2 YEARS

Hello... IT'S ME.

Update

I KNOW IT'S BEEN A WHILE. sawwwwwry. 

So I have had this blog for about 2 years now. It first started out as a fun thing I wanted to do…

Write about my life, experiences, ambitions (like that one time I legit made a plan to own a CHICK-FIL-A)

it's still a dream. DON'T JUDGE ME. #EATCHIK3N

but as soon as I decided I was going to serve a mission, it became my mission blog. 

Well now that I am home, I decided to turn it back into a hobby….. I love to write, and hope y'all like to read... so here goes nothing! 

BUT

 while we’re on the topic of missions… that will be what this post will be about.

18 months that forever changed me.

Today, September 24^th, marks two years since I entered the MTC to embark on what would be the most life changing experience I have ever had.

                And the most adventurous with all my sweet TEXANS. *shout out*
Really, though. YOU GUYS ARE SO COOL.

Even that one guy I met who tried to give us directions.
asdjalksdjlkjf.

Excuse me sir, where is the next gas station around here?
"It's about two FAR-SEE'S"

excuse me, two what?

FAR-SEE'S YOU GUYS. faaaar-seeeee's.

It means "as far as the eye can see"

Yeah, we never found that gas station. But he was a lovely nice man who made my heart happy because he was so texan I aspired to be like him.

aaaaanyways.

I remember the night when I received my answer to serve. I didn’t know what I was going to be asked to do or how much would be expected of me, but I remember knowing that if I had love for my Savior and the sacrifice He made for me, serving wasn’t a matter of a YES or a NO, it was something I had already promised to do and I had, and still have, a responsibility to fulfil that calling.

The opportunity I had to serve the Lord as a missionary took me by surprise because I never expected to receive so much from giving so little. I always felt like I needed to serve because I wanted to give back to my Father in Heaven for what he had given me. 

Family. Love. Support. The Gospel. The missionaries to my parents. My Testimony.

But what I realized was that no matter how much you give, you always receive from the Father more than you can ever repay.

So, HOUSTON TEXAS.

It was the adventure of a lifetime. 

Y'all.

I had alligator for dinner once, AND I got to say hello to an opossum that was sleeping on the side of the road. IT WAS #UNREAL. 

aaaaaaand, one time, I rapped with this guy in the street. I dropped the beat and he went for it. 

We asked his name and he said, "it's CLIFF. Don't fall off."

All the sweet people I met became my family. 

And this sweet place became my Waters of Mormon.

In the Book of the Mormon, in the book of Mosiah, we learn of a prophet... 

ALMA

He was teaching the people the Doctrine of Christ and the things they needed to do in order to be happy in this life and to return home to God after this life. 

He taught with the spirit. 

Many people listened to him speak and were taught. They understood what they needed to do. They wanted to be baptized and so Alma baptized them in a place called Mormon. 

The Waters of Mormon to be exact. 

Can you imagine the love that they have for the place they were baptized? That place is where they came to make important promises to God. 

Houston, Texas became my "Waters of Mormon". It is my home and my heart.

I learned many valuable things on my mission that have stayed true, but perhaps the one thing that I remember impacting me the most was learning and feeling how much Christ understands who we are, how involved He is in our lives if we allow Him to be, and most importantly....

HOW MUCH LOVE HE HAS FOR US.

mocked

accused

alone

rejected

hated

betrayed

all the sickness of the world

all the sadness of the world

all the sin of the world

spit upon

called a liar

beaten

crucified

killed

Christ, the master healer. 

The embodiment of LIVING WATER. Who meets us where we are.

I know He lives and He loves us.

I'm grateful every day for the opportunity to serve.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GfJdg4OgV4