Keep Moving Forward

Well the semester is coming to an end, and that means that I may not be continuing this blog as frequently as usual. In all honesty this has probably helped me figure myself out more than it has helped any of you.

For this last post I wanted to talk about how to continue always moving forward.

I asked a few people who served missions about what they did to keep progressing, here are some of the things they said:

Devron:

My mission journals have really helped me progress. I reread the experiences I had, and it inspires me to live the way I invited others to live.

 Kami:
Good family members who have walked this path before! Their counsel and guidance has had a profound influence on me. Also institute classes have helped me maintain that daily spirit and have the scriptures in my life!!!

Bryce:
The thing that I think has helped me the most to continue the spiritual progression post mission has been striving to keep a commitment President Cutler (mission president) gave me to read the Book of Mormon everyday for the rest of my life. A big commitment but I have honestly strived to do it and have felt the little things keep my feet grounded and moving in the right direction. 

Lexie:
Being able to forgive myself and focus on repentance and the Savior. Because I keep making mistakes and will continue to do so but I know that what I taught others applies to me. As I focus on the sacrament I keep being just a little bit better every day.

Carson:

Keep serving. Being back from the mission, you have to start thinking about yourself more, but don't stop serving others. I've found that finding ways to serve, even outside of church callings, it's helped me to keep the Spirit in my life. Also, brushing my teeth daily. Clean teeth, clean soul.

I completely agree with what they said. Coming home is weird and hard, and there are a lot of ups and downs. My mission president told me in my last interview, that the next year and a half would the best in my life. I thought there is no possible way that could ever happen! But it is true. I am so happy. I have been changed a whole lot for the better and I definitely would not be where I am had I not gone on a mission. I think you all can say the exact same thing, whether it be regarding a mission or some life changing event.

It taught me to take risks, be bold, be caring, loving and kind. It taught me to be patient and persistent. It taught me how to work harder than I had ever worked before. It taught me how to talk to people I never would normally talk to. It taught me how to always look for the good and be confident in my choices, and most importantly above absolutely everything else, it taught me that our Savior lives. That is a pretty sweet realization that I will never take for granted again. But really that alone has completely changed my life. I have never been so happy and so at peace. Even when things are rocky or rough, really there is peace all around. 

So what do we do now? I know what. In the wise words from the movie Meet the Robinsons... "Keep Moving Forward". Be courageous and allow yourself to grow like you did at your prime. I think it is easier sometimes to grow on your mission because you expect yourself to, but why not do that all the time? I know I want to do better at that, and take any opportunity that is given to me. Do not stop progressing just because you can now eat your mom's food or call her anytime you want. Allow that time in our lives to change us, because this way we can do a lot more good than we thought in the first place. I still miss the mission every day. I still get emotional when I think about the people that I miss so much. But I love it here too. I love being able to progress in school and all that other lovely stuff. Life is good, if we just live it. 

Staying Busy....but Really Missionary Busy?

When you were on your mission for the first time more than ever did you think it was possible to die from tiredness? Oh I totally did!! Holy smokes I was wiped. Sometimes I felt like Baymax on Big Hero 6 when he tries to walk up the stairs. Here is a picture if you have no idea what I am talking about. Oh by the way... this is the best movie ever!!

On my way home I thought to myself, man now I can take a nap!! I get home and I was set on making sure I kept the same missionary schedule. I told you about the time my mom swiped my phone so I would sleep in right? It was funny, I didn't think it was possible to be any busier than a missionary.... I thought wrong.

It is so hard to juggle school, involvement, church callings, family, any social life you would like to have, and work. I am in no wise complaining because I actually really like being busy and having something to do. It may be from the mission, or my self-diagnosed ADD :) haha who's to judge!

I struggled in this area because all of the sudden I was getting buried with things that I knew were not the most important thing in life, but I had to worry about them. Kind of annoying huh. I knew that my school didn't matter a ton if I got to heaven, but it did matter to my happiness for the rest of my life. Does that make sense?

