Sunday, January 9, 2011

Putting Up the Shoes, Putting On the Tag

Dearest friends,

Today I wore my blue shoes to church. I wanted to wear heels one last time before I don't get to for a while--I remember how much I missed wearing them when I was in England, and so I wanted to wear my favorite pair today. All day I just kept thinking about how much I love those shoes, and the circumstances under which I got them, and all the memories I have associated with them. (I was also thinking about how coming back from England I couldn't walk in heels at all. That was after a 2 month absence. I'm sure you all want to be around to laugh when I don heels for the first time in 18 months.)

However, as much as I love those shoes, and you all, I love the Gospel more. As you know (or at least should, if you've been reading this blog or know me at all), I'm leaving on a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Wednesday. Tomorrow night, in just about 24 hours, I will be set apart as a missionary. Since I wore my blue shoes for the last time (in a while, at least) today, and tomorrow is going to be insane, I thought it would be fitting to post my last blog post today. And so here I am, swapping my blue shoes for a black name tag.

I have never been this all-over-the-place emotionally with anything, which is saying something. But I know that it is right, and that I am called of God to preach His Gospel, which I know is true. Despite wanting to explode from this strange combination of excitement and fear and love and bittersweetness and overwhelmed with some heartache and lots of joy and tears and confusion because I'm not sure exactly how I feel, but at the same time I know exactly how I feel: happiness and peace, despite the mixture going on inside me.

Write me letters, because I'll miss you all. My address through the very, very end of March is:
     Sister Rachel Ashby
     MTC Mailbox # 124
     RUS-MOS 0330
     2005 N 900 E
     Provo, UT 84604-1793
And now, I'm passing the torch onto my little sister Elizabeth. She and/or my mom will be most likely posting parts of my weekly emails home on this very blog. It'll still be me talking, just not doing the actual posting. So please feel free to read up on my life--and then write me letters. :) Elizabewjkyghawkl3yhqlkwhe will post my address in Russia when I actually get there, and if you forget it, just remember that it's right there on the side bar on the left, just scroll down a bit. It's also on my Facebook info page.

From Russia (well, almost), With Love,
Sister Rachel Ashby

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Thank you for saying "From Russia, with love." :)