Happy Halloween!!

First of all, I would like to say how grateful I am that there are other girls, Missionary Girlfriends, with whom I'm able to develop friendships. I am always so inspired by your blogs, videos and posts on our facebook group. Basically, it's just an awesome feeling knowing girls who are doing the same things and going through the same things as you are. To all of the MGs who read this, I'd like to say a massive thank you for all your support and friendship! You are all AWESOME. :)

So, after about 4 weeks, I finally got a letter from Matthew (I truly feel for the girls that have to wait months on end! More power to ya!). It was a this-is-what-I'm-doing type of letter, which was great because it's nice to hear about his experiences. He is now the Senior companion, and I hear that brings on extra responsibilities. I had asked him in a previous letter to give me sort of a day in his life. In reply, he gave me the full rundown titled, "One Day in the Life of Elder Parks". I got excited about it, so I typed it up and taped his schedule to my bedroom wall. Then, during anytime of the day, I can see what he's doing. I just love it!

School is moving along smoothly! I am now 6 credits away from being a Sophomore and I am very excited about that. I take about 2 weeks maximum to study a subject before I take the test and it can be very CRAZY, yet I manage to pull through and pass them (most of the time). :) I know I owe all of my success in school to Heavenly Father. I have no idea how many prayers I've said in the middle of studying. Fortunately, when you go through each subject in such a short time, you don't get bored as easily. There's definitely variety!

Guess what! I'm getting ready to learn German! AHHH!!!! I bought an online course through BYU to learn from. I'm not planning to have it count as any school credit. I'm just taking it for fun and I can't wait. I'm still waiting to get my paper booklet and CD to get started. It looks like I'm going to have to be patient... You'd think I would've mastered patience by now, right? :)

I had thought Russian might be an interesting language to learn. All I can say is "interesting" describes it very well. I decided to look up Russian and this is what I found: Летучая мышь. Needless to say, I decided to stick with German. :D

I wish you all a very Happy Halloween! I will be at work tonight, so....

One Year Down, One To Go!

Wow. That seems to express how I feel at the moment. It's amazing to me how much time has past in what seems like no time at all. Last October 12th I was looking at all the months I still had ahead of me thinking it would take forever, but as I've completed each month, I've realized that this is not just a race to get to the finish line of him coming home. Instead, it's a journey. While he has been away I have been having my own character building and strengthening experiences and I am so thankful for this time I have to refine myself to the kind of young woman I want to become. I have had my share of rough times, but I can honestly say they have been outnumbered by some of the happiest moments of my life. I can say without a doubt that the phrase, "Distance makes the heart grow fonder" is not just something people say-- it's true. I'm so proud of Matthew. He is not only a great missionary, but an overall wonderful young man and I can't wait to be with him forever. I just love that guy so much! I have enjoyed this last year and I look forward to this next year of exciting experiences.

I decided to make a list of events that took place during the first year to see how far I've come. :)

1. Began Relief Society

2. Called to be Primary pianist

3. Built my 1st Build-A-Bear bear (for Matthew's Christmas present :)

4. Went to my 1st NBA game in Atlanta

5. Learned a great deal of patience

6. Visited the Northern Midwest states-- I'm at 42 states now

7. Graduated high school

8. Started college

9. Started job at Chick-fil-A

10. Registered to vote

11. Received a total of 34 letters, 6 postcards, and lots of pictures from Matthew. That gives me a rough total of 150 letters to date.

12. Most importantly of all, I've developed a closer relationship with Heavenly Father, and found greater peace and comfort in communicating with Him, more so than before.

One year ago I was at the Atlanta airport to send my missionary off, and one year from now I will be back at that airport to welcome home my RM. :)

Why didn't I think of this before??

After seeing several blogs by other girls waiting for missionaries, I thought I would give it a try as well. It looks like fun! My only regret is that I didn't start this earlier. Hello? What was I thinking?! :)

 Matthew has been out on his mission for almost 12 months now, so this blog will be about my second year of waiting. Elder Parks is in Pocatello-- his third area. Before, he was in Idaho Falls, and then Jackson Hole, Wyoming. I just have to say it's funny how something as tough as being apart from someone you love is also such an exciting experience. Some days it's hard and I just want him to be home already, but then I pray, read inspiring quotes and previous letters, and everything becomes better. :) This is a very strengthening experience for both me and Matthew, and I'm thrilled that we're able to share it together.