So what do we do? How to we manage both worlds in a way that is exemplary? I really admire the prophets and apostles for this, but I also admire the people I know from growing up in my small town, or the amazing saints I met in Wisconsin, or my friends at school that seem to have life figured out.

I think the best thing is to recognize that we can become too busy. We need to make a list of priorities that are important to us and live by them. Be consistent. I feel that that is the most important thing we can do. Be consistent in our values.

I so wish I had all the answers, I really am trying to hobble along myself. I am not perfect at this lately my scripture study has not been brag worthy whatsoever, but I am trying, and I know you are two. That is what truly matters. Never stop. Never give up, just because you think you are not doing as well as you would have hoped for.

Here is another article link I found about time management it is super super solid!! https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1992/04/unclutter-your-life?lang=eng&query=time+management

Some of my Favorite Missionary Things

I thought I would mix things up just a little and share some things I found about return missionaries. Here is a video created about the church:

http://www.mormonchannel.org/watch/collection/mormon-channel-videos/the-value-of-a-full-time-mission

Here is one of my favorite talks:

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2011/10/the-opportunity-of-a-lifetime?lang=eng&query=return+missionary



                                          

I wish I had something to remind me that I actually did go on a mission other than pictures and memories. I miss it daily, I know I have mentioned that multiple times, but it's true. When I think about the people so far away I get teary-eyed thinking about how much I miss them. It's okay. We just have to remember that they will always be apart of our family.

Preparing for General Conference

General Conference is coming up next week, for those of you who do not know what this is, it's where our prophet, apostles, and other church leaders speak to us and give us directions for life. It happens twice a year and for us mormons, it feels like Christmas morning.... ha okay that may be a little extreme, but it is pretty great.

The cool thing about conference is that if you come prepared to learn you will learn. I had never done that before I served as a missionary. I loved waking up Sunday morning, staying in my pajamas and eating muddie buddies, while my mom told us to sit up straight. My dad always told us he was "resting his eyes" we believed him until he would start to snore. 

When I was in Wisconsin, that changed, and I learned the importance of preparing. A week or two before conference I started to think of some questions that I had for my life. Examples being; what can I do to better improve my relationship with my Heavenly Father, or what is in my life that is keeping me from being completely happy. You know those cool soul searching kind of things. 

The first time I did this I was blown away. I wrote down my questions in my study journal and then next to every time I received an answer I put a little A with a square around it. The whole thing was dotted with A after A. I couldn't believe it. Things that were so specific and so sacred to me were being answered by men and women I had never met. My testimony of conference changed after that and I knew that if this could happen to me, it could happen to anyone. 

I want you guys to know that the reasons why I know this is cause I tested it. I wanted to try it so I did. So instead of just getting excited to eat muddy buddies, I am pretty darn excited for the teachings that are coming. For the men and women who after months and months have sought inspiration to know what we need to know. I am so thankful for them.

On lds.org there are so many examples of how to prepare for general conference but I have included a couple of links to blogs who have great tips as well. Enjoy :) 

http://becksome.blogspot.com/2013/03/how-i-study-general-conference.html

http://foodstorageandbeyond.com/2013/03/the-ultimate-general-conference-activity-packet/

Feeling Nostalgic?

I just hit my three month mark of being home yesterday. How crazy is that. It doesn't feel real, and when I think about it I still miss the mission so much. So I am going to mention a few of the things I miss about being a missionary.

1. Meeting so many new people every day -- I feel that you just don't meet people on the mission. You get to know them in a very personal and intimate way because you are always talking about spirituality, pretty much all the time. I really miss that. I miss hearing about why people are the way they are.

2. Learning -- There is nothing quite as fulfilling as sitting in a meeting soaking in so much knowledge that feels so good and so right. I mean school is cool.... but it's nothing like sitting in a zone conference.

