TOMORROW!

Tomorrow I will be reporting to the MTC in Provo Utah at 1:30pm. My flight, however, leaves at 6:20 am, so I will not be sleeping tonight ;). I will be set apart as a missionary at 7:00 pm tonight. I am so excited to be a missionary!! WOO!! I have the biggest excitement/anxious butterflies in my stomach. If you would like to hear about how I am doing on my mission, my weekly e-mails will be posted by my good friend Sarah on http://www.madisoninthemission.blogspot.com

Adios!
Hermana Taets

10 days

Good news! I am less ohmyheck-why-can't-I-find-long-skirts stressed and more itchin-to-put-on-that-nametag-and-baptize-the-world excited! The only thing that is really concerning me is the mound of clothes, books, nylons, etc. on my bedroom floor that seems to exceed the maximum capticity of my luggage :/ oh boy. I finally bought a backpack!!! YAY! I love it too! It was only like 10 bucks at Wally World, it is grayblackpurple and had a hole for an "insulated bladder", which I also bought for 20 bucks. SO my super hydration/scripture-carrier device has been purchased, and I love it already. Rebecca, I also took your advice and bought a grip of nylons Walmart as well, and let me just say.... me and nylon are going to hate each other for the next year point five. I don't see the point for their existence and they will be the first thing I burn once my mission is over. Although I still could not find anyyyyy long skirts while shopping practically every dadgum day, I expressed this, among other concerns, to Bro. Calton last week and he had his wife sew me a long skirt! I LOVE it! It is Loooooong and gray and has cute little pockets in the front and I wish I had 4 more in different colors because I know it will be mi falda favorita. I think I said "my favorite skirt". I am almost done shopping for the mission! I just need the basics in order to have good hygiene and then I will pack and woooo done! Weeelll not quite. Still have a million people to bid farewell to, finish some family history temple work,overnight camping trip with Addie, play golf with poppa, line dancing saturday?, speak in church, party with familia y amigos, get set apart. Ha ha. At least all of these things will be fun! I seriously have something going on everyday this week, and not to mention work every day!

Well to sum up everything... I love my life! I am so excited that in only 10 days I will be a full-time missionary and will have the opportunity to serve my Father in Heaven's children and to invite them to learn the things that I know to be true, without a doubt. I can't wait to become a better version of me, to be charitable, kind, meek, reverent, organized, goal oriented, loving, bold. Hopefully I can gain access to at least one of those attributes within 18 months.

WOO HOO! Cinco Alto!
Hermana Taets

18

Only 18 days until I leave for the MTC! Oh my lanta!!! There are so many thoughts in my head that I can't sleep! Which is why I might as well write them all down while I am awake at 4 am. boo.

1. Are my skirts long enough?! Are they going to send me home because my skirt hemline is an inch above the exact middle of my calf? Am I a bad missionary just because they don't sell long skirts in this desert wasteland?! Let's hope not. At least I have one long skirt, but it's not really a personal favorite. I could never wear it everyday if they MTC people decide that my several-inches-below-the-knee-but-not-quite-mid-calf skirts were just too skimpy for missionary work.

2. Why does my plane ticket departure time not match the departure time located on the airline website? Am I departing at 6:35 or 7:30? Please be 7:30. Heaven knows I am not going to get any sleep the night before. What if I miss my flight? Do I not get to go on my mission? Am I allowed to report but am shunned for tardiness?

3. Do I have enough shots? I keep looking at my immunization record over and over and over. It seems like I have them all...except maybe that booster thing for my HepA. Are they going to make me sit outside until I have been properly vaccinated? Will I look like a terrorist trying to infiltrate the MTC and spread HepA to all of those precious missionaries? Should I be bringing my shot record? Or just the form that came with my call? Do I really just put the dates I received the shots without any magical signatures from an authorized physician? Am I going to look like a loony for not getting any magical signatures?

4. KNEE HIGHS! Why can't I find you? You would think they are a common article of clothing that can be found in most stores. Unless you live in Arizona where all of the universal clothing rules and regulations just melt on the pavement. Blast.

5. Am I supposed to bring my copy of Preach My Gospel? The list says "Do not bring any books not listed above" so technically it should be a no brainer not to bring it, since it is not on the list. But what if it is supposed to be a no brainer to bring your Preach My Gospel on your mission so doy, they don't need to mention it on the super extensive intensive list. "Why is this sister missionary ridiculously unprepared?!" uggghhh.

