mormon.org

hey lds people... 

who has a mormon.org profile? 

here's mine. 

leave me the link to yours in a comment!

hurrah for israel

as part of my "pre-field training" for my mission, i had to watch six 30-minute videos about real elders and sisters and their experiences with some of the people they taught during their time as missionaries. i'm grateful that the Church's missionary program now includes these videos because so far, these have been the most helpful to me in learning what it's like to serve a mission. did i cry during every single episode? i did. i didn't have to be there to feel the spirit. seeing real life investigators changing their lives, desperate to come unto Christ and follow Him, was incredible. and all thanks to young men and women just like me. i've always put missionaries on such a pedestal. i admire them and respect them so much. especially the 19 yearold men that go. 19 seems like such a young age. but every single worthy missionary i've come across seem so mature, eloquent, respectful, and full of gospel knowledge. and now i get to be that! 

words cannot accurately express just how blessed and excited i feel to be able to serve a mission. there is no better way i could be spending the next 18 months. in the last few minutes of the last episode, one of the elders said, "if you're worthy, it'd be a mistake not to go!" but really. i am so eager to share the great message of the gospel of Christ with the people of madrid. i can't wait to see the truthfulness of His teachings change people's lives for the better. to see miracles worked, prayers answered, and faith increased every. single. day. i am so beyond ready to forget the world and get to work. i love this gospel with all that i am, and i'm thrilled to be able to share it with those who the Lord has prepared to hear it.

come on, september 12th! i'm ready for you.

catching up on general conference

i had to work most of general conference weekend, so throughout this week i've been watching talks from conference to catch up on everything i missed. i loved dallin h. oaks' talk called "sacrifice" from the saturday morning session. and i found this most relevant. this right here is why i can't wait to serve a mission.

"Knowing what my Savior did for me—His grace in suffering for my sins and in overcoming death so I can live again—I feel privileged to make the small sacrifice I am asked to make in His service. I want to share the understanding He has given me."

my decision

i gave it a lot of thought in high school. i knew it was what i wanted to do. i worked to prepare myself for when the time would come. but then, for awhile, i lost sight of my dream, and focused my attention on other things, people, and aspects of my life. but then, a few months ago, i had this experience and i knew it wasn't too late.

i have decided to serve a full-time mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and i am beyond thrilled. i found a girl to buy my second block contract, i'm moving home next month, and will start my papers then. i've never been more sure of something in my whoooole almost 21 years of life. i know that this is what i need to be doing in my life right now and i can't wait to see what the next 18 months has in store for me.

sister munden

has a nice little ring to it, dontcha think?

just... happy

the last couple days have been such a manifestation to me that God lives, that He is aware of me, and that He loves me so, so much. i feel incredibly undeserving of all the blessings that ive been given and for all the love that ive felt recently. im working on being deserving and worthy of those blessings and that love. im getting my priorities straight and figuring out what matters most. im making changes that have been a long time coming. and im feeling more motivated and determined than ever. i can do this.

a witness at all times

in high school i was really good at having "missionary moments" and sharing my beliefs and values with just about anyone that asked, or who i felt would like to know. but for some reason (probably the fact that i go to a church school), these moments seem fewer and far between. sometimes i think i've maybe forgotten how to share my testimony, because i'm out of practice.

this past weekend, my friend came down to vegas with us. he happens to be an athiest. we don't ever talk about religion because it tends to be a source of contention and one of us ends up angry and hurt. however, on the drive back from vegas to salt lake, things seemed different. i'm not sure why, nor do i remember what we were talking about before this...but during a moment of silence i turned to him and asked, "soo, uh, what do you believe will happen to you when you die?" and it triggered a three hour conversation about the purpose of life, what happens to us when we die, eternal families, faith, prayer, and agency. not once did i feel like things were getting heated or argumentative. i loved it. juelaine jumped in when i needed help, we were quoting scripture and words of prophets that we didn't even know we knew, and the spirit was so strong. 

that conversation made me realize how truly grateful i am for the gospel of Jesus Christ. it made me realize how much a part of my life it is and it made me appreciate how blessed i am to know and believe the things i do. it's so cliche, but i would be so very lost without the gospel in my life. i honestly don't know where i'd be or what i'd be doing without the truth in my life. i now have a renewed desire to be better; to daily immerse myself in the scriptures, to fall on my knees in prayer, and to constantly be seeking for moments and opportunities to share what i know, whether through conversation, or simply by example.

bad day?

