on a mission

In exactly one hour, I will be set apart as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

You can follow all of my wonderful missionary adventures over at my missionary blog, which is linked up at the top, or right here below.

Sister Lauren Holbrook

Love you all. Keep smiling, and I'll see you in 2015!

eternity

Surprise! I'm still here!
Only for 21 more days.
#wheredidthetimego

I'm in the process of copying pictures over and uploading them to blogger so you can all see the adventures of this year's summer vacation road trip. While that magic is happening, I thought I'd share with you all one of the most incredible days of my life.

On August 15th, I went through the temple for the first time.
Several of my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins were able to be there with me.
I was so incredibly blessed to be able to go to the Provo Temple, where I have already spent so many hours with dear friends and family members.

Words cannot adequately describe the peace and joy I felt being in the temple with my family.

my eyes might be closed in this one. oh well.

Uncle Brad, me, and Steven!!

Uncle Jeff, Aunt Carly, Grandma Hyde, me, Steven, Grandpa Hyde, mom, and dad

note: there's a waaay better picture except it's on my laptop and Rachel has that. so you're stuck with this one. sorry.

Having been able to go to the temple a few more times since that beautiful day, my love for the temple has grown every single time.

Moses 1:39 says:
"For behold, this is my work and my glory; to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man."

Heavenly Father's work is the work of eternity.
Missionary work is the work of eternity.
One of the members of the temple presidency spoke to the youth when I went to help out with baptisms a few weeks ago. He said something that really stuck out to me:
"You may be here for just a few short hours out of your busy lives. But the work you are doing changes someone's eternity."

That is the whole reason that I want to serve a mission.
This isn't about me.
Sure, I'm excited to have a mission call, to be missing out on finals for a year and a half, and to be getting a whole new wardrobe. #eldershaveiteasy

But that's not why I'm serving.
I am serving because I love my Savior.
Because I love my brothers and sisters.
Because I want all of them to experience the same joy and love that I felt on that day.
Because I pray that I can be an instrument in my Heavenly Father's hands in bringing them back to Him.
Because I hope that each of us can be with our families for eternity.
I love my family dearly, and I cannot imagine eternity without them.
I feel so incredibly blessed and honored to have been entrusted with this responsibility and privilege of inviting my brothers and sisters to come unto Christ, to strive to return to our Heavenly Father, and to one day live with Him again.

Going to the temple helped put that into the eternal perspective.
I thought I couldn't be more excited to serve a mission.
I was wrong.
Every single day, that desire and excitement grows.
21 more days.
It can't come soon enough.

I also found this really cute picture of when I opened my mission call that I never knew existed. 

It is my hope and prayer that each person I know [or will soon know] will be able to come to the temple often and feel of the joy, peace, and love of our Heavenly Father.

getting closer...

good times in p-town

So there was this time when I went home and just kind of stayed there.
For a month.
I came back to the lovely Provo to pack up my apartment, move out officially, and get everything set to leave for eighteen months.
I will be back home for the rest of the summer getting ready for the mission.
Here are the adventures of my two week stay in my home away from home.

Explored the Milwaukee airport. Quite a lovely experience actually.

Day with Rachel. This included walking around the entire BYU campus, going to a friend's wedding reception, a drive up the canyon, a late night visit to the Edwards.

her future home. Man I miss freshman year.

Bridal Veil falls. and some adventurous kids. 

love her.

Volunteering at Summer New Student Orientation. Love the little freshman.
But seriously: get involved with Y-Serve while you're at BYU. Best thing ever.

Missionary Broadcast. Absolutely incredible meeting!
Along with some quality time with my friend, Marian.

Sunday drive by the Provo Temple. And a beautiful sunset.

An interview with my Stake President to finally submit those mission papers.

Watching and studying other devotionals and talks. Like this one by Elder Holland.

Exploring Fairview, Utah with grandparents and finding a few common ancestors.

