MÉXICO, I'M COMING BACK FOR YOU!!!!!!

Sorry for any inconvenience it may have caused that I didn't post yesterday!! Besides not being home ALL day for the past few days, it was all topped off by my laptop having major issues, so I wasn't able to do ANYTHING on my computer yesterday, which is problematic being in college... But I got everything fixed so it's working today! :)

So I had a fun weekend! My birthday was Sunday, so I'm finally 19 years old! My friend threw me a little surprise party on Saturday, I got a surprise delivery of flowers, and I got to have a delicious birthday dinner with all my aunt, uncle, and all my cousins!! It was a really great birthday weekend! :)

But you know what the best part of my birthday weekend was?
I GOT MY MISSION CALL!!!!!!

OH MY GOOD GOLLY GRIEF! 
So after 9 long days of disappointment, checking the mail day after day, I FINALLY GOT TO FIND OUT WHERE I'M GOING FOR 18 MONTHS OF MY LIFE!

So it actually took quite a long process. On Thursday, my mission call still hadn't arrived here in the mail, so I was positive it got lost in the mail system. It doesn't take a week to send a letter in the mail from Oregon to Utah! 
... But, whilst sitting in my Marketing class, feeling bummed, I got a text from my mom. 
"Your visa stuff is here."

OH MY GOODNESS. THAT MEANT I WAS GOING FOREIGN!!!!!!!

At 9 that morning, the girl I was sitting next to in Mission Prep mentioned how her friends found out which country she was going to from her visa paperwork, because her call ended up coming later. I knew that was what I'd be doing tonight! I needed to know where I would be going! So we set it up to get the paper scanned and sent to me in an e-mail.

So that night, at 6pm, this is what happened:

Uh, yeah. So there you have it. I'm a spaz.
By the way, the reason I turn my laptop upside down is because it got scanned in upside down… hahaha.

So I found out I was going to Puebla, México, but I had no clue about any of the other details. That was good enough for me, though!!!!

Then Friday I found my mission call sitting there in the mailbox! I got home, tore it open, and found out which mission I was going to, and where and when I was reporting!

Look how excited I was!

Dear Sister Lawson:
You are hereby called to serve as a missionary of The Church of Jesus of Latter-day Saints. You are assigned to labor in the México Puebla North 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, February 5, 2014. You will prepare to preach the gospel in the Spanish language.

YESSS! I'M GOING BACK TO MEXICOOOOOO!!!!

It's not a bordering mission to Elder Gibby's, but it's dang close! At any given time, I'll more than likely be about 4-5 hours away from Elder Gibby. That's super crazy to think about!! 

AND I'M IN THE SAME MISSION THAT MY FRIEND SAVANNAH IS GOING TO!!!!!!
My first year at BYU, Savannah and I took Spanish 105 and 106 together. And we were buddies for our oral exams. We were pretty stellar. 

SO NOW THE POSSIBLITIES ARE ENDLESS! 
As she said, "This is taking Spanish partners to a whole new level!!!"

Plus today I found out I'm only gonna be in the MTC for 2 weeks! I took their little language test thing over the phone, and the guy told me he was putting me in the advanced program since my Spanish was so good!

This is so crazy! All of this... Heavenly Father definitely, DEFINITELY loves me. I have no doubt of that! I'M SO BLESSED.
EEEEEEP :)

And you know what? Those 9 days of waiting were probably some of the most disappointing and frustrating days that I've ever had. But I learned something important from it, besides patience of course :)

By day 7 after checking the mail and seeing nothing, I was so upset I was to the point of tears. And I hardly ever cry. I know it seems stupid, but in that moment, dealing with that level of disappointment was really hard for me. I just wanted to melt away into a puddle, left in the corner, that nobody would ever look at again.

When one of my friends found out it still hadn't come that day, he told me he wanted to Skype to me. I was hesitant at first because I looked all ugly after crying (and my nose was full of snot), but he was pretty insistent, so we Skyped.

And guess what? Talking to him made me feel LOADS better. He changed my perspective and made me so excited for the next day, because I knew it would just be a better day! And surprise! That next day was when I found out where I was going :)

So the moral of the story: We don't have to seclude ourselves when we're not cheery, if that's what we're inclined to do. Our friends and family love us, no matter how we feel or our mood. They're there to help us out and make us feel better. 

Okay, they do a little bit more than that ;)

Our Heavenly Father has given us the people in our lives to depend on and to be there for us, in good times and bad. I know I'd want to help a friend out if they were struggling! SO TRUST AND CONFIDE IN YOUR FRIENDS! The end :)

So Elder Gibby!!

