Turn and face the strange.

Changes. Turn and face the strange as David Bowie would say. I would like to announce to all my loyal blog readers (mom?) that the LDS church has had such an inpouring of missionary applications, that they have had to add 58 missions.

Just let that sink in for a moment…

FIFTY. EIGHT. MISSIONS.

As far as I’m concerned, this is historic. Just in Washington alone, two missions are being added (hollah at me Federal Way and Vancouver). Not to mention seven in Brazil. The brand spanking new Santos and São Paulo West will be the ones effecting me, in the São Paulo South Mission.

Come on! Give me the new mission maps!

Beginning July 1st, these missions with their new mission presidents will be opening up and some missionaries will be reassigned. As far as my assignment goes, I could either stay in São Paulo South, or be transferred to Santos or São Paulo West. So many options!

Check out the new missions! All 58 of them!

Honing my inner Better Crocker.

While waiting anxiously for my departure to Brazil, I have been honing my inner Betty Crocker and baking my little heart out. If you know me at all, you know I lo-uh-uh-ve trying new recipes… even if they’re not always a success. I also tend to have a terrible memory when I’m in the kitchen. Rumor has it, I forgot to put the flour into a pineapple upside-down cake once. But, I don’t believe that story for a second (no matter what my father says)!

Lately, I’ve been trying to compile a recipe box of recipes that are tried and true. Meaning they have been perfected by either myself or my mother and are what we consider to be perfect. This is a daunting task, but a fun one. I recently attempted making French Macarons (one of the most temperamental foods I’ve ever baked). They were successful, but nowhere near recipe box worthy though. All in good time.

Today, I baked coffee cake. Something I have tried many times before, but finally nailed it today by adding sour cream to my recipe (who knew?!). Supposedly, the sour cream makes it… moist (sorry for using that word). Served best with a steaming, hot mug of coff–err–hot chocolate, of course.

YES. Into the recipe box it goes… Future generations, you are welcome.

Here’s a picture of the end result:

It was a hit with the fam bam. Pa said, “It’s edible”, which in his language translates to, “This is pure perfection.” Don’t believe me? It was gone in less than six hours.

Making important promises.

Yesterday was a big day. I went to the Portland, Oregon Latter-day Saint Temple for the first time, in preparation for my mission. Here, I learned many important things and made promises that will help me to become the best person I can be. In other news, I report to the Brazil MTC in 80 days. Huzzah!

NOTE: To learn more about LDS Temples, click here! (remember: they’re not secret, they’re sacred.)

The dreaded Visa Application.

I got my official Visa Application Packet emailed to me yesterday. And guess what, its due ten days from now. Wait, what? Yes, TEN DAYS. Thankfully, I started collecting all my Visa ‘goodies’ right after I got my call because I heard the process was terrifically stressful. Rumor has it, people have died of stress because of this Visa business… just kidding… maybe.

Here’s a list of all the things we have to obtain:
- A signed Passport
- A photocopy of every single page of your Passport (Notarized and Authenticated)
- Two Passport photos
- Three signed electronic Visa application forms
- Photocopy of Driver’s License (Notarized)
- A letter from your local police force stating that you have no criminal record and are of “good conduct for international travel.” (Notarized and Authenticated)
- Two Religious Education Transcripts (Notarized and Authenticated)
- Two Religious Education Graduation Certificates (Notarized and Authenticated)
- Two Curriculum Vitaes (Notarized and Authenticated)
- Missionary Information Sheet
- Travisa Permission Letter
- Certified Birth Certificate

Then, after all of that is collected, you have to send all of the things that were notarized to the Secretary of State Office and get them authenticated. This basically tells the Brazilian Consulate that the person who notarized your documents was a legit notary. THEN, you can finally send it all in and pray that everything is correct. I’ve also heard horror stories of missionaries whose applications took too long to process. They got reassigned to a stateside mission for months until their visa went through. Não é bom.

