It's My Turn!!

OK, since the start of 2013, my best friends have been leaving on missions. There are 6 people I consider my very best friends, and 4 of them have scattered across the globe for missions.

So this might as well have been made by me:

No but really. 

BUT since today is April 30th, (assuming that the schedule feature actually works, if not, who knows when you're reading this) this means that it is finally my turn!!!

Mine!

Me!

I'm on a mission!!!!

I am no longer Dallyn Anderson, I am Hermana Anderson, and I am a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints!! Soy Hermana Anderson y soy una misionera por La Iglesia De Jesucristo de Los Santos de los Últimos Días!!

In the words of the wonderful Bilbo Baggins "I'M GOING ON AN ADVENTURE!!"

No more days left!!!!!!!!!! 

MTC Info!

Hey guys! I got this info in an email from the MTC and thought I would pass it on:

"Dear Sister Dallyn Marie Anderson,

Congratulations on your call to serve!  We are excited about your arrival at the Provo Missionary Training Center next week and are grateful for your decision to serve the Lord.  We would like to share some important information about your stay at the MTC.

You should arrive for your training at the main MTC campus (2005 N 900 E).

This will be your MTC mailing address:

Sister Dallyn Marie Anderson
JUN09  MEX-CIUO
2023 N 900 E Unit 815
Provo UT 84602

Please share this address with those who may want to write or send packages to you while you are in the MTC.

Also, please pay close attention to the following instructions:

  1. Your service begins the day you check into the MTC.  Remind your family that complete separation from loved ones is part of the sacrifice that families and missionaries contribute to the work.  For this reason, you should ask your family and friends not to attempt to see or visit with you while you are at the MTC, not even during your temple walks or at other places near the MTC.
  2. All missionary mail must come through the US Mail or commercial delivery services.  These services should not be used to send pizzas, fast foods, ice-cream, or any items that will spoil if they are not refrigerated within 24 hours.  Missionaries are not called out of class to receive packages, nor do they have access to a refrigerator.  For security reasons, we cannot accept any items delivered by hand.
  3. Communication with family can be done through your missionary email account on your weekly Preparation Day. We cannot accept telephone calls for missionaries.
  4. Families and friends should not visit missionaries as they depart to their field of labor, whether at the MTC or at the airport.

Please do not reply to this email.  If you need to communicate with the MTC, please call 801-422-2602.

Sincerely,

Provo MTC Presidency"

Woo! I go to the MTC this week! I don't know if anyone will even need this info, but I figured I'd put it up just in case!!

ONLY TWO. DAYS. LEFT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Small and Simple things or rather, Primary & the Power of Pennies.

Like most other LDS children, I went to Primary. I sang all of the songs, I listened to all the lessons, and I did a darn good job in the Primary Programs. At least that's what my parents and grandparents always told me ;) I also dutifully attended all of the Primary activities.

But, to be perfectly honest, there's only one activity that I remember going to, and that's because of this can right here:

The activity was about serving missions. My sweet Primary leaders had the idea to take a large, empty can, seal it, and put a sizable slit in the top. This can was for us to save up for our missions, so when we got our allowance we could put part of it in there and by the time we were old enough to serve our missions that we would have a decent amount of money to put towards it.

I started out doing great, saving frequently and happily. Then when I grew up a little bit more, I'll be honest, I stuck it in my closet and forgot about it. At more than one point I even considered taking the can opener to it and then spending what was inside(an idea I passed onto my younger siblings and they actually followed up on it. For some weird reason, Mom wasn't very happy about that...). Fortunately I didn't, and in my later teen years I became much better about putting money in, especially after I received my spiritual confirmation that I was indeed going to serve a mission. I even got my youngest siblings excited about it, so much so that it became one of their favorite things to take spare change and drop it in.

Since my mission is right around the corner (party!!) I figured it was time to open this bad boy up.

Holy frijoles.

So, since it's just plain dumb for me to share my financial increase on the internet, I won't tell you just how much is in there, but I will say this:

Alma was right.

In Alma chapter 37, this wonderful prophet and missionary is giving his son, Helaman, council, and in verse 6 he says:

Now ye may suppose that this is foolishness in me;

but behold I say unto you, 

that by small and simple things 

are great things brought to pass; 

On their own, pennies, nickles and dimes don't mean much. But after years and years of collecting and saving, they become a pretty big deal:

In case you're wondering that cool looking pyramid is $4.50 in pennies.
I know, I'm a fabulous architect.