Guess what?! He has a kid now! He seems to like his companion a lot! They dance and sing in the rain, have lemon-eating contests, and have contests of who can stand the most hot sauce on their food. 
It's a lot harder than he thought it'd be to train though. Elder Gibby's Spanish is still coming along, but his companion doesn't speak ANY. So it looks like Elder Gibby isn't going to have a choice but to do his best to learn Spanish, since he's now the senior companion!

He sent me a super fun picture! Elder Gibby's dad (his first companion) was heading out to go home when Elder's Gibby's trainee came in! So they got a picture together! Grandpa, dad, and son! So presh :)

Jeez, I am so elated. I get to go back to a country I ADORE, I get to speak Spanish, and I'm gonna have the best experience of my life! YESSS :) LIFE IS SO GOOD!!!!!

692 Days Left! :)

Excitement and Impatience Rolled into One!

Oh my golly, has this week been a crazy one.

At work we get a lot of missionaries coming through, so I've made it a habit to ask where each group is headed off to. Argentina is probably the one I've heard most, but there's a decent amount from Mexico. And yep, every time I hear an Elder is going to Mexico, I get super excited! You bet it!

So on Friday at work, I was minding my own business, ringing up a customer, when I hear the word "Mexico." 

Instantly my attention was stolen!
"Where in Mexico?!" I asked, leaning over the counter in anticipation. I was expecting Guadalajara or Mexico City or something, since that's a common response... But that's not what he said.

THIS MISSIONARY WAS GOING TO OAXACA!!!
I told you I was gonna find a missionary going there!!!

I was shocked for a second, but then I gasped, slapping my hands to the side of my face.

I started jumping around, back and forth, trying to get words out of my mouth. 

“My boyfriend...!” 

“Mi novio está allí!!!!!”

He asked what his name was, and I told him Elder Gibby. His companion said they’d say hi to him if they ran into him. I said, “PLEASE DO!!!”

You can bet I'm telling Adam to look for an Elder Boynton!

The elder wasn't as excited as I was, which I guess makes sense... I mean, I was kind of being a freak in front of 20 missionaries, my co-worker, and Kristen and Tim.
It kind of went like this:

Yeahhh... I know I'm really weird, but it's a lot better than being boring :)

After I finally settled down, I was shaking. Not as bad as when I saw Elder Gibby in the MTC, but still chihuahua-status. Hahaha. Needless to say, that was a very exciting moment for me!!!

Alright, so now for the story of my mission call.

Normally mission calls get sent out on Tuesdays, and seeing how I was in Utah, I figured it’d be here on Wednesday. So Wednesday I go waltzing out to the mailbox, open it up, and… 
Nothing. 

That sliver of doubt in the back of my head thinking that it wouldn't be there won this round... But I’ve heard of a lot of people receiving their calls on Thursdays, so I was determined it would be there the next day!

So Thursday I go to the mailbox after class. This was the moment, the moment of truth. My mission call would finally be here!!!!!! So I stick the key in the mailbox, twist it open… And there’s a key! But that key was for a package my mom sent me. Soooo it was a bit of a bittersweet trade-off. A package instead of my mission call. But you know, I’ll take that over nothing! :)

But don't take me for a saint. I was definitely a bit impatient...

Friday most of my hope was gone, but I still had an inkling of hope, since there were two boys in my ward last year who got their calls on a Friday. I quickly ran out to the mailbox and waste no time in opening it. I had a big grin on my face since I just KNEW it was going to be in there! But… There was nothing. Nada. Zilch. Aaaand my grin faded and turned into a pout.

So Saturday afternoon I was sitting around, mopey and watching Netflix when I got a call from my mom. And guess what!??!? MY MISSION CALL! IT CAAAAME! 

Given, it was to my address in Oregon, but it still arrived somewhere!

So my mommy forwarded my call, and it should be here on Tuesday! That's tomorrow! EEEEP!!!! 
Not to mention tomorrow I'll officially be out of the 700s in the 976 days of waiting :)

Elder Gibby has been dying almost as much as I have to know where I'll be going. He said I was killing him by making him wait another week, but I think he'll manage :) Hahaha. He told me he had a dream I was going to Peru, so if I go there, he's won the jackpot!

Elder Gibby's doing really well! He had two baptisms this weekend. When they got there, the baptismal font wasn't filled, so they ended up having to fill the font with buckets of water, making the services begin an hour late. But the baptisms were great and he said the Spirit was really strong :) I'm so happy for him! 

