Clearly I was supa excited to finally hear that my mission call had been assigned by an Apostle of the Lord. Any day now, it would be sent to me in the big white envelope I'd yearned to open for myself for a very long time.

For weeks up to this point I couldn't stop thinking about opening my call. I had dreams about where I would go. One such place: Minnesota. Very cold, but very beautiful apparently. An excerpt from my journal...a dream I wrote down:

~Dad had a paper that supposedly told me where I'd be sent on my mission. He told me I would be going somewhere on the east coast, but I wasn't supposed to look at the paper and that's all he would say. I ended up looking at the paper but it said 'San Diego, California.' So I pressed my dad--> 'Are you sure I'm going to the east coast?' That's all I really remember.~

People, I'm telling you. This situation was all-encompassing. Tori and Kassidy can tell you that I talked about this very subject so much it became tiresome. (Hehe). I always had the mission on my mind, even if I had to shove it in the back to focus on whatever was the current task at hand. But I secretly fantasized about being called to somewhere in the Mediterranean because HELLO beautiful scenery and falafel and just alll the things. I thought, but hey, the east coast would be really cool too. As long as I'm not going only a state away. I thought, ugh, people are going to be really disappointed if I don't go somewhere "cool." Why don't people get as excited when someone goes closer to home as opposed to some far-off foreign country? I thought, isn't it the same work wherever the missionary goes? Don't we all have the same purpose? Aren't there people everywhere who are seeking answers and truth?

Everyone had their guesses as to where I'd be sent. My brother, Aaron, was hooked on the idea of Atlanta. So was my friend Hunter. Jordyn said Italy. Dad and Mom thought I'm "Off to Massachusetts." Emma and Zeke thought somewhere in Europe and somewhere in Australia, respectively. Tim kept saying Price, UT. I felt like I was going to go stateside for SURE. My friend Bryson said that I'd be sent somewhere I'm not expecting. It would be none of the places I'd already thought of. Yeah, okay, maybe.

It was going to be Idaho, wasn't it?

Let me get something straight, though. Even if it WAS Idaho, I just knew that I was supposed to go there. Wherever I was called was where the Lord was sending me. Even if others weren't as excited.

SO, when finally the envelope arrived in the mail, Thursday, March 30, I took the 4:28pm train to Lehi to meet up with my dad. He drove us home and I ran inside the house to see my call. AHHHHHH there it was, on the counter.

At 7:30pm, I gathered with the fam and a few others. I was pretty shaky. I knew I'd probably start weeping as soon as I opened up that letter. I felt that whatever was on the inside of that letter would change my life forever. No big deal. And after waiting and waiting, I finally ripped that thing open and began to read:

"Dear Sister Love: You are hereby called to serve as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You are assigned to labor in the 

Taiwan Taipei Mission."

WHAT the literal HECK? Did not see that coming. No one saw that coming. Bryson was right! It was a place I had honestly not even thought about once. The letter went on to say that I'd report to the MTC on August 16 and I'd be preaching the gospel in Mandarin Chinese. I was

Shocked,

stunned,

excited,

overwhelmed,

alllllll the things. Bahahaha. 

And I was humbled and absolutely honored to have just read those words. I realized that it's real. I'm going to go teach what I know to be true to people in Taiwan. TAIWAN! And I am going to share with them what brings me joy and peace and comfort. I want them to feel those same things.

You guys. I really don't like Asian food. I know nothing about the Mandarin language except for how to say "hello" and "I'm a vegetarian" and how to count to ten. I never thought I'd go to Asia any time soon. And yet, I know that this is exactly where I'm supposed to go. It's so very right. AHHHHHH I can't even tell you how excited I am. I just. Yeah.