My Life in Two Suitcases

Planning for vacations, getaways, or any sort of trip comes with a lot of…planning.
Where's my passport? Do I have my visa? How about my government issued ID, along with a four-generation pedigree chart and at least $50 USD in cash ($25 in each shoe-thanks for the tip mom!) I've looked up at least a million Pinterest boards for tips and tricks. What do I need to pack? How much shampoo do I bring? Don't forget your toothpaste: an 18-month supply, that is. Thankfully, my dad is a ninja and also happens to be an expert packer. After rolling my shirts, tucking socks into shoes, and splitting my clothes into separate bags in case one gets lost… we have successfully packed up my life in only two suitcases.

Tomorrow morning at 4:30am I am heading to the airport. There, I will say goodbye to my parents. For a year and a half. The next time I will get to talk to them {live} will be over Skype on Mother's Day and Christmas  - Assuming I have good enough internet connection. - Until then, I can only contact them and everyone else back home via email once a week (yay for Missionary Mondays!) Again, assuming I have internet connection.

After 20 total hours of travel time I will arrive in Lima, Peru at the MTC (Missionary Training Center). I will spend the next 6 weeks in Peru for my language and gospel training. There I will also meet my first teaching partner *we call them companions* who I will be living and working with. She could be from anywhere in the world, also called to serve in the Cochabamba Bolivia mission! Because I am serving a spanish mission, I will have a snazzy little name tag that says Hermana Simmons.

Hermana=Sister in Spanish. 

The name tag explains my identity and new calling - a representative and spokesperson for Jesus Christ.

What is a Mission?
Whether you are a student, working-class citizen, OR James Bond, everyone has a mission.
A focused and consistent effort needed to obtain a desired goal; a specific purpose driving your actions. The student works to receive their educational degree. The employee earns money to support their family. James Bond had a mission to be a boss, fight bad guys, and save the world.

Accomplishing any type of mission comes with a sacrifice. A cost. 

Trading what is comfortable and convenient for the unknown. the difficult. uncomfortable. 

But that is also the beautiful thing about a mission. 

Having a specific purpose to drive your actions will make the unknown, the difficult, and the uncomfortable ALL worth it. 

My mission in Bolivia will be to introduce the name of Jesus Christ and invite people to learn more about Him and His ministry on Earth. Not just to be informed; my message brings with it a sense of deeper understanding and perspective for the ultimate purpose of our lives, and what we can do to fulfill our greatest potential.

As a missionary, our purpose is to:

"invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and His atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end." 

Why would you WANT to do this?
It's not a vacation; I'm taking a break from school, track, and my social life… but not for "me" time.
I won't be sight seeing or taste-testing… no relaxing, chillin' or hangin' out for me.

I will be walking the {dirt} streets of Bolivia, sometimes 10+ miles per day. 

Both in the modern cities and extremely poor towns, I will talk to everyone I see.

People will be busy; some most will not want to hear what I have to say.
Others will smile politely, but won't be interested in my message.

I will be rejected. The very beliefs I hold so close to my heart will be mocked. 

But a few will listen.

And those few will be worth it.

Sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ is the specific purpose driving my actions. 

it is my mission.

I have accepted the call to “Teach all nations” (Matt 28:19-20) This call, this eagerness to share the message of the restored gospel through Christ’s love and Heavenly Father’s plan did not come as a feeling of spiritual obligation. 
My desire to share the gospel came as a result of testing what I had been taught. 
Research, asking questions, and praying for confirmation were all things that helped me to know that these things were true. 

In a world of skepticism, fear, and hate… there is also p e a c e . 

Light and joy can overcome darkness; it is up to us to be the light.

I am so grateful for the perspective and  h a p p i n e s s  that comes from knowing we have a Heavenly Father, and he sent His Son personally to redeem us and help us come back to Him!  

I have ideas of what it will be like. Expectations about living in another country. Away from home. Away from electronics and connection to my family. Giving up school, my athletic scholarship and training, my social life and friends for a year and a half. Living without the things we consider necessities, but which are only {dreamed} about in the poverty-stricken towns of Bolivia. 

I have faith, I have hope, and I have the positive expectation that my experience will be far greater than I could even imagine.

I am stepping into the unknown. 

But I am stepping with confidence… right in stride with my Savior Jesus Christ.

BOLIVIA HERE I COME!!!!

Hitchhiking, Horses, and Hukilau Cafe

What do chickens, flip flops, and sleeping on the floor all have in common? ---> Hawaii. These were all daily occurrences during my perfectly-timed, excellently-planned, and yet super-spontaneous trip to visit the best island with the best company. Hawaii. Go ahead, say it again. Mull it over in your mind… think about all that you've heard or seen about this sunny, relaxing, beautiful state. Lush landscape, vibrant flowers, and soft white sand... Our imaginations can come up with some pretty vivid images {and maybe even feelings--longing, desire, and the like} while picturing a vacation in Hawaii. After you're done with your visualization sesh, let me tell you that --it-- was SO MUCH BETTER! What, you ask? My Thanksgiving break. My trip to see my sister. In Hawaii. 