Selfies: what happens when grandpa has an iPhone and his two grandkids are stuck in the backseat on a long drive.

we found them!

And then watching the Manti Pageant.

gorgeous.

Training new Center for Service Program Directors.
Again: Y-Serve is the greatest.

Dinner and the Despicable Me 2 premiere with Rachel, Clark, and Steven. Fantastic movie!

Visiting baby Zachary, hanging out with Steven, and baptisms at the Jordan River Temple.

Lunch with the Champion family. Basically the sweetest kids ever.

photo cred: Lionell.

Dinner with the Pettitt's. Loved catching up with them!

And of course, the more menial things like running errands, packing up my life, and getting a haircut.

Until October Provo. 
I'll miss you. Just a little.

called to serve

After anxiously waiting for the mailman to arrive for an entire week...

        And then having my Dad receive a big white envelope that I was hoping was for me....

                 And after having my bishop (well, my dad) confirm that it had indeed been sent.....

THE MISSION CALL FINALLY ARRIVED!!

I was sent to the mailbox for the umpteenth day with my own paparazzi behind me, and there was finally a large white envelope from Salt Lake addressed to "Sister Lauren Renee Holbrook." That's me!

hooray for sisters with smart phones! 

I opened the call later that night. Rachel invited a few school and church friends over, I got the family set up on the phone and via broadcast, gave out photography and video assignments, and then it was time!

drum roll please....

"Dear Sister Lauren Holbrook,

You are hereby called to serve as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You are assigned to labor in the Utah Salt Lake City Mission. It is anticipated that you will serve for a period of 18 months.

You should report to the Provo Missionary Training Center on Wednesday, October 9, 2013. You will prepare to preach the gospel in the English language. Your assignment may be modified according to the needs of the mission president."

GUYS I'M GOING TO SALT LAKE!!

Basically one of my favorite places on the planet.

AND I only have to survive one hot, desert summer there. Perfect timing.

And I'm really excited about the mountains. 

my mission boundaries

The rest of the evening was spent talking with friends and family and sharing the news with pretty much everyone on the face of the planet. I'm a little excited, ok?

And we took a lot of pictures. Of course.

I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I love this gospel with all my heart! I am thrilled that I will be able to share the wonderful messages of peace and joy with others. I love my Savior and am honored that I would be entrusted with such an incredible calling.

I can't wait to get started!

not about me

My missionary map is my pride and joy. 
There are 124 incredible people on this map.
Some are home, some have yet to leave, but each one of them is an amazing example to me.
I cannot wait to join this army of missionaries to share this beautiful gospel with others!

Which brings us to exciting news:

MY PAPERS ARE "READY FOR ASSIGNMENT"!!!

One of the perks of having your dad as your home bishop: calling him up whenever you want to know your mission papers status.

I was in Salt Lake City literally half a block away from the building where they make the assignments. Like, I could have walked over there where my papers are right now.
Absolutely incredible to think about.

So that fun announcement means I've spent a few minutes today considering creating a missionary blog.
And basically haven't been able to sit still all day long.
Fun stuff around here.
But that blog won't go live until I, you know, actually have my call.

While I anxiously await for my call to be assigned, I bide my time reading talks and devotionals about missionary work and stalking missionary blogs [see my sidebar].

In my searches today, I came across this quote that I just love. At the press conference following the announcement made by President Monson about the new missionary age requirements, Elder Holland said this:

"God is hastening His work and He needs more and more willing and worthy missionaries to spread the light and the truth and the hope and the salvation of the gospel of Jesus Christ to an often dark and fearful world... 

This isn't about you. 

It is about the sweet and pure message you are being asked to bear."

In all of the excitement of waiting for a call, of preparing to go out into the field, of all the questions of how it will actually be on the mission, or what will happen back at home while you're gone, or just not being able to sit still until you get out there, etc.
There is one thing that we all need to remember: This is NOT about me.

