Just a List of Things I'm Looking Forward To.

10 Things I'm looking forward to on my Mission: 

(in no particular order)

1. Preaching the Gospel and sharing my testimony!

2. Being called "Hermana Escott" by the native-speakers.

3. No awful dating drama for 18 months!

4. Being in another country and having a foreign experience.

5. Speaking in Spanish

6. HUMIDITY! and HEAT! (Idaho weather gets old real fast)

7. Learning to put my life entirely into the hands of the Lord.

8. Maybe seeing a Scarlet Macaw.

9. And/or a quetzal.

10. Honduran Food. Except really. 

That looks amazingly delicious.

It's going to be hard, but it'll be the best hard time of my life.

~Hermana Scott

PREPARE YOURSELVES.

PEOPLE OF HONDURAS, YOU BETTER WATCH OUT, BECAUSE I'M COMING FOR YOU.
That is all.

3 Nephi 5:13-Behold I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have been called of him to declare his word among his people, that they might have everlasting life.

~Hermana Scott

Do Not Be Discouraged!

I have been a really happy person my whole life, and it has always been easy for me to be happy.  However, when I started preparing for my mission, I noticed a change.  Things started to get hard. I felt very inadequate and worried that I would not be able to teach the gospel.  When I left for school I struggled with having confidence in my testimony.  And I was particularly discouraged when, in my missionary preparation class, I felt unprepared to adequately teach the lesson (even though it was my very first time) on basic principles of the gospel! 

Luckily I am blessed with an amazing roommate and best friend who buoys me up CONSTANTLY. I know that she will be blessed for listening to my incessant problems and concerns. My friends remind me everyday that the Lord knows me and loves me. 

The Lord has also given me the example of loving parents and an older brother who have all served missions, creating a wonderful legacy in our family that I am humbled and honored to continue.  My fabulous mother reminds me all the time that discouragement comes of the devil, and the reason that I feel it so strong is because even the adversary knows that I am going to be an effective missionary.

Above all, the Lord is there for me and loves me. He knows what I need to hear. This weekend I had stake conference and one of the most powerful messages I received was from Elder Nattress of the seventy:

One of Satan's most powerful tools is discouragement. 

Think about how the adversary views you:

1. You are a literal Child of God.

2. You chose the right in the pre-mortal life when 

you chose to follow our Savior, Jesus Christ.

3. You would not stand for unrighteousness.

Satan is going to try to challenge your identity, but he cannot ever take it away.  He cannot remove that inherent fact that you are a Child of God who loves you.

It is comforting to know that I have a Savior who knows exactly what I am going through. It is wonderful to have missionary examples in the Book of Mormon, and to know that sometimes they got discouraged too, but that the Lord was there to reassure them:

"Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to turn back, behold, the Lord comforted us, and said: Go amongst thy brethren, the Lamanites, and bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will give unto you success."

Alma 26: 27

And that’s all that I have to do.  Press forward with faith, and bear with patience my afflictions, and the Lord will give unto me success.

Pray always, that you may come off conqueror. (D&C 10:5)

~Hermana Scott

Mission Wishin'

As I'm counting down the days until I report to the MTC, I am doing lots of Sister Missionary clothes-hunting. I've found a BUNCH of really great dresses, skirts, and shoes, but they are all really expensive :(

Here are some of my favorites:

These dresses from Mikarose.com

This jersey knit skirt from etsy shop shelleybeeoriginals

And these shoes from Payless.com

I have already accumulated plenty of scarves. I think they are probably the best accessory ever. However, I'm having quite a difficult time finding a stylish and functional mission bag. One thing at a time I guess.

~Hermana Scott

"If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear"

In the Doctrine & Covenants, the Lord has promised that "if [we] are prepared [we] shall not fear." I have been preparing a lot for my mission, but I had quite a humbling moment when I was in mission prep this past week.  On Monday, we outlined the first lesson in chapter 3 of Preach My Gospel (The Restoration) into a short 20 minute lesson.  On Wednesday we paired up to teach other members of our class, and I discovered that although I had studied chapter 3 previously and I had done a pretty good job outlining the lesson, I was NOT prepared to teach.
Because of this experience, I have a renewed sense of the importance of preparing for my mission. I thought I was going strong, but now I know that I need to do a lot more work if the Spirit is to work through me to bring the message of the restored gospel to the people of Honduras.

Photo Credit: http://hijosdejerusalendescarga.blogspot.com/2011/12/predicad-mi-evangelio.html

I challenge EVERYONE who is preparing to go on a mission to read Preach My Gospel (especially chapter 3) and then read it again. If you are not preparing to serve a mission, read it anyway! Preach My Gospel is not just for missionaries! It will help build a firm foundation of the gospel in every home, and will encourage sharing the gospel from a very young age.

~Hermana Scott

Chronicles of a Sister Missionary

Dear Sister Scott,
You are hereby called to serve as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You are assigned to labor in the Honduras Tegucigalpa mission. It is anticipated that you will serve for a period of 18 months.
You should report to the Guatemala Missionary Training Center on May, 1, 2013. You should prepare to preach the gospel in the Spanish language.

THE VERY OFFICIAL ENVELOPE:

The actual call:

So very excited for my mission! I know this is where the Lord wants me to serve.

~Hermana Scott