At this point in the post, here is where some people would stop reading. At that's okay… there's always "those" guys that stop reading right before the punchline, moral of the story, the good stuff. But for you wonderful people that are still reading this… stay tuned for a picture play-by-play of my awesome week in Paradise! 

Since we all know reading my blabbings is the most important thing of your day. 

Love you all, enjoy the pictures! :)

I flew through the night Monday the 24th, arriving in Honolulu at 6am. I was so excited to see my sissy and be in Hawaii, but the jet lag prevented a large amount of motivation to get going right away. So, we settled for Day 1 of going to class, taking a nap, and cuddling watching netflix. Oh, we got ice cream too. ice cream is good. 

Wednesday we spent the morning on the grounds of the Laie, Hawaii LDS temple. We checked out the visitors center, where they had awesome presentations about the history of the island, as well as some of the basic fundamental beliefs of the restored gospel of Christ's church. We watched a really cool video about the nature of human families... It introduced the amazing God-given promise that we can be with our families forever! Death is not the End! Click on this link to see the video :)

After our comforting and peaceful experience at the temple, I spent the afternoon reading outside while Brooke went to class. That night we wanted to go to dinner, so we set out on 35 minute 3 mile trek

(yes, without a car it takes that long…to get everywhere. Sorry Brooke!) 

The setting sun and muggy weather mixed with the lack of sidewalk made for an interesting journey. 

After walking the whole way--the hanger is real at this point--we finally got there. 

Unfortunately our excitement was short lived.. as we approached the restaurant, the bright red CLOSED sign flashed brightly {tauntingly}.

Sorry Brooke!

The only stores in the surrounding area were Long's Drugs, Dominoes Pizza, and a small taco shack. 

Plan B: North Shore Tacos! ---->

They had amazing pork and fish tacos.

They also had a pineapple puree smoothie

… made in a pineapple.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We started out the day with a gorgeous horseback ride overlooking the mountains and distant sea. Brooke works at Gunstock Ranch as a tour guide and all-around-awesome horse-keep… and she was cool enough to give me a private ride! Just the two of us, running through the trees and laughing all the way up... we stopped only to take the occasional--okay, millions-- of pictures. and let the occasional cow cross our path. {that's a thing, I guess}.

Thanksgiving on the Beach!

Our meal consisted of fried chicken, donut holes, and store bought pie {chocolate macadamia nut} from the local market down the street. We walked with all of our grocery bags to the nearest beach, covered some driftwood with a tablecloth, and set up our Thanksgiving feast. Yeah, so we may have eaten as much sand as we did calories… but we were going for the scenic view. :)

Things I'm Thankful For:
hot showers
sleeping pads
tropical fruit

people who laugh at my jokes
my Heavenly Father
the Plan of Happiness

Personal Revelation
Perspective

The next couple of [days] were full of adventures. 

Our hitch-hiking buddies. {sorry, mom!} 

Me, Jito, Grandpa George, Tony, Brooke, and Greyson
Complete strangers, but ended up spending a fun evening in the spirit of love and fellowship. After they accepted invitation to the temple visitors center with us, we understood firsthand the power of extending a friendly hand in offering the peace and knowledge of Jesus Christ.
[really they lent the friendly hand first with the whole ride home thing… but we followed up!]

coconut macadamia nut shrimp                                                

macadamia nut pancakes
on styrofoam plates.

Just some pictures of the yummy food we ate. constantly. #foodislyfe

 aloe vera in juice/gel form
best drink ever--but so weird!!

Hiking, Tidepools, and Breathtaking Views

That brings us to a close of my Thanksgiving Tour around the beautiful island of Oahu…
It was a pretty great trip, spent with even greater people. I truly have so much to be thankful for!

Aloha!

 "And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good."

To Blog or Not to Blog?

We all have priorities. 

The major-intense deadlines, the somewhat important to-do lists, and then the not-super-crucial-but-still-the-most-time consuming things. Like doing your own nails. I have a ton of homework to do, lots of personal reflection that should probably take place, and even more things along the lines of personal hygiene that a normal functioning human being usually practices on occasion. Instead, I am sitting at my kitchen table eating a plain slice of Grandma Sycamore's white bread--no, it's not gluten-free, sugar-free, dairy-free, or grain-free. Neither were the no-bake chocolate peanut butter cookies I just enjoyed. 6 to be exact.-- I could do something "productive" in the secular sense, or work on improving myself as a contributor to society…but instead, my productivity has consisted of pecking at my keyboard with wet finger nails. 

PLOT TWIST: productivity is a relative term; 

I was in desperate need of some fun, relaxing methods of de-stressing to help bring myself back to reality. I am loving my new nail polish color, and thus, loving myself. 

(Cute nails are a necessity though, right??)

K yep, the future posts on my blog will hopefully have a little more depth… but for now, I mainly just wanted to get that "first" blog post out of the way. That's the hardest part. Getting started. <---that'll be a future post topic, just you wait.

If you're still reading, I applaud you. My attempt to put together a stream of semi-cohesive sentences is both therapeutic for me, and hopefully somewhat enjoyable for you. I will be candid (and classy) with maybe just a little bit of sarcasm…. #sorrynotsorry. Oh, and I also hate hashtags.

Stay tuned for a fun journey :)

XOXO
Brie