It was the very first time I lost my mind for a week...

    The thing about leaving is: it's hard. No one really prepares you for it. "Good-byes are hard, but you'll be so excited it won't matter!" or "it will be so hard to leave your family." None of the things people told me helped, because it wasn't what or who I was leaving, it was why. The "Why" scared me so badly as I sat in the airport that I wanted so badly to call my parents and have them come and get me and call it good.

    But I didn't. Satan kept working on me.

    My flight was supposed to leave at 1:20 pm....it didn't leave until 5:30 pm. I then had five minutes between flights to make my next one. It was kind of a rush, but I made it. Then I arrived in Salt Lake City. Awesome, right?

    Nope.

    I was in Salt Lake City...my bags were in New York. True Story. I finally made it to the MTC at 1 a.m. and all I had with me were the clothes on my back, my passport, and my scriptures. My luggage was supposed to be delivered that morning, at 10:30 a.m. It actually arrived at 10 o'clock that night. SO, I spent 48 hours in the same clothes. That was rough.

    But, I had my companion (Sister Bronson), and I had a name tag that identified me as a representative of Jesus Christ. I also had (have) a wonderful district full of Elders and Sisters to support and sustain me while I was floundering. But the fun doesn't stop there...

    My bag broke. I carry so many books and things that the strap actually broke on me. I still haven't fixed it yet; I'm working on it. We'll see how that goes. :) Every minute of our day is accounted for; we have classes, and it's wonderful, but it's kind of like drinking from a fire hose. I have marvelous teachers and I have grown so much in the past few days -- it's ridiculous, but it's hard.

    Missionary time runs differently. You have the longest hours and the shortest days. It doesn't seem humanly possible and yet it's true.

    My companion and I were called to be Coordinating Sisters, which is kind of like the female equivalent of a Zone Leader. It is a lot of responsibility on top of what we already do. One of my teachers summarized missionary work best -- God requires his missionaries run faster than they have strength, but He will make up the difference.

    My district leaves for the Great White North on April 3rd and we are chomping at the bit to be out in the field. :) God is good. The Atonement is great. Missionaries are AWESOME!

    So, life is hard. I wouldn't have it any other way.

With love from Can-Win.