if you don't know, after you receive a mission call you send an acceptance letter back to the first presidency accepting that call and they actually get it and read it. kinda cool. it can only be so many characters long so you have to try and fit everything you want to say into a short little letter.
so here's mine!
2014-04-10
Dear Brethren
I am so deeply grateful and honored to accept my call to the Virginia Richmond mission. While waiting for my call to arrive I found myself worrying about where I would be called to serve. After a lot of prayer and scripture study, I now realize that it doesn't matter where I serve, but how. The Lord knows my heart and knows the exact mission that will help me to grow in ways that no other mission could. He knows the people's lives that I will touch and the things I will learn from them. I am so grateful to be a part of this great work. It is so exciting! There is so much to do and I hope that I can represent the Savior every day as I put on that little black tag. I have a testimony of this gospel. I know without a doubt that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ live. Not only do they love us, but they love us perfectly. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet called of God and that he restored Christ's church to the earth. I have a testimony of the truthfulness of The Book of Mormon. I'm so grateful for the guidance and peace it brings into my life. I know I can turn to it for answers today, even when it was written so long ago. I'm so grateful that I can be with my family forever through the ordinances of the Temple. I have a testimony of family history work and the blessings that it can bring into our lives. I know that Thomas S. Monson is a prophet of God and that he leads and guides us today. I'm so grateful for the atonement and that through it, each of us can repent and be made whole again. I hope that I can be a faithful disciple as I serve the people of Virginia. I love this gospel. I can't wait to be a part of the greatest work on the earth. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, my Savior, amen.
Sister Kaycee Fowers
Hello, Kaycee! Thank you so much for the post, it was really helpful! I just wrote my own, and I will post it here... Is it good?? Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI am deeply honored and grateful to accept my mission call to serve the Lord, in the Canada Vancouver Mission.
When I was a kid, I had a friend who lived near my house. His family had never been to the church. After some years of friendship, I decided to join some courage and invite him to the church. Only a few months latter, he got baptized. A few more months, and his mother did the same. Then his aunt.
Since that time, my parents had always taught me the importance of serving on a mission when I had grown, and I grew up understanding that it was a truth, but only because my parents had said so.... However, when I grew a little more, I started questioning my own beliefs. Was I going to the church because of my testimony? Or was it only because of my parents taking me to the church every Sunday? Did I know the gospel was true? Did I really believe in all I had learned since I was a baby?
One day I decided to open my heart to this friend of mine. We were living far away from each other by that time, but he was a powerful teacher at his ward. We were walking down the street when I told him I was questioning my faith. He then stopped and told me how he felt about the gospel. He told me about how the gospel had changed his life, and how many spiritual experiences we had had together. He, then, invited me to pray about it, and ask sincerely for my own testimony. He even told me to read a specific scripture. And I did.
This experience showed me the power of preaching the gospel. Perhaps, if I hadn't invited him to that simple Primary Class when we are 5 years old, he wouldn't be there to hold me when I was not strong enough to walk by myself...
Right now he is serving on Nicaragua Managua Norte Mission, and I am going to Canda. I know this gospel is true. I know that Jesus Christ gave up on His life to save mine, and I feel like the least I could do, is give him 2 years of the life he gave me. I know he doesn't expect any less than this from me. I love Him, and I am endlessly thankful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ, and I want to prepare myself to serve Him, even with my many flaws...
These are the words I write, sincerely, in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, Amem.