Putting In One's Papers

I decided to blog about putting in your papers (application for a mission) because while I was working on them there were no personal accounts online. I suppose there were a few Elders talking about their feelings, but nothing about the details of actually doing the paperwork. And nothing from sister missionaries. So here it is folks; my whole experience and tips I've learned along the way.


1. You can put your mission papers in 120 days before your availability date. For me this was the end of January because I was hoping to report at the end of May.


2. The papers are done all online now. You're bishop should have a code to use the missionary application website. Once he's in he can enter your name into the missionary application website. Then he'll give you the link and you enter your church user name and password.


3. The categories concern a self-evaluation of your health, a list of health questions your doctor must go over with you, a list of immunizations you need to get, questions about your financial situation which will determine whether or not your ward will help with mission costs, you and your immediate family's general and church history and a photo of yourself.


4. Start as soon as possible. Seriously, I can't stress that enough. People gave me the same advice a lot before I started, but then I was confused because some people told me they finished their papers and received their call all in 6 weeks. My plan was to be safe and start in September and turn them in at the end of January. I so glad I gave myself the time.


Once I actually got to the point of getting on the application website it took three weeks to finish my papers (Christmas break). However, my bishop had never done papers online before and didn't have code from the Stake President to get onto the website. It took two months before I finally was able to look at the papers.


And then there were unsuspected issues we found once we started. For example, we found out I had never had my Hep A and B shots which are series of shots taken over 6 months. We thought that meant I couldn't turn my papers in until after the vaccinations were done which would be after my availability date! Luckily we found out that it isn't the case. And, my mom and I just found out today that you can ask for a "sped up" immunization which only takes one month all together.


I also had to go to the dentist for what I thought was only a check-up to find that I needed four teeth filled! Luckily we had the money and he some open appointments, but otherwise we would have been in trouble.


Then you have to finish with an interview with your Bishop and Stake President. That may take awhile because they're busy people. I hoped to turn in my papers by the end of January, but because I had to wait for the interviews I didn't put in them in until the middle of February.


5. Rumors. There are a lot of them. One is that if you mention that you've stayed for any extended length of time then you won't be sent there. Since I had done a study abroad in Paris before I was worried about my chances. At the same time though we didn't want to not say anything and lie to the church. So we tried to slip it in there without being noticed.


Today I know that it's not true. The Lord will send you where you need to go no matter what.


Well, that's all I can remember about the process for now. I hope you this was informative.

Why I'm Doing This

Why did I decide to serve a mission? Why leave your family for a year and a half to live in a foreign country where I barely speak the language and can only communicate with my family through email and letters? It's the question all who go on missions ask themselves. Especially sister missionaries because we don't have the same pressure to go as the Elders. Therefore the question of, "is this what Heavenly Father wants for me?" isn't as clear. However, no matter who you are its definitely a decision to take seriously.

Honestly I've always wanted to go. I'm an extrovert to a T and people have told me since I was a child that I would be a good missionary. Also my parents had been subconsciously preparing since I could talk by saying things like:


 "When you're on your mission you won't be able to say 'I don't want this for dinner'"

or 

"Don't knock 50 times on someone's door! On your mission you'd annoy people so much they won't listen to your message".


Excellent Dad. I'll keep that in mind...and I did!


I also thought I had to, just like the boys, and by the time I realized that wasn't the case it was too late. I was determined to go because the feminist inside of me couldn't let the boys have all the fun. I even stubbornly told my mom that I was going to demand the church let me serve for 2 years instead of 18 months. Yeah...


Then as I got older I wanted to go because it's a great opportunity to possibly travel the world and learn an exciting language.

Notice the "member missionary" name tag. I still have it somewhere.

In high school my motivations changed. I attended school with lots of kids from a variety of backgrounds who were obviously lost. There was one particular incident where a girl I did not like was obviously having a bad day. She was dealing with things at home that I couldn't even imagine. 

Because I had never really liked her my initial response was that she deserved it. I sat there thinking (this is embarrassing to admit) that there was no way that Heavenly Father could love someone like her. Then I was struck with the idea that this was WRONG! I was thoroughly, spiritually chastised right in the middle of 9th grade history. 

I thought about that all day and suddenly realized how grateful I was for my testimony of Heavenly Father, the Restoration and other aspects of the gospel. I also realized that because I am so grateful I wanted others to feel the same way, even people I didn't understand. 

And so I went to college, watched all the boys leave for their missions at age 19 and patiently waited to be 21. All the while I annoyed everybody by talking about how I couldn't wait to go. 

Then I turned 21!!!! And I immediately put in my papers and everything was going according to plan.  

False. Life happened. Some things were in my control and some things were not. Soon I began to wonder if Heavenly Father even wanted me to go. The idea was devastating because it was something I had looked forward to my whole life.

However, the experience taught me that if you put your life in the Lord's hands, even if you've made a mistake, everything will workout. I love that fact.

Finally, last August I told my parents I would pray about whether or not I should go. I told them I would make my final decision at the end of the semester. As usual, it didn't go as planned. The whole first week I prayed I kept coming across people and stories about missions that were so spiritual and inspiring. I called my parents and told them I needed to start my papers ASAP!

Next time...the insane smooth process of putting in my papers!

A New Adeventure

As the lines below the title say, this blog is an opportunity for people to read about my adventures as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Paris, France. I fly out July 10th in order to enter the Missionary Training Center(MTC) in Provo the next day. Until then I'll be blogging about the steps I took to receive my call and what I'm doing now to prepare.


This is also a time for me to figure out exactly how I want this blog to work and look as well as a time to teach my family how to post things on a blog. If things seem a little messed up or unprofessional it's because we're working out the kinks. Like the title...that'll probably change soon (which it has since this was first posted).


Also, if you don't want to constantly have to check my blog to see if a new letter has been posted, then there should be a thing you can click on to the right that will allow you to give it your e-mail address. Then Blogger will send you an e-mail each time a new post has been added to the blog, which should only be about once a week. I haven't figured out how to do that yet, but when I have I'll let you know and give you better instructions.