got ready only to find out that they were allowing me to sleep in till 9am since we arrived so late. So I tried to go back to sleep so that I wouldn´t feel sick all day. But now I am here and the schedule is different. We actually go out and proselyte in the afternoons on Saturday. So I will be with Hna Mangrum and another Latin sister.

So some stuff from the past week. Mario.... We finally got to him!!! I don't remember what it was that we said that hit him, but I told him we could have happiness in the middle of our trials and that's what the gospel brings. Now Mario is kind of a rude person and he snapped back and was like Really Hna Lang? How can anyone find happiness when they are being abused as a child? That really hit me. I realized that we had been going at things completely the wrong way. But that it wasn't necessarily that he could be happy while all of these bad things are going on, but that he has a Savior, a best friend, who knows his trials and could be there for him so that he could find the strength and the comfort to get through these awful things. We talked a lot about the Atonement (completely not our plans... but what he needed) and then we asked him if he would pray and he said he felt like he was ready to pray. I certainly learned lots though. 1) listen to the spirit. 2) work hard and keep trying. Don't give up and 3) you really cant teach lessons. We don't teach lessons, we teach people. And that is sometimes the hardest part is going ok, I planned this lesson of all this great stuff, but sometimes, you can't follow that and you have to just go on faith and preparation and follow the spirit, but the greater joy comes from that.

So I met a sister at the Provo Mtc and I don't remember her name who was from Saomoa, but she said that when she called home when she got to Provo, the first thing her mom asked her was "How does it feel to be in the land of the prophets?" That stuck out to me. I rarely think about how blessed I am to actually live in the United States. Not just for the freedoms we have, but also for the blessing to be in the same place that the prophet speaks. I've learned so much about gratitude the last little while and although I don't feel like I am super ungreatful, just how much better I really need to be at being grateful for the many blessings that I have.

Also, for my plaque, the scripture I want is D&C 50:41-42

Anyways, that's it for now.

I love you all and cannot wait to be in Cusco. The weather here isn't cold. It's FABULOUS, but Cusco is colder, so we shall see! :)

Love,

Hermana Lang

Week 2: Am I Getting the Hang of This?

Hola Amigos y Familia!

So this last week has been crazy. I don´t have time to look up things and remember everything, so it will kind of be scatter brained. I´ve been here 8 days now. You wanna know what? I have my visa! What they told me though was that I may have to leave the MTC early because the flights are full the later you go out. So instead of leaving the 24th like they said, I may leave the 20th! That's in a week which means if that happens, I will have only been in the MTC 2 weeks. UH............. That makes me nervous.

Well, MTC life is different. We are on a weird time schedule. But I did get to take a nap today because it's P-day!!! :) But we have a lot of classes. In the classes, we learn how to teach better and then we usually do a mock teaching experience with our teachers. The names of our 2 investigators from classes are Carlos and Mario. Carlos just doesn't have a lot to say, but he keeps all of his commitments. Mario is a LOT more different. We are trying to do more than just read. The problem with Mario is that I honestly wouldn't keep teaching him in the field if I were there and we had other people we could find. He says he's only interested in having the knowledge of what we believe, but doesn't want to change anything in his life and likes it the way it is (which we know he truly does want to be happier) BUT.... He also won't pray. The reason why is because he doesn't believe in God. So it's a bit difficult to teach him about prayer and we've tried a bunch of different things. It's REALLY good practice though because we are having to get really creative on what we do so that we can help him. It's even harder here because it's the MTC so we're limited on how we can help Mario. We only see "Mario" when we have our scheduled time. So it's not like we can stop by to say hi whenever we want. So it's good. Then we also taught a man named Javier in the TRC who gave us a history lesson on the Catholics and why all of these other religions are false. I learned a lot from him because history is NOT my strong subject.