AND BIG NEWS! Elder Gibby is now a senior companion!!! He is SO excited! He's also training a new missionary from the US, so he's double excited!! He's going to do so great :)

Oh, and guess what?! Adam remembered my birthday!! I was actually really impressed! My birthday's on Sunday :) And I'm getting the best birthday present ever, my mission call!!! YES YES YES :) 

Elder Gibby said he's sending me something too... If I had a say in it, I'd tell him to save up that money of his. Even if I told him not to I know he'd do it anyway... :P I'm happy though! Really, he's probably the most thoughtful and best boy I've ever known :)

OHMEOHMY.
I have less than 24 hours until I know where I'm going to be serving my mission!
THIS IS INSANE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

700 Days Left! :)

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First Week of Classes... Check!

Yessss! I've made it through the first week of classes! That's always a success to be proud of :)

So my classes… I'm taking pretty normal classes, I think. A couple religion classes, Humanities, an intro course to Speech Pathology, Marketing Management, and... Statistics. Originally I was taking a different class in place of Stats, but when I realized it was basically a research class that required me doing a project every week...

RETREAT!

So I decided to take Stats since it fit right in my schedule, and it's a pre-requisite to get in the Communication Disorders major.

... There's just one problem.

I haven't taken a math class for nearly two and a half years. And have no experience with statistics whatsoever. Oh boy.

At first, I was really worried I'd be sitting there, using my fingers, get to 6, then be like...

Luckily I haven't gotten to that point though! I'm just waiting... Hahahaha

I'm a little bummed I couldn't take a Spanish class though. It didn't fit into my schedule with classes and work. Jeez, now that I know the language decently and all, I can't go get an easy A with it... Oh well...

As for work, it's been super great. I really love my job!! My co-workers are a blast, my manager and I get along super well, plus I get to see a ton of missionaries since they're now living in the other half of Wyview! Man, I love missionaries! 

Whenever I see a missionary walk into the Creamery with a tag that says "La Iglesia de JesuCristo de los Santos de los Ultimos Dias" I start freaking out and immediately ask them where they're serving. Some were going to Veracruz, some others to Tampico, Mexico City, Guadalajara… But no Oaxaca yet! My goal is to find a missionary going there one of these days... Anyway, I have a fun time talking to them in Spanish! :) I just adore their gringo accents! (Except I know that sometimes mine's not much better hahaha).

So I watched the BYU vs Texas game on Friday… THAT WAS SO CRAZY!!!!! To start things off, there was a two-hour delay because there was a huge thunderstorm and it was POURING! 

Did you see that guy sprinting down the sidewalk? HAHAHA :)
We enjoyed it though :)

After the storm passed, the awesomest game of football started!

In the first quarter, Taysom Hill made a 68 yard touchdown run. SIXTY-EIGHT YARD TOUCHDOWN RUN! 

Throughout the rest of the game, he was on fire and scored 2 more of our touchdowns, and WE WON 40-21!!!!! We won against TEXAS, which was ranked 15th! Not to mention in the game we had a total of 508 yard rush, which broke the school record! You can imagine how I felt after that game...

 Super fun game to watch! And if you're not a BYU fan, you should be. :)

When I told Adam about the game he seemed so excited!! He said it was the biggest temptation of his life to watch the highlights of the game. Especially the 68 yard touchdown run! He said he won't, even though he wishes he could! He told me he loved the football update though, and to keep 'em coming! Hahaha :)

So just a quick update on Elder Gibby. He had a good week! He has 2 baptisms this Saturday and he is SO excited! He has transfers next week, so he may or may not end up going to a new area! :) 

OH. MAH. GOSH.

I HAVE SOMETHING EXCITING TO TELL YOU.

My bishop said that MY MISSION CALL SHOULD BE HERE THIS WEEK!!!!!!!! This week!!! It only took them a freaking week for them to process everything! Oh my HEAVENS! 
It's so crazy that even the cat's surprised!

I'll be getting it right before General Conference too! This is perfect!

Jeez! Right now I'm just sitting here, thinking:

I just wanna know where I'm gonna be for a year and a half of my life!

But no joke, when my call arrives in the mail I'll probably start doing this with it:

Hahaha okay maybe a little joke, cuz that's just creepy. 
BUT I AM SO EXCITED I'M GOING TO DIE OF HAPPINESS!!!!!

For all of you who won't know through Facebook, I'll be sure to tell you the news next week!

