Sister Madison Allred Mission Blog

So I will go in chronological order for my week. Elder Gay from the First Quorum of the Seventy talked to the sisters, and it was really great. The main thing I got from what he told us is that trials make us stronger. I have a very strong desire to be a proficient, knowledgeable, accomplished person, and to be as useful as I can be to the Lord. All of these amazing people have gone through really hard times, and I know that was because the Lord was preparing them. I want to be used by the Lord, and to become a great person, so I was actually thinking, 'Maybe I should pray for more trials.." but then I quickly decided that might not be a good idea after all :) I do know though that all of the things I have gone through in this life is for my betterment. Hopefully in my future trials, I will be able to have more of an eternal perspective.

So these past few weeks have been interesting for me. I have had a hard time staying healthy. Nothing too serious, but the end result is to cut out sugar. They did not find anything wrong with me ( a relief!) so this was the only solution they could think of. Hopefully I will not get too sick again, and I can perform to the best of my ability on my mission! 

So now for my Outbound Call. All of the sisters have been guessing where I will be stationed at, and take a lot of joy from my reactions. In the mission, I am known as the "City-Girl". I mean sure, I grew up around Sacramento, CA and went to Provo for high school, but I did not think I was THAT much of a city girl. Most of the sisters in the mission are from really small towns in Utah and Idaho though, so I guess that makes some sort of sense. Apparently the fact that I am allergic to nature also helps solidify that sterotype in their mind, but hey, I've been to some rural places! The common consensus though is that I will have a "Hannah Montana Moment". Apparently in the movie about Hannah Montana, she steps off a plane, prepared for something glamorous in the city, and is in the middle of nowhere. Everyone thought that I will have a similar reaction to that when I get off the plane to wherever my Outbound Assignment is. I had been thinking about that, because everyone asks if I have any "premonitions" on where I will be going. I thought about it, thought I could do any place but Idaho, and since I think that, I will naturally be sent to Idaho. So I have been joking about going to Idaho for the past two months. I also just had a feeling that I would be sent somewhere cold. Well, lo and behold, I am assigned to be in Pocatello, Idaho for the next six months! I leave onOctober 8th to my new mission field, and am excited :) Right after I found out though, all of these senior missionaries came over to me. They are all from that mission, and started to give me advice. What I have been able to gather is that Idaho is very rural, (something about water fights and farming?) and extremely cold (most of the winter months are 30 degrees below zero in this place called Teton Valley. Yikes!). Next April I might come back a Popsicle to Nauvoo, but I will be a very happy Popsicle :) I also have a guy I know that is serving there, Joe Szendre, and his grandparents are actually serving in the Nauvoo Temple! That was a pretty fun connection. Also, my beloved companion Sister Richardson is serving in Little Rock, Arkansas, ASL Mission. 

The other outbound assignments are:

Sister Etherington and Sister Gines: Des Moines, Iowa

Sister Ross: also Little Rock, Arkansas

Sister Wood and Searle: Charleston, West Virginia

Sister Mills: Baltimore, Maryland

Sister Munro: Fort Worth, Texas

Sister Newell: Richmond, Virginia

Sister Hansen: Boston, Mass

Sister Hughes: Farmington, New Mexico

Sister Holt: Lansing, Michigan

Sister Hall: Raleigh, North Carolina

It's pretty rare for two sisters to go to the same mission, so it's pretty exciting we have three pairs!

Well, I love you all, and I will talk to you later!