Sunday 29 September 2013

16 days... but who's counting?

When I first heard my dad read the words that would tell me where I would be spending the next 18 months of my life, I was in complete shock. That shock was mostly due to the fact that I had just found out where I would be spending the next 18 months. The rest of the shock came from the feeling I had when I heard where I would be serving:

Dear Sister Gilmour,
You are hereby called to serve as a missionary of The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-day Saints. You are assigned to labor in the Alpine German-speaking mission. 


When I heard it, I cried, of course. But I also had a very prominent "DUH" go through my head. Why would I be going any place else? It was so incredibly silly of me to think the Lord would send me anywhere else. I felt as if everything in my life had lead up to this point; to this exact point. It was amazing. 

And now here I am, 16 days away from entering the MTC in England and leaving everything I know to give 18 months to my Savior. Some may say this is a huge sacrifice, and it may be, in a worldly way. But in a spiritual way, this isn't a sacrifice! This is the biggest blessing I could possibly be receiving right now in my life. And more importantly, my service is going to affect who knows how many people. Their salvation and their happiness in being brought to Christ is more important than anything I could be doing in the next year and a half. So no, I wouldn't say this is a sacrifice at all. With faith in the Lord, I can do anything. I have nothing to fret. 

I can't wait to be a full-time missionary. I know it's going to be hard. I'm not even a missionary yet and it's hard! But I know that it will be worth it. Every tear, happy or sad, will be worth it when I look back on the success I had in bringing the knowledge of the love of Christ to the people of the world. 


As members back home, don't forget to do your part! Open your mouth and share what you know with the world. We have all been called to be missionaries; whether we have a name tag pinned to our chest or to our heart, we are missionaries of Christ and we promised to be tools in his hands when we entered the waters of baptism. 

This isn't missionary work, it's missionary FUN! Get on your knees and pray, then get on your feet and WORK. 

So here we go. I hope that you'll follow in my journey and that we can learn and grow together! 

Chloe
xx