...
MISSION CALL. THIS WEEK.
EEP!

707 Days Left! :)

(Palindrome!)

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Back to BYU!

So I got all moved into my new apartment on Thursday! My room was smaller than I expected, but I really like it. I did some re-arranging of the furniture so it looks bigger, got my clothes put away, put up some decorations… And it's like home sweet home!

Tadaaa!

I've told you before that I can't stand spiders. Remember the Scary Scale? Seriously, I'd rather just forget that they're there, and I'm okay with that as long as I don't see them. Why can't spiders just take me up on this offer?

Friday afternoon I was minding my own business, talking to my friend Kristen on the phone, when I spot a disgusting spider crawling on the wall RIGHT next to my bed. Just a couple steps and he'd be on my bed... Of course I could not allow that arachnid to get all his spidey-germs on my bed! My sheets were fresh! So I grabbed a tissue and prepared myself!

... But remember how I can't bring myself to kill spiders? They just scare me so bad, and I don't like them dead or alive. So in my attempt to kill it, I kind of chased it with the tissue into an unreachable place under my bed. 

Way to go, Chanel. Now it's gonna bite you in the middle of the night!

About 10 minutes later when I was looking out my window, I SPOT THE SPIDER. It was crawling up the side of it! NOOOOO.

That's the nasty little guy. His pincers were so menacing...

I started hyperventilating a little, trying to get my courage up to squish it. I got the chills just from looking at it. I grabbed two tissues, and hovered above it. I took a deep breath, hair on end....

... And pushed the tissues on top of the little guy, bringing his life to an end. I didn't want to see his crumpled body, so I just left the tissue sitting in the side of the window.

No less than five minutes later, I saw him crawl out from underneath the tissues, unscathed.

HOW?!?! I put a lot of pressure on those tissues! THIS SPIDER WAS TERRORIZING ME!

So in another attempt on his life, I wielded the two tissues again. As I hovered about the spider, I whimpered (Yeah, I can't believe I actually did that...).This time, I made sure I put all my force into the tissues, and kept squishing for a good 10 seconds. Once I was content with myself, the spider immediately crawled out from underneath the tissues. 

WAS THIS A CAT-SPIDER OR SOMETHING?? I'd already made 3 attempts on his life!

This time I was absolutely determined I was going to get him. I took the tissues in my right hand, and brought them down hard on the spider, then rubbed the tissue up and down. Once I saw signs of his guts, I left the tissue stuck there in the side of the window, and danced away from it. 

Yeah... that's my story of one of the bravest moments in my life! Hahahahaha... What a sad level of bravery I have... Lucky me though, since spiders don't affect Elder Gibby. So guess who's gonna be the spidey-smusher when we get back? Yeah, he's definitely the perfect guy for me. I'll never have to come close to a spider again!

But now you know, one tissue is the way to go when squishing a spider. Two tissues just don't do the trick. That, or that spider was freaking invincible!!

Anyway, I finally got to see one of my best friends, Kristen, last night!!! It's been 4 whole months! I'm rooming with her this semester. AND SHE GOT ENGAGED THIS PAST WEEK. Crazy stuff! The proposal was super cute, too. Unfortunately it's not my story to tell... But just know that it was adorable!!

Also I got a job! I'm working at the Wyview Creamery as a cashier. I really love it. My co-workers and manager are so fun!! I actually found out my manager served part of his mission in my home stake!! SAY WHAT?!? So cool!

One of my shifts is on Friday night from 6 to midnight, and that kind of posed a problem since that would require me walking home alone... in the dark... in a sketchy area. Really, Provo isn't all that safe of a city. After signing my contract I found out that the complex I live in has a history of some nearby rapes. Oh boy.

Walking home alone in the dark would cause me a lot of heart attacks from any slight noise that I heard while walking on my merry way...

Yep, that exactly.

But luckily I was offered a ride! So no walking home alone in the dark! Yaaay :)

Oh, and FINALLY my stake president turned in my papers last night! I wish he would've just turned them in a week and a half ago… But oh well. The deed is done, and I should be getting my call here in 3-4 weeks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AHHHH! :D :D

And speaking of missionaries...

ELDER GIBBY! :)

This week Elder Gibby and his companion had 10 new investigators and 19 lessons, so it was pretty good!

Today Elder Gibby had a really fun day! They went to some ruins, and he loved it! There you can actually climb the ruins, and I can vouch that climbing ruins makes the experience 20x more fun!

