You're Something Special

I wanted to share a post from my mission prep blog (mariahsmissionprep.blogspot.com) tonight.  I just think it is so true and it makes me so happy!  Read if ye dare! ARRrrr

I am reading in Preach My Gospel chapter 11, "Keep Commitments." 

In Treasure Planet, the 2002 Disney movie, there is a part where Jim and John Silver the Cyborg are on their space-boat.  Though really at no fault of his own, a crew member was lost when the mooring that Jim had tied came undone, killing said crew member. (So not Jim's fault, as an evil dude really cut it.) Just when Jim thought he was on the crest of realizing his dreams, he makes this momentous mistake. John Silver is conflicted, because he honestly believes in Jim and is starting to see him as a son but he doesn't want his pirate buddies to think he's "gone soft."  Anyway,  John listens to his soft side and tells Jim that he can just see him shining, that one day he would blow everyone away.  Jim believes Silver, and most importantly, believes in himself again.

 

I read D&C 76:5-10 tonight.

For thus saith the Lord—I, the Lord, am merciful and gracious unto those who fear me, and delight to honor those who serve me in righteousness and in truth unto the end.

Great shall be their reward and eternal shall be their glory.

And to them will I reveal all mysteries, yea, all the hidden mysteries of my kingdom from days of old, and for ages to come, will I make known unto them the good pleasure of my will concerning all things pertaining to my kingdom.

Yea, even the wonders of eternity shall they know, and things to come will I show them, even the things of many generations.

And their wisdom shall be great, and their understanding reach to heaven; and before them the wisdom of the wise shall perish, and the understanding of the prudent shall come to naught.

For by my Spirit will I enlighten them, and by my power will I make known unto them the secrets of my will—yea, even those things which eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor yet entered into the heart of man.

I imagined Heavenly Father looking at us that way, seeing how one day we would shine and would be so wise.  All because of Him. I can just imagine Him being so happy when we get closer to recognizing our greatness. He tries to help us see it all the time.

Until next time,
Mariah

Mission Paper Satus: Submitted

GUESS WHOSE MISSION PAPERS ARE CURRENTLY SUBMITTED...

...

 P A R I A H   P A V O C A D O 'S !

Cool, right?

I am feeling really, really, blissfully, peacefully, energetically, frazzled-y, scared-ly happy. I just sit and wait now!  Soon I will know where the Lord wants me to go, where He has prepared for me all the time. And I am so excited for that!

I have been counseled to read the Book of Mormon, Preach My Gospel, and my Patriarchal Blessing together as an integrated study led by the Spirit by my Stake President.  I am excited to study these wonderful things together and be uplifted! 

Welp!

Have a great night.

Love,

Mariah

From Zero to Stressed in 60 seconds

Whoooeeeeee... My life has exploded with busyness! Can I handle it? I sure do hope so.
Emma

Life at teh Momento

Emma... you know how I do the P instead of the first initial of someone's name? (DANG, my secret is out.) Well, if I did mine, it would be Pariah! ha, um, it is a good thing that I just go by Mariah on here.

So, life.

Life is going pretty perfectly right now.  I am working at Subway - or Pubway, although it isn't a pub.  That has been really nice, but sometimes boring.  We are right by a bay, and so we get a lot of customers in the summer.  Now, the beginning of summer right after a recent oil spill at said bay?  Not so much.  This means cleaning, cleaning, organizing, and prepping.  Oh, and cleaning.  I can't complain!  I have a job with some cool people!  And I get to make sandwiches!  Today I made someone's Philly steak and cheese sandwich, and he told me that it was the best looking sandwich he has ever gotten at a Pubway, and that it was just like his ma was making it at home!  I thought that was sweet.  So the fact that I get to make awesome sandwiches is a plus.  A minus? Truckers calling me "cutie" all the time. hahaha

I have to say, too, that I am in love with my room right now.  Why? I have a million pillows and it is really orderly at the moment, and bright and cheery and AWESOME!  I have definitely learned, too, that my room is what I make it!  I like thinking that my room is a temple of sorts for me; a place where I can ponder, pray, and understand what my Father wants me to learn and do.  I know that this is true for the home in general.

ALSO -- where will I go on my mission?  It still doesn't feel real to me because I don't have a mission call, but I am trying harder to prepare.  It has been impressed upon me that I need to work hard so that I am more fit for the Lord's work!  As I prepare more, I feel more ready and excited.  I think that the idea of a mission scares the crap out of me, so I haven't been as vocal about my excitement as others.  I know that a mission is right for me, and I am really excited to share the gospel.  But I guess I am just a fearful little ant!  But, you know, I was scared for college before I went--and now I miss college so much and love the experiences I had and the people I met!  BYU is a school of learning.  So is the temple.  So is a mission.  I know that I must let my faith trump the fear.  Because, hello, I am not doin' this alone!

Guess who we have on our side?

Our Savior!  He is pretty much the coolest ever!

Well, adios, amigos.
Mishamigos.

--M

A Message from Soon to be Sister Phipps

Hello Dear World!

This might be the most difficult post for me to write just because my heart is so full and there is so much to say!

Also... whenever I start thinking about my mission my mind goes all crazy!!! {I started writing this post 15 minutes ago and got the first sentence out but then I started researching various missionary things and now this post is lost in a sea of seven tabs. Oops.} For the last few nights when I have laid my head to rest my brain has had other ideas than sleep. I stay awake for hours just imagining my mission, the people, and the journey of joy it will be. I really enjoy this thinking time! 

Wanna hear where I am serving? 

I am beyond delighted to announce that I have been called to serve in the Washington Spokane Mission speaking the beautiful language of Spanish! I will be leaving to the Mexico MTC July 31, 2013! :D

I write deeper about this specific night on my personal blog. Click here! E> Making Nerdy Oh So Classy
Well... At least I did until it didn't save. :( I'll write again tomorrow. 

FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions about my mission! 

• What were my first thoughts when I read my assigned mission? {Asked persistently by my parents.} Honestly the first thought I had was more of a feeling/thought thing... It is what I describe as a "click." It just seemed to click in my head as being right and being a fact, if that makes any sense. With the "click" during the first milliseconds, where my head had just barely comprehended the word Washington, I literally thought to myself, "Washington, Washington. Hey! I know where that is!" But I actually had no clue where Spokane was! {And for the first two hours after my call I could not spell it either... haha} Then I thought, "my cousins live near Washington in Portland", little did I know that I was on the opposite side of the state. This is weird but sometimes I feel like I have never heard of anything existing on the East side of Washington, kinda like how nothing seems to exists in Utah away from the Wasatch mountains, our security blanket. But their is a whole lot of wonderfulness there! Whoo!
• July 31st? That is so soon! Okay, this is more a half question half statement, but ah well! I actually love the date {and it holds a lot of significance! Harry Potter, BC temple ground breaking, Japaneses Exchange students, National Dance Day, Wizard of Oz, and being a 31st day itself makes it great!) Plus I do not feel that it is too soon. I was expecting the possibility of a sooner than normal assignment since my call was initially sent in over two and a half months ago. Some of my friends got their calls this week and the last week and they are not leaving until September. I am thankful to be leaving in July. It just feels right for me. I do realize that preparing for a mission takes a lot! So I know I really have to be on top of things now and everyday until then to avoid stress.

•  Mexico MTC to go to somewhere in the states, what is up with that? {My mom called it weird... haha} Yes! I get a passport to go to Washington Spokane! I love this! On January 31, 2013 {hey that was six months exactly before my MTC report date! Awesome! There we go with the 31st day thing again!} the church announced that they would be converting a high school in Mexico City into a MTC to serve Spanish learners. The Church released this statement:                                                                                             "Church leaders announced today that the Church-owned high school Benemerito de las Americas near Mexico City will become a training center for missionaries who will serve in Mexico and other countries of North {that's me!!!}, Central and South America. Church leaders made the decision after considering every immediate alternative that could alleviate the demand at the Church’s other missionary training centers around the world, including the MTC in Provo, Utah." I will be among the very first missionaries to go to this new MTC! Read more about this new MTC in Mexico where I will be learning and loving Espanol, click here. >Mormon Newsroom: Mexico MTC

• Will you forget English? This is an adorable question I have been asked by a few of my sweet younger friends. I promised them I wouldn't forget English! I will still be in America and speaking English a lot! This question has myself asking how does this whole Spanish speaking mission work in America? I have asked parents and past Spanish missionaries serving in America about this and what they have told is awesome! It sounds so perfect how the Church makes these missions work so wonderfully for Spanish speaking missions in the good ol' US of A! I am excited. I did hear from one parent that her missionary said it was kind of like a bandaid. Full immersion speakers get their bandaid ripped off quick and easy. For those speaking Spanish in an English dominate country it is more like the painful slowly tear off approach. :S Good to know. Here is another reason I am excited for the Mexico MTC, I feel it will throw me in to the Spanish language. :D 

Well, that is all for now! I shall go face my recent fear of riding bikes now. 

Lots of Love, 

Soon to be Sister Phipps
Sorry this post is so long!

The Perfect Day

This week has been pretty great so far.

I never thought of breakfast as a community event until Pelly, a friend from Provo, started making it one. If we went to the temple together in the morning, she would excitedly suggest breakfast. It's her favorite meal. I have never met anyone who loves breakfast as much as Pelly. So we started making breakfast a big deal. Now I am the one who is extremely excited about breakfast! I love breakfast food anywho, but pancakes and talking to the most awesome people I know makes breakfast 14879340532757x better. 

Yesterday started off with a wonderful breakfast with Penni and Emma (don't have to change her name, she already blogs. haha). It was so much fun sitting and talking a bit before setting out for a HIKE! I am really appreciative of Penni and Emma for going on this adventure, because it was steep and sort of scary coming down. hahaha And we didn't think it would be that bad.  It wasn't really that bad, but I think I just didn't think about it as much as Emma and Penni did.  Though in hindsight, I probably should have.  I am going to make a guess and say they will probably live longer than I will.

After our hike to the waterfall we swam together!  It was perfect weather for swimming, and the water was just right.  We floated like dead people (I don't know why either).  It cracked me up and I would start laughing under water, which isn't good if you don't want water in your nose.

Then I completed my physical for my mission papers! WHOO! All is well, except I need to get a shot in August. MAN, this is so exciting! Now I just need some interviews, and a dentist's appointment.  How is that for legit? Answer: LEGIT AND DANG AWESOME!

I am so proud of all my friends who have decided to serve missions. I know they will be great.  I know the Lord will help us as we strive to do His will and serve His children.  We who are on the Lord's mission are entitled to His help--not in a whiny or proud way.  Just in a "Of course He will help, this is His work!" way. ha

Well, adios amigos.

I GUESS EMMA IS GOING TO the place that the Lord has been preparing for her since the beginning. (cop out, but so true that it is sort of beautiful).

Love,
Mariah

May the Fourth Be With You and You and You!!!

In a time not so long ago and at a school far, far away.... (If you live in Russia) I was introduced to one of my favorite days ever! All revolving around a pun and Star Wars! Two of my favorite things!

To celebrate this glorious Star Wars day, watch one of my favorite videos ever.

Yes, this shows my true nerd side. What nerdy nerd wouldn't rejoice over cellos and Vader?

Love,
Princess EmRo of a galaxy far far farrrrr away!