2012 in Recap

When I started 2012 I had a thought that I was going to have a special year; I was right! This year has had some of the highest points of my life! It has had some interesting lows as well, but you can't be truly happy unless you've known sadness. I think I just want to post pictures of some of the great happenings this year.

In order: I held a snake, I ran in Color Me Rad, I got a job as a CNA, I played rugby for Weber State, I went to the Festival of Colors for the first time, I hiked the crack in the rock at St. George, I went to the Real Salt Lake game, I went to Fort Sumpter, I went crabbing for the first time, I went to South Carolina again, I ran my first Half Marathon, I got see the US Women's National Soccer Team play Canada in RIo Tinto, I went to see WICKED, I went to Jackson with the family, I ran in the Tough Mudder with my auntie and uncle, and I got my mission call to Sacramento, California!! Great memories, no? :)

Here are some things that didn't necessarily happen to me, but they are important to me anyway and I love all of these people! :

In order: My little cousin Rylee got baptized and my awesome brother Jakob got to baptize her, My uncle Kris and auntie Lori FINALLY got engaged on Christmas Eve, and my beautiful sister Micquellyn returned from her mission in Guatemala! Great moments for my friends and family :)

And this year I lost someone dear to me. Sheri Wright was a great woman and her life is one that blessed so many others. She deserves this tribute. It may be a low in the year, but I know that she is no longer suffering and she is in a better place. I love you Miss Sheri!

2012 has been a year to remember. May 2013 bring many more blessings and joys to come!

Happy Birthday Jakey!!!

HaPpY bIrThDaY jAkoB!!! I can't believe you are 17 little buddy! It seems like yesterday we were running around dressing up, going to wrestling, soccer, basketball, baseball, football, and all sorts of activities all over Utah...and Wyoming :) I can still remember walking out the door and Mom being so excited that you were eating your first Saltine cracker. Or that time when I put you in my little baby carriage and started pushing you around the house (yeah...mom and dad were like "WHA???). So many good memories with you little bro :) I'm so proud of you and I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!

It's weird as a pre-mi (pre-missionary) to start counting my "lasts" already. You know, "the last time before I leave..." However, my lasts are slightly different than your average missionary. This was the "last" birthday for Jake I get to spend with him. But, seeing as our missions are most likely to overlap, this is the last birthday I get to spend with him for 4 years. That's right folks, my little buddy turned 17 yesterday!!! The next time I'll spend his birthday with him he will be blowing out 21 candles on his birthday cake. Strange? YES! Sad? YES! But so exciting? DEFINITELY! As bummed as I am to miss out on some huge milestones in his life, I am so excited that, at one point, we will get to be serving together! I LOVE MY BROTHER!!

The Standard of Truth Has Been Erected

"The Standard of Truth has been erected. No unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing. Persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame. But the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, 'till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, until the purposes of God shall be accomplished and the Great Jehovah will say, 'The work is done.'"

-Joseph Smith-

There has never been a more powerful statement in terms of missionary work. I have recently heard a rumor that-since the age-lowering announcement made in October-there are more sister missionaries putting in their papers and answering the call to serve than there are currently sisters in the field. HOLY COW!!!! There has never been a better time to be a part of such a wonderful work! I am SO excited to serve as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints!

Yesterday, December 8, I along with over 200 other sisters went to temple square in Salt Lake to celebrate the call to serve. It started out as a small group on Facebook to celebrate our calls and connect with our sisters serving in our same missions. That small group has since expanded to nearly 2,000 women! Well, my friend Anna Finneran (Paris, France) had a marvelous idea that we should all get together, take a picture, and send it to the First Presidency thanking them and showing them how grateful we are for out wonderful Prophet, Thomas S. Monson! Soon, there were girls in Rexburg, Logan, Hawaii, and Provo planing to do the same! So yesterday my dear friend Ariel Quarez (Quetzaltenango, Guatemala) and I headed for Salt Lake. We all gathered around the reflection pond and sang "Called To Serve" and it was SO AMAZING! The Spirit was SO strong! It got me even more excited to serve! I also got to see some of my good friends: Kendall Babbitt (Berlin, Germany), Lysje Schmidt (Berlin, Germany), Cisalee Oldham (Los Angeles, California-spanish speaking), and Chelsey Stegelmeier (TBD). 

