What do I hope to get out of my mission?

So first off, the support I had at my farewell was unbelievable!!! I was so surprised and humbled at the love and generosity people have shown me! Of course I cried through the entire talk, but the Spirit was strong, and that's all that really matters. My mom put on a beautiful brunch after my talk, thanks to the help of her friends. We didn't get that many pictures, and there were so many people there, I was just worried about making sure I talked to everyone before they snuck out! My heart is so full:)

As I prepare to get set apart TONIGHT as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I am reflecting on all the different advice people have given me. I personally talked to all of my siblings, my in laws, and my parents about their missions and their advice. Find the balance between working hard and having fun, make time for your companion, learn about the culture and people as much as you can, don't think about home, realize that everyone has a different idea for what "working hard" means, laugh at yourself, enjoy the journey, ALWAYS have the Spirit with you, be patient with the language, allow yourself and others to grow, DO NOT COMPARE YOURSELF TO OTHER MISSIONARIES, don't get caught up in the numbers, remember that you are called to serve in the language that you preach most successfully in, don't be too serious, don't expect investigators to know how to do everything you ask them to, be prompt in everything, AND SO MUCH MORE!!!!! My head is just squirming with all the advice I've been given.

I know that this is going to be hard. People have not sugarcoated the mission experience, or the conditions of my personal mission. BUT because of those hard times, I HAVE TO HAVE EQUALLY OR EVEN MORE AMAZING TIMES!!!!!!!!! Times that remind me why I am serving a mission, why I am in the Philippines, and why I love my Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ. They trust me, but part of that trust is letting them help me become the missionary I need to be. I would not be doing this, going to a foreign country where I don't know that language, food, or any people, if I did not KNOW what I was preaching was true. I KNOW that God is my loving Heavenly Father, who has a perfect plan for all of His children. Because He loves us so much, He sent His son, Jesus Christ, to live the perfect life, set the example, to suffer and atone for our sins, to die for us, and to LIVE...so we can live again too. I KNOW that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. This KNOWledge took some time for me, but because of that, my testimony is strong and true. Because I KNOW that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, I also KNOW the Book of Mormon to be true. You can not believe one and not the other. I finished the Book of Mormon again this last week, and took the challenge at the very end in Moroni chapter 10:3-5. This book changes lives. I also KNOW that Thomas S. Monson is the true and living prophet, called of God on this earth today. I KNOW that temples are sacred, and that the work we do inside is real. I KNOW that family history work is also very real, and it works. I am so grateful to KNOW of the sealing power, that families can be together forever...but each member has to do their part to receive that blessing. I KNOW that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the true and living church on the earth today. How do I KNOW? Because I have studied it out and asked God, and through the Spirit He has told me....and I can NOT deny it.

So, as I go out, what do I hope to get out of my mission experience? Well, for one thing, I hope to be fluent in Tagalog:) I hope that I will be humbled. I'm not saying that I am this super prideful person, but I hope that I can come home a changed person because of the experiences Heavenly Father gives me. I hope that I can serve till my little body can't serve anymore. I hope to come home with lifelong/eternal friendships. I hope to come home not wanting to leave those sweet people. I hope I can find, with the help of my Savior and Heavenly Father and the Spirit, solutions to the many problems that I will face. I hope to strengthen the confidence of members.I hope to get less-active members to remember why they joined the church. I hope to plant as many gospel seeds with as many people as I can because even though they might not get baptized while I'm there, they have that seed that can grow and come up later on in their life. I hope my testimony is burning with KNOWledge and excitement and truth even more than it is now. I hope that I come home not having any regrets of any kind. I want to talk to that one more person, hand out that one more Book of Mormon, take it just one day at a time...because I will blink and be on the plane home. I hope to bring as many people unto Christ, and in the process, do so even more myself. So, here's to the best 18 months FOR my life...prayers and love...

Sister Stoddard:):):)