The Wait Of A Mission Call, Plus A Trip to Utah

I finished off my last post (almost a whole month ago--sorry!) with mission updates, and I do believe the last thing I mentioned really was that I was having my last interview (stake president interview) that night! That was pretty exciting, especially at the very end. As my stake president glances down at his tablet, which is showing my papers, he finishes our interview with: "Well, Sister Lybbert, we are definitely blessed with some incredible technology nowadays, so you know what? I'm going to shake your hand, send you on your way, and your papers will be in the hands of the First Presidency in approximately ten minutes."

I wanted to cry. Present tense: I want to cry haha. So incredible, and the possibility of a mission became SO real...But now the hard part...WAITING.

Needless to say, I was a little perturbed. Especially when the mission submission's doctor called to talk about my knee; this meant that my papers were not completely through the medical part yet, and I would have to wait even LONGER. GAH! Anywho! While I was waiting, my roommates were finding stray cats and bringing them home haha. This little guy snuggled with me at night (:

The next morning after my Spanish class, I was on the couch reading with my blanket on me. He comes to sit up next to me for a couple minutes and then hops back down onto the floor...It was kinda weird, honestly. I readjust my legs to spread out where the cat was, and I freeze...It was warm...And wet...UGHHH! The darned cat peed on me! I was ticked. He then nearly pooped on our living room floor before I put him outside. For some reason, I just like dogs more haha.

The weekend of the 17th, Christian and Audrey were kind enough to let me borrow Christian's car; a couple of mine and Kelsey's friends from California were getting married in Eden, UT, and we REALLY wanted to go...So we started making plans for our trip down to Utah! First stop? Ogden (about 15 minutes from the reception) for some DELICIOUS sushi! I had done some research to make sure we were getting some GOOD sushi for a reasonable price. We ended up getting three rolls and splitting them. Ohhhh boy. Talk about sat-is-fac-tion!

Kelsey taking pictures before taking off:

Almost ready to leave Rexburg!

Kelsey has always wanted to get out and take pictures of the state signs while driving through, and she finally had the chance! So this is me running to the sign...

And then jumping up on it! :P

I swear I only looked away from the road for 2 seconds...

Kelsey: "Shelan, show me how excited you are for sushi again!"

Me: **SQUEALLLL!**

The baja roll, which Kelsey chose.

Om. Nom. Nommm.

The sushi that I chose. The best one EVERRR. (:

One of Kelsey's choices, the mango roll. So pretty! Too sweet for sushi.

And yes, afterwards, we did go next door for ice cream. It was a weekend of slight splurging. (:

We went to the reception, drove down to Provo, met up with Shaun and his fiance briefly, and crashed at Caitlyn Law's (she's from Omak!). That Sunday, Kels and I had to take off pretty early, because she was flying out early that morning from Salt Lake to go home for Thanksgiving! Sooo jealous. Anywho, I took her there, dropped her off, and I decided to hang around Salt Lake a bit more. It's not very often that I have to chance to just wander around temple square, so that is just what I did. My favorite building is the old Assembly Hall. I can only imagine all the work the saints performed to have this gorgeous building. I enjoy just sitting there and relaxing and thinking. I got to pondering about where the heck my mission call was at that moment. Closer than EVER before, yet I still didn't know haha. Talk about a poor girl going BERSERK! Well a couple pairs of sister missionaries came wandering through the hall, and one pair stopped to talk with me--of course haha. That's their job. 

They quickly found out I was, in fact, LDS, and we got to talking about school. One of the sisters attends BYU-Idaho, and the other sister was from China. The subject of missions came up, and they asked if I was planning on serving. I mentioned that yes, I was; my mission papers were somewhere very close, most likely. They asked where I was wanting to go and why...I've never been a talented multi-tasker--especially when it comes to talking and crying at the same time haha. Granted I'm very nervous about going out for 18 months to purely serve the Lord, but I am so...at peace with that. So excited. I just want to up and leave NOW haha...

Anywho, we talked for quite some time, and then they headed off on their way after I gave them a couple referrals and my number. I sat for a while longer, overwhelmed with tears and happiness. And then I got up to walk around some more. Met a Tongan lady and talked to her for quite some time, dropped her off at her singles ward, and continued to walk towards the temple. It is hauntingly beautiful in the most pure way I can imagine. Everyone loves the castle look, as do I. But I also love all the symbolism and what it represents.

I got in the car and headed back home. Dropped off the car at Christian and Audrey's, and I decided to stay for a while. This gorgeous little lady is starting to smile, and it melts my heart every time. (:

Needless to say, my nieces and nephews are kinda, sorta, definitely the loves of my life. (:

More Mission Updates Coming Soon!! :D