It was the first day of school for the Waynesville School District ... all of the kids left the house ... that being said, I had a really productive day! I got three awesome mission things and one super gross thing checked off my to-do list.
1. Like I've mentioned before, I dropped out of my Chinese class the hour I got my mission call. I was really hoping to be able to get into the highest level Spanish class that I could, but every single class had prerequisites that I couldn't meet. I had my dad call the Language and Letters office of BYUI to see what I could do to get out of these classes. It turns out that it was as easy as taking a free placement test online and then discussing further options. I took the placement test and I really surprised myself at how much I knew. I've been praying to have my mind be receptive to the Spanish language. I have also been reading and listening to the Book of Mormon in Spanish. I listen to Spanish hymns in my free time. I guess I'm just really anxious to understand everything I can.
So, I took the test ... not super confident in my ability ... and I qualified to CLEP out of Spanish 101 and 102! I was pretty stinking excited. However, the class for Spanish 201 looked absolutely terrifying, especially considering the fact that I have only had 2 years of online Spanish for preparation. So, I decided to get into Spanish 102 ... in a class that is during the exact time my Chinese class would have been and for the same amount of credits. Increíble! Also, it turns out that I don't even have to take a CLEP test for the class. Instead, I get to take vertical credit, which basically means that if I receive a good grade at the end of the semester, I will be able to pay for the credits I skipped and earn that class as well. It's the perfect situation for me! I am so happy that it worked out so that I'll be able to speak a lot of Spanish before I get to the MTC.
2. I wrote my mission call acceptance letter. This is basically a note that tells the First Presidency and the Twelve Apostles that I accept the call to serve wherever I am called to go. It was such a sweet experience to write my letter. I looked back on what had led me to go on a mission and I felt a ton of gratitude and peace. It's nice to know that you are being guided by Heavenly Father ... even when you don't know it. I am so grateful that Thomas S. Monson lowered the age at which missionaries can serve. I am so grateful that the Brethren knew exactly where to put me. I am grateful for that every hour. I really have so much that I have yet to learn. I don't know Spanish ... I'm still not a very good teacher ... I wrote in my sample acceptance letter that, "I will work harder than I know I can -- with Jesus Christ, it is possible." I really will work hard in these months I have to prepare.
3. I made these SUPER cute missionary announcement cards. The template can be found here. They are simply darling, and will be EVEN CUTER when I can put pictures on them and mail them out. Oh, and when I find a good color for the last line of my super long MTC address.
I was a pretty busy bee today. I found time to finally track down the last of my scholarships, wait for Minsy at the bus stop ... and I even found the time to clean out our super yucky downstairs bathroom. This bathroom isn't actually that bad ... it's just that all of the lights blew out a couple of months ago and nobody could see how truly dirty it was. It was just in darkness and not a pleasant place. I won't go into detail about what I felt bound to do, but after I screwed in new lightbulbs to the fixture, the room was totally lit up. It almost looked "usable" according to my mom. With the light came a total realization of how stinking dirty it was. Everything was dusty and dirty and DISGUSTING. I was a little discouraged by the sight, but as I began wiping away the scum, it was totally easy to wash away. After I was done cleaning, it was like a totally new bathroom.
I might be going a little loco (I am starting to hear these random Spanish phrases in my head that I cannot comprehend ... I also cannot stop them from bubbling up in my brain. I'm losing my mind), but I guess that this dirty bathroom is kind of like the Atonement. Haha, that was such a weird sentence. We may not recognize how unclean we are when we don't know about the Gospel (the light), but when it turns on, we can totally see every mistake. It's a little scary to change and to clean up our lives through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, but when we do it, it's like we're not even the same person anymore. We are totally clean.
Yeah, I'm going insane. Here's a video for you.
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