09/18/2025
The first time I attended the temple to prepare for my time as a missionary, I traveled to St. George because my family had all gone to that temple for over a century.
I actually didn't have my mission call yet. When people asked where I wanted to serve, I said, "nowhere cold and not Russia." Well, it wasn't Russia. 😅
When I was visiting the St. George temple the day before going in, my roommate texted a picture of an envelope that came for me from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. (yes, in ye olde days)
I made her open it for me and text me a picture of my call. I was called to the Ukraine Kyiv Mission.
Despite knowing Ukraine was very cold and very close to Russia, I felt a huge wave of confirmation that this was the path the Lord chose for me.
We went inside the visitors center and they happened to have a Ukrainian Book of Mormon there. I remember being totally bewildered looking at the Cyrillic letters.
My mission was every emotion and experience- more than I could have imagined. I'm grateful for where I was called, the people I served, and the beautiful St. George temple where I opened my call.