This is true of all sorts of things. Becoming a kinder person, quitting addiction, being happy, developing relationships, finding faith, learning to make the best brownies on the planet. Very rarely does something truly wonderful happen all at once. Sometimes the step are so little, that we are "in the middle before we've even realize we've begun" (Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice).

My mission is one of these things, because can I just say that all this makes my mission feel so much real? 

For more than a decade this can has symbolized my someday mission, the adventure that I might go on, but that's a looong ways away, if I even decide to go... 

Ha.

Not so much.

Not anymore. 

But, wait--didn't I just write my name and put those stickers on my missionary bank?!? Wasn't' I just in that quiet study, receiving the patriarchal blessing that got me thinking about a mission!?!! Wasn't I just sitting in the Relief Society General Meeting where I became serious about serving a mission??! Didn't I just get my call?!?!!

Apparently not.

And it's freaking me out a little (read: a lot. It's freaking me out a lot).

But let me tell you the coolest part of this whole thing.

Once I dumped out all of the coins, right on top, I found this guy.

That right there is a 20 centavo, or in other words, Mexican currency. I don't know where it came from, or when it got there, or how on earth it even got into my house, but out of the hundreds of coins that were in there, one of the first ones that I see just happens to be from the country I was called to serve in.

Coincidence? 

Nah, I didn't think so either. 

Only 21 more days!!!!!!!! 

Clothes n' Stuff, but Mostly Clothes

So, I'm not going to lie, one of my very favorite things about mission prep has been shopping for my clothes. I'm usually really thrifty (really thrifty, I've turned my nose up at a dress before because it was $8), but since I don't plan on spending an overabundance of time shopping while in Mexico, I've let myself spend what I need to for good stuff. And since I am working full time and have more than one calling, I don't have the luxury of shopping all over the place finding the very best deals possible, so I turned to the loverly world wide web.

Since a number of people have asked me about stuff  that I've bought for my mission so far (OK just about clothes), I thought it would be helpful to pass on some sites that I love. Sorry, gents, not much on this post for ya.

OK, to start off, the standards for Sister Missionaries are here, In case you didn't know, a few years ago they changed the rules on what we girls can wear (hallelujah), but it's still not a free for all, so check out the rules. And I say you should make sure something fits according to the standards, or that you can return it if it doesn't, before you buy it. But if all else fails, you can save it for when you get back!

Note: I haven't been paid or asked to endorse any of these sites, these are just one's I've enjoyed and found helpful, and I want to pass them on, one sister missionary to another.
Also, while I love all of the for my mission, these are all great options for day to day modest dressing!

Sis-Miss Clothing To be honest, I definitely might have spent too much on this site. There are all sorts of wonderful and cute missionary things! The only thing I was a little disappointed on is that a lot of the items are recommended as hand wash only (grr!). So we'll see how that goes over. But seriously, so much of my wardrobe has come from here, and I have this skirt in three colors because I love it so darn much.

Red, Green, and Gray, I love this skirt!
You can find my shirt there as well!

Another lovely Sis-Miss skirt

eShatki I love, Love, LOVE this site! It is such a cool concept! You can customize your dress, skirt, shirt, or jacket to YOUR measurements. I used stock measurements for all the dresses I bought, and it worked out great, but with the custom measurements there's no worries on if your clothes will fit or not! Plus they love sales (like, a lot, and for things I've never even heard of), and they give discounts for first time users! Plus, you can customize the dresses-change the neckline, sleeve type, and/or length of the dress! Just be warned, that not ever dress has every customization option (that broke my heart on a few dresses. I just wanted some sleeves, for heaven's sake!)

Latter-Day Sister Missionary This website is just for skirts, but the cool thing about them is that they're reversible! Since you'll be living out of 2 suitcases for a year and a half, space savers like this are awesome. But so you know, I bought a pencil-ish skirt from them in my regular size, and it was too tight on the booty and hips, so I exchanged it for a size up, but non pencily skirts should run pretty true to size (I hope! If, not, the exchange was really quick and painless)

Mikarose If I had found this one earlier, I would have spent sooooo much here. There are a lot of pieces that are a lot like, if not identical to, ones on the Jen Modest Clothing website except a little cheaper. They also have this super neat-o section called "Willow Styles," where they show you these really great outfits, then link you to all the different parts of it, so you can stop coveting the models outfits and just have one of your own.

