words of service.

2. Satan will work his hardest on you before you leave and those first few months. He knows the difference you will make. But you know who also knows? Your Father in Heaven. And you know who doesn't have a body? Satan.

But seriously. Oh. My. Goodness. Those few months before I left were really hard. Not only was my mind filled with doubt... Did I know enough about the Gospel to actually teach it? Was my testimony enough? Was this really what I was supposed to be doing? But I started to think about dumb things... things like missing out on friends milestones, what family trips I was going to miss, how far behind I was going to be in life. 

None of that matters. Yes, you need a testimony. Yes, you need to know the Gospel (well, the basics). But more important, you need love. You need charity. You need listening ears and a thoughtful and pure heart. With all of those things, you'll find that you're not missing out on anything. And after all, this work isn't about you. Not at all. It's about the Lord's work and this glorious and perfect Gospel and if you keep those things in mind, I promise you'll be the happiest you've ever been serving the Lord.

3. Serve, Love and Pray for and with your companion 

Serve. Love. Pray. Learn to love those three words.

Your companion is one of your best resources during your mission. He/she quickly becomes your best friend, your lifeline. A friend told me right before I left, "If I could give you one piece of advice, it would be to get along with your companion. Find something you have in common. Even if the only thing you have in common is that you are both out serving the Lord, build on it." Embrace it. Love it. Because 6 weeks (or often times, longer) is a long time to be with someone 24/7 and not get along. That companion will become your teaching partner, and you will need them to lean on. And I guarantee that they will need to lean on you as well. People can tell when you and your companion aren't in harmony with each other. It affects teaching, it affects finding, it affects the work. Love them. Pray for (and with) them. Serve them. I promise, you will not regret it... and you will have many close friends because of it.

taking a little detour

Sorry guys... My Europe posts are on hold for the time being... I promise I'll finish them... soon.
But being that it's fall... and october... and the leaves are turning all sorts of pretty colors... I've been thinking a lot about New England and my time as a missionary. I'm coming up on being home for 3 (yes, threeeeee) years now... and I've just been reflecting (or reminiscing if you will) about my process of deciding to serve a mission and what-not. I stumbled upon a sister missionary's blog the other day and she listed off 10 things she lived by throughout her mission. You know those days when you're thinking hard about something... and then something comes along that totally fits right along with what you're thinking about??

Yea. Mind blown. This was it for me.

So here you have it... Throughout the week I'll be going through the list...

1. Your call is inspired, your father in heaven trusts you and accepted your desire to serve and called you to the work because he TRUSTS YOU.

I've got 2 things for this...

first... read D&C Section 4... "if ye have desires to serve God ye are called to the work" and then... "but faith, hope, charity, and love, with an eye single to the glory of God, qualify him for the work."

Your desire to serve God counts. It really does mean everything. Having christlike qualities are what qualify you for the Lords work. And I promise, if the desire to serve is there, those qualities quickly follow.

second... I'll share a little experience I had with you. So, it took me about 9 months to complete my mission papers (okay, like 1 day to complete them, 8 months and 29 days to submit them). Not because I had stuff to take care of, but I was a tad bit hesitant. I wanted it to be the right time... Anyway, right after I submitted my papers, I really wondered where I would go... Japan, England, Temple Square, Mexico, Nebraska... the options seemed endless. I really (and when I say really, I mean reeaaallllyy) wanted to go foreign. Anywhere foreign and far, far away... you know, so I wouldn't really have the option to go home. Ha.

I fell asleep one night and in my dream, I had recieved my mission call. Now, I had never ever in my life seen an actual mission call... so this was all new to me. All it said was, "Sister Tresner, you have been called to the Kirtland, Ohio Mission New Hampshire Mission."

Exactly like that. Words crossed out and everything.

WHAT?? First of all, why can I not go to Kirtland, Ohio?? And second, do people actually live in New Hampshire??

No, but really. So, I rolled out of bed, got onto handy dandy Google... and typed in "LDS Missions"... scrolled down right to "New Hampshire Manchester Mission".

Ahh, it does exist. People do exist there.

I shrugged my shoulders and went on about my day.

Well, I got my mission call... opened it...

NEW HAMPSHIRE MANCHESTER MISSION.

Jaw. Dropped. I. Lost. It. (literally... watch the video here. And yes, that's my mom in the background. She knew about my dream.)

Mission calls are truly inspired. I can't even begin to tell you have happy I was to be able to serve where I did. Heavenly Father sends you exactly where you need to be. Whether it be stateside or foreign, English speaking or Mandarin Chinese, He knows you and He knows where you need to be and more importantly, where people are that need you. There is not a doubt in my mind that I was supposed to be in New England. I met so many people who have forever changed my life and will forever be grateful for the opportunity I had to be a missionary.