Funny moment of the week... well there are lots. To start off, the TRC is where we practice teaching. The investigators could be real, or they could be actors. Usually actors, but you have that SUPER small chance that they really are real. But I love my District and one of the Elders, Elder Cardenas, was at the TRC and he was told his investigator's name was Jacob. We're a Spanish district so most of realized we were teaching in Spanish. Well, when he knocked on the door to go teach Jacob, and saw a white guy sitting on the couch, so he assumed that he didn't spoke English and walks in and goes Hello Jacob (in English) and then proceeded to teach the rest of the time in English! We had a good laugh making fun of him for it. We definitely laugh a lot!

This week during gym, I jammed my finger really good :( They splinted it so that it would heal better and the swelling is starting to go down. But hopefully it heals fast because I wanna get back to playing volleyball and being about to hit. I can't hit until I can 1. straighten my finger and 2. clap my hands because that's what it'll feel like hitting the ball.

So the thought for the week is "People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." It has made me think a lot about how to truly serve people and not just preach to them. There are so many ways to do this is what I've found out. Even inside the MTC.

I finally met a few people going to Peru! And I met one elder who is going to Cusco with me... well sort of. He'll be in the Lima MTC for 6 weeks after this and I'll go straight to the field.

OMG I forgot. THE worst this week. I was sleeping peacefully and at 12:30, I sat up in bed and was so confused why my head was blaring. I then realized that all of my other roommates were awake and I found it odd. I just clasped my head not knowing what was wrong. Then one of the sisters says "Hey guys, I think that's the fire alarm" Then I realized why my head hurt. There was a blaring fire alarm. We had to evacuate the building and were outside for an hour in the middle of the night. When we got back to bed, I couldn't really fall back asleep because we'd been up for the last hour. I knew the next day was going to be rough staying awake. What surprised me was that I was able to get through the day, a little groggy, but for the most part, just fine. I CAN do hard things. But only when I rely on the Lord. I know it's the same for all of us. I hope all is going well and that you find someone that you can show how much you care!

Love you all,

Hermana Carly Jo Lang

Week 1: Hello Provo MTC

Dear Friends and Family,

I am now officially a missionary and at the MTC. Most of you know that I was a mini-missionary and right now, I REALLY miss being out in the field. The MTC is a great place, but it's SO different from actually teaching and finding people all day and only being with your companion really instead of your whole district a lot of the time. The MTC is so peaceful and I just feel so calm here. It is great to know that the Lord is looking out for me. The first day, right after you dropped me off at the MTC, the elders helped me carry my bags to my "host sister" who helped me find things and get my supplies. My "host sister" just happened to be Laurel Ehlen (a girl from my home stake)!!! It was so great to see a familiar face right from the start. Since being here, I have found out that I am in Advanced Spanish. Oh my goodness!!! That is intimidating. We sat as a district and went around and said our name, where we are from, and how we learned Spanish. I am the only person who learned Spanish as a second language. They are ALL native speakers. They are all from the US as well, so they speak English just as well as I do, but their Spanish is so much better than mine! It helps me a lot that they all speak so well.

Well, anyone who speaks Spanish know that Argentines have a different accent. The first day, Elder Cardenas (an elder in my district) asked where something was. I said, "por alla" He just looked at me kind of dumbfounded and was like alla? WHAT are you saying Hermana? I then realized that he wasn't accustomed to the "ll" sound or the "y" sound that Argentines have when they speak, so I pronounced like he would have said it. Since then, he thoroughly enjoys asking me to say various words so he can hear how I say them. I never realized how much it was going to shock people with the faint accent that I have because I know I still have a pretty thick gringa accent!

The food, I don't know why anyone would rant about the food. The desserts are delicious, and the food isn't awful. However, excellent and MTC food should not be placed together in my opinion. The wraps are delicious however and so that may just be my meals for the next however long I am here for.

