The Happiest Place on Earth: Florida Orlando Mission

That's right!  It's official!  I'm going on a mission!!!  This all happened super fast.  I started on my papers on October 14th.  That's less than a month ago!  And then I turned them in on October 29th.  This has been the LONGEST week and a half of my life!  I've been dying to find out where I'm going to be spending the next 18 months of my life.  My bishop told me on Tuesday that the status of my call was "Sent."  And generally, here in Idaho, calls come on Thursdays.  So needless to say, yesterday when Mom called to tell me it wasn't here yet, I was crushed.  I thought I'd have to wait an extra week for it to come!  But today, I got the best news I've received in a long time.  MY CALL WAS IN THE MAILBOX!!!  But I was still in class up in Rexburg.  That was THE LONGEST class of my life.  That one hour felt like three hours.  But as soon as it was over, I ran home, burst in the door and yelled to my roommates that my call was here, packed up my computer and laundry (why not do it for free?  Haha) and drove home.  And that half hour drive dragged on and on too!

I practically sprinted in the door to my house when I finally got to Idaho Falls.  The camera was already set up too.  Haha.  Everybody was waiting.  So we snapped a quick picture, called Kira and Jeff on Skype, sat down, and opened it!

"Dear Sister Good:
You are hereby called to serve as a missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  You are assigned to labor in the Florida Orlando Mission.  It is anticipated that you will serve for a period of 18 months.  You should report to the Provo Missionary Training Center on Wednesday, March 13, 2013.  You will prepare to preach the gospel in the English language."

OH MY GOSH!!!  FLORIDA!!!

I knew right then and there that this is where I need to be.  This is where the Lord needs me.  And I get more and more excited every minute!

Florida is not one of the places I imagined myself going.  I've literally thought about every other possibility.  I kinda wanted to go foreign.  Or at least learn a new language.  But the funny thing is, once I saw that I was going to Florida and that I was speaking English, I KNEW that this was right!  But another funny thing is that all day, even before I knew my call was in the mail, Florida kept coming to my mind.  I don't know why, but it did.  I guess now I know!

I'm SO excited to serve the Lord in Florida.  It's one place I've always wanted to go, mainly because of Disney World, but still.  Haha.  I actually had really wanted to work at Disney World during the winter, but then I decided not to.  It just didn't feel right.  I guess that's because I'm supposed to serve a mission in Orlando instead!  Even though I won't be able to go to Disney World while I'm there, I'm still going to The Happiest Place on Earth!  The happiest place is the Lord's place!  But it sure will be fun to go back and visit!  

And, it's got one of the most BEAUTIFUL temples ever built!

I Have (had) a Dream!

Well, I've decided to go on a mission!  And no, it's not because the new age limits talked about in General Conference today, although that's still amazing and it's helping me to go even earlier!  I had actually decided earlier this week.  I've never really wanted to serve a mission for my church.  It's not a requirement for girls, so I've just never really felt compelled to do it.  But now I'm 20 1/2 years old (yes, I did just literally celebrate my half birthday 3 days ago with a fun ice cream party), and I've been thinking a lot about it.  There's a whole story behind this, but let's just say, I'm excited to go!  Story time!  Warning:  It's kind of long, but it's my whole thoughts and feelings behind this.

6 days ago, I still wasn't even THINKING about going on a mission.  5 nights ago, Monday night, I had a dream.  I know, it sounds cliche.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bate_tvVUpk.  That song came in my head as I typed that.  Sorry for getting distracted.  Haha.  Anyway, I'm not basing my decision solely off a dream, but it really got me thinking.  In my dream, I received a mission call to the New York New York North mission. And I've NEVER even heard of that one.  But when I woke up, I Googled it.  And yep, sure enough, it's a mission.  There's a North and a South mission.  I thought that it was really weird that I would dream of that when I've never even heard of it before.  So it really got me thinking, because that's too much of a coincidence.  Now, I know I probably won't get called to that mission, but I don't care.  The important part is the effect the dream had on me.  That's literally all I thought about on Tuesday.  I had the hardest time concentrating on my classes and my homework!  Then I went to Devotional at BYU-Idaho that afternoon, and it made me think even more.  The talk was on receiving the Lord's grace, but I got something totally different from it.  The speaker said that our sacrifice will be more sacred to the Lord than our increase.  So I got thinking, do I ever ignore times that I could sacrifice something, in exchange for a material thing?  Then he quoted  D&C 6:36, 'Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not."  It was an amazing devotional!  But I still didn't have my answer for sure.  The thought of serving a mission still kinda freaked me out.