3. The purpose of doing something you know is important -- You are able to impact lives on the mission. Every day you know you are doing something that is worthwhile. Something you know is so important to everyone and you get to share it with others. It's a pretty good feeling to be able to do that every day.

4. The people -- I sure miss all of the friends I made in Wisconsin. They feel like family, well now they are apart of my family, and I miss them as much as ever.

5. Recognizing the spirit -- I know I know, you can still feel the spirit when you are not a missionary. No doubt about that. But it is also different. Back in the "Real World" you are so busy with things you know are not the most important things, but are still things you have to do... if that makes sense. Like worrying about school, bills, friends, church callings etc. They are all good things, but man they make you busy. I felt that on the mission you have a calling to bring the truth to people and that gives you some pretty powerful revelation. Back home, I feel anyway, that because you are so busy it is harder to recognize that. I need to find a way to be better with this. Let me know if you have any ideas.

There are lots of things I miss. But I also love being able to be home. I am so grateful I can go home on the weekends and my mom will cook me food. :)  I also love that when I am sick or struggling in anyway I now know the tools I have to get through things, especially with our very loving Heavenly Father.... and my very loving parents.

 I was reading in my scriptures the other day and I will just share a quick thing of what I learned. This is revelation given to Oliver Cowdery in Doctrine and Covenants Section 8 (you can find this on lds.org) it says:

"Oliver Cowdery, verily, verily, I say unto you, that assuredly as the Lord liveth, who is your God and your Redeemer, even so surely shall you receive a knowledge of whatsoever things you shall ask in faith, with an honest heart, believing that you shall receive a knowledge concerning the engravings of the old records, which are ancient, which contain those parts of my scripture which has been spoken by the manifestation of my Spirit."

I think this is so cool because of what we are doing in our lives right now. I don't know about you, but I am not translating scripture. I am just trying to do well in school, but I know the Lord cares about that. I know that He knows my mission, and He knows the things I have learned. And He knows that I miss it, but if I learned anything at all from the Mission and from our Savior, it is that he pushes us out of our comfort zone again and again and again. So now it's time to move forward and makes this next year and a half, the best one I've ever had by remembering and living the things I learned from being a missionary.

If you would like some additional information, here is an awesome link I found for some advice.
http://www.thereturnedmissionary.com/advice-for-returned-missionaries/

Funny Awkward Return Missionary Stories

So what is better than an awkward missionary story? Multiple awkward missionary stories. I tell ya, these are good!! I asked some of my friends and family to share a little something something about when they came home. It is hilarious. This is definitely my favorite post so far. Enjoy, and let me know what you think :)

Bryce shared this little number:

"One evening within the first few days of me being back... My family and I were leaving out the front door to go somewhere. I was in front of everyone ready to leave and then I had "missionary muscle memory" kick in as I began to kneel to pray before we left out the door. My whole family thought it was the funniest thing ! I did to.. I was dyin."

Kami shared this:

"So the fellas expect a hug and the end of the date. And instead of giving a hug you change the conversation to.... Giving his car a name. Then he gives you a hug and you lean in like Sheldon off the Big Bang Theory and awkwardly embrace!" -- Who can relate to this? Hands in the air!!

Kaohi said:

"So my funny is story is coming home and not understanding social media and what is the "in" site to use. My cousins had to explain it to me in different examples of the same experience to help me understand what I should post on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter because it has changed.

Also getting a phone and asking my 9 year old sister to help me figure out how to work it. And then her shaking her head and saying, "oh kaohi!"