My teacher, Hna Riez said that on my card it says my departure date is September 5th, but that in Advanced Spanish, you are only here 3 weeks. So I have no idea really how long I will be in the MTC and which MTCs I will be in or any of that. They told me not to ask the travel office because they are so busy and that I will eventually find out! So who knows! One thing that is kind of weird is that I am the only person I know besides my friend Kourtney Kimes who is going to Peru. She's in beginning Spanish though so I rarely see her. She may know other people going to Peru, but we haven't met anyone else.

I also ran into Sister Jenknavorian. She worked in the TRC when Cassidy and I would go. It was so fun to see her! She called out my name across the room and gave me the biggest hug! I do miss giving hugs to people! I have the hermanas though and Laurel is just down the hall on my residence floor and so if I ever need a hug, at least I have someone that I know well that I can go to!

I'm not sure what else there is to tell you! I will tell you about my District! OH!!! And my companions. I have completely left that out. I am in a trio! I have Hna Ibarra and Hna Corrales. Ibarra is from Illinois and Corrales is from Colorado but was born in Mexico. Both of them speak Spanish super well and are so sweet. They are both 23, so I feel like the baby! But we have fun together. They are a little bit more quiet usually than I am, but they make me speak Spanish lots! I think I bring the comic relief to our companionship! I just am super happy hear and smile lots! And we laugh a lot!

It is so fun to see other sisters that I didn't even know were going on missions! I love it! There aren't very many sisters in comparison to the elders, but I do love the sisters that are here. The elders seem SOOOOO young. I'm used to seeing missionaries closer to the end of their missions and it's really cool to think that these little boys, these elders are going to be like that.

Also, I am pretty sure I am never doing my hair. Especially at the MTC. We wake up and have a half hour to get ready. And then we have gym time in the middle of the day and usually shower after gym because it is HOT outside and we are gross after exercising. So aka, there's no point in doing my hair. It's just going to go up ALL of the time, except probably on Sundays.

Well, to share more of the spiritual stuff, although it's a lot different in the MTC because I feel like everything is more for me and there aren't investigators or a ward, just other missionaries to help. But, we went to a workshop yesterday about people. The first sentence in Preach My Gospel, after the purpose statement is "You are surrounded by people." My first thought was, ya no kidding Captain Obvious. But really, in the world that we live in, everything we have is trying to get us to forget that: the technology, work schedules, and fast pace of life. I got to thinking about how it's so much easier as a missionary to remember the people around you when you are in the field because you are always trying to find and teach and baptize. However, it is my goal while I'm at the MTC to remember this also. Our goal is to bring others unto Christ. Others includes the people I am surrounded by here. I'm not going to baptize another Elder or Hermana, but I will be able to be a friend, bring a smile to someone's face, help say something that will bring the spirit into their lives more and strengthen their testimonies. I am so glad to be me! But I am also very grateful that everyone else is different! I am so grateful for my teachers, companions, district, zone, and my roommates (Hermanas Kennedy and Jones) who all have something different to share!

I love you all and wish you the best week!

Love,

Hermana Carly Jo Lang

PS. Write me letters if you have time! I'm always happy, but support from family and friends brighten a day no matter how great the day already was. 

I am a Missionary!

President Brigham Young said, “There is neither man or woman in this Church who is not on a mission. That mission will last as long as they live…” 

David A. Bednar said “ We are missionaries every day in our families, in our schools, in our places of employment and in our communities. Regardless of our age, experience, or station in life, we are all missionaries.”

What is it then that we are sharing for our entire lives? It is the good news of the gospel. So what is this good news that we are to share with others and ourselves?

Elder Jeffery R. Holland said “The ‘good news’ was that death and hell could be escaped, that mistakes and sins could be overcome, that there was hope, that there was help, that the insoluble was solved, that the enemy had been conquered. The good news was that everyone’s tomb could one day be empty, that everyone’s soul could again be pure, that every child of God could again return to the Father who gave them life.”

“The Prophet Joseph Smith once declared that all things ‘which pertain to our religion are only appendages’ to the Atonement of Jesus Christ.”

