Crunchtime!!

Oh my goodness!! Today marks one week until I enter the MTC (Missionary Training Center) to begin my training to be a full time missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints! I can't believe it! It seems like only yesterday I was in Idaho opening my call with my family over Skype! Then, February 18th seemed so far away! Now I have just 7 short days left until my full time mission begins!

These past few weeks have been pretty strange for me, what with my friends not being around and my family preparing to move from Nashville, TN to Columbus, OH. I've spent a lot of days at home getting the house ready for movers, painters, or realtors. I've also had a great opportunity to go out and teach with some local missionaries serving in the Tennessee Nashville Mission, which has been such a great way to be able to see what a little bit of mission life is like.

Mostly over the past few months, I've been getting a LOT of questions regarding what, why, and how I made the decision to serve an 18 month mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I thought I might take today to publish a few of those questions and answer some to the best of my ability.

Q: Why are you serving a mission?
A: I've pondered this question a lot over the entire process of applying and preparing for a mission. Obviously, it was not a very easy decision to make. The answer is kind of simple though. I was given very direct and very personal direction from God that I was to serve a mission about 2 years or so ago. Ever since, I never really had any doubt about my decision to serve.

Q: What do you do on your mission?
A: Spread the good news of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ!! As Latter-day Saints, we believe that when Christ was on the earth, He set forth His gospel exactly as He wanted it, and then gave the authority to preside over it to His 12 apostles to act and speak in His name. However as they died and left the earth, so did that authority. We believe that in the latter days, His gospel and His priesthood authority has been restored and we are just so happy to let everyone know about it!

Q: What will your living conditions be like?
A: Missionaries of the church are very well looked after and are certainly not left in awful conditions, but that does not mean that we live in the lap pf luxury! Each missionary companionship usually have a humble lodging of sorts, whether that be a small apartment, a townhouse, or a room in a member's home. They are provided with a weekly income just a little over 100 USD with which to buy groceries and other necessities.

Q:  What are you most excited about?
A: I am just so excited to be able to travel to Brazil and to learn about the culture there! I want to learn everything I can about the people and their way of life! I can't wait to try all new kinds of food and to learn Portuguese and to learn all about futbol! So say a prayer that my visa comes in soon so I can go there as soon as possible!

There have been a lot more questions, but this post has gotten kind of lengthy as it is! If you have a question about my mission or the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, you can email me at holly.denton@myldsmail.net. You can also visit Mormon.org by clicking the brown "I'm a Mormon" button on the right side of my blog!