Serving a mission has been something that I've been thinking of ever since I turned 19, and then more especially when I turned 20.  But like I said, I've never really felt compelled to do it.  I never really had a moment where the feeling hit me to go.  So I wasn't planning on it.  Things have been falling into place for my career.  I got a new, amazing job, where I could still work after I graduated from college.  I could be a Developmental Specialist instead of a Developmental Therapy Technician like I am now.  I found a way where I could graduate in the winter of 2014 instead of the spring of 2014.  That meant that in just over a year and a half, I could be a college graduate and working.  I was perfectly happy where my life was taking me.  So, needless to say, serving a mission was a HUGE decision for me.  

Tuesday night, I was really praying about it.  Then I finally got the courage to tell the Lord all my fears and told Him that if He wanted me to go on a mission, I would be willing to sacrifice.  I'd be willing to put off my education for a year and a half.  I'd be willing to put my whole life on hold.  And then the feeling hit me.  This OVERPOWERING feeling of peace filled my heart.  I had the feeling of, "Who cares?"  Who cares if I don't graduate in a year and a half?  I'll still get my degree eventually.  Who cares if I put my life on hold for a year and a half?  I'm still young!  I still have plenty of opportunities!  And if nothing else, then at least I will have had this wonderful experience of giving other people the opportunity to be as happy as I am.  Then I had a wonderful feeling of love for the Gospel.  There's literally nothing I love better.  These feelings were all at 2:30 in the morning.  And all I wanted to do was run outside and yell at the top of my lungs to tell everyone how happy I was in the Gospel.  I wanted to proclaim it to every living soul in the world!  I want EVERYONE to see why I'm so happy!  I couldn't sleep at all that night!  So now I've got my answer.  I NEED to go on a mission.  I want to give as many people the gift of the Gospel as I can.

I couldn't believe how fast the answer hit me.  Sure, it was a slow process getting this answer.  I mean, I've been praying for this answer for over a year, and nothing has come to me.  I had real, firsthand experience of how the Lord doesn't always answer our questions immediately.  But then, BAM!  I've got my answer like that!  It's amazing how much the Lord's hand is in my life.  The answer came to me when I needed it most.  The Lord's timing is miraculous!

So I was thinking.  I'm 20 1/2.  That means I could start my mission papers in 1 month.  I could turn them in in December.  I could potentially have my mission call before this semester was over.  But that still seemed like so long.  I just want to get started on it right away!  So today, at General Conference, another miracle happened.  President Monson announced that girls may now serve missions when they are 19.  That means I'm one of the old ones now!  But more importantly, that means that I can start my papers any time I want!  I'm so indescribably happy right now!  I can't wait to give someone else the opportunity to have this amazing gospel in their lives!

Summer Shenanigans

          What's not to love about a jam packed summer?  Because I sure love them!  I'm just sad that my summer's cut short by about 2 months since I didn't even get out of school until the end of July.  But that's for later.  The first exciting thing was Kira's wedding.  She got married on July 6 in the Rexburg Temple.  So I finally have a big brother!  WOOHOO!!!  Yep.  It's pretty exciting.  So this part of the blog is dedicated to my lovely sister.  Kira, you're the greatest sister I could ever ask for!  I've loved growing up with you, even if we didn't always get along.  Even if I haven't always shown it, I've always looked up to you.  I always wanted to do what you would do when we were little.  Heck, I still wish I was as cool as you!  Thanks for being a great example and always pushing me to be the best I can be and for always showing your faith.  You've made me want to be a better person and to grow stronger in the Church.  I owe you so much!  Love ya sista!  :)  

          I wrote Kira a song for her wedding.  She had asked me to play her the song "When You Say Nothing At All" for the luncheon, so I did, but then I surprised her with my song, Fairytale Come True.  I made the mistake of looking over at her right before I sang and almost got all choked up.  So I quickly looked away and was able to save myself.  Whew!  That could have been a disaster!  Haha.  If you want to hear it, I've finally recorded it, so you can find it at http://soundcloud.com/lakesha-good/fairytale-come-true

Here's some pictures of the wedding!

Kira and Jeff coming out of the temple

Our side of the family

The Good/ Pond kids

I just love this one!

4 happy siblings

Me singing the song I wrote for Kira

It made her cry!

Aww.  Tender!

