Dear Sister Blackner:
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 Alabama Birmingham Mission. It is anticipated that you will serve for a period of 18 months.
You should report to the Provo Missionary Training Center on Wednesday, June 12, 2013. You will prepare to preach the gospel in the Spanish language.
What an awesome day February 7, 2013 was. The mission calls have been delayed around here. Probably due to the fact that they are about a million that come every week. So it didn't come on Wednesday and I still didn't get an email on Thursday. By this point I was a little bit bummed, but I went down to the Central Building on my way to class and say a guy with a white envelope is his hand. I went straight to the desk and there they were! I asked if I could have mine now instead of waiting for the email haha! They found mine right away and it was in my hand! I was freaking out just a little bit and had previously been on the phone with my dad and told him that they hadn't come yet. I called him right back and said it's here! My heart was beating super fast and kind of just wanted to open it right then and there. It sat on my lap in my class and I tried to pay attention while also trying to find service on a corner of my desk to let all my friends know that it had arrived and that I would be opening it at 3:30.
I still had an hour and a half to wait once I got home from class but it was amazing to me how everything worked out and everyone was able to make it. I printed out a state map and a world map and had everyone guess as they walked in. I seriously have the greatest friends and family. We had my family + grandma on skype on one computer and Susannah on another computer. We were kind of crunched on time because we had RA class at 4 and I was only allowed to be 10 minutes late. But everyone got settled down, and I started to open the envelope. I honestly had no idea where I could be going but for some reason, I was thinking foreign, I just couldn't pinpoint a specific place. I had to be careful that I opened it the right way and covered the call with the packet. As I started to slide the packet down, I didn't exactly realize that the place was on the second line so I might have seen it, but that's okay haha! I was more than a little surprised, but even after I read the Alabama part, I was still thinking English. So Spanish speaking was the real shocker. Three years of french and now I'm going to be learning Spanish and southern? What an adventure that will be!
Amid the chaos and rambunctiousness of all in the room, I slowly started to get used to the idea that I would be spending the next 18 months in the South. A place that I've only heard so much about and longed to go to ever since my love of country music started in high school. It wasn't what I was expecting, but I knew right when I opened it that it was where the Lord needs me to be and that as a missionary, I will have so many amazing opportunities that will prepare me for the rest of my life. I am beyond thrilled about my call to serve and I am so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who knows me and my needs and who will always be there for me no matter what. I know that the announcement made at conference came from God and that it has a divine purpose. It has been amazing to see all the young adults of the church make their decisions to serve and spread the gospel around the world. It honestly couldn't have come at a better time and I know that there will be nothing that will compare to this exciting time in not only my life, but the lives of those around me.
It has been amazing to see all the love and support of all my friends and family. I am seriously so blessed!
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 Alabama Birmingham Mission. It is anticipated that you will serve for a period of 18 months.
You should report to the Provo Missionary Training Center on Wednesday, June 12, 2013. You will prepare to preach the gospel in the Spanish language.
I still had an hour and a half to wait once I got home from class but it was amazing to me how everything worked out and everyone was able to make it. I printed out a state map and a world map and had everyone guess as they walked in. I seriously have the greatest friends and family. We had my family + grandma on skype on one computer and Susannah on another computer. We were kind of crunched on time because we had RA class at 4 and I was only allowed to be 10 minutes late. But everyone got settled down, and I started to open the envelope. I honestly had no idea where I could be going but for some reason, I was thinking foreign, I just couldn't pinpoint a specific place. I had to be careful that I opened it the right way and covered the call with the packet. As I started to slide the packet down, I didn't exactly realize that the place was on the second line so I might have seen it, but that's okay haha! I was more than a little surprised, but even after I read the Alabama part, I was still thinking English. So Spanish speaking was the real shocker. Three years of french and now I'm going to be learning Spanish and southern? What an adventure that will be!
Amid the chaos and rambunctiousness of all in the room, I slowly started to get used to the idea that I would be spending the next 18 months in the South. A place that I've only heard so much about and longed to go to ever since my love of country music started in high school. It wasn't what I was expecting, but I knew right when I opened it that it was where the Lord needs me to be and that as a missionary, I will have so many amazing opportunities that will prepare me for the rest of my life. I am beyond thrilled about my call to serve and I am so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who knows me and my needs and who will always be there for me no matter what. I know that the announcement made at conference came from God and that it has a divine purpose. It has been amazing to see all the young adults of the church make their decisions to serve and spread the gospel around the world. It honestly couldn't have come at a better time and I know that there will be nothing that will compare to this exciting time in not only my life, but the lives of those around me.
It has been amazing to see all the love and support of all my friends and family. I am seriously so blessed!
So I definitely have a lot to learn but here's a few things I've picked up on:
-The SEC is a big deal...if you don't know what Roll Tide means; you're in trouble
-Every drink is a coke. The follow up question is what kind.
-It is gorgeous down there!
-Words are very drawn out and syllables are added
-Y'all is for one person. All Y'all is for two or more people
-I'll probably be spending a lot of time on people's front porches
-Watch out for the people from the backwoods...that's a whole culture of its own
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| sometimes I laugh at my facial expressions haha! |
You are going to be an amazing missionary! So excited for you and to send/receive letters to/from Alabama! (also i'm glad you got around to posting about this, i was beginning to wonder if you would. haha) Love ya!
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