Count Your Many Blessings

As I was contemplating my mission call and what I have to look forward to as I prepare to serve a mission I began to realize how truly blessed I am. I know I say it a lot, but I don't think I've ever realized the full extent of how blessed I am.

I have been blessed with an amazing family. Each and every single person in my family has taught me so much and made me the person I am today. My dad has taught me to never compromise who I am; My mom had taught me through example how to serve with all your heart; Danny has taught me to live life to the fullest and even though it may not always seem easy or convenient, to put the Lord above all else; Aaron has taught me that people are more important than things; Chris has taught me to not worry about the little things and enjoy life; and Kim has taught me how to completely give of yourself. I love my family and hope and pray that we will be an eternal family.

I have been blessed with great friends; friends who have also been very supportive of me and have been great examples to me throughout my life.

I have been blessed with an amazing job and coworkers that have helped me grow and mature. This job has taught me responsibility, hard work, and also how to have fun.

I have been blessed to be an American--to be able to enjoy the freedoms and blessings that come with it. I am eternally grateful for those men and women who gave up everything so that I can enjoy these freedoms and I do not take them for granted.

I have been blessed to get an education. Even though I will be taking 18 months off of school I look forward to coming back and working on my Bachelors and then Masters. I love learning and growing and bettering myself.

I have been blessed to have been born into the gospel; to always have the light of the gospel in my life. I will admit that I, like many at one point or another in their lives, have doubted if it was true. I am here to say IT IS TRUE! Without a doubt in my mind I know I belong to the only true church and I am eternally grateful for that knowledge and for the blessings that are associated with it.

I have been blessed with life! I know that seems like an obvious one, but I truly don't take being able to live each day for granted. I see each day as a blessing, a gift from my Heavenly Father.

I have been blessed with good health. Although my neck pain is constant and is taking a long time to heal, I am grateful that it wasn't much worse. I heard so many horror stories after my accident about people who had memory loss after getting hit on the head. I have been blessed that my mind and memory are still as sharp as they ever were (except for my occasional senior moments ha ha)

I have been blessed with my accident. Blessed that I was able to live. Blessed that I was able to learn and grow from it. Blessed with money that will help me do the things I want to do in my life--such as help finance my mission and help my family out.

I have been blessed with the ability to serve a mission. I am eternally grateful that the Lord has found me worthy and capable to help spread the truth in Fiji. It is so humbling and amazing to realize how personal this mission call is. The Lord, in his infinite wisdom and plan, has called me to serve in Fiji because that is where I am supposed to be. I pray for his help and guidance as I now prepare for this calling. I feel so inadequate and I pray that I will always have the Spirit with me because I will not be an effective missionary without that constant companion.

I love my life!

Called To Serve

I, Sister Harmony April Hurst, have been called to serve in the Fiji Suva Mission!!!!!!!!!!!! I will be preaching the gospel in French!! I don't think it's hit me yet because I am just in a daze right now....Fiji! I am going to Fiji! Such a random place...I never would have guessed it. I am beyond thrilled that I get to learn French. I took French for 3 years in junior high and then stopped taking classes and always regretted I didn't keep with it. So many people guessed that I would get a French mission, but no one was prepared for Fiji--the Lord definitely threw a curveball there!

I have to report to the MTC on October 28th which is depressing to me because I want to get out there but it will give me time to get things together and ready to go. Fiji! I just keep saying it over and over again in my mind but I'm still completely in shock.

This call was meant for me--I love how personal the whole process is. I am meant to serve the people in Fiji. I know this call was inspired by the Lord and I am so excited to get out into the field and serve! In Fiji!!!!

Almost there!

I GET MY CALL TOMORROW! TOMORROW! TOMORROW!!!!!!!!!!!! Tomorrow I will find out where I am going to go serve for the next 18 months! I can't think about anything else right now--at work I keep thinking about it, causing me to just stare off into space with a blank look on my face--my manager is growing concerned ha ha. It's so hard to focus on work today, and unfortunately after I get back from lunch break I'll still have 4 hours to go...not to mention I have work and school that i have to suffer through tomorrow...plus we're all meeting at my brother's house in Stansbury so earliest I'll be opening my call is 8 o'clock tomorrow night...I can do this...I hope. Now that I think about it, 8:00 tomorrow seems like an eternity away.

And no negative thoughts--my call WILL be here tomorrow!

Good news!

Great turn of events--turns out my brother Aaron can get together Wednesday night so we are all meeting at his house that night to open my call!! I'll know in 3 days where I am going!-granted of course that my call doesn't get lost in the mail or something...knock on wood!

I went to my grandparents' house tonight for a Father's Day barbeque and I made the decision to tell my extended family that I'll be receiving my mission call on Wednesday. Their faces were priceless-complete and utter shock! They had no clue I was even considering it. It was awesome! My uncle thought my big announcement was that I was engaged--he has never been a very bright guy, seeing as I haven't brought a guy around for awhile and I don't have a ring on my finger. It's great to finally have my secret almost out in the open--it will officially be out on Thursday--I can't post it on Facebook until then because I need to tell my manager at work first and he happens to be on Facebook. It will be such a relief to not have to hide it anymore.

In the spirit of Fathers' Day I just wanted to say how much I love my dad! He and I are very close--I am the complete epitome of a daddy's girl. My dad has always been the first person I turn to for everything and has always been there for me for anything and everything I need. I consider him a best friend. He's always been there to dry my tears or, if needed, to make me laugh until I can't even remember why I was sad. He's taught me to be the person I am today. He's taught me to not let others control my emotions, to stand up for what I believe in, and no matter what, to never stop laughing. He's been an amazing example to me and I feel truly blessed and honored that he is my dad.