Lance caught the garter and I caught the bouquet... What does this mean?!  :)

After the wedding, I just had to focus on finishing up the semester.  And it was a great end of semester!  I got the best grades I've ever had while at college!  Not that they were ever bad, but I had all A's except for one B+.  Pretty dang good if I do say so myself, especially since I was stressing over 17 credits all semester.  :)

The day I moved home, my family drove down to St. George, UT to see Aladdin at Tuacahn.  It was SO good!  There were live camels, horses, dogs, and peacocks, 3D effects, fireworks, the whole shebang.  3D!  In a stage play!  It was epic!!!  Right before the show, they told us to go back the next day to the Tuacahn market where we could ride a camel.  How could we pass up that opportunity?!  So we did!  Here's me and Jorge the camel.

When we got back from Utah, I started a new job at The Adventure Center, a Developmental Disabilities Agency.  I started at the children's center, which I liked because I was getting good experience for my major, which is Early Childhood Special Education.  But I've been recently transferred over to the adult's center, which I also like because I have 2 years previous experience working with the adults at Transition's.  So basically, I just love my job!  :)  It's great, and it's still pretty good experience for my major.

This last week Devin and I went to the Darius Rucker concert that was in Idaho Falls.  It was SO good!  Then last Saturday, American Idol was doing their small town bus tour auditions in Idaho Falls!  So of course we couldn't pass up the opportunity to try out for it!  It's not every day you can say that you tried out for American Idol, and besides, it was 5 minutes away from my house!  Literally!  So we just had to!  No, I didn't make it, but I was just fine with that.  I didn't WANT to make it!  If I had, I would have dropped out and not gone to the next audition for it, just because I don't want that type of lifestyle.  I'm perfectly happy not being famous and just going to school and being happy at home!  I just tried out to say that I tried out!  But here's a picture of me in front of the Idol Bus.  :)

And now for my last bit of exciting news... I BOUGHT A CAR!!!  This was very unexpected.  I wasn't even thinking about getting a new car until dad mentioned last night that I should consider getting my own.  And I kinda liked that idea!  Since I had some money in my mutual fund, Dad took me car shopping today.  It took a LONG time, but we finally found a cute little car.  I'm pretty happy with it!  I feel so grown up!  Haha.  So here it is!  2003 Mazda Protegé.  I just need an idea for a name for it!

That pretty much sums up my summer so far!  Only 3 more weeks, and I'm back in Rexburg!  

20 Life Lessons

These are just some things I've learned about myself so far this semester.  :)

1. LIFE IS FANTASTIC!!!  OK, so I already knew that, but each and every day I'm just reminded how amazing life really is.  

2. The key to happiness is looking past the discouraging times and remember all the good.

3. The Gospel makes me happier each and every day!

4. Music is basically my eternal calling.  Literally and figuratively.  Ever since I turned 18 the only calling I've ever had in church has been in music.  Ward pianist, Ward Music Coordinator- three times, and now, Relief Society Pianist.  Good thing it's my favorite calling!  And music anything just makes me happy.  Playing piano and guitar and singing are some of my favorite things to do!

5. Science can actually be fun!  I usually hate all science classes, but now I'm taking 2 that I actually really like!

6. I'm a procrastinator.  I never get my homework done until the night before it's due, usually finishing at midnight or 2:00 in the morning.

7. Service is fun!  I was an I-Rep for Get Connected, now I'm a Student Ambassador, and I'm going to be an I-Team leader in the fall!  WOO!!!

8. The temple is a place of comfort and happiness.  'Nuff said.

9. It's better to talk about your feelings than just keeping them bottled up inside.

10. Entertainment is easy to come by.  All you need is a tape measure and some crazy fun roommates to put it to good use.

11. Going to the gym is actually fun!  Especially when it's free and right across the street!

12. I can write songs!  WOOHOO!

13. I CAN keep a clean room!  It's good that I've finally realized that after 20 years of life.  Haha.

14. 17 credits with no fun classes is a lot more stressful than I thought it would be.

15. Special Education most definitely is the major I need to do!  I've known that for 2 years.  But recently I realized that I don't necessarily want to work in a school.  I want to do Early Intervention or be a Habilitative Interventionist or something of that nature.

16. Dairy Queen Blizzards make everything better.

17. Sometimes the Lord makes you work for the answer to your prayers.  And sometimes He smacks you in the face with the answer.  Either way, you'd better be ready for it to come and be ready to accept whatever His answer is for you!

18. Clothes are fun to buy.  So are shoes.  Sometimes a girl's just got to spoil herself!

19. Be true to yourself and to the Lord and everything will work out.

20. The Church is true!  There is absolutely NO doubt about it in my mind.  Every tender mercy I see in my life just proves it each and every day.  