6. "Backpacks or shoulder bags should be in dark, conservative colors with no apparent logos or insignias." Where on this planet do I find a backpack that doesn't have a logo on it? Blast. Should I just wait to buy one in the MTC? Do I want a normal one or a Camelback? Mmmmm Camelback with its water dispenser conveniently close to my mouth om nom nom. What if water baggie bursts and ruins all of my libro de mormons and scriptural goodness located inside backpack?

7. What can I do for my family before I leave that will help them not be bitter that I can't call them? Should I get one of those tape players dealys so I can send them tapes instead of letters? Can I even fit one of those in my already jam packed suitcase? Would they even use it if I bought them one? Corey says his family enjoyed tapes...for a few months. Too bad my family cares much less about the mission so my success with tape recording rate is significantly lowerrrr.

8. Whyyyyy Cannnnnn't I Sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep? Brain, you need to shut off, right now. Ready? GO!

Waiting, not so patiently, for my laundry....

...so I will waste some time with this thinger-ma-jig I stole off of a friend's blog.

I feel: anticapation for a new week filled with excitement and an event everyday. yeehaw.

I want: to get paid. like yesterday.

I love: the temple, and am counting down the days {3} until I can go again.

I miss: living in Tempe :( a lot.

I crave: adventure. which sounds unlike me to the untrained friend. BUT I didn't say my adventures would have to involve danger, because that would be very unlike me.

I heart: my testimony, and how much it has changed my life.

I know: I should be sleeping right now.

I live: to please Him, even though sometimes I don't have a clue what exactly that entails, but I do my best and according to what I know to be true.

I dig: boys in white ;) nothing is more attractive to me than a man who is self-motivated in attending the temple regularly and who will take me there one day. yum.

I adore: everyone. I feel like I have a ginormous support system right now and it is helping me press forward to serve my mission.

I covet: the "perfect" families I am meeting in the family ward, with the beautiful, loving husband and wife with their adorable little babies. It's sick how much I want that.

I believe: scratch that. I KNOW.

I can't: believe I am going on a mission. really. Was that call really addressed to me? Because it feels like I am just leading my normal life and telling people I am serving a mission that doesnt seem to be real.

I struggle: with becoming the kind of person I envision myself being.

I have: a ridiculously dirty car. Service project anyone?

I am: wishing my laundry was finished so I could go to sleeeeeeeeep.

I remember: everything. Including all of the lyrics to a song after hearing it
once. And everyone despises it.

I cherish: life. love. faith.

I hope: for things that I can't see.

I wonder: where I will find some frumpy missionary clothes.

I smell: fabric softener

I think: the sunday school assignment of writing a letter to your spouse (or future
spouse if your name is Madison and you are the only single person in the
Garden Lakes Ward) is going to be an interesting project.

I dream: the weirdest craziness imagineable, and usually narrate my dreams all
throughout the night to anyone willing to listen

I dislike: the smell of my clothes after I get off work. Hence my nickname "the Burger Tease". Reallll Attractive.

I laugh: when I am with Addison. She is the weirdest kid I know. I have never
laughed so much and so hard in my whole life.

I have: too much to do and only 52 days left to do it

I try: to be better.

Abundantly Blessed

I have never felt so blessed or felt like My Father in Heaven is so near and aiding me in every step as I prepare for my mission! Every single day I have witnessed seemingly small miracles from the Lord, and it makes me feel so comforted to know that even though I feel like my family is not always on the supportive side that I have my Heavenly parents' support and that they are helping me to prepare. I know that the Lord is using so many of his servants here on the Earth to help me as well, so many friends, "adopted family", and even my real family, have extended a helping hand to me in the last few months.

1. The Hofeling Family. Most people know that I consider them my "Mormon Family", since I have looked up to Bro. Hofeling as a kind of Mormon father figure since I joined the church and had him as an institute teacher. This family has been such a blessing for me! They have always been willing to help me with anything, usually just answering the million questions about various church related topics and an occasional delicious Sister Hofeling dinner :) I am even more grateful than usual for them for the time they took to prepare me for going to the temple for my endowment. A few days before I went through on Aug. 4th The Hofelings sat down with me and talked about the temple, read scriptures, and answered the questions I had that were okay to discuss outside the temple. Then on Aug. 4th Sister Hofeling was my escort as I went through for my endowment and both of them were on either side of me during my session. They really have been like a second family to me and I know that having them with me for my endowment was a huge comfort to me, since making such a huge step of faith without the support of my real family was somewhat disheartening.