this helps

forget me not

i love dieter f. uchtdorf 

so much

prepare yourselves

first of all...

my laptop is baaaaaaaack!

i have a lot to say. and when i say "a lot," i mean i'd-like-to-catch-you-up-on-everything-that's-happened-since-my-laptop-broke-but-for-now-i'll-just-talk-about-yesterday.

my mother's day started at about 1am when i got home from work. i very quietly, as to not wake up my house, carried in an armful of stuffs including my keys/wallet/sunglasses/phone, flowers, a card, and my drink. i decided to put the flowers i got my mom in water in a vase and set it on the kitchen counter along with her card so it'd be the first thing she saw when she walked downstairs in the morning. well, everyone stayed asleep while i did such. except our pets. my puppy josie walked downstairs and whined at the back door so i let her outside. and then boo (our kitty) crept down with her. after i had cut the stems, put the "flower food" in the water, and the flowers in a vase, i set them on the counter as i had planned. while i was at the table writing in my mom's card, i heard this rustling noise. i got up to see what it was, and boo was eating my mom's flowers! i proceeded to lock the naughty kitty in the room where we keep her food and litter box, hoping to keep her from mischief .

sunday morning i got ready in exactly 50 minutes. including a shower AND blow drying and straightening my hair. that's impressive for me, if you ain't know. 

church was great. i love the sundays that are effortless. the ones where i don't struggle to stay awake and focused. the ones where i don't beg my mom to scratch my back while i doodle on the sacrament meeting program. i enjoyed two of the most wonderful talks on motherhood. also, a baby was blessed. i think baby blessings are pretty neat. officially presenting a newborn child to the congregation, and to heavenly father -- i don't know, i just think it's cool. but for some reason this one was different. i immediately thought of my babies from ecuador. and i started to tear up. i know you're probably so sick and tired of hearing about ecuador, but i seriously still think about it everyday. i wish all my babies got to be blessed and welcomed into a loving family.

i believe i mentioned that i get to teach the ctr 7's now, right? well, i do. and yesterday's lesson was about how being obedient shows heavenly father and jesus our faith. so i was telling ruthy, susie, robbie and joshua about when lehi's family left jerusalem and explaining that they had to leave behind all of their friends and almost all of their possessions. i told the kids to pretend they were lehi's family and asked them what their most prized possessions were. some of them asked what that meant, and i explained that it was their favorite toy, book, game, or movie. susie said her most prized possession was her babydoll. robbie and joshua both said theirs was their legos. when i got to ruthy she responded with "my mom." i told her that it had to be something not living, because their family got to go with them. and she goes, "well i still want to pick my mom if that's okay." it was the cutest thing. and ruthy gave the closing prayer and in it she said "we're thankful for our parents, especially our mothers. and please help us to do whatever we can to make them happy today." ugh, i seriously love her. i want a ruthy. after she finished making her mother's day card she gave me a shoulder rub. and when it was time to go she hugged me and said she liked me. it made my whole day.

we also had the missionaries over for lunch. i looooooooove missionaries. especially the ones serving in our ward. they're so cute. they both go home in a couple months. one's from washington and one is from orem. i plan on loving/dating/marrying the one from orem.

but really, i love my mom. i do. she's the greatest thing in my life. everything i have, am, and hope to be, i owe to her. she's the only person in my life who has been there for me always. sometimes i'm hard to love. and i know that. but she always does. no matter what.

this has to be one of my favorite pictures of the three of us

that's all. i hope everybody had the most fantastic day yesterday celebrating their moms. i'm so happy to be back. hoooray.

want the rundown?

our banquet is tomorrow night

i can't believe it

where did this three months go?

since you don't get to be there,

i'll share with you what i'm going to say

and the song we're going to sing

enjoy 

i lied, the videos not working

i'll try again later

Thinking about what to say tonight was surprisingly hard for me. I feel like times are rare that I don’t have the words to express what I’m thinking or feeling. But this is definitely one of those times. My heart is full, my emotions are mixed, and my mind is crowded with my jumbled thoughts. So what comes out will probably be a combination of raw feeling and an attempt at everything trapped inside my head.