March 24, 2012 I sat in the Stake President’s office. We talked about where I wanted to serve. At this point, I don’t think I honestly cared. He asked me to share my testimony. I said, “I don’t care where I go. I don’t care because it’s not about the sites. I am not going on a vacation. I am going on a mission. It is about people. Never once do you hear someone say, ‘I loved my mission because I served in Rome and got to see the Colosseum or it was just such a beautiful country.’ It is always rather oh let me tell you about this lady I met or this man I taught or let me tell you about the family that was baptized. I want to serve a mission because it IS about people. I have this fabulous gift in my life. I am where I am right now because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. It has helped me on countless occasions. It helps me every day and there is nothing more that I want right now than to share the gift of the Atonement with others. That gift that when you feel like you can’t do it. When you know that you can’t do it.  And you’re right. You can’t do it—alone that is. 

Now I want to jump back a year prior to this. I had the wonderful opportunity of going to Argentina winter 2011. I was there to work on my Spanish and it just so happened that a family friend was the mission president in Cordoba Argentina. He said that they would be short a sister missionary while I was there and often they would call in locals to serve for a short time or otherwise known as a “mini-missionary” and make them companions with another missionary to avoid trios. If I wanted, I could be a mini-missionary but it was entirely up to me. I figured why not?

A month into the transfer, I found myself one night not being able to sleep. This wasn’t due to the heat that would keep me from falling asleep occasionally or the thousands of wild dogs that would bark all throughout the night. No, this was different. I had a searing pain in my back. I can remember lying there and wondering if I needed to go to the hospital. I was in tears and didn’t want to wake anyone up. As it grew closer to morning, I felt so alone. This would all be easier if I could just call my mom. Throughout the night, I prayed. I prayed that I would be able to rest. I prayed to have my Savior with me. Savior please abide with me. I knew He had suffered for me and He knew the pain I was going through. He knew the loneliness and physical pain. The pain did not subside, nor did my fever break. Instead, I did feel just a little bit of calmness. The tears stopped and I didn’t question if I could get through it. I knew that I would be ok. The next week brought an awful recovery. I had a kidney infection and despite the ruthless medication they ended up prescribing, it was not as quick of a recovery as I’d prefer. 

I returned home with story after story. My time was fabulous, but it was not easy. Living with 3 other girls? Staff Infections in both of my feet? People turned us down time after time. Kidney infection. Gossip spread. We saw a family go inactive. It was never easy, but there was so much joy from it all. I had felt my Savior’s love and I had felt His love for others BUT, I was not ready to do it all over again. Self doubt kicked in and I wasn’t even sure I could do it all again. Why was it so hard?

Elder Holland says, “ Anyone who does any kind of missionary work will have occasion to ask, Why is this so hard? Why doesn’t it go better? Why can’t our success be more rapid? Why aren’t there more people joining the Church?…

I am convinced that missionary work is not easy because salvation is not a cheap experience. Salvation never was easy...

If He could come forward in the night, kneel down, fall on His face, bleed from every pore, and cry, ‘Abba, Father (Papa), if this cup can pass, let it pass,’ then little wonder that salvation is not a whimsical or easy thing for us. If you wonder if there isn’t an easier way, you should remember you are not the first one to ask that. Someone a lot greater and a lot grander asked a long time ago if there wasn’t an easier way.

The Atonement will carry the missionaries perhaps even more importantly than it will carry the investigators. When you struggle, when you are rejected, when you are spit upon and cast out and made a hiss and a byword, you are standing with the best life this world has ever known, the only pure and perfect life ever lived. You have reason to stand tall and be grateful that the Living Son of the Living God knows all about your sorrows and afflictions. The only way to salvation is through Gethsemane and on to Calvary. The only way to eternity is through Him—the Way, the Truth, and the Life.”

