You know what, I am excited beyond belief to serve as a mission for this church. It truly is astounding that I have the opportunity to go and preach His gospel. I cannot think of anything else I would rather be doing in my life rather than preparing to serve as a missionary. It is truly remarkable.
I wanted to share real quick a bit more about what this call means to me. I had been thinking over Christmas break about what my plans were for serving a mission. I was unsure about when I wanted to go, whether at the beginning or end of summer. I had a choice to make, I could go at the end of summer, allowing me to get into research opportunities, a stellar internship, and various job and service opportunities. As I have been very involved with my academics this past year, this was a huge opportunity for me. I thought it out in my mind. I thought to myself "I could do all this stuff and then serve a mission. I could do it." I contemplated what to do for quite a while. After some consideration and prayer, I decided to leave at the beginning of the summer. I decided to put the Lord first. It was very hard for me to do so but I have absolutely no regrets. I am putting the world on hold for a bit and I am going to serve. These opportunities, though they could have propelled me immensely in my education and future career, I decided to let them go. I am giving it up so I can serve.
It is my testimony that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is true. Why else would these young men leave their education, careers, family, friends, and previous lifestyles behind if it were not true? If I may so boldly say that these are no passive LDS kids but young men who have a determination to bring peace to the world. I guess for me, regardless of religious persuasions, I hope that the world will respect these missionaries for what they represent. These are those are dedicating themselves to help others be happy. It is an honor to be called as such.
