called to serve

Serving a full time mission for my church is something i have always dreamed and hoped of doing. And i am so happy to announce that my dream has now become a reality and i have been called to serve in the Costa Rica, San Jose mission! 

I honestly could not be happier.

I cannot to wait to share my knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ with the people of Costa Rica. There is nothing else that i would rather do at this time in my life. My religion gives me so much happiness, joy, and hope. There is nothing more comforting than knowing that i have a Father in Heaven who loves me perfectly even though i am so imperfect. I feel insanely blessed and cannot wait for April 3rd!

There are so many things in life that have brought me to this very moment. I know that serving a mission will be the hardest thing i've ever done, but i believe that the hardest things in life are the most rewarding, and i look forward to having the best experience of my life.

This summer i started working on my papers and it felt like everything was going against me... 

From start to finish it took me 4 months to complete them. I truly feel like it was a test to see if this is something i really wanted. It felt like everyone around me was getting their calls so quick and at such a young age and that was really hard for me. But i needed to be patient. I know that everything was intended because The Lord has a plan for me. A perfect plan. That now includes spending 18 months of my life in Costa Rica. 

How lucky am I?

Thursday, November 14 was quite possibly the most emotional day ever! I had a feeling that my call could come that day. I literally could not focus on anything. I checked the mail 80 times before i accepted the fact that maybe my mission call wasn't coming. So i packed up my backpack and got ready to walk to class. But as i was leaving my apartment..........

I saw this!

My heart started beating so fast. Never have i ever been so anxious to see the mail arrive. Because i live in such a large apartment complex, the mail man had a huge bucket full of mail. I decided to sit down in the lounge and try and wait patiently for him to finish delivering all the mail into all the boxes. 

Ha yeah, right!

That wasn't going to happen. So i just stood over his shoulder and waited until he got to my apartment number. 

Then...

There it was. I saw the thick white envelope and literally grabbed it out of his hands. I just couldn't even contain my excitement. The mail guy laughed at me and i just started crying because i was so happy!

Then came the longest 3 hours of my life... 

I had to go to a two hour chemistry lab and then wait for some more so my friends and family could be available to watch me open it.

Finally it was 6:00pm!

So many people came over to watch and support me, i felt so loved. 

Not to mention my entire family on Skype and FaceTime! 

I was ready to rip this thing open.

It was such a surreal moment. 

And i am just so happy. 

I know that Costa Rica is the inspired place that i am meant to serve in. I can't picture a more perfect place. It's going to be amazing and i can't wait. Just call me Hermana Starke!