Still at home.

     Well... the cat has been out of the bag for a while. So I guess I had might as well write about it.
A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to go to the zoo with some pals from EFY (Especially For Youth, an LDS summer program).

EFY, Summer of 2013. Best company ever: Just Eat It.

#efyhogwarts

    And we're all about to go serve full-time missions for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, so naturally we decided to have an adventure before we left. The zoo yielded much entertainment and education for us.

The soon-to-be Elders, making friends at the zoo. The giraffes suspect nothing.

We needed a picture of the three of us before our missions.

       Naturally, we discussed the good times at EFY. And then a thought struck me: Five of us have received mission calls. A year and a half after that life-changing week, and five of us had accepted the call of full-time service to the church. Elder Oakes has been serving in the Philippines for about a year, and Elder Martin just departed to serve in Chile. Now (the soon-to-be) Elder Stanger will be heading to Japan and (the soon-to-be) Elder Hjelm is going to Texas, both of them report on December 17th. I was asked to report on December 3rd. 

      And this isn't even including the other members of our company that are preparing to serve missions. This happy thought tarried with me as we finished up our zoo visit and returned to the Hjelm residence to watch some Studio C. I think that our company was successful. :)

        I drove home, and then something rattling happened. I sat down in the living room across from Mom and Dad. They said that they had received a call. Of course, but stomach tied itself in a knot and I anticipated bad news. But my father informed me that the Stake President told them that he had received a call from the MTC (Missionary Training Center). They had asked me to report on December 17th instead of the 3rd, if I was able.

         Apparently, since I had placed in Intermediate Spanish on my over-the-phone language evaluation, they wanted me to report two weeks late so that I could get the full 4-6 weeks of training. I had a decision to make. I informed my parents that I would pray about it and ponder. After a restless night, I came to the conclusion that it would be best for me to report on the 17th.

         SO here I am! Sitting at home, watching the LDS Christmas Devotional, waiting for my mission. I will admit that the extra two weeks has been a blessing. I have had more time (which it turns out, I've needed) to gather belongings and prepare to leave my family for 18 months. I was even able to go out with the spanish-speaking sisters from our area one more time!

Hermanas Clarke, Singer, Killingsworth and I at the Spanish-speaking branch Christmas party.

  

   I've been blessed with the opportunity to go and teach with the Hermanas in my area for some time now. Hermanas Biggs, Huchendorf, Syphus, Olsen and Killingsworth have all helped me a ton in preparing for my mission and my Spanish vocabulary.  

  I went to the Spanish-speaking branch Christmas party on Saturday night, to see the Hermanas and the Spanish-speaking members one more time. The food was great, Hispanic food is starting to grow on me! :)

  

     The sister missionaries left before the Nativity program, but I tarried a bit longer. The branch's second counselor, Hermano Valle (sp?) and I ran into each other shortly before I left and we talked. He told me something that struck me:
"My people, the Latinos, need your help. Go in strong."
I'm going to remember that.

     In other news, John came back to town briefly. And such warranted a selfie after Sunday school.
He's something of an older brother figure, and I remember listening his farewell talk in the same chapel in which I gave mine.

 Noble, John and I. Gospel Doctrine is a grand class.

Also, Grandma Jo and Savannaah got to come stay with us for a week. Savannaah is such a darling, and was so fun!

Alex, Savaanaah and I.

They were here for my farewell open house, which was also tons of fun! The food was great. Oh, and seeing friends was pretty neat, too.

(Soon-to-be) Elder Hjelm, Cortney, myself, Brooke and Noble.

       Been spending plenty of time with Mom, filling my social 'canteen' before I leave. I've got a list of things that I need to do before I leave, so I'm working through that. Dad and I put a cover on the truck for the drive to Provo. I'm a little nervous, really excited. I think that going in is going to be like jumping into a cold lake, like at young women's camp. I just need to say bye to Mom and Dad, then take a breath and enter the MTC. After that, I'll have a very busy schedule and I will not have time to miss home. In the meantime, I'm just going about the house and getting ready to set off.
So... I don't really know how to end this blog post.

Soon I'll be able to say this. 

But if any of you guys here at home want to send me an email, I would LOVE that! My email address (after December 16th) will be samantha.curnow@myldsmail.net
The drive to Utah begins on Saturday. I'm ready to go, and the church is true!

                  With love,
              (soon-to-be) Hermana Curnow.