Thirty eight

I don't know about you, but I'm feeling 22! Or.. actually 12. I feel young but here I am, old enough to go on a mission. Super excited, still. Sometimes I just get on YouTube and watch my call opening over and over and cry *good cry* or get pumped and it's beautiful. 38 days until I settle into the land of Provo. I went home this weekend to do some various things (mission pack, plan my life, nanny, see friends, a homecoming) and ended up eating dinner in at Zupas with my future companions! They were all super nice. It was fun to here tidbits of info everyone had heard about the mission, Andrea's (in the orange) Dad is from Croatia, so she had lots of great insight. I ordered new scripture tabs to help me organize my scriptures with Preach My Gospel, so that has kept me busying studying. Oh, and studying for school and such (what's school?)  I've gone to the temple every week since my birthday. It's such a beautiful and peaceful place. I went with Shayna a few weeks ago and we got to the temple, sat in the parking lot and cried for a good twenty mintues because we were stressed, concerned for girls in our ward, anxious about learning new (hard) languages, upcoming finals, etc etc etc. When we finally went inside, I forgot every stress and could just feel love. Being in the temple is like a constant warm hug of comfort. How's that for a metaphor?
I read Elder Dube's conference talk last week that talked about praying for the missionaries in your area by name, because praying in general gets a general answer. If you pray specifically, you get a specific answer! We got new sisters in our YSA stake, which I stalked and contacted. Sisters Chriv and Forte. I set up a "family night" with them and a room of cute girls below mine, where one roommate was baptized in November. I get giddy and happy every time I see/and are with them. We talked about how you need prayer to ask God and thank Him, scriptures to receive answers, and the sacrament each week to renew covenants and remember Christ. They pulled out their handy dandy iPads and showed a video about Lot's wife and how we shouldn't look back, but continue onward in faith. It's so cool to see technology used for good like that. Everyone in the room could feel the spirit. EXCITING TIMES, GUYS.

^^dinner with girls going to my mission. Samantha, Sarah, Brynn, Andrea, Amber and I.