Everything I Need to Know… (part 6)

I get it from my dad.

Until I’d been a missionary for some time, I never quite realized just how much I have in common with my dad. My ridiculous sense of humor? Yeah. I get it from my dad… And I love it.

Everything I Need to Know… (part 4)

“It’s part of growing up.”

I’ve got three words for you:

Life. Is. Hard.

If you’re anywhere from 8 to 888 years old, you’re probably well aware of this fact. And if you’re not yet, you will be soon.

Everything I Need to Know… (part 3)

Be yourself!

So this one isn’t exactly a direct quote from Mom and Dad, but it’s a combination of many things that all add together into one. In my own words, I’ve always been sort of an odd duck. The whole belonging thing is one I couldn’t really wrap my head around. I mean, I understood why belonging is important, but how the popularity thing worked has always been a bit beyond me. That made life in school a little bit difficult for me.

College wasn’t any different. I tried making friends and being who I thought I needed to be to make friends. I wasn’t happy but I didn’t know that, hey, it might actually be ok to be myself. Until I finally decided that I was tired of trying to be someone I really wasn’t and just stopped. I decided to do what I wanted to do and liked to do, even if it was a bit different from what everyone else was doing, and hope I found someone to join me along the way.

Fortunately, I did. I found my best friend. And though my parents don’t always agree with my choices in what movies I watch, I’ve explained my thinking and the way I see it, and they’ve accepted it and accept me for the way I am. I can feel their love for me and their desire that I reach the dreams that are so important to me.

“Well… That’s a new one.”

Being in a skirt and wearing a nametag day in and day out usually draws some attention. Especially when you’re riding around on a bike, too. A lot of people ask us if we’re Jehovah’s Witnesses, which we’re not, and a lot of other people turn us away without even listening to what we have to say. Some days it’s hard, but after the first few weeks or so in the field, you get used to it.

One thing I never tire of, however, is hearing what some people already think about our church. Sometimes they already know a lot. Other times we get the usual misconceptions. Sometimes people mix us up with the Amish. A lot of people think we’re not Christian. But I think my favorite was something we heard from a construction worker who we stopped to talk to outside while he was eating his lunch. After chatting for a little bit, the conversation went a little something like this:

“In the Arizona Phoenix Mission…”

What’s life like as a missionary? What’s life like as a missionary in Arizona? Well, for starters, we sure see a lot of these every day:

But, that’s probably one of my favorite things. Cactuses are new to me, having grown up in humid, cold Wisconsin. I have yet to pass my first summer here with the crazy heat, but you know what? I wouldn’t miss it for the world.