Conferencia y Mision

I can't wait. Conference should be amazing, even if I have to miss most of Saturday's sessions due to a work meeting. Grr. I love hearing the words of the prophet, his counselors, the apostles, etc. It always calms me down and motivates me to be a better person. I can't wait to hear what they have to say. Maybe they'll talk more about missionary work so I can be even more excited.
By the time conference starts, I'll have less than a month before I hop on the plane to go down to Utah! I will fly out in the wee hours of the morning on May 2nd and arrive in Salt Lake at approximately 10:30 am. I'll spend some time with Uncle Dave and his family on that day. The next afternoon, I'll go over to Matt and Tiffani's house, and they'll take me to the MTC on the 4th. Sometime in there, I'll hopefully get to see lots of aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandma's. They are planning a family dinner sometime during those couple days. It'll be fun to see everyone before I begin my grand adventure at the MTC. It'll be fun and exciting. Soon I'll really be Hermana Lathrop and get to meet the lovely people of Las Vegas!

I love to see the temple

It was amazing. So many blessings! A lot of things I had read about in the scriptures suddenly made sense, as did the Plan of Salvation. Every time I went back, I was able to understand even more. I hope to be able to go to the temple more often. I'm so excited for my mission! Aaaah! Only 44 days : )

Dear May...

Please hurry up! I can't wait! I'm super excited! I've already been packing!
Love,
T

Day 30: Un momento final

Spanish is a fun language to learn. When I read Spanish, I can generally understand the basic message. I'm working on vocabulary and basic phrases to say. Something that really gets me is verb conjugations. It' s hard to remember how to change for past, present, future, etc. I just got a book with many verbs already conjugated so I can study and learn the patterns. Everything is just about practice, practice, practice. I'm trying to get a basic understanding before I go to the MTC so I can be better able to learn the language and focus more on how to teach in Spanish. It'll surely be interesting....

Day 29: Aspire to something higher

I want to be who God sees in me. I want to be more like Jesus. I want to have greater faith. I want to be more patient and charitable. I want to be bolder in sharing the gospel. I want to have greater strength and to be more obedient. I want God to mold me into who I need to be. I don't mind the ride, even if it gets rough or crazy. I know that all these things will give me experience and refine me. God knows me perfectly and He knows what I CAN become if I follow His will for me....

Day 28: What I miss...

I miss Fairbanks before it got all those big box stores. I miss gas prices being between one and two bucks. I miss North Pole before the round-a-bouts and the hotel. I miss the Richardson Hwy before the overpass was put in near Fort Wainwright. I miss when road trips to Anchorage took FOREVER. I miss my grandpa's. I miss Baskin Robbins ice cream trips. I miss early morning cartoons. I miss Rexburg and BYU-I before all the construction was finished. I miss dogsledding. I miss snowmachining on a regular basis. I miss HS Spanish class. I miss my HS friends. I miss Girls Camp, Youth Conference, and EFY. I miss cheerleading trips. I miss band and choir. I miss hearing 90's country music on the radio all the time. Shania Twain and Toby Keith were my favorites back then. I miss the crazy 90's clothes and hairstyles. I miss my Utah family. I miss life before computers and DVD players and Wii. I miss those awesome stripey colored gums and moon pies. I miss hiding under my blankets with a flashlight and a good book. Now I have my own room and my own schedule. I miss the pumpkin car, the Bronco, the van, the Suburban, and Dad's old truck. I miss having a bazillion dogs. I really really miss being a little kid....

DAy 27: My favorite place....

Well, I have two places that I really like. Oops, three. Number one is at home. I love my crazy family, even if they get on my nerves. We have so many fun times and interesting times together. We even find ways to have fun when things get crazy. Home is a place of peace and support and fun.

Favorite place number two is the temple. I like every temple I've gotten the chance to see. I especially love the Anchorage and Rexburg temples because I've had the chance to participate in many ordinances in these temples. The temple is a place of peace and revelation.

Place number three is not really any specific place. I love nature. I love being out in God's creations and just feeling the peace and calm. I love that being out in nature helps me forget my problems. Some of my favorite nature places are Lost Lake Boy Scout Camp, Denali National Park, Sheep Creek Road/Murphy Dome Road/Ballaine Road, Chena Flood Channel, and Moose Camp.

All of these places help me feel closer to God and remind me of who I am and why I am here.

Day 26: Fear aaaaaaaaaaah!!!!

I'm not really afraid of much. My only real fear is not doing everything that God wants me to do before I die and also not expressing my love adequately. There are a few other things that just make me kinda nervous:
*Saying something weird to an investigator in Spanish. It's gonna happen, so when it does, I guess I'll just have to brush it off.
*Cooking. I'm always kind of nervous that I'll burn myself.
*Elevators make me nervous. I keep thinking I'll get caught in one.
*Driving. I'm paranoid that we're gonna crash. Being the driver in 2 accidents will do that to ya.
*Sometimes flying makes me nervous. Impossible scenarios play in my head...
*Boys. I still don't quite get them... Oh, well, I don't have to worry about them until after the mission : )

Some people are scared of snakes, spiders, critters, etc. Not me. They're some more of God's creatures to me. I'm not scared of guns so long as they are used according to the NRA safety rules. I know gun safety and I am not scared to use guns. Boats don't really bug me. I'm used to going out on the river in Dad's boat, heck, I've even drove the boat a couple times. Cruise ships and ferries and other boats don't faze me. I haven't gotten seasick yet. Chopping down trees doesn't scare me.

Superstitions don't get to me. Walking alone at night doesn't scare me anymore. Street smarts and prayer help. I'm probably gonna need that in Vegas lol. Can't really think of any more fears at the moment...

Day 25: A First

Well, my mission is sure to produce LOTS of firsts, only a few of which are mentioned below. I'm sure many more firsts are in store.
*First time going through the temple.
*First flight going completely solo.
*First time going to the MTC.
*First time going to Vegas w/out familia.
*First stay in Nevada longer than a few days.
*First time to see many things in Nevada.
*First time to wear skirts almost every day.
*Ditto to nylons/tights/knee-highs.
*First time to use Spanish on a regular basis.
*First time to be fully focused on God's work, not my selfish ideas.
*First time to live in a really HOT place.
*Probably the first time to get doors slammed in my face.

I'm sure there will be many more firsts as a missionary, but those are the ones I can think of at the top of my head...

Day 24: Tear : ,(

Hmmm, what makes me sad? There are a few things, but one that I'll mention is when I know someone is going through a hard time. I just wish there was more that I could do to help them. And I'm not talking about anything specific or anyone specific. It just makes me sad when people I know have to go through really tough trials... Especially kiddos. It makes me really sad when my kiddos have to go through tough stuff. Oh well, that's life, I guess....

Just an update..

I booked my flight to Salt Lake. I'll be getting there Monday, May 2nd in the morning. Yay! I'm so excited that my adventure is only two months away! On the 18th and 19th, we have temple trip and I get to go through the ordinances for the first time. Another yay! We ordered everything I'll need and it should be here next week. I'm pretty good for mission clothes now. I ordered a few more shirts and skirts. I might get one more dress and a pair of shoes down in Utah. And I told work that my last day will be April 8th. I will be able to make sure all my checks get cashed and I can check off my to-do list before I go. I'm excited that things are really falling into place : ) I can't wait till May.