Woah, what the-

So I know I lured a whole bunch of new followers with the promise of a book giveaway and then abruptly dropped off the face of the earth. My apologies to you all but a GREAT BIG Congrats to Jana for winning a copy of Edenbrooke! 
One of the reasons it's taken me so long to get a new post up is Blogger recently CHANGED a whole bunch of blog stuff, from the way the post page looks, to the layout of "Blogs I Follow", and it's just really weirded me out and made it hard for me to learn my way around a site I already had down pretty well. 
Change is hard but I am persevering!
Yay. 
So...catch up...
I participated in a Single's Ward activity night where those who had served missions put together displays of both both cultural and spiritual reminders from our missions.
In our church the guys serve two year missions while the ladies serve 18 months. You fill out an application explaining any special skills you have like speaking a foreign language etc and send it into the Church headquarters in Salt Lake City, UT. You then have to play the waiting game while waiting for a big white envelope that will explain where in the world you will go. I was assigned to the Texas Houston East mission. 
It was SO much fun pulling out all my mission memorabilia and I got so super distracted going through old photos of mission companions and ward members, reading old journal entries, and flipping through mission planners that I was almost late for the evening!
Here's what my table looked like:

 
I even brought treats! The cookies on the bottom left side are a favorite from a family in my last area. We call them Texas Hurricane cookies as the recipe was given out during one of our hurricane evacuations during my time in Texas. I set out my mission scriptures, my official call, my mission plaque, our teaching manual (Preach My Gospel), our mission rule book (aka the White Handbook) my name tag (ALWAYS worn while a missionary) as well as one of the Helping Hands t-shirts I received while cleaning up after Hurricane Ike and the pamphlets we would hand out on the street when contacting potential investigators. 

Other tables that night included displays from Africa, Japan, the Ukraine, and Germany. It was so much fun going from table to table and checking out all the cool stuff people had brought back and hearing even cooler stories from each mission.

That night I realized how grateful I was to have experienced time as an official missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. All of my mission stuff had been sitting in a box in my closet since my last move and getting it all out and reading through old letters, flipping through mission planners, and basically taking a walk down memory lane was so rewarding. 

Serving as a missionary gave me a chance to make new friends for life. (And although I may be terrible at keeping in touch with the people I met, I pretty much think about you guys everyday! Both missionaries, church members, and investigators alike!) The 18 months I spent in Texas with everyone were life-changing and I absolutely cherish the time I spent there. 

I realized that I'd like to go through all my Texas keepsakes a little more often. I find it incredible that I've been home for (almost) three years! I love seeing everyone's updates on Facebook as well as emails and texts. I definitely consider the people and missionaries of Texas to be an extension of my family!

Serving a mission means leaving friends and family behind for eighteen months to two years. As a missionary you definitely look forward to coming home, back to the family and friends who have been so good about keeping you in the loop (FYI, missionaries LOVE letters no matter who they're from!) The work can be terribly difficult some days and it's hard to avoid counting down the number of weeks and months left before you get to return home. 

But then, before you realize it, your time is up and it's time to pack up your belongings, say goodbye, get on a plane, and fly back to the life you knew before.You arrive home to hugs, tears, and familiar faces but you find there's an ache in your heart as well whenever you think about the wonderful people that you left behind. 

You go to the Stake President's office the day you arrive home and you talk about your mission when suddenly, before you're ready, he tells you to take off your missionary tag and just like that, you're no longer an official, set-apart missionary.
You work on getting back in the swing of things, and you keep discovering that you're changed forever. (For example, it's an adventure just going to the store by yourself for the first time in 18 months!)

As the weeks, months, and years pass you listen for news of your friends back in your mission area and celebrate their triumphs as well as mourn their losses alongside them. The mission adds a new depth to your life and you are never the same again. 

In closing, I wasn't planning to write all of that. I started out just wanting to fill you in on my comings and goings and apparently my mission is a big part of that. Thanks to everyone who supported my decision to go and who showered us with love while there!

Thanks for reading! Until next time!
               -Em