Afterward they played basketball and american football, and he loved it! He hasn't played football at all since being on the mission, so he had a ton of fun! I'm glad to hear he's doing good :)

Oh man, classes start tomorrow. This semester is going to be a good one though. I can feel it :)

714 Days Left! :)

Milestone Reached: SIX WHOLE MONTHS!

Has your body ever been so sore that you wish you never had to move again? You just wish you could lay down and stay there the rest of your life?

You know, like this:

Well, I have.

My sister and I had this goal to work out a bunch together before I left for BYU. So we did a couple work out classes at the athletic club she works at. We did one called Body Combat and one called Body Pump. 

The day after Body Combat I was sore, and although it was pretty bad, it was livable. But Body Pump? That class required weight lifting with a bar and squats and stuff. I've never really done training with weights, and my arms are SO weak. So after an hour of doing what felt like 1000 squats, 800 bicep curls, and 400 tricep-dips ALL with weights... I literally could not lift my arms and I couldn't walk. 

My legs were jelly, and I know that if I fell over I'd end up like this:

To get to my sister's apartment, we have to go down a few stairs. So after our workout, I did my best to go down the stairs without falling over. But at the very last stair I started to lose control of my legs and they were moving so fast... And this happened:

Yeah, I ran into a wall. It was actually pretty funny... Hahaha. But the soreness that ensued for the next 5 days from that class was AWFUL. 

Suffice to say, my sister and I stuck to walks for the next couple days... But really, up until yesterday I was waddling around and doing my best not to use my arms at all. It was quite comical hahaha.

Okay, okay. Now for the important part of this post ;)

ELDER GIBBY HAS BEEN OUT ON HIS MISSION FOR SIX MONTHS!!!!!!!

SIX WHOLE MONTHS.

OH. MY. FLAMING. CHEETOS.

One of his companions was heading home and since Elder Gibby's been out for 6 months, they had a little celebration!

So now with one of his companions gone, it's just Elder Gibby and his other companion. This companion is his first Mexican companion, so he's been forced to speak pure Spanish for the last few days, which is really good!! That's how you get the hang of a new language, lots of practice! He told me that his Spanish is coming along, which is fantastic to hear! I really hope we can have Spanish conversations when we get back! That'd be so fun :)

This past week was pretty good for him! They have 8 baptism dates and recieved 12 new investigators. He's taking charge and wants to serve the best he can! I'm so glad he's working so hard! Good man.

And while on the topic of missionaries... My stake president should be turning in my papers any day now! EEP! My call is getting sent to home here in Oregon since my address in Utah isn't for sure yet, so I don't want anything to happen... So once it gets here, my parents will send it off to me in Utah. So I have about a month til I find out where I'm going! YAYAYAY :)

If I go Spanish-speaking, I'll be lucky because since coming back I've been able to keep practicing my Spanish with Emilio! We Skype every few days for a couple hours so that I can practice my Spanish with a native speaker. It's so great! A lot of what we talk about is gospel-related. He decided that he wants to help me prepare for my mission, so he's teaching me different principles and scriptures and whatnot. It's really great and I feel like it's going to help a lot!

Oh! I also gave a talk in Sacrament Meeting yesterday. My topic was talking about the past year of my life (at BYU and on the study abroad) and how my testimony has been affected by it. It's incredible how much my testimony has actually grown in these past 12 months... So it was a perfect topic! I decided to talk about how my testimony has developed because of things that I've learned and gained a greater appreciation for in the past year. For example, the importance of the people we surround ourselves with, gratitude, and the power of the Spirit to teach.

I also bore my testimony in Spanish, and got quite a few compliments on my Spanish from native speakers in our ward! YESS! I was so excited. Compliments from native speakers are the best you can get!!

Since it was talking about my life, it was super easy to just talk to the congregation! When I'm given assignments on things that I'm not so familiar with, I always have to read straight off the paper… And it's never too great. But this time I really got to express myself and it was fantastic!

I'm assuming it's the best talk I've ever given, because I got a decent amount of compliments. I'm just glad people listened and got something out of it! hahaha. I'm happy as long as it was successful and it invited the Spirit! WOOHOO :)

Way to go Chanel!

Anyway, I leave for Provo on Wednesday night! I'm flying this time, so I'll be all alone moving in and grocery shopping without a car… That'll be an interesting process! Hahaha. I'm ready to head back to BYU though. I have lots of friends I can't wait to see!

...

HOLY COW SIX MONTHS!!!!! :D

721 Days Left! :)

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