“Sisters, this is a call to arms, it’s a call to action, a call to arise. A call to arm ourselves with power and with righteousness. A call to rely on the arm of the Lord rather than the arm of flesh. A call to “arise and shine forth, that our light may be a standard for the nations. A call to live as women of God so that we and our families may return safely home. ”

-Sheri Dew-

I also want to add this beautiful account of Sister Katie Palmer, who was in the MTC at the time of the announcement of the age-lowering:

"Ok everybody, I am just going to cut right to the chase. Conference was divine. I wish everybody could have been in the MTC when that announcement was made! All of the missionaries watched conference together in the gym, so every missionary in the Provo MTC was in the same room when the announcement was made about the new age requirement for missionaires. I'm not sure I have ever felt like I was part of a divinely historic moment before, but on Saturday, I did. When President Monson announced that YM could serve at 18, the room exploded with the spirit and we all gasped and had giant grins on our faces. Then, as so

on as he said they had thought about the sisters as well, it got absolutely silent. It was amazing. NO ONE expected the age requirement for sisters to drop so drastically. But when they said 19 yrs old, we all stood and cheered. And I don't mean all of us sisters, I mean all 2500 missionaries in the MTC. It was as if the Spirit flooded into the room and God's army did a war cry because we knew that the biggest and the best, the strongest and brightest of God's warriors had just been called to the ranks. I so wish that every person in the world could have felt what we felt and known what we know. This is the beginning of an epic era. The gospel is going forth to the whole world and no one can stop it. God needs the mothers of His children to be return missionaries, and now that is more possible. Since then I have heard comments like "Every girl I know back home is wanting to serve now." and from one return missionary I met at the temple this morning, I heard that all of the Preach My Gospels are sold out at BYU and the Provo Deseret. I got chills up my arms when I heard that, because it meant that it wasn't just an exciting moment, but that the youth are actually taking action.

I am so proud to be one of God's chosen, going forth to make way for the tidal wave of missionaries coming behind me. The missionaries have the truth and the whole world is going to have the chance to hear it."

Enjoy the video! :)

You Are Hereby Called to Serve

Dear Sister Freestone:

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 California Sacramento Mission. It is anticipated that you will serve for a period of 18 months.

You should report to the Provo Missionary Training Center on Wednesday, April 10, 2013. You will prepare to preach the gospel in the Spanish language. Your assignment may be modified according to the needs of the mission president.

CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?!?! I was so nervous when I started to read it (as you can tell in the video)! My initial reaction while reading was, "Sacramento...ok, that's actually not too bad. It's not foreign, but it's still great! That is where I'm meant to be...APRIL 10th?!? THAT'S FOREVER! Ah man...wait, there's more...SPANISH?!?! I may not have gone foreign or sooner, but I get to learn Spanish...what I've always wanted to do!"

I'm really too emotionally spent to make an entire post, but just know that I was surrounded by friends and family members that I love so much. EVERYONE that was there has made an impression on my life in one way or another and I will forever be grateful for all of them (and those on Skype and over the phone) and everything they have done for me :)

Patience

It seems lately that my patience is being tested more than usual. I totally thought that my call would be here today and I guess the Lord has other plans for me. Maybe I'm just starting to notice all of the things that test me, but it mostly feels like there are just more and more things. And it's mostly the small things that just add up like crazy professors, someone not showing up for work on time, more than difficult patients at work, my call not coming...little things like that. I know that I am truly being tested. It reminds me of a story that President Ferrell told me in our interview:
He told a story about him being in the MTC and really struggling learning Spanish. After 8 weeks all of his companions and roommates were really picking it up and he just couldn't get his tongue around it. He was ready to give in. He was sitting in a room with all of the other Elders and they were playing a game to learn Spanish. The other Elders were just chatting away and President Ferrell thought to himself, "Maybe I am supposed to learn something from this?" It was in that moment that it all just clicked for him. He started speaking Spanish like all of the other Elders!
I started crying when he told me this story! It was truly powerful and so touching. I guess the way I need to look at the disappointment I feel over not getting my call is that the Lord wants me to learn something from it-mainly patience. He knows that it is not my strong point...and I sort of asked for this. :)
Well, hopefully December 5th my call will be here! Loves everyone! :)

MY PAPERS ARE IN!!!

