Birthday, Missionaries, and The Final Stretch

I can't believe it has been almost a month since I last posted something! Life has just been cruising along. Of course there have been some rough days, but some even more
amazing days.

It all started on my birthday, April 5th, at 12:30 a.m. I was awakened by confetti poppers and cheering roommates. I was kidnapped and taken to Dennys for a midnight meal. Can I just say, I was surprised at how many people were there in the middle of the night! Then for some reason I got slapped by a Blair with a piece of ham because it was my birthday... Ya, it doesn't make sense. Then we went and rode Old Sorrel. Every SUU students dream. Even better, I did it on my 21st birthday.

After getting home at 3 in the morning, I had to wake up at 6 to be in St. George for State PBL Conference. I competed in multiple events and finished off my birthday with dinner at Red Robins. (One of my favorites!)
TENDER MERCY: I have amazing friends who made a potentially not so fun birthday memorable... and they paid for my meals.

To finish off the PBL Competition, Kelsey and I took 1st place in Community Service Project. David and I took 1st place in Integrated Marketing Campaign. I took 2nd place in Future Business Educator. Lastly, I took 3rd place in both Marketing Concepts and Management Concepts. I qualified to go to Nationals in all events that I competed in. However, I only get to choose two. So I will be going to Anaheim, California in June to compete in Community Service Project and Integrated Marketing Campaign.

Wednesday, April 10, Blair got her mission call. The minute she told me, I said, "Let's leave right now." Within an hour, Kirsten, Blair, and I were in the car on our way to Layton. She was called to serve in the California San Bernardino Mission. She leaves way too soon, June 12th. The 8 hours in the car were definitely worth it!

This past weekend, I found out that I didn't have class on Friday. I decided I would surprise my family by coming home Thursday night. My dad was in China, so I didn't expect him to be home, but no one was home when I got home. It was funny. TENDER MERCY: I was able to more spend time with my mom, sister, and grandparents.

Saturday, and the main reason I went home, was for the Red and White game. It was raining the whole way to Rice Eccles Stadium and it was pouring until the game started. TENDER MERCY: It stopped raining during the game and didn't start raining again until the game was almost over.

Next week is finals, so this is the final stretch. I have mixed emotions about the semester coming to a close. I made it out of college not married, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, I just thought it would happen while I was in college. I do my student teaching next semester, graduate, and then it's time to start a career. It's crazy.

As I have mentioned before, going on a mission has been something I have pondered a lot lately. I got the feeling that I wasn't supposed to go right now but to ask again later. A few days ago, I felt like I had reached "later". I still felt like I wasn't supposed to go. I struggled with that because in my mind it makes perfect sense. I could leave after I finish student teaching in November and I'm nowhere close to getting married. Makes perfect sense, right? In my mind, it makes sense. Then I found this quote in relation to 1 Nephi 4:6, as Nephi is attempting to get the plates from Laban for the third time, being "led by the spirit", not know what he will be asked to do or how he will get the plates of brass.

TENDER MERCY: That quote was exactly what I needed. While the facts suggest that I should go on a mission, that's not what God wants me to do right now. It strengthened my testimony that I do have a Heavenly Father who has a plan for me. He does care about my worries and answers my prayers. I'm so grateful for that!