48 Hours Later...

CSI was on tonight, but it was a rerun from last year.  That being the case, there will be no rehash this week (I consider myself a forward thinking person).  Suffice it to say, someone was killed, Brass said something funny, Doc Robbins looked exasperated, Grissom and Sara flirted, Nick looked hunky and the "pleasure provider" did it (well, she did 1/4 of it - this is the one with the washed-up boxer that lives in "The Best Little Whorehouse in Vegas" - shameless Jimmy Stewart film plug there - dies of drowning, an allergic reaction, snake venom and an arrow wound.  Yup, another regular day at the Las Vegas Crime Lab).

All jokings aside, there is something of a more serious nature I need to discuss (but it's a good thing, don't worry).  First off, I've made a rather important decision that will affect my life for approximately the next two years and I want to share it with my flist.  I have decided to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

I've been thinking very seriously about this for the past year or so, ever since I found out that I could graduate in 2007 rather than in 3007.  Before then, it had never been something I'd ever planned on doing, but it's a very viable option for my life right now.  I'm done with school, I don't have a boyfriend, I don't have much tying me down and, most importantly, I feel like this is something I need to do in my life.  My faith has always been very important to me and a very critical part of my life, especially since I graduated from high school.

You hear a lot of times about people who, once they turn 18 and are legally adults, turn away from their faith and "grow out of religion," as though religion is this childish thing, like watching Sesame Street or playing with baby dolls.  For me, it was exactly the opposite.  I always had a testimony that the church was true, but I needed to know that it wasn't "just" my parents and my church leaders "making" me think that.  So, a few years ago, I went through a very personal and soul-searching time where I decided that the faith I grew up in was indeed the true gospel.  My adult years (few though they may be) are actually the time when I started to learn so much more about the gospel and begin to understand it at a deeper level.

For me, a mission is going to be a chance to share something that I value and treasure with all my heart with other people.  Some may reject it, but others will be touched by the Spirit and gain their own testimony.  Granted, this is going to be hard for me, but I believe that this is going to be a great experience for me.

Sister missionaries spend 18 months dedicating themselves completely to the work (as opposed to the guys who serve two years - hey, guys need to be kicked in the pants a little harder than the girls do.  That's 'cuz we're wonderful ^_^).  Missionaries have to follow strict rules in appearance, conduct, where they are, what they see, etc.  Seeing how this is the case, this LJ will be on hiatus as of the day I leave for the Missionary Training Center.  I might have access to Internet, but that will most likely be strictly limited to e-mailing my immediate family and nothing else (depends on what my mission's rules are).  But don't worry, it won't be for a few months.  There's a lot of paperwork and things to get ready for before I actually leave (and there's that little issue of actually getting The Call in the mail that tells me what far-flung area of the world I'll be assigned to - that's probably the most nerve-wracking part, not knowing where I'll be a few months from now).

In the meantime, I'll keep everyone posted on how things are going.  I have papers to fill out, doctor's appointments to go to, clothes to buy and a lot of really, really exciting things that I never thought I would do.  But I can't forget why I'm doing all this: it's to bring people to a knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ and His love for all of us.  I hope you all understand how important this is to me and to so many people who have served missions or who have loved ones who have served missions.  I'm excited to be doing this!

Okay, got to get some sleep now.  I'm going to Hurricane tomorrow for my brother's playoff football game (I don't know if they'll actually win, but it's a trip with the fam) and then I'm going home for the weekend so we can celebrate adjie1026's birthday (which is tomorrow - Happy Birthday Dirt Clod! ^_^ \/ ) and so I can get started on all the mission stuff I have to do (eeeee! I'm going on a mission!)

ETA: Okay, I've given it some thought and I figured out what I could do.  Since I'm a horrible letter writer, I think what I'll do is give adjie1026 my password and username (she's my sister, I trust her) and have her monitor my LiveJournal while I'm on my mission.  When I write to her, I'll include a paragraph or so that she can post just for my flist.  Idk, I don't want to leave you guys out of all the news and whatnot.  It may not be fandom-related or whatever, but it might be fun.  A lot of my flist (okay, all of you) are actually my friends beyond fandoms.  If you'd rather not hear about it, comment on this entry saying so.  I'll set up a mission flist and put those that want to get mission updates from me on it and I'll tell my sister to post there.  Just so you know, those'll be the only updates anyone gets from me for 18 months.  If you're not on the filter, you'll just see a big "I'm On Hiatus" post the day I leave and wonder where the heck I disappeared to the rest of the time.

If I don't hear from you, I'll assume you want to be on the mission flist