My Call {fo' realsies this time}

It arrived on June 2nd.
On Sunday, May 30th, my bishop shook my hand, gave me a knowing smile, and said, "this week".
I just about wet myself.
I couldn't stop grinning.
Until that night, and the two consecutive nights, when I could hardly sleep.
And when I did, I had bizarre dreams where I received calls to places that don't exist.
Everyone I ran into had a guess for me.
Jaime was convinced I was going to Texas.
When my initial reaction to that was "Please no!" I thought, dang it. Now it's for sure. You know they always tell you not to say where you won't go out loud, because then you know you'll be sent there. You know how the Lord is all about humbling people :)
I hate long winters, they depress me, and I had said that out loud too.
Now it was Alaska or Russia for sure.
Or I thought the Lord would send me to some place with blistering heat just to say "See? The cold isn't that bad now, is it?"
Now I know with all my heart that the Lord loves me. I know He's not as vindictive as I've made Him out to be. But I also know that He gives us trials to strengthen us, because He loves us. Like that saying, "God loves you the way you are, but He loves you too much to leave you that way". I figure I've had it pretty easy for almost 21 years, it's about time I had a good trial.

Wednesday arrived. I knew that about 90% of mission calls arrive on Wednesdays.
So as you can imagine, I was pretty much worthless all morning.
Our mail usually arrives between 3 and 4, so you'd think I'd've been able to focus on something else at least until then.
On top of that, I didn't even have to check the mailbox.
We'd told Steve the mailman that I was waiting for my call, and he was so excited about it he promised to bring it to the door.

I was out back trying to paint, but I kept finding myself at the kitchen sink, staring out the window at the mailbox.
Finally I was walking into the kitchen and I saw Steve walking to the door.
I ran to the door and opened it, grinning from ear to ear,
ignoring my painted clothing and undone hair.
"Do you want this?" He asked. "Are you sure?"
Just seeing the big white envelope was all I needed.
My call was here, it was for real. They hadn't changed their minds, decided I wasn't righteous enough to serve a mission. I was going somewhere.
After that, I was much more calm.

3 hours later, there were a bunch of people at my house
And I was standing in the middle of them.
Feeling awkward. And excited. And nervous. But mostly awkward.
What if it was anti-climatic?
What if I got called to Ogden Utah? And nobody knew how to respond to that?
I gotta admit, I totally wanted to be called somewhere cool just for people's reactions when I told them.
Yeah, I have pride issues. I'm working on it :)

I tore open the envelope and pulled out my call.
All I wanted to know was where I was going.
So my eyes jumped to the end of the first paragraph, where 3 words were clear:
France Paris mission.
No FREAKING way. (My mom says I should stop using that word...)
We took a video of this whole thing, and I'd post it but I realized as I was watching it that I do weird things sometimes. Let me just say that my reaction was awesome.
But then it took like five minutes for everyone else to find out where I was going because when I started reading the call I started crying. So it took a while.
And then some people *cough* Jaime and Chantel *cough* didn't even believe me til they saw the call for themselves. Oh ye of little faith ;)
But can you blame them? PARIS?
First of all, I already speak French.
Well, I guess I should say I DID speak French. I was fairly fluent but then I was lazy and stopped speaking it once I'd taken all the required French classes at BYU.
Secondly, remember how I hate the winter? Winters in Paris are 2-3 months long.
In my packet, it says that a winter coat is OPTIONAL. Um, can you say BOOYAH?
I can. And do, daily.
This call is a tender mercy. Mom says it's a pat on the back. Which I would understand more if I felt like I'd done something to deserve a pat on the back.

But I have my work cut out for me.
There are only 35,000 members in all of France. That's fewer than the number of members between Logan and the Idaho border.
There are 9 stakes in all of France.
Each stake is assigned to a temple in another country. The closest temples are in England, Switzerland, Germany, and Spain.
I'm going to miss having a temple 2 minutes away...
I've been told not to count on having a baptism my entire mission.
Can you imagine working 12-15 hours a day for 18 months and never seeing any results?
I can't. But I'll let you know how it goes.

But guess what? I have a feeling it's going to rock.
Everything good in my life is a direct result of having and living the gospel. I love the gospel. I love this Church. I love my Savior. I'm excited about the chance to talk about Him 24/7 and to become closer to Him than I've ever been before.
All I hear about missions is that they're HARD. But that these will be the best 18 months of my life.
In the words of President Thomas S. Monson,

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 of love among His children. We place in you our confidence and pray that the Lord will help you become an effective missionary.

Paris, here I come.
Pray for me :)