My decision to serve a mission is not about me.
This is about my Savior.
This is about the beautiful truths of this gospel.
This is about the fact that I know this is the true Church on the earth today.
This is about bringing my brothers and sisters back to Christ.
This is about serving my Heavenly Father who gives me so much every single day.
This is about wanting to help others find the peace and joy I have felt because of the love of my Savior.

This is not about me. It never was, and it never will be.
There's a quote that says something along the lines of "If the Church wasn't true, nineteen-year-old boys would have ruined it a long time ago."
This is the Lord's work. We are simply instruments in His hands. We always will be.
And He will not let us fail in this endeavor.
This is about bringing our eternal family back to our Heavenly Father's loving arms.

I could not be more excited, nor could I feel more blessed, to be a part of this incredible work.

My challenge to you all: 

write a missionary this week!

They need the love, the encouragement, and the letter in the mailbox. 

#gomissionaries

california girls

Over Mother's Day weekend, me, Lyndsey, and Brittney, ditched Provo to road trip down to southern California!

Our mission:

surprise Devon by showing up at his mission farewell!

Now I am one of those slightly crazy people who absolutely loves road trips. Like a whole lot.
The best part of this one: great friends and there were mountains in view the entire drive.
I have now officially been to Las Vegas and to California. Both are slightly over-rated in my opinion.
We arrived Saturday evening. Sunday morning we headed over to the church building.

Mission accomplished.

Devon was beyond surprised, and he gave a fantastic farewell talk!

Plus, it was mother's day so we got to hear the primary kids sing. Best Sunday ever.

me, Brittney, Devon, and Lyndsey

Monday we all hung out at the nearby lake/beach, watched movies, and basically had a blast.
At the end of the day, Devon was set apart as Elder Watkins!
There goes yet another friend off to the mission field... 
that brings the total to about seventy missionaries that I personally know out in the field. Craziness.
And then we drove right back to P-town on Tuesday.

road trip playlist:

(every great road trip has fantastic music)

"I Want Crazy" by Hunter Hayes

"Highway Don't Care" by Tim McGraw and Taylor Swift

"22" by Eclipse (yes, I'm obsessed. don't judge)

"When I Was Your Man" by Bruno Mars

and of course...

"Life is a Highway" by Rascal Flatts

I have now officially been to California, Arizona, and Nevada.
I have also taken a road trip with people other than family members.

Other pictures exist with Brittney and Lyndsey... maybe someday I will actually get them.

All in all, it was an adventurous and absolutely fantastic trip!

Here's to the start of a wonderful summer.

time flies

post from mid-April 2013

The winter is already over.
Evidences of spring are everywhere.
New faces. New roommates. New friends.
Wedding receptions. Seriously I have three just this week. Craziness.

Here are just a few highlights from the past several weeks.

General Conference.
A great weekend of spending time with family and friends. And listening to the prophet and apostles speak.
What's not to love?

most epic conference picture ever.

me and Naticia on the train ride up to the Saturday morning session

So I have kind of a big announcement:

I FINISHED MY MISSION PAPERS!

I have decided to serve a full-time mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 
This means that for eighteen months I will be sharing the beautiful messages of this gospel with others. I am so grateful to have the opportunity to serve, and I am just so excited! I have finished up my part of the paperwork. Now just a few final things to take care of, then the paperwork will be submitted to church headquarters and I will receive a mission call. More on all of this to come. Hopefully soon!
To learn more about what exactly I plan to do for eighteen months, visit mormon.org/missionaries.

Skype sessions.
Devon headed back to spend time with his family before his mission. So a bunch of us Skype in order to continue our scripture study group. It is the greatest thing ever.
Seriously. Get a scripture study group going. At home, with friends, in your apartment. Anyone. Anytime. Such a blast!

group call with Devon's friend Allison, his little brother, Devon, and me and Lyndsey

me, Lyndsey, and Devon

I spend a lot of time with Lyndsey. 

We live next door to each other and basically have a party.