2. The King Family. Corey King is a manager at my work and I met his family after I started baby-sitting their awesome kiddos. They also were there for my endowment and were also a huge blessing of added comfort and support. Lately they have been such a huge help in preparing for my mission! I recently went to their home for a delicious sunday dinner and Corey and I went through his mission stuff and talked about his experiences, and it was so nice to have someone to in a way pass down their knowledge and experiences in serving a full-time mission. I think most missionaries have a parent to coach them as they prepare to serve, and since I obviously don't have that, I feel like the King family has filled that void and has contributed so much to making sure I am a successful missionary. Last week they did the nicest thing ever! I had to fight back the tears while in the backroom at my work when Corey handed me a bag from him and his wife that contained a brand spanking new set of scriptures (beautiful triple combo and bible in maroon with my name on them), a scripture case, and a journal (and exactly the kind I wanted with the 3-ring binder style). I felt so loved and supported and I am just so grateful for them! They even had their kids draw me some pictures! Caleb drew my rocket ship that I told them I fly to their house, eliza drew an abstract piece (aka scribbles, she is only like a year and a half old), travis drew a car, and westley drew a picture of me teaching a cowboy on my mission :). AND since the Kings are moving to Utah in Oct. they have also offered to pick me up from the airport in Salt Lake and take me to the MTC! I am so grateful for them and love them so much!

3. My Mommy. Although she is kind of on the fence concerning my membership in the church, she has been relatively supportive of my decision to serve a mission. When I got my call she said, "Why couldn't you go to Maine? I really want to go there on vacation!" After some careful explaining that she can't come find me during my mission she said, "So...are you happy about Texas?" and I said that of course I was, and she said, "Well, if you are excited than so am I, WOOOOO!" (while jumping up and down). My mom is the best. Even though she doesn't understand why I would want to pay to go get doors slammed in my face for a year and a half she is supportive of me and knows that I am making good choices for myself. Last month she called me, while I was at Marshall's looking at the luggage, and said, "I was just at Last Chance and saw this awesome Swiss luggage set and bought it for you! This guy tried to fight me for them but I got them!" She got me the nicest luggage! And it is all exactly within the requirements of what I can bring on my mission! Then last week my mom, my sister and I went to Last Chance and we all tried on coats together and picked one out to bring on my mission (it is SO nice, long black Calvin Klein winter coat for only 40 bones!). They were so much fun! My mom was trying on snake skin coats and Alli tried on some neon yellow one, and we were all laughing and having fun, while doing something that was related to my mission, which is weird since usually Alli has a really bad attitude about me leaving. While at Last Chance my mom also found me some PERFECT missionary shoes! They are black Kenneth Cole shoes with a legit sole for walking and they aren't ugly! They are actually quite trendy! And they were only 30 bucks! YAY! And to top it all off, when we got to the register, my mom took my stuff from me and said she would buy it as a mission present :) She really is the best, and I know that I chose her to be my mother in the pre-mortal world and that she is the perfect mother for me and that she will always be a great example to me of a mother, regardless of whether she joins the church or not...but hopefully she does.

I am so grateful, and so excited!!! I can't believe how fast time is flying by! I have so much more to do and a whole new wardrobe of frumpy clothes to buy!

adios mi amigos,
Hermana Taets

Llamados a Servir! (Called to Serve)

YEEEE HAWWWWW Texas Houston Mission, Spanish speaking, here I come!!! Well, at least not until October 28th when I report to the MTC! I am so excited! My mission call is perfect! I have never been to Texas so it still feels foreign, ha ha, yet my parents are finally at ease knowing I will be remaining in the country for "that long trip" ha ha. I am so excited, or, estoy muy animado, to learn spanish! No, I do not already know spanish, but I took two years in high school and I remember a lot, plus everyone at work now calls me "Hermana" and speaks spanish to me, so I hope I will pick up the language pretty quickly. For my own sake than for yours, I will now be posting some photos of my future home! haha

BAHAHAHHA This is no joke the first thing that popped up when I googled "Texas"


Houston Temple. BEAUTIFUL. I can't wait to see it in person!



Yes, this is a house in Houston that has been constructed with..beer cans. Don't worry, by the time I leave Houston they will have re-built it with Soda cans!



Okay last one. Don't ask me why, but this one just made me laugh out loud.



Oh Gee, if our President loves Texas than Golly Gee Bob.. SO DO I! He looks ridiculous in that hat, BAAHHHAHAHA.

YAY TEXAS! I AM SO EXCITED!

Bonus Nachos,
Hermana Taets

Especially for Everyone

I have decided that EFY (Especially for Youth) is not only for the youth, but is for everyone! I have seen EFY bless not only the youth, but everyone who came in contact with EFY. Allow me to explain...