Family, Fun, and Feasting

I just got back from a MUCH needed weekend!  And a fantastic one at that!  I just love my family!  When I say "Family, Fun, and Feasting," I mean LOTS of family and fun!  But there's two different kinds of feasting that happened.  Lots and lots and lots of food!  That part's always great (I think I gained about 100 pounds this weekend).  But I also literally "Feasted on the words of Christ" this weekend.

Friday we drove down to Utah and met up with Kira and Jeff for the Utah Jazz game.  They played against the Kings, who just happens to be the team Jimmer Fredette from BYU plays on.  It was kinda funny.  People at the game were almost just as loud for Jimmer than they were for Utah.  And you could tell who were BYU fans and who were U of U fans.  Cheers and boos heard all around.  Haha.  :)  But it was a VERY sad game.  Jazz didn't play oober great, but the last 30 seconds of the game were super intense!  We ended up losing by one point at the very last millisecond possible.

Saturday we watched General Conference and my uncle and his family came over to Grandma's too.  Conference is always the best!  Then we went over to Jeff's house to meet his family.

Sunday we went to the afternoon session of conference.  It's always great on TV, but there's something special about going to see conference live.

Now for the feasting.  Can I invite you to enjoy some of this deliciousness too?  :)

General Conference has always been my favorite parts of the year, especially in April.  It's always a great birthday present for me!  And this year, I got one of the greatest early birthday presents ever!  I focused more on conference this time than I've ever focused before.  Usually when I watch conference, I take notes on pretty much everything the speakers are saying.  This time, I decided to really personalize it, which made this conference something special.  I wrote down a question I had and really focused on finding my answer.  I've never really done that before, and let me tell you, IT WORKS!!!  It's fantastic!  So as I was taking notes this session, I just wrote down the personal inspirations I had, instead of main points.  I figured that I can go through later and highlight the main points when the Ensign comes out.  I found a lot of things that really pertained to me.  It felt like most of the conference was just for me!  And almost every single speaker touched on somethings that I needed to hear, and almost all of them answered my question.

Here's some thoughts that I had that really touched me:

• Heavenly Father is mindful of my needs, so I need to listen to His Spirit.  As I stay in tune with the Spirit and keep my life in order, I will receive the inspiration I need, when I need it.
• I believe Heavenly Father can help me through anything.
• I can touch the lives of others.  Be mindful of everyone and look for ways to help.
• Prepare for the Sacrament and make room for the Savior and the Holy Ghost.  Leave behind all the things of the world.  Live the Gospel Standards and let them guide my life.
• With God's help, I never have to fear for the future.  Look to the future with confidence.
• When there is a decision to make, we can make the decision we want, but if the decision really matters, we will feel the right answer.  As we live righteously, we will always be prompted to do what is right.  Communication with Heavenly Father is key.
• Bear nobly my burdens, and look for ways to help others bear theirs.
• Look for trivial decisions vs. important decisions.  We are privileged to choose for ourselves.  Reach to God for assistance.  We have divine attributes to guide our journey.  Use them!
• Replace fear with faith.  Trust God in all things.

And this isn't even my whole list.  This is just getting started!  I learned so much!  I feel great!  I am high on life!  I love this gospel with all my heart!  I have no idea where I would be without it in my life.  I can't wait for October's conference to come around now!

Time to rant again... plus some exciting news!

It's been quite a while since I've updated my life.  Probably because there's not much to update about.  Haha.  The semester got over just before Christmas, and winter is my off-track.  So I moved home and started working at Transition's again.  I still absolutely LOVE my job!  Although it's kind of boring having the same routine every day.  Get up early, go to work, come home tired, do something around the house, go to bed, repeat.  Don't get me wrong, I love being home, but life's just so much more entertaining at college.  A much bigger social life.  :)  But I'll be back in Rexburg in LESS THAN A MONTH!!!  I'm so ready to get back to classes... I know, that's weird to say.  But it'll give me something to do.  Plus, I love my major!  Special Education is my calling in life.  :)

Anyway, now to the more exciting news in my life.  Kira's engaged!  She met Jeff in Utah when she moved down in January, and now they're already planning a wedding.  Super exciting!  July 6th is the day, Rexburg Temple is the place.

Now for my next exciting bit of news... I got a piano!  In my room!  Grandma and Grandpa are moving to a retirement home next week and they gave me their electric piano.  It's pretty much the greatest.  I've figured out how to record my songs onto a program on my computer, and I realized that I can make up whole songs on the spot.  :)  Life's just great!