If you ever feel the need to relive your childhood, you're welcome to join us for some Hannah Montana.

Reorganization.

They say that change is good, but for now, it's a little sad.

Our bishopric was released and our stake presidency was reorganized! 

I have absolutely loved the past eight months with Bishop Murdock, his counselors, Brother Rosenthal and Brother Johnson, and their wives. They are such incredible people and I have been blessed to work and counsel with them.

me, Bishop Murdock, and Sister Murdock

I absolutely love this song.

Nothing else much has been happening.
I babysat my cousins for a night, finished up finals, and helped with a musical number. My job is up to forty hours a week instead of twenty so that should be fun. I'm enjoying the birds chirping and the blooming flowers. Hopefully the cooler temperatures stick around for a while.
The summer is off to a fantastic, busy start!

Remember to smile.

long time no see

It's been a while. I know you've missed me.

Classes, work, friends, and life just got a little crazy.
Here are some ramblings on life right now.

My cousin, Chantel, gave her farewell talk on Sunday. She is heading off to the wonderful state of Washington to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I am so proud of her, and so excited to hear about all of her adventures as a missionary!

other events:

• all of my friends got boyfriends, girlfriends, or mission calls. twitterpation season anyone?
• fireside by Elder Bednar. go and watch it. right now.
• Ward Conference.
• doctor appointments in Salt Lake, along with a Temple Square adventure.
• aced my midterms.
• the full Les Mis movie soundtrack was released. yes, that definitely counts as an exciting event in my life.
• scripture study group with Devon, Lyndsey, Brittney, and Sean. awesome people.
• got a new calling. Relief Society Presidency. y'all better get on your visiting teaching now... I will hunt you down. just kidding. but not really.
• Brittney moved in with me!
• visits from extended family members and cute cousins. 
• one blind date.
• finally saw The Hobbit. so good.

It seems as though every single one of my friends is leaving soon.

     One to Jerusalem.

     One to Texas.

     One to California.

     One [actually, several] to Brazil.

       And then there are the people who have their significant others...

Summer here should be interesting without all of them here to keep me entertained.

But honestly, I am beyond excited for them.

Particularly for those heading out to the mission field.

I really do have several incredible friends who will still be here. PARTY!

I couldn't be more grateful for every single one of them.

my current musical obsessions:

"Twenty-two" 
originally by Taylor Swift

[way better] cover by Eclipse

Mormon dads singing a Taylor Swift song a cappella and showing off their awesome dance moves? I can't get enough.

"Once in a Lifetime" 

by Landon Austin

Just a sappy love song that melts my heart.

I absolutely love the temple.

The Provo Temple has become one of my favorite temples, simply because of the time spent there, the experiences I have had, and the people that I have grown close with through going to the temple. It is an incredible blessing in my life to be able to have a temple so close by and to be able to attend regularly.

A few days ago, Devon and I went on an adventure to do baptisms in the Salt Lake Temple.
It was an incredible experience. Slightly intimidating and awkward to have no idea where to go or what to do. 
It was lovely to not be quite so rushed and to just take in the beauty of the temple. I am so grateful for the peace, comfort, and guidance I feel each time I attend.

...and just a little something that made me laugh.

"Life is short so tell someone today that you love them.
But life is also terrifying and confusing, so shout it at them in German."

Keep smiling. 

Be awesome. 

Have a lovely day.

slowing down

I don't have classes on Fridays.
Which is the greatest thing ever.
But somehow my Fridays end up being the craziest days of the week.
In a good way, though.

This Friday was particularly hectic:
I woke up way too early and couldn't go back to sleep.
So I did some studying and watched a beautiful sunrise.
Then I put in a few extra work hours.
Before I realized that we had cleaning checks. Who schedules cleaning checks on a Friday night?! crazy people.
Cue three hours of scrubbing down my bedroom, bathroom, and the kitchen.
One downside of not having a roommate: two cleaning check jobs.
Another hour of work.
Musical number practice. Which included hunting down a few other singers.
More cleaning.