Jen Modest Clothing This one is not a "sister missionary site," but it was created by an LDS woman, so all the clothing is modest, or really easy to make modest (i.e. put on a cami under and you're good to go). I love shopping this one on holiday sales, since it's pricier than I usually shop, but they have so many darling things!

Jen Modest Clothing skirt

Sweet Salt I'm pretty sure that this one is a fairly well known vendor, but I figured a shout out and a link wouldn't hurt. Also an LDS store, there's all sorts of cute modest things here. I am a fan of their classic tops, which are nice enough for a mission, but not overly fancy for day to day work.

Sister Missionary Fashion I don't remember if I actually bought anything here, but there are a TON of really great patterned, colorful, and cute skirts here. Oh, and I just found these demi tees, there. Guess what I'm buying for the ever hot Mexico once I finish this blog post.

Kohls While I am not really  a fan of their website, I love shopping here. Being thrifty, I usually just hit up the clearance rack or go in on sales or go with a coupon in tow, but their clothes are usually pretty reasonably priced even without those things. Plus, most of their stuff is just darn cute.

This cardigan was on the Kohl's Clearance rack!

Sorella Bella Another one of those places I would have shopped extensively if I'd found it sooner (but I'll be honest and say that I still might). Some products on here are identical to those on other websites I've put up, but they also have some really unique and adorable pieces that I haven't seen anywhere else.

Modest Pop One more of those not a "missionary" site, and it reminds me of Sorella Bella in the sense that while there are some items that I have found on other sites (like that skirt I have three of), it also has some distinctive stuff of it's own.

A MAJOR Walmart win!

Walmart. Yep. I went there. Multiple times. Believe it or not, it's not just for people watching! One of the best investment's I've made so far was a pack of 21 earrings for $7.88! I bought two of them and called it fabulous. Also, some of my favorite button ups came from there, and I feel zero shame in saying that.

Also Walmart

Thrift Stores- OK, so I couldn't give up thrifting (you can take the girl out of the thrift shop, but you can't take the thrift shop out of the girl. Wait, what?), but missions are expensive, and I can always stand to save a little (or a lot) of green. By the time I got around to this, I mostly just needed tops, but it's a great place for lots of things you'll need-skirts, shirts, sweaters, blazers, scarves, belts, cardigans etc., etc. I hit up my usual places-Good Will and Arc-but I also went to consignment shops like Plato's Closet, since they won't even buy your stuff if it's not cute, and My Best Friend's Closet. And don't you dare freak out just because it's something someone else has worn because that's the great thing about fabric-it's washable. This is an AWESOME blog post that gets more in depth on thrift shopping for a mission.

Found this necklace at My Best Friend's Closet!

Shoes While I am nothing short of an avid online shopper (just ask my family, it irritates some of them how many packages I get), mission shoes are something feel are best to be bought in person. I'll be spending too much time in them to just hope that the expensive shoes I just bought will fit well and be durable.

Bird scarf (Charming Charlie's) and
mustache earrings (Walmart), for the win!

Other tips and thoughts:

• On nearly every blog and website I've looked to for advice about mission shopping or on making the most of what you can pack in a suitcase, the advice has been to A) think carefully about what you want to bring, and B) bring versatile clothes. You won't have a lot of time to pick your outfit in the morning and not a lot of room in your suitcase for things that don't look good with anything.
• To go along with that thought ACCESSORIES! Bringing things like necklaces, scarves, and belts will let you change up your look so you don't hate wearing the exact same 8-10 outfits again, and with minimal effort and minimal suitcase space.
• And finally, bring clothes that are you!! You still have to follow the standards, but there are so many different styles you can have and still feel like your self, instead of a cookie cutter missionary robot.

  

  This shirt is from my favorite charity site, Sevenly.org
  It's a personal mantra of mine, and my goal for
  my mission; to 'Do Everything In Love'

Happy shopping!

(Oh, and only 34 days!)