Enter to Learn, Go Forth to SERVE

I hope they call me on a mission
When I have grown a foot or two.
I hope by then I will be ready
To teach and preach and work as missionaries do.
I hope that I can share the gospel
With those who want to know the truth.
I want to be a missionary
And serve and help the Lord while I am in my youth.

Since my surgery, I have become SO EXCITED for my mission. I don’t really know why, but there was a change after I was home from the hospital. Maybe my right hippocampus was the less spiritual part of my brain, and now that that’s gone, I can finally focus on the reasons why I’m here, and do the Lord’s work. They have told us countless times that everyone here at BYU Hawaii is here for a reason– we all have something we need to do here. Before Conference, I prayed that I’d be able to know why I was supposed to come and what I need to do. At the very beginning, in Pres. Monson’s intro, he suddenly transitioned into talking about the importance of missionary work. When he did, I just started crying. That’s why I’m here! I’m here to prepare for a full-time mission, and I’m also here to be a missionary, light, and example to those around me because of the immense amount of blessings I’ve had in my life. I could not have asked for a better family, better friends, better teachers, a better ward, or better examples. So now I have a responsibility to give back.

It’s been a real blessing to be from Provo, for more reasons than one. First, I love it there. People sometimes make fun of kids from Provo, but they don’t know what it’s like there. They call it a bubble, and I suppose it is in some ways. But I honestly don’t have a problem growing up with people who have my same standards and beliefs, because we can build each other up and be examples of the believers together. Aside from that, it also leads to learning much about others. They’ll ask me where I’m from, and I tell them I’m from Provo. They inevitably ask why I didn’t go to BYU Provo, and then I tell them about how I wanted to experience cultural diversity and be able to learn from people with different experiences