Not My Way

OK, so this first part's a little bit of a rant, so if you want to skip it to get to the topic of the title, go ahead.  But it kind of a lead in to my topic.  Or if you're REALLY lazy, I guess I can highlight my key points.  But don't be so lazy!  Just read it!

College is almost over, once again.  This semester has been one of the greatest, by far!  My roommates are amazing, classes have been pretty good, my grades are better than I thought they would be, and I've just grown up so much!  It's weird to look back at where I was this time last year as a first semester freshman.  I was shy, quiet, and completely shelled up in my own little bubble.  I wasn't very outgoing and I didn't really have a social life.  I was just bogged down and stressed with homework all the time.  This semester as a first semester sophomore, I'm COMPLETELY different!  I'm probably one of the loudest people in my whole apartment complex, and I'm super outgoing.  I'm still bogged down with homework, but I don't let it get in the way of my social life.  Most importantly, my testimony of my Older Brother, my Savior, Jesus Christ, has grown more than I could ever imagine!  Which leads to my topic.  

OK, now if you were silly enough to skip, go back and read it.  Or not.  Your loss.  

I've learned that I can rely fully on the Savior for help and comfort, and to put my trust completely in Him.  Seriously, all the hard parts of life really aren't that bad when you rely fully on the Lord to take care of His will.  His way is ALWAYS the best way.  There's times when we have plans for ourselves.  Plans change.  It's a fact of life.  When has there ever been a time when everything you've wanted has happened?  It just doesn't work that way.  I just had an experience where my plan didn't go my way.  I've had a dream over the past year and a half.  I've literally thought about it every single day, hoping and praying that it would come true.  I wanted to be a Young Performing Missionary in Nauvoo, IL.  I wanted to serve a mission over the summer where I would be doing what I love to do; singing and acting on stage.  I worked so hard to get it.  I practiced and practiced, and spent all day recording my audition.  I literally did everything I could have done to get in.  And then today I got an email.  Out of the 150 people who tried out, only 20 could make it.  I didn't make the cut.

But, I knew that this was not my decision.  It is ultimately the Lord's.  He will put me where I need to be, when I need to be there.  That's my new motto in life.  I clearly remember the first devotional during the Spring Semester 2011.  The quote was, "Be where you need to be, when you need to be there."  I truly believe that as I go about life doing all I can to be a faithful servant of the Lord, He will do what is best for me.  It's up to me to put my trust in Him and say, "Thy will be done, O Lord, and not mine."  I hand my life over to Him.  He knows the eternal scheme of things and where I need to be in my life.  Ever since I turned in my audition video and form, I pleaded with the Lord to let me go.  I poured my heart out to Him, saying all the reasons I should go.  But after each prayer, I ended with, "Thy will be done, and not mine."  As the day drew closer for me to hear back from them, I started to think about what would happen if I didn't make it.  I knew I would be disappointed.  I've spent literally every day for the past year and a half thinking about this.  So I began to pray for comfort if I didn't make it.  I asked Him to help me be able to accept His will.

Today I got the email.  I saw who it was from.  The ultimate truth.  This would be the deciding factor for my life next summer.  I opened it.  

"Dear Lakesha,

Thanks so much for applying to be a Young Performing Missionary in Nauvoo, Illinois.  You are wonderfully talented, and we applaud your desire to use your talents in the service of the Lord.

This year Nauvoo Productions received close to 150 applications, from which we were able to select only 20 for the Summer 2012 mission.   As you can imagine, the selection process was extremely difficult. Although we’re not able to include you in this year’s group, we encourage you to consider applying again next year.

Thanks so much for your interest, and for your willingness to serve.

We wish you the very best!"

Talk about disappointment!  I just sat there on my bed, stunned.  I really thought I had a chance.  I had felt good about this decision for so long.  Then I thought back to all my pleadings with the Lord.  Ever since I started to ask Him for help to soften the blow if I didn't make it, I realized that I felt less and less excited to go.  I realized that He was preparing me, for which I'm extremely thankful.  The Lord really does care about each and every one of us.  He wants us to be happy.  He wants us to be successful.  It's just in His time frame and His way.  

Now that I have been thinking about this all day, I feel much more comfortable with the outcome.  I'm actually happy about it.  I know now that I'm supposed to be in Rexburg.  I can look forward to more great times with Caitlin and Kelsey and my new roommates!  Who knows what will happen in the spring?  Only the Lord knows, and He did what was best for me at this time.  So am I disappointed?  Sure.  But am I going to take this positively and have faith that my life is only going to be better because of this?  Most definitely.  Not my way, but the Lord's way.  That's the only way to live my life!