Day 2.

After last night, I have been praying and praying about my decision. I'm very nervous in a good way and I know that no matter what, Heavenly Father will answer me in the way I need to be answered and if I have faith He will bless me. A tough part about my decision is being able to tell my parents. Being the only member in my family, I will have to explain a mission and my decision to go on one. My mother and I went Christmas shopping this afternoon together and while making small talk on the way to our first destination she managed to bring up missionaries and asked me questions about my missionaries back at school. I told her about them and was even able to explain transfers to her. I mentioned an instance where I got to meet sister missionaries and she immediately started asking questions about that! GREAT, now I have an in! After a few moments of the conversation I asked her about the possibility of me going on a mission. She paused. After a few seconds she says "well, I would have to ask you a few questions about it. I'm not surprised you would want to go on one". She started asking the general questions about what happens on a mission, how long it is, where I would be, etc. I answered the questions to the best of my ability and my mother answered saying, "If you're feeling prompted by God to go, who am I to stand in your way". Score! Now I just have to tell my father... hmm. During our shopping time, we went to kohl's as our first stop. While we were walking around the store she perks up and says, "what do sister missionaries wear?", I described an outfit for her and we part our ways. When we meet up she's carrying a simple black skirt and a soft sweater and buys me my first outfit. I'm happy she's showing a bit of support. We get home from shopping and all I want to do is read my scriptures (I have a homework assignment to read to the end of the Book of Mormon by the beginning of January.. I'm currently in Jacob.). I prayed before hand that Heavenly Father show me what He wants me to see and let the verses stand out that He wants me to learn from and then I start to read and in the first chapter I read about Jacob wanting to bring people to Christ to make their souls happy. I've read verses like this before but they never had meaning to me until I decided to go on a mission. It wasn't too long after reading this verse that I couldn't read any further. It was if no matter how much I wanted to finish another chapter, it wasn't going to be possible. That's when I recieved a phone call from my old friend and missionary, Garrett. I asked him the same questions I had been asking everybody else I had talked to and he didn't hesitate to give me the answers I needed. I learned from Garrett that I don't need to be the most knowledgable person or the most perfect person to go on a mission but I do need to seek God in this time and pray and read scripture until my time comes. If I wasn't 100% about going on a mission beforehand, I am now! Garrett has been an amazing example to me. 
I have been thinking a lot about this mission lately. I am so excited to even have this opportunity! I feel the spirit so strongly in this time. I only hope that these next 349 days bring happiness, obedience, that I can prepare in these days and seek God. All I ever want to accomplish in life is please God and follow His plans for me!