In case you were hadn’t notices, getting a mission visa is extremely tedious. Furthermore, getting a Brazilian mission visa is even more troubling. Did you know that to serve any kind of religious mission in Brazil, you must have at least four years of certified religious education? Good grief. I’m not even the person that has to submit it all to the Brazilian Consulate, the Church does that, thank goodness.

You are assigned to labor in the...

“Dear Sister Hargrove:

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 Brazil São Paulo South Mission…

You should report to the Brazil Missionary Training Center on Wednesday, April 24, 2013. You will prepare to preach the gospel in the Portuguese language…”

Best. Day. EVER.

So, my mission call finally arrived today. And I will be serving the good people of Brazil! Who would have thought?! I am so, so, SO excited for this. I know that this is exactly where God needs me. Brazil. 

Here’s the video of me opening my mission call. Enjoy!

Mission Call arrival prediction.

I predict that my mission papers will arrive this Thursday, December 20. It has been exactly two weeks since I turned my mission papers in, so now, I’m just playing the waiting game until they get here. I’ll probably camp out by my mailbox on Wednesday night. Also, in the past week, I have moved back to my hometown of Cathlamet, WA, so I’ve been busy… but all I can think about is that letter in the mail! The anticipation is killing me! I’ve made a map and a Facebook group containing all of the guesses as to where I will be getting my call to. So far the United States, Germany, and the Philippines are trending. We’ll see!

My mission papers are turned in. Huzzah!

On Sunday, December 2, 2012, I turned in my mission papers. President Lee, my Stake President, told me that it usually takes about two weeks to have a decision made, and then almost a week for them to send it out. So if that is true, then I should be receiving my mission call on December 27. So, now it’s just a waiting game. Good grief. I’m so anxious, it’s not even funny! In the mean time I’ll be spending the next two weeks working like crazy, registering for classes, and moving back to our house in Cathlamet. Good times.

One more step towards paper completion.

So, today, I had my meeting with the Halls Lake YSA Ward Bishop. He was fantastic and I can officially say, “I’ve started my mission papers!” I met with him a little earlier than planned, about 3:00 PM. Mostly because I was so nervous and excited that I got to the church 45 minutes early. But, it all worked out. He asked me questions about my mission preparations, my testimony, my conversion, my parents, even my roommates back at school! All I have to do now is transfer my records and then he can help me continue the mission process.

I work two jobs.

So, since I am working two jobs right now, about 50 hours per week, I wasn’t able to meet with my bishop on Tuesday. Instead, I will be meeting with my bishop on Sunday at 3:30. I am excited and nervous and nervous and anxious and I can’t wait until Sunday! AHH!

My decision to serve.

This is me. Nicole Michelle Hargrove. This photo was taken on October 6, 2012, and one of the most profound days in my life thus far. Today is the day that Latter-day Saint Prophet, Thomas S. Monson announced that the ages that LDS missionaries can enter the mission field has changed. Let me tell you my story…

I had planned to sleep in today. It was one of the only mornings that I had had off in a while and I was excited to catch up on my Zzz’s before work tonight. At around 9:00 AM, my mom came into my room and said, “Nicole! You better wake up! Sister Bingham just texted me and told me they changed the missionary age at General Conference this morning!” Immediately, I was wide awake and reaching for my laptop. This is when the waterworks began. All of the sudden I was ugly crying and searching frantically for the video of General Conference. Here is what he said: “…Today, I am pleased to announce, that able, young women, with the desire to serve, may be recommended for missionary service, beginning at age 19, instead of age 21.” (Here’s the link if you want to watch it.) Just writing about it makes me teary!

I have never been so effected by a single sentence in my entire life. This may sound a little selfish, but I feel like this revision was made specifically for me! The timing could not have been anymore perfect. For the past year or so, I have, unknowingly, been preparing for this! From my wisdom teeth and passport, to my social life and higher education, I have been preparing to serve a mission a little earlier than I thought!

So, to start things off, I Facebooked my Bishop’s wife today, and set up an appointment to begin my mission papers and I am ECSTATIC!