Especially for Youth

Since this program was created for the youth, it is no wonder that they gained huge benefits from attending. First, I have to say that I was completely blown away by the amount of knowledge these kids had! Both sessions I had 14-15 year old boys and girls and they knew so much about the gospel and about the scriptures! Most of them had already started seminary, so they had all these scriptures memorized and they were able make all these cool applications to daily life from the scriptures and from games we would play throughout the week. I was just so impressed! One thing I feel like I might have taught them, and that I just loved teaching, was how to study the gospel. I showed them how to use the Bible Dictionary, the Topical Guide, Footnotes, the Hymnal, the General Conference Ensigh, and the Joseph Smith Translation. I would have them pick a topic (they chose fasting one week, and charity the next week) and we basically went on a studying "adventure", using all of our resources to learn more about those topics. I loved seeing their excitement when they learned something new, and that they could find these things on their own. One of my boys in the first session loved the JST's and after gospel study shared with the group some of the verses that had translations and how they completelely changed the meaning of the scriptures. It felt so good to watch them get excited about studying the scriptures! I really had the best kids ever! Another thing that made EFY worth it for the kids, and for me, was a little thing us counselors called "pay day", or thursday night testimony meeting. Almost all of my girls bore their testimonies, and they were so unique and beautiful, I actually wrote parts of them down. There were two boys in my company who said they never knew the church was true and that they felt the spirit so strongly throughout the week that they couldn't deny it. I loved watching these amazing kids realize that they had testimonies of the gospel and find a passion for it. It was even cooler to watch the nonmember kids that were brought by friends, learn more about the church and also gain a testimony, and announce their decision to be baptized. I would have done EFY for free to have the opportunity to witness all the miracles that happened at EFY.

Session One: They Think They are Wise

My Baby Girls


My Ninja Boys


Session Two: Become Strong

My Beautiful Girls


My Goof-Ball Boys


Especially For Counselors

I never imagined that I would go through so much spiritual growth, and learn so many things that helped me to become a better teacher of the gospel, aka mission prep! I had to rely heavily on prayer just to make it through the day! With barely any sleep, and a million tasks to worry about, I know I couldn't make it through the day without some help from my Heavenly Father. I noticed that I felt so much closer with my kids and felt more guidance in my interactions with them when I prayed for them everyday and specifically by name. I also learned a very valuable lesson about effective teaching! For my first session I prayerfully prepared my devotionals that I would be teaching the kids every night, and I feel like they turned out so well! Not because of me, but because I was able to ask the right questions that would allow the kids to teach themselves. For the second session I just used the same lessons because they seemed to be so effective, but throughout my second week I couldn't figure out why my devotionals didn't seem to go as well. Finally about midweek I realized that I had completely different kids, with completely different needs! Unfortunately, I only got to fix one or two devotionals, but I think that it didn't really hurt the kids ability to learn throughout the week, it was more like I needed to experience my mistake for my own learning.
Being at EFY also gave me an even stronger desire to serve a mission and teach others about the gospel full-time! I absolutely loved it and cannot wait to serve a mission! I also just had a flat out blast at EFY, playing ninja destruction everyday, learning and then teaching the line dances at the dance, watching all the talent the kids have at the variety show, discussing our cows (crush of the week) with my girls (yes, they made me have cows, but thats between me and the girls). And, I made new friends! I became friends with some awesome counselors and am so excited to get to know them better now that we are back in the valley!

Kierste, Kim, and Myself


Especially for..Everyone Else!

Probably my favorite part of EFY was watching those on NAU's campus interact with the participants and counselors at EFY. I think at first the staff was curious, and maybe a little shocked at how well-behaved, polite, and just happy, the kids were, and that made a huge impact on everyone around the campus! the kids were always saying hi and even hugging the staff in the cafeteria. Even I got myself some amazing hugs from the lunch staff, and really miss some of them. One of the best interactions on campus was with the housing staff. One of the RAs was always working in the lobby and the kids and the counselors made sure to welcome them into the group. Two RAs, Jason and Mason, started going to the morning sides, the classes taught by seminary teachers, and testimony meeting, and on the weekends when the kids were gone they even went to church with us! After church Jason set up an appointment to meet with the missionaries! To make a long story short, and to avoid stealing Jason's thunder, EFY made a huge impact on Jason, and changed his life forever.

Counselor Dan, Myself, and Jason :)


I am so grateful for the opportunity I had to experience EFY as a counselor! I wish I was able to do more this summer, but I think it's time I get things in order for my mission. I think I will be devastated though if I don't get to experience this all over again when I come home from my mission.

Missing my EFY babies,
Madison