Getting Closer...

 
So turns out I leave in less than 2 weeks for Utah!! It really is insane how fast/slow time can go at the same time. I feel like I've been waiting forever to leave, yet its coming so quickly!
In preparation for my departure I've already started packing!!(I know I must be excited or something... usually I pack last minute for everything!)

 

I also realized that my skirts need to be just a tad bit longer for being a missionary! I've been trying to extend some of my things instead of buying new clothes. Here are my first two projects I worked on this week.

Tada!

 



Pre-Mission Photo Shoot!

My wonderful friend Franny offered to take "pre-mission" photos for me! Shes amazing, what more can I say? Her and I were roommates up in Fort McMurray last year, and man. I would have died without her! Here are a few of her photos! <3
Enjoy :)

 

 

One of the many reasons I decided to serve...

I personally decided to serve a mission because I had the desire to share what I know with others. The gospel of Jesus Christ is an amazing gift which has been provided for each and every one of his children to obtain joy in this life, and exaltation in the next. Through my travels in China I had many experiences where people had the desire to learn more about their Heavenly Father and purpose in life. However because of the restrictions at the time I was asked not to share my beliefs with anyone who held a Chinese passport in that area.

One particular Sunday morning myself, and a group of girls I was traveling with meet this sweet Chinese girl who was sitting next to us on the train. We had been studying our scriptures on the ride to church and over the course of time she started speaking with us and asking many questions about the God and what we believed. I remember feeling like her soul was sincerly pleading for us to answer her questions. It was possibly one of the hardest things I've experienced to sit there on the train, knowing what I know about this gospel and the happiness it has brought me in my life, and to look her in the eye and say that "I am sorry but I cannot tell you what I know". We were able to tell her that God lives, and he loves her, but that was all we had permission to say at that time.

 From that experience something was planted inside me, I made a promise to myself that day that I would never hold back from sharing what I know with others. How could I live in a country where I have no religious barriers and not share my testimony with others? That desire to teach others about the restored gospel, and to serve God are why I and thousands of other Mormons have decided to serve missions

http://mormon.org/me/8K2V/Tori

So I'm going on a mission!

Sister Sulz,

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 Korea Seoul Mission. It is anticipated that you will serve for a period of 18months. You should report the the Provo Missionary Training Center on Wednesday, September 19th 2012. You will prepare to preach the gospel in the Korean language....

Whoa! I was not expecting that at all!

...Earlier that day after checking the mail I was absolutely convinced I was staying in Canada. Someone had told me once that the thickness of the envelop determines whether you go foreign or not... So after opening the mail box and realizing that my envelop was as thin, if not thinner than Aarons (who was called to Vancouver the week prior)... I just knew that I was staying in Canada and that was that!
Obviously if you saw the video of me opening the call you can hear in my voice how taken back I was while reading " Korea Seoul"! It really was the BEST SURPRISE EVER!! I couldn't sleep for at least 3 days after.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUrONIMtLBE&feature=plcp

Once all the excitement died down, the realization of my call hit me upside the head super hard real fast. Can I really do this? Holy smokes.. I have to learn a new language... and not only that, everything I've been studying needs to now be translated into small characters, flipped backwards and memorized so that I don't sound like a complete fool talking to people. Thinking about learning the Korean Alphabet scares the crap out of me. (....There was a reason why I didn't check off the box on my application that said "Super good at learning languages"). The weather I found out, isn't going to agree with me thats for sure. Super humid in the summer and chill you to your bones cold in the winter.  By the end of the week I was feeling pretty overwhelmed.

... Thankfully a good friend of mine sat me down and reminded me that when I let faith lead my life, theres no room left for fear. I realized that it doesnt matter how hard the language is going to be, or how uncomfortable I am, or how many weird foods I'll get to eat. If I have faith that Heavenly Father will help me learn the language, and I pepare myself by packing proper clothing for the weather, and pray really really hard that I will be alright adjusting to all the new foods! Infact, I will be more than alright!!:)

 This mission is something that I have wanted to do since I was a little girl, and I know with out a shadow of a doubt that I was called of God to serve the Korean people. I am going to learn the language, love the people, and try everysingle weird looking food I come across!! I am so excited for Korea, and to beable to serve the people there for the next year and a half! I am incredibly stoked, and ready to start using my rossetta stone, and training program to get started!

<3

Love Your Future Seoul Sister