My 21^st birthday came this past July and my plan of going on a mission if I were 21 and single diminished. My plans changed to wanting to graduate and move to Salt Lake with a roommate and pursue the education I had always planned on. I didn’t know what to do so I counseled with my Bishop. I was hoping he would give me a tell-all answer of which direction I should take in my life. You should stay home from a mission! He instead told me I could start my papers and maybe that would give me direction. I didn’t need to feel pressure to finish them if I didn’t feel it were right. So... I started them. Well sort of. I opened them and then just left them there. It didn’t feel right. As I read my scriptures in Doctrine & Covenants 11:16, the words stuck out to me. It wasn’t even what the verse was about, but the first words were “Wait a little longer.” That was my answer for now. 

October came around. My fears of why I shouldn’t serve were slowly dissolving. The only one that remained was, could I really do this? People know that missions are hard before they serve them, but I knew exactly what I could be getting myself into. I prayed that if I were to serve a mission that I would at least have a desire to go. I finally received an answer. I wanted to serve a mission and I knew my Heavenly Father wanted me to serve a mission.

I finished most of my papers that weekend minus the medical. My plans were to finish the medical papers the next week or so and have them in before November.

The following week something was clearly not right. My body was not functioning as it should. I was panicked and didn’t know what would happen. That is when the tears set in. That night, my brother and a friend of his came by and gave me a blessing. I cannot remember most of what was said. The two things that stuck out were “1, Your Heavenly Father loves you and He knows what you are going through. He wants you to always remember this and especially over the next little while. 2. If you have faith, you will be able to get through this.”

Great. Faith. That’s easy. Right? And there was the Atonement again. Of course HE knew what I was going through, but how long would this last? A few weeks? Well, several appointments went by. Specialist after specialist. Countless blood work and other tests. CT scans and ultrasounds of my organs….. Nothing. No one had an answer as to what was wrong.

My energy faded and life was draining. I was always in pain and it was hard to put on a brave face. One day while talking with my mom, she suggested I could always come home if I felt like I needed to. I couldn’t get the idea out of my head. It was silly. Aside from not feeling well, everything else was perfect. I read and prayed and I instantly knew. I needed to be home. Things worked out to medically withdraw from school and so I went home.

At home, life was not easy.

I pondered on the blessing I’d received 5 months prior. I needed to have faith. What did that mean? Faith! Such a vague word. What did I need to have faith in? Finally I decided what I needed to do. I was turning in my mission papers and I was going to have faith. I didn’t know what it was the Lord had in mind, but I knew one thing. He wanted me to serve a mission and He wanted me to serve now. Not back in October or July when I turned 21, it was now in March that I was ready.

I turned in my mission papers and a week and a half later, my mission call arrived. I report July 5^th to Cusco Peru. Since turning in my mission papers, I have felt great. I haven’t looked back and I have no clue why those struggles were placed in front of me. I may never know. Maybe I need to be in Peru to help with a certain person or a certain person to help me.  I don't  need to know.  Maybe I needed to learn these things at this time.  What I do know is that the Lord knows and that I grew closer to my Savior every step of the way.

I am not here to tell you today about how I am going on a mission. I am here to tell you that I am Becoming a missionary. I am becoming each and every day a little more. David A Bednar said, “ Let me be so bold to suggest that our rather routine emphasis on going misses the mark… The issue is not going on a mission; rather the issue is becoming a missionary and serving throughout our entire life with all of our heart, might, mind, and strength.” 

Over the last year, I have found that I have been given so many opportunities to become a missionary. We read about our baptismal covenants in Mosiah 18:9 where it reads “Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things and in all places, that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that ye may have eternal life—” We are here to help each other and not just specific to those not of our faith, but those within it as well. The purpose of missionary work as defined in Preach My Gospel is to “Invite others to come to Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end.” All of us are included in that. I have had the chance to share this with others, but most importantly, I have been able to utilize this even more in my own life the last little while.

I want to invite everyone here today to bring people closer to Christ—non-members, your family, friends, roommates, classmates, the random lady you smile to at the grocery store, even yourself. Come closer to Christ and access the Atonement in your life. I am Carly and I am a missionary.