Hello everyone! 😊 

It has been a while since I have updated this blog and for that I am sorry. When I started this blog it was because I felt a lot of peer pressure. You see, all of my friends at college had blogs and they would talk about them often and write these really cute posts… and I just wanted to be like that. However, I quickly found out that I am not very good at English, or making things sound fancy and cool. So it became more of a chore to write and update things. When I created this blog, aside from becoming cool like my friends, I also wanted to help others come to know that they are cared about and that they are loved. That desire is still deep inside me as well as the desire to share my testimony of our Savior Jesus Christ and of His gospel. 

So with that let me give you a little recap of the past two years! 😊

I finished fall and spring semester at SVU- it was an experience I cannot forget. I made the best of friends, took some great classes that kicked my butt sometimes, went through a hip and knee surgery that really humbled me, cheered my teammates on from the sidelines (which was even more humbling), spring breaked it in Florida, listened to some good tunes, had some awesome adventures, packed my things and headed back to Utah. During that process, I also spent time preparing to serve the Lord. I submitted my mission papers and received my call.

Now during this time, I told the Lord that I was willing to go where ever He needed me to go. My brother was serving his mission in South Korea and I had gained a love for South Korea while he had been gone. So, although I told the Lord that I would go anywhere He wanted, I would have really liked to go to Korea like my brother. When my mission call came in the mail it was the most stressful few hours of my life as I waited to open it! When the clock finally struck 7pm I ripped it open and found out where the Lord wanted me. And that was South Korea. I was shocked… I cried for joy. At that moment, I couldn’t even begin to 

understand how much my life would change or could change in only a few months. I was scheduled to report to the Missionary Training Center on October 7, 2015.  In the following months my love for the Korean people grew, my desire to share the restored gospel of Jesus Christ with them grew, and my love for The Lord and my Father in Heaven grew. It was an incredible 18 months. I will never forget the experiences I had and I will share some of them a little later. I am grateful for my time in South Korea. I am grateful for my family and friends who supported me daily. I am grateful for the guidance that I received from the Lord.

On April 27, 2017 I had to say goodbye to my home in a foreign land. That was the hardest day and happiest day of my life. I am so grateful to be home with my family again. Since returning home every day has been hard in a way I didn’t expect it to be, but it has helped me rely on the Lord even more. I hope you all remember that He is there for you! He is there every second of every day, just waiting for us to ask for help or look to Him for guidance. He is the light and the life of the world. When we are close to Him, we can find joy amid the trials and troubles in life. I know this to be true.

Until next time, remember that Attitude is EVERYTHING, The Lord loves you, and you are strong.

Love, Ash 😊