I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the situations of the kids we work with every day. And what I’ve struggled with the most I think is why. Why them? Why do they get abandoned, and left without parents? How come I have an earthly family who loves and wants me, and they don’t? But then I was talking to Angela a few weeks ago, about when she bore her testimony in Sacrament meeting. And she said that though our babies don’t have earthly parents who are in their lives, they do have Heavenly parents who love them tremendously. And I’m grateful that I’ve been able to assist in showing them that they are truly loved. When I’m with them I can feel the love their Heavenly Father has for them. I can feel their innocence and their potential. They are precious spirits. And I’ve decided that Heavenly Father sent them to the orphanages because they are the strongest ones. They can survive without earthly parents and an earthly family. They are in the situations they are in for a purpose. And part of that purpose I think, is to teach me.

It sounds really cliché, but I am changed. I came to Ecuador thinking I was doing a great thing. I was going to improve my Spanish, complete my internship for my Psychology major, and spend 50 hours a week serving the little orphaned children of Quito. I think that part of me was going into this experience a little bit selfishly. But one Sunday at church I was reading Helaman 5 and part of verse 8 stuck out to me… “that ye may not do these things that ye may boast, but that ye may do these things to lay up for yourselves a treasure in Heaven, yea which is eternal, and which fadeth not away.” And now I think I’m leaving a better person; a different person. I now have 14 new sisters and some of the greatest friends I’ve had, another family, and a place I can call my home. I feel like I’ve done my best to teach these precious kids all I can. But I’m confident that they’ve taught me so much more.

I’ve learned that what I want most from life is to be a mom and to raise my children in a happy home. I've learned that God loves all of His children equally. And I’ve learned that when you lose yourself in service you find yourself. But the most important lesson I’ve learned from my time in Ecuador is to love unconditionally. The kids I have spent my last 12 weeks with are free of judgment, quick to love, and always happy. I want to be more like them.

As I think about it now, I’m kind of excited to go home. But I know that once I am home, I’ll miss Ecuador more than I enjoy being back in the States. I’ll miss my home. I’ll miss the atmosphere in the house. I’ll miss staying up way too late playing cards and watching movies, just to wake up way too early for shift the next morning. I’ll miss Betty’s mouthwatering meals and Angelita’s sweet smile. I’ll miss general meetings on Tuesday’s and dinner all together on Sunday’s. I’ll miss drives to and from shift with Pablo, even though I fear for my life every time I get in the van. I’ll miss telling taxi drivers that I live in the red house on the corner. I’ll miss all my babies. I’ll miss bathing and dressing them. I’ll miss doing their hair, brushing their teeth, and comforting them when they cry. I’ll miss morning walks, and pattycake on the patio. I’ll even miss wiping their noses, changing their diapers, and putting their socks and shoes on for the 99th time. I’ll miss the workers. I'll miss helping Sor Alba with her English homework and Patty trying to hook me up with her brother-in-law. I'll miss Favi making fun of my ugly shoes and Neomi telling me, "I want to see you naked chica de OSSO." I’ll even miss 13 hour night shifts and Sandra's obnoxious songs that I swear even the children hate. And I’ll miss all of you. But I think what I'll miss more than anything about life in Ecuador is the feeling I got, the strength of my testimony, and the little miracles I saw every day for three months as I served the Lord and his children. My heart will forever be with the children and people of Quito, Ecuador.

i'm a mormon

i've known this lady since i was 5

she's from my home ward

and i used to be best friends with her daughter

neat

helaman 5:8

"...that ye may not do these things that ye may boast, but that ye may do these things to lay up for yourselves a treasure in heaven, yea which is eternal, and which fadeth not away"

la cascada del pita

anybody who knows anything about me knows that i hate nature... i'm just not an outdoorsy person. in the least bit. but i had the most wonderful day. and i think i got a week's worth of exercise in just today. i also cut my hand. which hurts badly. but i'll live. and i loved it. not the hand cutting part, that'd be weird.

as mentioned 3810948823 times before, i love ecuador. these girls are my family right now. being at this waterfall was surprisingly a really spiritual experience for me. it made me realize how small i am compared to the world, but that i am still significant. it made me realize how grateful i am for this beautiful world in which i live. and it was just another tangible, visible, proof that there is a god. and he does great things.

sunday funday

last week i didn't get to go to church. mostly because i had night shift the night before and i was dead on sunday. but today i didn't work until the afternoon, so i got to go to our home ward. and i loved it more than anything. i've been to church in hawaii, and now in ecuador. i really like going to an lds ward in different cultures.

sacrament meeting was fantastic. their chapel looks a little different than the ones in the states. i wish it was socially acceptable to take pictures at church, buuuuut it's not. oh well. little kids have callings that big people normally do (i.e., the guy that goes around and counts the attendance, the ward chorister, the pianist, e.t.c.).

