das Evangelium ist natürlich schön in jeder Sprache, aber besonders auf Deutsch!

The title of this post, by the way, means "the Gospel is naturally beautiful in every language, but especially in German!"

No, I am not speaking German on my mission but I love German and am striving to work on it.

Me holding my new German Book of Mormon from a wonderful Sister Missionary!

I got to visit the St. George temple this past weekend and talked to some wonderful Sister Missionaries in the Visitor's Center there!

This was said by my German teacher and I love it! When I think of the Gospel, I don't think of it being just my ward partaking of the sacrament each week, I don't think of my bishop being the only bishop; I think of all of the different branches and wards that make up stakes, which in turn make up our wonderful Church: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This church is on so many different continents and hundreds of countries and it just keeps expanding. Just last month, 58 new missions were announced and at the last General Conference on April 6, 2013, they announced 2 new temples, one in Cedar City, Utah, United States, and the other in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil bringing the total number of temples in the world to 171 and 141 of those are currently operating! It is amazing to know that there are so many places and opportunities to serve our brothers and sisters, whether they are living or waiting in the Spirit World.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ has touched my heart in so many ways and I am so grateful for the blessings I have received because of it. In just a few short weeks, I will have the opportunity to partake of the blessings of the temple when I get to go through. "I'm going there someday" has now gotten to "I'm going there in 18 days..." I. Am. So. Excited.

Today also marks the 50 day mark for when I leave for the Provo Missionary Training Center to begin my 18 month mission serving in the Oregon Portland Mission. My heart races every time I think of the fact that I am leaving home for a year and a half straight! "A missionary: Someone who leaves their family for a short while so that others can be with theirs for eternity." This quote is so powerful and true! We, as missionaries, have the gospel and have this great opportunity to share it with others wherever we are served! It is amazing what the gospel can achieve for each of us individually.

I kind of want to go over a few of my friend's mission calls to really see how diverse the gospel is on the earth:

Shalae Ryder (me) --Oregon, Portland

Lydia Brewer--Brazil Fliorianopolis

Delila Lasson--Montana Billings

Rachel Goering--Paraguay Asuncion

Erica Ernenwein--England London South

Lisa Mackay--Nicaragua Managua South

Shannon Daniels--Hungary Budapest

Shelby Johnson--Texas Houston East

Ellie Goldrup--Australia Melbourne

Sara Jaspers--Canada Vancouver

Madeline Mitchell--Washington Federal Way

Danny Carney--Brazil Sao Paulo North

Stephen Chipman--Argentina Buenos Aires South

James Warner--Brazil Rio de Janeiro

Russell Fitzpatrick--Mexico Villahermosa

Courtlandt Spear--Madagascar Antananarivo

Marcus Reynolds--Nevada Reno

Josh Praeter--Brazil Brasilia

Aaron Peery--Fiji Suva

Hayden Merrill--Phillipines San Pablo

Jacob Johnson--Russia Novosibirsk

Michael Johson--Colombia Medellin

Kennedy Wilkes--Phillipines San Pablo

Rebecca Rose--Washington Spokane

Sarah Oldham--Norway Oslo

Kyler Ashby--Mexico Veracruz

The list goes on and on...

Missionary work is so incredible and I feel blessed to be a part of this generation of girls being able to serve at 19 years old and I look forward to the next few years when missionary work will be flooded even more. The gospel of Jesus Christ is true and will stay forever on the earth. This is the last dispensation of the earth and I am proud to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints where I can be a light to the world around me.

Beginnings Always Lead to Something

First. Blog. Ever. This is going to be a weird and different experience, but I want to have this for my mission! My background is set to my future mission-Portland, Oregon. Portland has the largest bookstore and I like books, so it's a win-win! I leave June 5th to serve the Lord for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I am very excited and can't wait! I've talked to and met a few others who will be serving there as well and it just makes me even more excited.
Right now, I am a student at Brigham Young University and I don't think I could have made a smarter, better choice in what school to attend! This is exactly where I need to be because, just a 10 minute walk away is a beautiful temple where I get to go every week and partake of the great ordinances there. As the first year of freshman girls to be deferring for a mission, it makes us all super excited. We are the first generation of 19-year-old women to be serving missions! How awesome is that?! Hurrah for Israel!

When the announcement was said by President Thomas S. Monson that the mission age is changed from 21 to 19 for young women, my heart burst! Being one of three girls in the room watching Conference, we were all very excited and needless to say, the guys didn't see us for a few minutes because we all went to immediately call our family! I called my family in excitement and my mom just told me over the phone to make sure that this was what was right. I called her an hour later yelling that I can't wait to serve a mission! "That was a quick decision!" My Mom was right. The next few weeks were spent fasting, reading my scriptures, and praying to find out if serving a mission was right for me. As I was reading all over the scriptures, each verse I read talked about serving the Lord's children, preparing the hearts of men, and spreading the Lord's work. I knew then that serving a mission was right for me. I turned my papers in on my Mom's birthday and received my call two weeks later to the Oregon Portland Mission, where I will be speaking English to prepare the hearts of men (and women) for the coming of the Lord.

This is me opening my mission call <3

The amazing girl recording this is from Portland so 'tis why the jumping and screaming occurred! :)

These next few weeks are definitely going to be moving very quickly! This past weekend, I attended the Festival of Colors, which is this amazing Hindu celebration of Spring! Although I was supposed to meet up, with a future Sister serving in Portland as well, we didn't get to due to the craziness of people!

That's me on the right!

This weekend was...6 months since the announcement was made. Our beloved Prophet and General Authorities spoke to us once more at General Conference and said dear things that I will hold close to my heart, especially while on my mission. "Catch the Wave!" -Elder Russell M. Nelson, (who I happened to meet at a BYU basketball game.) I actually got tickets this year, so for the first time ever, I attended General Conference at the Conference Center...AND I met one of the future Sisters serving in Portland, leaving the same day as me!

Me and Sister Erin McMahon!

A few friends and I meeting Elder Russell M. Nelson!

At this time in my life, there are so many exciting things happening. It's my freshman year of college! I'm having fun experiencing living on my own! With a great college comes great responsibility: keeping up with grades. At this late time in the semester, more people are receiving their mission calls. Many of my closest friends have received theirs and will be leaving around the same time as me. Brazil Fliorianopolis, Brazil Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Sao Paulo, Paraguay Asuncion, Mexico Veracruz, Mexico Villahermosa, Peru Lima, Phillipines, Fiji Suva, England London, Montana Billings, Florida Tampa, Utah St. George, Washington Spokane, and so forth! So many mission calls and there are many more to come! Missionary work is a very important service in our time today. The Lord has given us this opportunity to serve His People and I couldn't be more excited!

I just want to bear my testimony that I know God lives. He loves each and every one of us. We were each sent here to this earth with a divine purpose and role. The Book of Mormon IS another testament of Jesus Christ. I know that Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God who restored the true church to the earth through the power of God. I testify that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.