In the middle of the craziness, though, I got some time to enjoy some pretty great things:
     My friend opened his mission call.
      I babysat my cute cousins. Seriously, I do not get enough interaction with kids under the age of 18 years.

Oh, and we passed cleaning checks.

All in all a wonderfully exhausting and productive Friday.

Now it's on to a long weekend.
I intend to do some extra studying, do some extra work, and maybe spend a little extra time with some friends.
I just might even watch a few sunrises.

"We would do well to slow down a little, proceed at the optimum speed for our circumstances, 

focus on the significant, lift up our eyes, and truly see the things that matter most... 

Walk in nature, watch a sunrise, enjoy God's creations, 

ponder the truths of the restored gospel, 

and find out what they mean for you personally. 

Learn to see yourself as Heavenly Father sees you:

as His precious daughter or son with divine potential." 

- President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Enjoy the day off on Monday.
Slow down a little and take some time to enjoy the simple beauties that life offers each day.
Keep on smiling!

january, mountains, and epic music

I am kind of a movie nerd. which you probably already knew.

One of the best parts about movies: the music.

While I study and work, I often listen to movie scores, such as:

Spirit: Stallion of the Cimmaron

The Chronicles Narnia

The Incredibles

and of course... UP.

[They work wonders for motivation.]

I am still obsessed with the mountains. With snow on them, they are just gorgeous.
And at sunset? Gosh they are absolutely beautiful.

This has been one of the strangest weeks of my life thus far with some random things happening with family and friends.
But it ended wonderfully as I got to spend time with some friends. Oh, and I got an A on my New Testament exam.

Today I washed every single dish in our apartment that had been piling up.
Life is interesting with a Brazilian roommate who pretends to not understand you when you ask her seven times to wash the dishes.
An hour and a half later, my hands are raisins and I'm finally eating some lunch.
But it's clean. And that's what matters for now.

My cousin, Christopher, opened his mission call! 

I am beyond excited for him to serve the people of Paraguay! 

[seven of my good friends also opened their calls that day. craziness]

Last weekend, Rachel and Mom came to visit!
Rachel had an audition for the music school, so Mom flew out with her.
I spent some time with them in the mountains taking "senior pictures" for Rachel.
They explored my apartment and BYU campus. I still don't have a roommate by the way. 
They joined me for lunch in the Cougareat one day. I joined them for dinner with some family.
Basically, it was a blast.

Up Provo Canyon with my sister. Absolutely gorgeous.

Best friends since the days we were born. Gosh I love these boys! 

Mom and Rachel with me. It was great to see them!

January basically consisted of me working, studying, studying, and working.
You know, that fun stuff big kids do.
I have become a pro at HTML programming. sort of.
And I became even more of a history nerd, if that's even possible.
I have approximately zero social life as all of my friends live on south campus, are at home waiting to go on their missions, or work early-morning jobs.
I can no longer stay up past eleven.

Some inspirational thoughts for you:

"A Pep Talk from Kid President"

[basically the most adorable pep talk you will ever hear in your life]

Stop being afraid of what could go wrong and focus on what could go right.

No one looks stupid when they're having fun. Amy Poehler

What would be the point of living if we didn't let life change us.

Happy February to all of you.
It's going to be an exciting month of birthdays, anniversaries, snow, and who knows what else!

one more week

[day twenty-five]

bishopric

I absolutely love my bishopric. 

Bishop Murdock is sincerely interested in each one of our lives; the joys, the challenges, and the menial day-to-day tasks. He takes the time to talk to me, something I greatly appreciate. Fun fact: apparently he's my aunt's dentist.

Brother Johnson is about the happiest man alive. He always wears the biggest smile. Once you get him started, he will talk your ear off about his grandkids. 

Brother Rosenthal knows every single person, and he seems to know every little thing about them. While he's a little more quiet and reserved, he has the best sense of humor. 

