I served a mission for my church in Ireland from 2000-2002. It was a great time of life. I learned so much about myself and my commitment to my faith. I look back at those months as some of the greatest of my life.
Part of the reason that this was such a formative experience was because of the people that I served with. When we were in Utah, I got to see two of my dear friends, who I served with in Ireland.
This is me and Kandis. I served with Kandis in Dublin during the late summer/early fall of 2001. Although we only served together for six weeks, Kandis and I came to Ireland at the same time and also left at the same time. She saw me at some of my best times, and some of my worst. Kandis is patient and kind. She is fun and willing to try new things. We taught investigators using sock puppets, one of Kandis's fun ideas. Kandis taught me to put avacado on my sandwiches. Kandis kept me laughing, even when we were doing hard things. Kandis has beautiful hair that somehow, always looks fantastic. Always. Kandis taught me that love is the most important part of service. 
This is me and Emily. I adore this girl. I served with Emily for six weeks as well, over Christmas of 2001. I'd just been unexpectedly transfered back to Dublin. I was NOT HAPPY about it. I remember that I didn't even try to hide my disappointment from Emily. I wasn't going to put on a fake happy face about the move. Emily let me vent out my feelings, and was probably annoyed a bit, but she just encouraged me to get to work. Emily is diligent. She worked hard each day, and at the end of the day, she made the commitment to work harder the next day. Emily loves her family, and I loved hearing about them. It was one of my favorite parts of our day, when Emily told me fun stories about her family. Emily is a wonderful teacher. Emily has a dedicated heart, she is committed to her faith. Emily is smart. From Emily, I learned to delight in small victories. I learned to laugh at myself. I learned to be happy in the moments. I know a lot of amazing women. It is one of my greatest blessings, the associations that I have had with strong, committed, amazing women. These two women have been such a blessing in my life. Thanks for indulging me as I shared a bit of the memories from my mission. I'm feeling a bit nostalgic tonight :).
2 comments:
It's so great getting together with mission comps. :) Hope you enjoyed Utah!
Betsey! That just warmed my soul! Thank you so much for your kind words. I treasure our friendsip and love you and your family so much. I was just going through some old journal entries and found the one that said I pushed you in a bush, ran away, all in an attempt to get out of tracting or something like that. You taught me that sometimes you do kind things for others that involved baked goods and that one should know and understand their beliefs. I always loved our discussions and still think of them fondly. Love you Miss. Thanks for keeping in your life.
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