LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS

I have been called to serve as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints!
I'm headed out to the Arkansas, Little Rock mission on November 6th, English speaking.
COULD NOT BE MORE EXCITED.

But, lets start at the very beginning.

Ever since I can remember, I have known I wanted to serve a mission. I have been lucky enough to have some incredible examples of missionary work, specifically my parents and grandparents. More specifically, my wonderful mother. She has always said that her mission did more for her as a mother than anything else.... and if I can someday be half the mother she is, I will be doing pretty good.
Here's the thing about girls and missions though- no one actually believes you are going to go until you do. People will always say, "You never know, don't be too set in stone with your plans!" or "What if the right guy comes along?" or  "You will be married by then." Seriously- I've heard them all. And I agree, its important to be in tune with the spirit; situations are different for everyone, and God will lead you where he wants you to go. But I always kept the idea of a mission tucked away in my mind.
And then the oh-so-famous announcement. Boys at 18, and everyone was shocked. Girls at 19, and EVERYONE LOST THEIR MINDS. I will admit, I was one of them. Calling my mom and best friend and crying on the phone... because suddenly, a mission was so close I could almost touch it.
So although I had always been planning on going, President Monson's announcement made it tangible. I started my papers 6 months later, as soon as I could... and was finally able to submit them up here in Alaska.

During that time though, I definitely realized that this is what I'm supposed to be doing. I'll admit, a mission is intimidating and a little scary. But I know its what I need to be preparing for right now. I had some pretty neat experiences up at school in relation to this, and I KNOW that Heavenly Father wants me to be out in the field serving. Besides, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else.

So as you know, I submitted my papers a few weeks ago!! Unfortunately, mail up here is SLOWWW. So I had been checking everyday since I found out it had been mailed.... it was killing me. My call ended up coming only about a week later than it would have down in the lower 48 though, so not too bad! I got it on Wednesday, the 24th of July.
I had to work the night train that day, so I couldn't check my mail until like 8:00 at night.... honestly though I hadn't even been thinking about it too much that day. I worked a 3 train day and it was crazy busy, so I didn't have much time to even think about anything besides trains and tourists.
Stopped at the post office on the way home and it was there. FINALLY. Honestly the hardest part was trying to get my not-so-technologically-savvy family all on Skype and Facetime ;)

Here is the video of me opening my call! The best part is listening to my family in the background. There is actually a whole other video we took before this, when we thought I was going to open it but we couldn't get the skype/facetime/phone-calls figured out. Probably one of the most hilarious things I have ever seen. But here's the link for the video where I actually open it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXeh70Ilb4U&feature=youtu.be

Arkansas, Little Rock. 

I was definitely taken off guard. I wouldn't say that I was disappointed, at all... but just caught by surprise. It wasn't what I was expecting! 

But I can honestly say that I have complete faith in the mission assignment process. Even though there are a lot of things that I am unsure about when I think about going on a mission, where I am going is not one of them. I truly believe that the apostles who assigned my call receive revelation from God himself- and I believe that there is a reason everyone is called where they are. I also believe that it is more important to focus on WHY you are going then WHERE you are going.
So although I did not have some sort of spiritual confirmation as soon as I opened my call, it only took me a few hours for it to set in, and to be sure that this is right for me.
Honestly, its amazing how this place that I had never even thought of can feel so perfect. I don't know why yet, but I know I'm supposed to be there. I can't wait to figure out why.

So of course, I have spent the last few days looking up pictures and researching the entire area. The land is beautiful, and everyone who has served in the south loves it.

Life is about to get crazy. 3 more months.

A Much Needed Break

Now don't get me wrong, I absolutely love my job. I love the trains, I love the people, I love Skagway.

But I have been getting burned out.

It takes a lot of energy to be happy and energetic and perky for 10 hours a day, towards tourists who only sometimes appreciate it. It takes even more energy to make every train ride feel like a first time, when its really your 978th time.

I haven't had too many days off lately... so its been a lot of non-stop work. Last week was pretty rough.... I don't really know why, but I think it was a combination of being a little under the weather, not enough sleep, and mid-season burn out. Talk about doing everything I could to answer tourists stupid questions and keep smiling.

Even the best of us need a little break, right? So the good news is, we had a road trip planned for last weekend! Allyson, the lady I live with, was ready to go through the temple and take her endowments out... and the closest temple is in Anchorage. So we packed up and drove 14 hours, spent the day there, and drove right back. Not a very long trip, but it was just what I needed.

The drive was absolutely GORGEOUS, I couldn't get enough of it.

I also got a better comprehension of why Alaska is called land of the midnight sun. Here in Skagway, it definitely never gets dark, but we have a couple hours when the sun has dipped behind the clouds... and you may need your car headlights on. This is because one, we are in the southern part of AK.. and two, we are in a valley. Once you get out of the valley though, its a different story. On the drive to Anchorage, I took this picture at exactly midnight. And we are already past the summer solstice!

I love Alaska. I think its a trip that everyone needs to make. 

Anyway, the drive was great. I love road trips way too much. I love reading, listening to music, and just relaxing. Seriously I cranked out a ton of reading and I also did some really interesting study of the history of Skagway and the railroad.

I know, don't be too shocked. Who would have thought I would ever be interested in anything remotely historical. 

But its captivating! I won't go into too much detail because honestly, I think I may dedicate a whole post to my thoughts on this. 

Anyway though, I gathered some useful information that I can use on my tour, which will change things up and keep be from getting bored. 

That's another thing I learned. With my job, if I'm getting bored, its my own fault. There's always things I can be doing to keep it interesting. Study more, add to my tour, change my introductions..... There's always ways, if you can slip out of your lazy habits. That's the trick though- you slip into patterns that are simple, and easier to keep than to break. 

This week since I've been back in Skagway has been great. I'm back in the flow of things and really enjoying myself! Sometimes all you need to do is get away for a couple days, am I right? 

Tolerably Insignificant

"A man who keeps company with glaciers comes to feel tolerably insignificiant..." 

-Mark Twain

Tolerably insignificant. I love that.
When I discovered this quote I fell in love with it. It describes perfectly what it feels like to be up here in Alaska, surrounded by so much beauty. It applies to much more that just glaciers- A man who keeps company with nature: mountains, lakes, deserts, rivers... comes to feel tolerably insignificant. I believe this is because you realize that you are so small compared to the glory of entire earth. But not necessarily small or insignificant in a bad way... in a tolerable way. You are humbled. 
The quote goes on:

"The Alps and the glaciers together are able to take every bit of conceit out of a man and reduce his self-importance to zero if he will only remain within the influence of their sublime presence long enough to give it a fair and reasonable chance to do its work."

I think that Twain is implying that taking notice of God's hand in what is around will truly humble you. It has the potential to "take every bit of conceit out of a man."
This is one of the reasons that I love being up here so much. I am constantly surrounded by nature... even my job brings me in contact with all of God's creations. And it really makes you realize how much bigger the plan is: bigger than me, bigger than my problems, bigger than I can even comprehend.
Its a blessing to be humbled by the beauty around me! Pretty amazing stuff.

Last week I did another glacier walk, that is what the picture is from. This time we traveled about 30 miles on a ferry to part of the Chilcat mountains, where we canoed to a glacier. Definitely one of the best tours I've done so far.

Today I had another day off, and so I hiked to Upper Dewey Lake with Clifton! I used to think that I would hate hiking by myself, but I actually like it. Its very therapeutic.... gives a lot of time to just think and enjoy the beauty around you. The lake was beautiful, and Clifton is the cutest dog ever. I am so glad that Allyson got him.... He makes my hiking trips so much more fun! I'm in love with him.