After several weeks of hard-fought patience and trying to keep busy MY PAPERS ARE FINALLY IN!!! Kids, this means that I will have my call in 2 weeks tops! Like, I could just jump for joy right now! I am so excited to teach the gospel to God's children. I love this work and I know it is true with all of my heart! Now, for 2 more weeks of patience...PRAY!!!

Please Send Me Foreign

Dear President Monson,
Please send me foreign so I can at least be gone for 18 months of this garbage dump of a mess.
Sincerely, Me

The Talk That Answered My Prayers

As many of you know, in the last General Conference for the church President Monson made a momumental announcement in church history: the lowering of age for missionaries-18 for men and 19 for women.

Every time I think about this I just want to do the Hosanna Shout! I started bawling in my living room and Mom was making fun of me. I felt the Spirit so strong! Let me explain why I'm writing this post:

     Two years ago I was Skyping with my dear sister Micquellyn. While we were chatting she told me that she had decided to put in her mission papers. I was stunned, but so excited for her! I thought about how the next 18 months were going to be rough, but I knew that my sister was doing the right thing. Shortly before she left in March I decided that I wanted to follow her example and serve, but I would have to wait. I told her about it and we both just hugged and cried! A few months later my two best buds, Tim and Jaque left and I got even more excited to go. Then, my best friend Caprice left and I almost couldn't stand to wait! I wanted to join my best friends in service of this gospel and my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!
     I have been working in school for the last 2 years to get into nursing school I have applied several times. I was writing to Caprice about my frustration in not getting in and I officially decided that if I didn't get into the nursing program for the Spring 2013 semester then I would start my mission papers. In August, I received yet another rejection letter. I was pretty bummed. At this point I was realizing that, if I left, I would miss my best friends when they came home and we would be separated for nearly 3 years. I didn't think that going on a mission would be worth missing them.
     My dear sister Micquellyn returned home from her mission on October 4th, just before conference. I was able to see her the day after. Seeing her home and seeing the light in her eyes brought back the excitement of being a prospective missionary that I had lost. That night I prayed to Heavenly Father to help me keep the light, and asked if going on a mission was something that I should do. Lo and behold, the VERY NEXT MORNING was General Conference where this glorious prophecy was revealed!!! Most of the talks were about missionary work. I went downstairs to my room, read through my Patriarchal Blessing and new that I was still supposed to serve.

I have had an interview with my bishop and I have finished my mission papers! I have told pretty much all of my family and they are all very supportive, so I am pretty dang excited!

I'm hoping to have my call, at the latest, by the end of November. I do have some ideas about where, I would like to serve, but I know that wherever I am called is where the Lord needs me to be :)

Nana & Papa

Last weekend my Nana and Papa Clark came over to the house for dinner. They live in California so we don't get to see them very often. We also had my mom's 3 brothers and their families over as well (with the exception of Kary, Brian, and Brooke-we missed you guys). It is the first time we've had everyone back together since Boomer and Ali moved back to Utah. We all just played around outside and had a bunch of laughs. Then we all sat down for dinner together. I got lots of compliments on the taco soup that I made, but never ate lol! We all took some pictures after dinner...

I LOVE out family! Here are some lees-serious, but equally cute pictures from the night: 

Tough Mudder 2012

On October 13 me, my uncle Kris and my auntie Lori ran in the Tough Mudder in Utah (click on the link to read about it). It is a 12ish mile course with a ton of obstacles! This course was made to test your physical, mental, and emotional abilities as well as team camaraderie. This was, by far, the hardest thing I have ever put myself through in my life. There is no way I could have done it without Kris, Lori, and my fellow Mudders! Here are some cool pictures, sorry for the bad quality :)

We went and jumped into the hot tub after for about an hour and then we took a 2.5 hour nap. It was HEAVENLY!!! I couldn't walk for a couple of days and I had some fetching sweet bruises, but it was so much fun and I am proud to say that I am a Mudder!! :) HOO-RAH!!!