The Wait is Over!!

Well, after waiting in anxiousness for my mission call to arrive, I received a text message and an email on September 18, 2018 that said my mission call was ready to be opened online! Only one week after my papers were sent in! Unfortunately, I had to wait a few days to open it so that I could have my family and friends there to open it. So the day finally arrived, after waiting what seemed like forever, and trying to guess where I was going.

My letter read:
     "Dear Sister Talbot:

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 Canada Winnipeg 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, December 19, 2018. You will prepare to preach the gospel in the English language. Your assignment may be modified according to the needs of the mission president.

You have been recommended as one worthy to represent the Lord as a minister of the restored gospel. You will be an official representative of the Church. As such, you will be expected to maintain the highest standards of conduct and appearance by keeping the commandments, living mission rules, and following the counsel of your mission president. As you devote your time and attention to serving the Lord, leaving behind all other personal affairs, the Lord will bless you with increased knowledge and testimony of the Restoration and of the truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Your purpose will be to invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. As you serve with all your heart, might, and strength, the Lord will lead you to those who are prepared to be baptized.

The Lord will reward you for the goodness of your life. Greater blessings and more happiness than you have yet experienced await you as you humbly and prayerfully serve the Lord in this labor love among His children. We place our confidence in you and pray that the Lord will help you become an effective missionary,

You will be set apart as a missionary by your stake president.
       
                                                                   Sincerely,
                                                            
                                                                         Russell M. Nelson
                                         
                                                                        President"
     

It was pretty awesome! My parents had been teasing me and telling me that I would go somewhere like Logan, UT or Pocatello, ID. Since they couldn't see the call as I was reading it, I decided to play a little joke on everyone, so I told them I had been called to the Pocatello, ID mission. No one could believe it! It was very funny and it got a good laugh out of everyone.

I am so excited to serve the people of Winnipeg and the Lord. I can't wait to go!