Can't sleep

For some odd reason I woke up at 7 and can't go back to sleep...so much for sleeping in on my day off. I went to bed early hoping to try and sleep off my long week of school, work, and no sleep and yet I tossed and turned all night. I have so much on my mind right now.

My bishop informed me yesterday that my call has been issued. I'll receive it Wednesday, however I don't get to open it until Sunday because my older brothers want to be there when I open it.

I'm worried about my sister. I'm scared to leave her for a 18 months. We are extremely close and I'll miss her immensely, but that's not why I'm scared to leave her. I am worried about the path that she is headed down right now. Just like my older brothers when they were younger, Kim has gotten into a group of friends that have changed her. She wants nothing to do with our family and treats us all, even me at times, like scum. I never see my sister and despite my constant reminders to her that I won't be around for much longer, she still refuses to make any time for me.

She keeps throwing out the "when I'm 18" card on my parents when they insist she does things. As soon as she is 18 she is ready to throw out all the values that have been instilled her since she was little, telling me they were never her values. I am worried that she'll do what my brother Aaron did and decide to stop going to church and, just like Aaron, never come back. I think like Aaron she knows it's true, but is just too lazy to do the things she knows she needs to do. I don't think she realizes where the path she is going down leads to, that it is a lot easier to leave the church then it is to come back. My brother Aaron will attest to this. As soon as my parents stopped forcing Aaron to go to church he never went. When Danny got back from his mission Aaron started to talk about coming back. He said he would not settle for anything less than a temple marriage. Unfortunately, it was easier said than done for Aaron. About a year later Aaron got married to an awesome girl, however it was not in the temple and it wasn't to a member of the church. His wife Nikki has expressed desire to learn about the church but her own husband isn't willing to go to church with her, thus not allowing her to progress in the gospel. Aaron has become too comfortable with being lazy and the philosophy that he'll come back...tomorrow. Of course, as most procrastinators know, soon the tomorrows pile up and you run out of them and all you are left with is regrets. I don't want Kim to go through what Aaron has gone through.

I am worried to leave her because we are so close, she considers me her best friend, and I fear I am the only good example in her life right now. I've tried multiple times to explain to her how worried I am about her, but as soon as the church is mentioned, she turns a deaf ear to me. I don't think she realizes how much she means to me--how much I've prayed for her, how much I've cried over her. I feel helpless and almost like I am abandoning my sister when she needs me the most. She does not want me to go. I need to put my trust in the Lord and remember that I received a definite answer--I know where the Lord needs me to be--where I desperately want to be. I need to have faith that everything else will fall into place and is all part of the Lord's plan.

One of those days

Today was just one of those days that I wish I never had to roll out of bed. Overall, my day really didn't appear to be that bad--I spent the majority of it at work, which I love, with some of my favorite coworkers. But I had my mind on a couple of depressing things the whole day, thus keeping the rain cloud over my head on a rather sunny day. I found out Thursday night that my papers didn't go in as planned, due to the fact that for some reason my pulse was reading high the day I went in to have it done. I had to go today and have my pulse reread. No big deal, right? Well it was to me because I had my heart set on getting my call on Wednesday-I now have to wait for 2 weeks to get it now. I'm tired of things not working out...my sister says it's a sign that I'm not suppose to go. I think she is just saying that because she doesn't want me to go ha ha. But I am the type that believes there is a reason for everything so I am wondering why so many things are going wrong and why there has been so many delays in getting my call. I may not know now, or even in the near future, but I'm sure someday it will become clear to me why I had to endure yet another lesson in patience.

Today I also spoke to my attorney regarding my settlement with Coca Cola. I'm so tired of the whole legal process--I wish my job could be just to get better but that hasn't been the case. I've done so much running and calling around trying to get things figured out for my attorney. My attorney has once again giving me a list of things I need to do today. As if my life wasn't stressful and overscheduled enough! No wonder my pulse was running high when I went to the doctors--I'm always stressed! There are some days that I wish I wasn't so dedicated or responsible and could just quit my job and school and just relax for once...but then I remember how I'm the type of person that may complain about being busy, but secretly know that I would go crazy if I had too much free time.

I'm tired of the whole mess of a situation with Coca Cola. I can't wait to settle--and honestly not because of the money. I want that chapter of my life closed. Granted, the pain isn't going to go away once the papers are signed and I'm given the money, but it will be a huge weight off my shoulders that this part of the ordeal will be done and I don't need to deal with the crooks at Coke anymore. I'm tired of calls from my attorney or doctors regarding payments or the accident. I'm tired of explaining in detail to every bloody doctor what the pain in my neck is like. I'm tired of explaining my accident. Tired of people asking if I'm going to sue Coke to death. I want it over with! I want and need closure on this.

Any day now

I completed the last step in the process of submitting my mission papers--I had my interview with the stake president tonight. I love President Wright and the interview went great and he showed me some great scriptures that really got me excited to get out and serve. He did tell me one thing that he said I should file in the back of my mind--he told me that from now and until the time I am supposed to leave if I find "the one", meaning my future husband, that I should make the choice to stay because marriage is a higher calling. For me personally, I don't like the thought of this. I am not leaving on a mission because I can't get married. I am leaving on a mission because I know that is what I need to do. Nothing is going to stand in the way of me serving my mission. I think to take an extra precaution though I am going to avoid dating anyone before I leave, just in case ;) I'm not ready to find "the one" for another 4 years or so anyways.

So tomorrow I just have to go back to my doctor's office and have them answer three silly little questions they failed to mark and then I can let Pres. Wright know and he will submit my papers tomorrow, which means I could have my call as early as next wednesday! I can't believe it...I started this whole process in April and now here I am, actually waiting for my call. I'm nervous/anxious/scared/excited....and so many other emotions that I can't begin to describe. I'm serving a mission! This is really happening!