it's official

As of 6pm tonight, I will officially be set apart as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I am so excited that the day has come so I can get started! I don't think the experiences I've had in the last two months could have gone any better or smoother. I have felt the Lord's hand in my life as I've prepared temporally and spiritually for the mission, put my affairs in order, and said my goodbyes to those that I care about. I feel so incredibly blessed. I know the mission will challenge me in ways I never thought possible (which I will really come to know and understand by going through it), but I also know that it will bless me in ways I never imagined. I can't wait.

In figuring out what I wanted to say on my last pre-mission post (wow, that sounds so 19-year-old-BYU-freshman-on-facebook. Yuck. Oh well.), I decided I'd leave with what I wrote to my mission president on the back of my personal information sheet:

My testimony about the Ohio Cleveland Mission is pretty simple: I know it's where I'm supposed to be. The story is long and the circumstances somewhat complicated, but ultimately, I have learned that when God speaks, I must obey and when God calls, He also qualifies and blesses. There is no other place I would rather be and no other work I would rather be doing than teaching individuals and families in the Ohio Cleveland Mission for the next 18 months.

I know there is a God. I know He lives and has a body of flesh and bones just as tangible as our own. I know Jesus Christ is His son. I testify that Jesus Christ atoned for the sins of the world and was resurrected, thus enabling us to overcome temporal and spiritual death through His sacrifice. I know God is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

I know God loves His children and made a way for us to return to Him by repentance, baptism, laying on of hands by proper priesthood authority to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, keeping His commandments, and exercising faith in His son Jesus Christ.

The fullness of the Gospel truly was restored to the boy prophet Joseph Smith. I know God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared to him and ushered in this dispensation. I know that the Book of Mormon contains the word of God, is the keystone of our religion, and brings joy, happiness, and knowledge essential for exaltation. I know it is a true book.

I testify that the windows of heaven are not closed, but are open as in days past and that a prophet is on the earth today. I know that the Plan of Salvation is God's handiwork and enables us to live together eternally as families as we make and keep sacred covenants and activate the Atonement in our lives.

I am so grateful for this privilege to serve and learn in the Ohio Cleveland Mission. I can't wait!

D&C 39:13-15