One thing that I decided to do to help prepare for my mission was to start waking up at 6:30 in the morning. That's the time I'll be expected to wake up every morning on the mission. Now, pretty much all through high school, I had to get up at around 5. So I thought "Hey, this wont be that bad," But when you've been waking up at 10 o' clock every morning for the past 5 months, ya it is that bad.
So on top of waking up early, I've decided that I would Study the scriptures every morning as well. This already has been an amazing blessing in my life. What better way to start off the day than feasting upon the words of Christ? Just to be able to get up and read the words of his prophets is just such a blessing. I don't know why I haven't done this earlier.
After scripture study, I went to my neighbors, Brittney and Arielle, to wake them up so the three of us could work out. We were going to go run, but the tread mills were full and we swam instead. If you want to see how out of shape you are, swim a few laps, but all and all it was fun.
I then got to go to my first day at institute, which is a mission prep class. It wasn't exactly what I expected for the first day, but it was still good. We learned a lot about things that can get you sent home from a mission and personal purity and repentance. Some of it I already knew, and others was completely new. I can't wait to learn more on Wednesday.
The next thing I got to do was write my older brother Danny, who is serving his mission in Independence Missouri. I'm not the best at writing people, but it really made me happy that today I set apart some time to write him. I miss him so much. Danny and I are only 15 months apart so we have been pretty much attached at the hip since I was born. He was someone i knew that I could always talk to. I'm nearly in tears right now thinking of him and how proud I' am of him and the example he has set for me. In some of the toughest of times, he was a rock for me, he kept me up, he kept me going. I'll never forget him cheering me on at all my football games, and being able to share the same stage as him as we performed countless plays for our school.
To me, a missionary is some one who leaves his family for a short period of time, so that others can be with their family for eternity. Knowing that my big brother is out there bringing together families and teaching others of the Gospel makes me so proud of him and excited to be right there with him serving the Lord. I'm also so very happy for my other two older brothers, Tony and Jimmy, for serving missions. I can promise that if anyone would ask them, "do you regret going on your mission?" They will firmly say, "No."
I know that a mission will help shape me into being the man I want to be and form me into being a great father and husband. But why wait til my mission to do that? Why not start now? Why not strengthen my testimony and get into the daily habits of a missionary? I know that through all these things and learning to work and to discipline myself into doing these things, the mission will be the fastest, and best two years of my life.
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