Oh and not being able to leave my mothers side or be alone. Sometimes I would have to resort to taking my dog with me so I'm not alone :)"

Lorri shared this, I was laughing really hard on this one because I almost shared a mormon.org card with a girl in Cafe Rio in Salt Lake City when I first got home... pretty sure she had heard about the church before:

"After boarding the New York Chinatown bus around midnight, I found an empty seat and hoped to relax and maybe even sleep during the four hour trip to Washington DC. I was on my way to meet my mission trainer, who was getting married, and college friend, who randomly knew my trainer.  A flustered girl about my age plopped down on the seat next to me. She thought for a few moments then turned to me and said "I'm sorry by I just have to talk with someone. I just lost my favorite shoes in a cab." I listened to her recount her terrible day of an interview and then losing her shoes, which sounds like it would be brief but I got no sleep on the 4 hour bus ride. Since I had contacted lots of people on public transportation on my mission, it felt totally natural and normal to bring up the gospel with this girl. I don’t remember how I did it exactly but I awkwardly invited her to learn about Jesus Christ. She shot me down before I even had the whole sentence out. She wanted to talk forever about things important to her: the shoes and the interview. I wanted to talk about something important to me: religion. It seemed like a fair and normal exchange except I had brought up the taboo subject of my personal belief in Jesus Christ. Apparently I had a lot to learn and remember about how to deal with strangers in America."

Adam, my brother-in-law shared this, one of the first things he said to me was referring to this... followed by that lovely little question: 

"Not the most awkward, but rather, the most common awkward event that happens to all RM's all came down to a single, solitary, yet extremely loaded, question: "How was your mission?

This frequently used question is rarely used in a setting in which a RM has an appropriate amount of time to give a quality summary of past years events, But typically used in the place of casual salutations in situation like waiting in line at a grocery store, in the hall between church meetings, or mid-wave from the old guy in his garden while you are on your morning jog.

How does one expect a quality crisp answer in such candid situations? And how could a person abridge 1 1/2 - 2 years into small phrase or paragraph while still doing your mission justice?

Also, there are serious ramifications if you answer poorly. If you answer the question with "It was fun", People are quick to judge you as a Goof-off. If your answer is "It was tough", then you are a sissy because "garden grandpa's" granddaughter served and it was not tough. If "it was a good time", then you didnt take the mission serious and you short-changed the Lord.

It's awkward.  It's an inevitable question. I personal chose to use the response, "It was great!" then nothing more to preserve the integrity of my mission and the reputation I have in the mind of the old folk in the neighborhood.

As much as I hate that question. I undoubtedly use it on every recently returned missionary.... Because it part of the RM experience."

Lexi said:

"So my family isn't really into public praying over food and stuff like that. We live by the spirit of having a prayer in your heart. However, on my mission I got into the habit of saying a vocal prayer when at restaurants. My first lunch after getting home we went to a local restaurant that I love. We got our food and I folded my arms and looked expectantly at my parents. They both looked at me like I was a little crazy, then at each other. They laughed and reluctantly folded their arms and I said the prayer. They teased me for a while after that one. I said prayers in my head at restaurants when I was with them after that. 

Justin said: 

"I would always answer the phone by saying, 'Hey, this is Elder Brown."

Kelly shared:

"One time I said "gracias" to an Asian lady in a candy store!" and "there's the classic you shake a man's hand, not hug. And a guy goes in for a hug and you extend your hand and he awkwardly body shakes you!"

Okay this one is probably my favorite Carson said:

"I work at SUU, and we had to make phone calls out to students to promote something for the school. If they didn’t answer, we were supposed to leave a message. As I was leaving a message to a student, I gave him the information about the activity and accidentally ended it with “And I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.” I caught myself right before I finished the whole phrase by hanging up."

Well I sure hope you have enjoyed these as much as I have. Holy smokes, at least they help you realize you are so not alone in being this awkward... and if you haven't experienced this well, you've got some work to do.

Taking Elder Perry's Advice into Action

So last time I mentioned that I would  give you my input and let you know how I am putting Elder Perry's tips (posted below) into my life. I love that talk he gave, if you didn't read it he talked a lot about prayer and scripture study and continuing those habits when you are home from your mission.

Well..... I think I may have mentioned this before but my first morning back I was one determined cuss (as my dad says) to make sure I woke up at 6:30 to study and exercise and what not, but my mom swiped her phone, which was my alarm clock in the middle of the night so that I would sleep, the little punk! I woke up in a panic, still determined to do what I had been doing for the past year and a half, so I went upstairs and started to study.

