Now It Was Simple...

To send in the acceptance.

& Then It Came...

The Big White Envelope

(brief prologues: this is the tale of how I actually opened my mission call.... a tale which may infuriate a select few. Which is why I'm hoping this is read by some people--such as my super-model-hot-babe-mom, who I dearly love to no end--AFTER I have left the country... This being said, I'm so sorry.)

I woke up on that Wednesday morning and began the finishing touches on my research paper for my writing class when the call came. After MONTHS of waiting!!! It came :}
I finished as much of my research paper as I could handle, got dressed, and sped walked to the post office like nobodies business! I had class in an hour and half but I couldn't wait another minute!
Now, the typical tradition is to assemble as many people as you can to the lobby of our dorm and open it with all your friends and family. People cheer and cry and clap. It's great. However, I knew that all that jazz wasn't for me. (Besides, what if I couldn't pronounce where I was going to go? In front of half the dorm is a horrible time for phonics to fail.) So my mom made me promise I would open it with her. (Here is where I would like to re-emphasize my deepest apology)... However. There is a drastic time difference between us that demanded I wait another 12 hours... well, about that.... remember how I said I couldn't wait another minute? It seems that I did wait at all.
I ran up to the Provo Temple with my envelope and my camera!!! I found the best bench. I prayed a ton. I put the envelope on my lap. I carefully pealed open the side (man I'm sneaky;) (AND ALSO SO SORRY!) and slide the booklet and remaining contains before me. I covered the paper with the call on it and stared at it for a solid eight minutes. This was it. I just had to read it. As I sat there a group of missionaries walked past. (Perfect timing, right?). "So where you going?" they cheerfully asked as they saw the trade mark booklet beneath my folded hands. I told them I was still building up the courage. They laughed at my odd response, wished me luck, and began walking away. "Wait! Don't go!" I said while desperately reaching out to them to stay. They laughed again and came back. It took a few moments of witty banter banter and encouragement until they told me to just do it. They even promised they would be there for me, even if it said Idaho. (Nothing against Idaho! Thought the irony would probably kill me.) Anyways. I did it. Here it goes...

Sister LaBanc,
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

California, Rancho Cucamonga

.... You should report to the Mexico MTC on Wednesday July 3, 2013. You will prepare to preach the gospel in the Spanish language.



For those of you who have opened your mission call or witnessed it, you understand the uncontainable joy! I jumped up, fist pumped a couple times, busted a few dance moves like a boss, and the four missionaries enthusiastically congratulated me. We awkwardly air hugged and fist pumped, it was great. The greatest :}
I bid farewell to my Russia bound missionary friends and spent a few more minutes soaking up every last bit of the greatest feeling ever.

 While soaking, a wonderful man from Ethiopia saw me sitting and smiling uncontrollably. He asked if he could take my picture and I figured I was by the temple, in modest clothes, holding my mission call; So despite him being a complete stranger it couldn't have been too sketchy. We got to talking and it turns out he was in Utah on business and was not a member of the church but was intrigued by the temple. Talk about an instant missionary moment! I gave him a brief explanation of temples as the house of the Lord and a place where sacred ordinances can be performed, one being eternal marriage between a man and a woman. I bore my testimony of the church and told him he could always contact the missionaries for more answers-- and with that I had to run back to campus to get to class!!

10 hours later....
after writing, physiology, New Testament, and a dance lab, ran home, called my mom on skype and re-opened my mission call... So what's better than opening your mission call? Opening it twice ;}
But no matter how many times I re-open it or think about it I always get the greatest feeling and know that it's exactly where I need to go.

How Did It All Start...

It was a knee jerk reaction--I VOLUNTEER!!

Just as every eligible young woman felt when they heard the announcement, I knew instantly that I'd go on a mission. I'd be nineteen in the coming weeks, the semester would end shortly after, and I could be on my way to an unpronounceable providence in Russia before the end of January! Sign me up!
The day went on and the thought sunk in. Am I supposed to go? Was that announcement for me? I mean, I had made the decision a long time ago to live as if I was in preparation to go on a mission, so it wasn't as if I didn't feel qualified; however, I hadn't felt any spiritual manifestation that I was supposed to go. I prayed and fasted and went to the temple to try to get some kind of confirmation of my decision. Nothing came, but I began my mission papers as soon as I could so I could be ready. But I ran into problem after problem. Naturally I thought, this is a sign. These set backs are getting out of hand, so maybe I shouldn't go.
But then I had my interview with the Stake President. To be honest, I was rehearsing possible questions and answers in my head for hours, hoping that that would prepare me, but there was one question I couldn't find an accurate answer to: Why do you want to go on a mission? I sat through the interview as if it was a conversation with someone who'd known me from the beginning. Eventually the dread question arose. Why do you want to go on a mission? And just like that (insert finger snap). A light bulb. The curtain opened. The fog lifted. I knew exactly why.

For my future family. For my husband, where ever he is. For anyone out there who doesn't know what Christ did for them and what it means for them. I want to go on a mission because I know the Gospel is true, just as I know the sun will rise day after day. And though I am young and inexperienced in many areas of life, I have endured a fair share of trials that have given me a unique perspective of the Gospel and I can't keep that to myself. I want to share what I know and help others while also building the testimony I already have.
That was my spiritual confirmation that I was supposed to go. So my papers were submitted and all I had to do wait for the big white envelope.

To The New Comers...

So this is Sarah.

I'm just starting out on a grand part of my life and I'd like to share some little bits of it with you.

Now, to catch you up on some things...

 My family is in the military so we've done a little bit of that moving here & there stuff. Currently,  I live down the road on a postage stamp island called Okinawa. It's one of the most wonderful places to live in! From the food to the festivals and just the day to day living, I've had the greatest adventures. Namely, trying to communicate simple things like, "Where's the bathroom?" or "Where am I" to someone who can't speak a word of English, eating unpronounceable and unidentifiable food, learning to drive on the left side of the road, trying to navigate in a country where direction consist of "turn into the ally way past the 3rd house on the left with the grass on its roof then go over 2 canal bridges. If you pass the blue sign with lot of Japanese writing on it, you've gone too far". Needless to say, a lot of skills have been acquired throughout the past 5 years here.

So...This is Okinawa

 Because my family is accustom to lot of moving and traveling, I've come to love it! I've had the opportunity to explore a lot of interesting places and I'm always excited to see more.
On that note, I've had a lot of adventures around the world, but up next is quite a different adventure.

It all started in October of 2012, as the prophet of this dispensation, Thomas S. Monson, stood at the podium and declared, "Today I am pleased to announce that able, worthy young women who have the desire to serve may be recommended for missionary service beginning at age 19, instead of age 21."

So this is a blog about Sarah Elizabeth LaBanc.
About how her life changed and
All the things she learned along the way,
With little bits of adventure.