Time for introductions!
Hello, everyone. My name is Sami, and this is my blog. I was born in sunny Southern California, and have since lived in Utah, Ohio, Hawaii, and New Jersey. I am a lover of music, dogs, family, the ocean, God, and all things beautiful.
So, why am I starting a blog? I'm not a writer, and I rarely enjoy reading most of the blogs I fall upon. Well, to understand that, you'll have to know a little bit about me. I said I lived in New Jersey. More accurately, I was called to serve a mission for my church in New Jersey, speaking the Spanish language. Now, for the men who go on missions, they are called to serve for 2 years. Women only get 1 1/2 years. I was so stoked!! I'd wanted to serve a mission since I was 14 years old, and had just been waiting to reach the age requirement of 21 years old (it has since changed to 19y/o for girls and 18y/o for boys).
I went through 9 weeks of language and teaching training, and off I went to New Jersey!! For the next 10 months I served in 3 different areas of New Jersey, and each day consisted of praying for, studying for, practicing for, and teaching valuable gospel lessons to people who were missing something in their lives. For those 10 months I lived and breathed for the wonderful, humble Hispanic people of New Jersey, and would do anything for them. I saw lives absolutely change as people began to understand the relief and joy that their faith in Jesus Christ could bring them. I got to talk about what I believed, all day, every day.
Well, then in the last four months or so of those 10 months, I was really, really sick. There was something very wrong with my stomach, and I couldn't keep any food down. When we finally saw that I wasn't getting any better, and that we still didn't have any answers about what was wrong, I was sent home on a "medical release". This means that I was honorably released to go home and get better, and that it was completely up to me to return or not when I felt well again. Well, that's where we are now! I've been home for almost 2 months now, trying to get better, and still with very little results. I still plan to return to my mission as soon as my body starts cooperating, but when that will be is anybody's guess.
One thing I've missed about being a missionary is the conversations I got to have with complete strangers about our individual beliefs. I learned so much from people from many faiths and countless countries. I love having conversations about God, about what makes us happy, about our motivations and desires. I figure that even though I'm not a missionary anymore, I can still have those conversations, and I can still learn a lot from complete strangers on the internet. ;) I'll be thrilled if anyone reads it, and I'll have a lot of fun with it even if no one does.
Make this the best day you've had yet!
Love,
Sami
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