Almost every return missionary that I talked to said that their scripture study took a bit of a hit when they got home.... I can now join that crowd. Mine totally did. Instead of studying for half an hour I am now trying to making sure I study for 10 minutes... hopefully. And trust me I have sat through many a church meeting feeling guilty that I hadn't stepped up my game yet.

So here are my thoughts on it, take it for what you will, but it is so much easier to study when you have that time set apart to study. I never thought I would be busier than what I was as a missionary and I totally thought wrong. I start work and school at 8:00 a.m. so I usually wake up around 6:30 to 6:45 to get ready, and then come home usually at around 9:00 p.m. give or take a couple of hours depending on how many meetings I have or what homework is due the next day. I don't usually have breaks in between and when I get home and get to bed to read usually I am one wiped girl. I always try and do at least 10 minutes or more like I said, but sometimes I don't even get that in...... I feel like this has turned more into a confession so uh.... let's move on :)

Even though I don't have as much time as I would like to spend all day reading the scriptures what I do get out of it still means so much. At the beginning of my mission I heard a talk titled The Character of Christ by Elder Bednar, it is incredible. He talked about studying the scriptures according to a topic and I thought that was a pretty cool idea and tried it out myself. I really like it. I get a little blue copy of the Book of Mormon and the first time I read it was according to Preach My Gospel, a tool missionaries use to help them teach, the second time was according to Justification, Sanctification, and Grace, and the third time we did as a mission together according to the Atonement. I choose different colors to use as marking tools according to the different categories that I study and start at the beginning and read it completely to finish. All along the way searching for those scriptures and stories that have to do with what I am studying.  I had no idea you could get so much out of the scriptures. Not only now can I read their stories and what happened. But I feel like I know these people that are written about and why they are so great.


There is so much power in scripture study, not just scripture reading. And so even though I can't do it for as long, I can still get a whole lot out of it if I put forth that effort.

Elder Bednar for the win!

So let's talk about prayer. There are days where I feel like I am totally holding up my end of my relationship with God and telling my Heavenly Father everything and other days where I feel like a passive aggressive teenager that doesn't want her parents knowing what is going on in her life. How silly huh! So I decided to change. Yeah some days I am dog tired and some days I feel that there is nothing really to talk to Him about. But I'll tell you an experience I had the other day. I was kinda stressin over school stuff and had some questions on what direction I needed to go. I was talking to my mom about it and told her I was worried and she said, "Yeah just lay it all out on the line to God and see what He thinks." So later that night I knelt down and instead of doing a remote, Hey, thank you for this, please bless this ya know? I said, "I am worried about these things and I need your help. I understand that you know what will happen and what not but I just need to know if things will be okay." I was instantly overcome with so much peace. That has happened countless times. If you ever have a question on whether or not Heavenly Father hears you, just listen. Take pauses in between what you are saying to Him and let him speak back with you. You will never doubt that He loves you again.

Those are the two biggest things I have found that help me keep the spirit, but it is in every day things too. I honestly think a lot of it comes when you put others before yourself. Just like how you did when you were a missionary. It is kinda tough to not get sucked back into the junk of being self-absorbed but if you truly want to be happy you will steer clear of that.

This is kinda a stretch, but I like the idea of this article on David Archuleta, and why he chose to go on a mission. I feel that we can do that too now that we are home. To do things that don't necessarily involve ourselves as much. You can find the article here. http://www.ksl.com/?sid=29350800&nid=148&title=david-archuleta-called-to-serve&fm=home_page&s_cid=topstory

I am sooo the farthest thing from perfect. There is no doubt about that. These are just some things that have helped me. You will find those things that help you, whether it's this or something else, be willing to change. Believe it or not you can be even better than you were when you were at your prime of being a missionary.

