The Call

Last week was spent sleeping in till 10 or 11; eating scarcely, especially anything healthy; and incessantly checking the mail. It was possibly the most unproductive week I've had in a long time. Finally, after almost a full week of waiting, it came.
My mission call letter.
I made an odd combination of skipping and hurtling to the front door, closed it a little too excitedly, threw the other envelopes unceremoniously aside, and called my mom into the room. We called my sister on speaker phone.
I read aloud, covering the lines I wasn't reading with my hand, as I often do when I'm reading something and I don't want to spoil a surprise by glimpsing the next line prematurely: "Dear Sister Hinrichsen:
"You are hereby called to serve as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You are assigned to labor in the Utah Provo Mission..."
The rest of the letter had to wait as we all began bubbling up giddy laughter. After a spell, I read through the letter and tore through the rest of the packet I had received, noting things that need to be done before I go.
I told friends who showed curiosity about the call.
Since then, I've heard many things about the Provo Mission and the people the First Presidency chooses to send there. But I don't care. I am worthy and I am serving because I have faith in Jesus Christ and faith must be acted on. Because there is a living, loving Heavenly Father and we-YOU!-are important to him; and I feel responsible for this knowledge that I have been blessed with. I've been told many times that I would be a great missionary, and I believed it until recently. I know now it's not about me being great at all; what I need is to be humble. But you can't consciously be humble. So I do the things I know to be good and push thoughts of myself away as often as I remember.
I'll know what kind of mission it is when I get there.

The Addition

Emily, my very first niece, was born today. She is beautiful, as if you didn't know. It's unreal to think that this little being that will grow up to be a woman who looks like 2 people I love and admire. Tomorrow morning we are heading West to go see her and her parents. I don't know if this is normal, but I'm actually quite anxious. I feel irritable even though I know I'm happy about it all. I guess it's just all so new to me. I can't imagine how Brittany and Jason feel.