Você fala Português?

As I'm sure many of you know, I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (aka LDS aka Mormon). In October 2012, during General Conference, the ages at which young men and women are able to serve missions were lowered, to 18 for the gentlemen and 19 for the ladies. This caused quite the hubbub for the entire world*, naturally, and I quickly submitted my papers. I recieved my call on November 15 to the Portugal Lisbon mission! I report to the MTC in April (yeah, it's a long wait, I know. Trust me... I know).

So why, you may ask, would a 19-year-old girl (or guy) decide to drop everything in the middle of the school year to move across the globe, to a place she doesn't know, to try to teach strangers in a language she doesn't speak?

Gooooood question.

Lesser of Two Evils

I apologize for my somewhat lengthy blogging hiatus. You see, I attended spring term here at BYU, where I ACTUALLY HAD FRIENDS!!! And now that I'm home for summer, I haven't had enough motivation to get out of bed before noon, let alone to be witty, sarcastic, and annoying.
So about two months ago, I took the Salt Lake Express shuttle to good ol' Rexburg, Idaho, for my best friend's missionary farewell (Yes, I paid $115.70 for that. But I saved three dollars so it was a good deal). While I was there, I stayed with my wonderful cousin at her apartment. I also got the opportunity to tour BYU-I (aka the "lesser" BYU) and spend a little bit of time on the campus. After this experience, I came to one conclusion.

Get out of my mind!

So with everyone moving away at the end of the semester and all my guy friends going on missions, it feels like everyone I know has vanished off the face of the earth. To avoid that awful hole-in-your-stomach feeling, I've come up with a few ways to keep yourself from missing people! It works with friends, acquaintances, crushes, and even pets. So whether it's your best friend moving to Timbuktu or beloved Goldie passing away after a long fishy life (about 14 days), use these tips to stop the weeping as the plane takes off and the fish transcends the porcelain throne to his watery grave.

Goodbye, Mr. Fish. You were a good fish. You never ran away from home or anything.  :(

Called to Serve

This post, for once, is going to be completely serious. This week, more than a half dozen of my guy friends got their mission calls for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. In less than six months, they will all be in various places around the world, giving up two years of their life--including home, Facebook, and girls--to preach the gospel. I am so incredibly grateful to be surrounded by so many examples who literally do as the apostle Luke said and lose two years of their lives for Christ's sake. I know that whether they're in Argentina or Boston, the Netherlands or Chile, they will be doing what the Lord wants them to be doing. I am going to miss them all a lot, but I am so proud of them all for choosing to "go where you want me to go", as the hymn says. Good luck, boys. You are going to be great missionaries and wonderful emissaries of Christ.