If you have more questions or would like more information on what the church members say about scripture study and prayer check it out on lds.org just type the info you are looking for in the search bar and it will come up with talks, scriptures, you name it!

What I Wish My Family Would Have Known

I adore my family, they are my closest friends. I was really excited to see them again when I was coming home. This is a post though a little about what I wish they would have known about what to do when I was now back in the picture.

So let me give you a quick run down of the cool Griffin Clan! #1 Papa G.... that's my nickname for him anyways cause he is a boss! He is a great dad and has always taken care of us. #2 Mama Sue, I am not kidding when I say she is my best friend. I tell my mom everything. She is so fun and adventurous and throws in a colorful comment here and there for some high quality entertainment #3 my oldest sister Nycole. She is married to an amazing guy John, and they now have two kids, which I am convinced are the cutest kids that have ever walked on the earth, the oldest is Freddy who will be 2 in March and Josi who was born December 5, ha don't make me do the mommy math. #4 is Kammi. She is hilarious, she is married to Adam who is also incredible and they are expecting a baby in July. Then there's happy #5 me :) #6 Burton, who is serving as a missionary in Hawaii. He gives my mom a run for the Best Friend title. He is the coolest kid ever and he better be enjoying those lovely winters! #7 the grand finale is Matt. Oh my gosh he is so funny!! He is a junior in high school and is lovin sports and the ladies. I've included some pictures so you can put a name with the faces.

Kammi, Adam, Burton, Dad, Mom, John, Nycole, Matt, and Me

So there you have it, that is the family dynamic I could give you all the crazy info, but I don't think the fam would like that too much :) haha I am the middle child I was not a fan of that place in the family all growing up but I am convincing myself I like it more and more the older I get cause I am not too far from either end of the siblings.

Okay okay, what in the world does this have to do with being an awkward return missionary? Well let me tell you! Coming home is not the funnest. I felt like I had to learn my family dynamic all over again because I had been gone for so long and naturally they morphed around it. Plus now I am a totally different person than I was before.

So on the mission we get to skype our families twice a year. My first time was great, my second time freaked the poop out of me. Just when I felt like most of those insecurities that I struggled with for so long were finally over, they came surfacing again and I was not liking it one bit. I remember emailing my mom about it afterwards and she said, "You know I was thinking about this and talking to your siblings because when you get home you have every right to be who you want to be and we will support that." See why she is my best friend! That helped sooooo much! Holy cow I was grateful.

When you come home it is definitely an adjustment you have to relearn you a little bit and it leaves you feeling lost. My mom and my sisters and I, play quite a bit of card games when we are all together and as we are playing cards one night we were talking about the adjustment and stuff and I started to cry... I know it's not an unusual occurrence but the alligator tears were, holy cow! I remember telling them that I felt like a brand new missionary again and I didn't know what to do or how to combine the two people that I felt like I was, if that makes sense. I especially struggled with not knowing exactly what my set purpose was anymore.

I think the biggest thing I wanted my family to know is that I was different than before. I was so much better than I was before. And I needed their support more than anyone else or else I very easily could have fallen back into that same person that I was. I wasn't a bad person but I really like who I am now. I had been changed by this experience. I also wish they would have been more supportive in my very awkwardness. Ha and instead of resisting the change that would come to them to embrace it, but hey that's one tough thing to do. I will probably have to write another post when my brother comes home about what I wish HE would have known :) Ya can't win can ya!

A guy named CJ wrote a really cool post about coming home from an extended trip. It is not necessarily about coming home from a mission but it has great advice you can apply to your situation.
  http://preparemymission.com/4-phases-everyone-goes-through-after-an-international-mission-trip/

There is also an adorable blog about a girl coming home and their decorations and everything were so cute, just in case your fam is expecting a missionary home soon. Check this out.

http://www.blogcrew.com/main-blog/2014/8/12/my-girl-is-finally-home#comments-53eaefe3e4b0f951215c6959