You Are Called to Serve

Dear Sister Scott:

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 England Leeds Mission. It is anticipated that you will serve for a period of 18 months. You should report to the England Missionary Training Center on Thursday, April 18, 2013. You will prepare to preach the gospel in the English language. 

Five sentences that determines your life for the next year and a half. I read those five sentences the Friday before Christmas...Merry Christmas Alisha. I feel the reaction I had was different compared to others that open their mission calls. I didn't cry or laugh or even scream. I wasn't excited or disappointed. I was numb...in complete shock. I had more of an internal reaction than an outward one. My two best friends said I was calm and seemed happy. Calm? Calm? I was most certainly not calm. Sure I gave hugs, said my thank-yous, and smiled till my face hurt...but inside was more like:

"Are you insane?!"

"What the heck were you thinking Alisha...going on a mission?"

"You want school...yes, school is good...school is safe"

"Friends are here, they aren't leaving, why should you?"

"No...friends are leaving, you're going to England...they are going places to!"

"Look at the people...make sure to smile, you're going to England!"

"What's England?"

Eventually, I came to accept that I was going on a mission. After all, I'm the one that made the decision to go...I should be excited, and I am excited now. Things have changed since I first opened that letter. My attitude is different and I'm no longer "numb". It still hasn't hit me that I'm leaving in 74 days to a country I've never been to, to a place where they speak an English I won't understand. But when does it really hit you; as you're packing your bags, or when you're finally on the plane? Each missionary is different, and I guess I will have to find out for myself.