i was surprised how much of the talks i understood. i think the parts i understood were just what i needed to hear today. things about testimonies, and living gospel principles little by little. after sacrament meeting i talked to the american elders in our ward and asked them if they knew my friend justin that's serving in quito. and guess what... THEY DID. it was so awesome.

english sunday school was interesting. there were eight of us in there; four osso girls, three older missionaries (one couple, and one lady by herself), and a guy from russia who's traveling around the world. we talked about mary, and elisabeth and their faith.

and this is what i've decided. the church is the same everywhere. you can go to church anywhere. in kansas, in idaho, in hawaii, in ecuador, anywhere. and it's the same. the language the people speak in might be different depending on where you are. but the language of the spirit is universal. i love my faith.

la verdad

"there is no greater Christ-like act than holding a fatherless boy by the hand or looking a motherless girl in the eyes"

-president thomas s. monson

sometimes i have to remind myself of this when the work is hard or i feel like giving up, because it's not all fun and games. i'm here for the children. it's all for them. when i remember that, even the worst day will seem easier.

the unexpected

so i have this friend, marcel

marcel alexander longstreet harvey

yes, that's his real name

i didn't even believe him until he showed me his license

anywayssssss

marcel is my very best friend

he was my prom date sophomore year

he came over at 2am and talked to me for hours when i had my heart broken

he hugs me when im sad and sings to me when im lonely

he's one of the few people i actually miss from high school

i just love the guy with all my heart

however, he's never been a fan of my personal beliefs when it comes to religion

he told me once that letting me be mormon is like "watching your pet dog play on the freeway" (wtf...?)

so last night when he called me to discuss joseph smith, i wasn't too thrilled

i'm all for talking about my beliefs, but when people ask questions just to ridicule and belittle me because they don't agree?

im not okay with that

so i told marcel to get back to me when he had read the book of mormon

and of course, me being the pessimist i am, i was just saying that

i didn't think he'd actually agree to read it

but he did

my best friend is going to read the book of mormon

and that's the hugest deal to me

i can't believe it

and i'm ecstatic

it doesn't matter if he believes in it or not

but the fact that he is going to put his judgement aside,

and read a book that is the main reason i am who i am,

means the whole world to me

the lion king, baked potatoes, and the truth

as you may or may not know,

i saw the lion king at mandalay bay

on thursday night

and it was just positively marvelous

i want to see it again and again

or just watch the movies

that would probably suffice

all i have to say,

is that i love black people who can sing

and elton john is a genius

today after church me and my grandma had baked potatoes and salad

it was a very aesthetically pleasing meal

ive been watching a lot of the food channel

(mostly because im still on my diet and watching other people eat unhealthy, fatty, buttery, and at the same time delicious food that i myself cannot eat, makes me feel a whole lot better about the situation)

and well, presentation is key

and im pretty happy about how my lunch looked today

i would show you a picture...

but, well, MY CAMERA IS STILL BROKEN

and i have yet to buy a new one

problem? very much so

here's the thing:

last night i was on the phone with pjt

and he asked me what i would do with $1,000,000

gay question, i know

but i told him

and the first thing i said was that i would give $100,000 to tithing

like i thought that was an obvious answer

but he questioned me about it

and was like "really? just like that?"

and i told him yeah because it's a commandment

and he told me that he only lives by the original 10 commandments because that's what we were given and that's what we should base our decisions off of

and that (get this) tithing isnt a commandment

really? really?

where does it say that tithing isnt a commandment?

i cant tell you how mad that made me

so instead of saying what i really wanted to, but would probably have regretted later, and arguing with him when i knew i was right

i told him i needed to go to bed and hung up

but i've been thinking a lot about that today

i'm so grateful for the modern revelation/guidance/direction we receive because without it, and if the only commandments we thought we had were the 10 that moses was given, we'd be in a great deal of trouble

also i just really love sundays

mormon pride; hahha

i like sundays.

i like the way i feel after church.

i like reading and talking con mi familia.

i like feeling the spirit.

i like quotes.

i like hablando.

i like boys that can sing,

and play the piano,

and cook,

and speak spanish.

i like sunday dress.

i like that this is the second to last sunday that ill be here for a whole 7 weeks.

i like marking up my scriptures.

i like writing letters.

i like when im in the mood to clean.

i like missionaries.

i like church.

i like becoming a better person.

i love everything about this day.

fjdklaf; i like being mormon. its who i am. its what i do. and im proud of it.