All three of them are at nearly every single activity, as well as their wives. I have grown to love these three men who lead our ward; they truly are inspired, and I know they will drop everything to help me. 

Today was a little crazy. Figuirng out that church started at 10 am instead of 11:15 was a bit of a shocker and made for a little bit of a rushed morning. We had a combined stake meeting since there weren't very many people back from Thanksgiving break. The lessons were wonderful, and it was nice to have sacrament meeting first for once.

In our Relief Society lesson, we talked about the Footprints in the Sand poem [read it here. such an amazing story!]. I came home and was doing some research on the story, and came across this song. I fell in love with the lyrics. Enjoy.

"Footprints in the Sand"

by Leona Lewis

Hayley got her mission call in the mail on Friday, and she finally opened it today!!!! Even though I will miss her next semester, I am so excited for my roommate to serve the people of Brazil. She is going to be such an incredible missionary!

I cannot believe how fast this year has flown by. There is only one more week left of school. And then it's finals and back home for the holidays. Craziness.

missionaries

[day fourteen]

missionaries

I have mentioned this before, but I love missionaries.
When President Monson announced the new age requirements for missionaries, I was so excited I nearly started crying. It is one thing to see the Church move forward, but to be a part of it is such a neat experience.
With over thirty of my guy friends from freshman year on missions, I have been on this kick for writing letters to them all. I never knew writing letters could be such a blast! Or such a perfect excuse to procrastinate homework... Each missionary has such incredible experiences wherever they are serving, and I am inspired by their diligence and obedience.

With the changes in age for girls, several of my closest friends have started their papers, submitted their papers, or have received their calls. Tonight I had the amazing opportunity to go to Brooke's apartment after class to watch her open her mission call.

Stover sisters reunited!!!
so it's not the best picture... whatever.

pardon my lack of fashion. boots with a dress doesn't really match, but I was going for comfort on a cold day.
don't judge. the important part is Brooke with her mission call!!!!

Not only did I get to see most of my friends from our dorm hall, but I was able to see Brooke receive her call to serve in Brazil. It's difficult to explain, but the Spirit is so strong at such events; you know that this person will be an incredible missionary, and the place on that call is exactly where they are supposed to be sharing the gospel.

Along with Brooke, ten of my other friends [and one of my cousins!] received their mission calls tonight. They are going to places as close as Montana and Washington state, and as far as the Philippines and Ukraine.

I am so grateful for the missionaries and their examples to me and to those they serve. Good luck Elders and Sisters; you're going to be amazing! Go forth and serve.

good days

The weather is getting colder.
That means long sleeves, big coats, and warm boots.
And [mint] hot chocolate.
Also cuddling up with a big blanket while reading history textbooks. such is the life of a college student.
The fall colors are fading. Snow is accumulating on the mountain peaks.
I just love it all.

I have the greatest friends ever. I say that a lot, but I really do.
They pull me into doing completely crazy things I would never do on my own. And I love them for that.
They inspire me to improve each day. They support me through everything.
I am really going to miss a bunch of them as they head out on their missions in the next few months.
For now, I'm enjoying the time I do have with them with movie nights, temple trips, and lunch dates at the Cougareat. And the occasional crazy night out.

This kid just went into the MTC today. Good luck Elder Graham and we'll see you in two!

Missionaries are the greatest. I love reading their letters [well, emails and blogs with the occasional actual letter] each week. It is such a neat experience to see their testimonies grow, to learn their insights, and to hear about their crazy adventures all over the world. I am so excited for my friends who are currently waiting for their calls to come! I cannot wait to hear about all the great things they do!

I absolutely love the Provo Temple. I have been blessed to spend several hours there with some of my best friends. The temple is such an amazing blessing in my life.

Life is wonderful. Long sleeves for pajamas. best. thing. ever.
Keep your thumbs up [and warm] and remember to smile.