And the results are in!

I received my mission call....



For those who don't want to watch the video, I have been called to serve as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints to serve in the Hungary Budapest mission.  For those of you who guessed, only one person predicted Hungary... an eight-year-old boy from my home ward :)

Where is Hungary, you ask?

Hungary is located in Eastern Europe.  It is landlocked, surrounded by Romania, Ukraine, Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia, and Yugoslavia.

Interesting facts about Hungary:
-The official name of Hungary is actually the Hungarian Republic.
-Budapest is, in fact, two cities separated by the river Danube.  One side is called Buda and the other Pest.
-Budapest is also called the Heart of Europe, Pearl of Danube, Capital City of Freedom, Capital City of Spas and Thermal Baths, Capital City of Festivals, and the City of Lights.  I heard that it is one of THE most beautiful cities in Europe.
-Hungary has one of the largest thermal lakes and cave systems in the world.
-The main religion in Hungary is Roman Catholic.
-Hungary is 96% Hungarian, 2% Roma, 1% German, and 1% other (I will be a tiny part of that 1% other haha)
-Hungarians invented the Rubik's cube, the ballpoint pen, and the theory of the hyr
-My roommate on the folk dancing team told me she thought Hungarian dances were the most fun.
-Hungary is in the top-ten of the all-time medal count for the Olympics.  Apparently, they are really good at water sports?
-Hungarian is the distant cousin of Finnish (often thought to be the hardest language in the world for a non-native speaker to learn).  Hungarian traces its roots back to the language of the Huns.

(Hungarian example:)


However, the only Hungarian I know, as of yet, is how to say "little squirrel": kis mókus.  Haha.

I have to admit that I never even considered Hungary when I thought about where I would serve.  However, once I opened the call and read it, I knew that Hungary is the place for me.  It just seems like a perfect fit!

Plus, look at their traditional dress.  The colors!  The patterns!  It was meant to be :)

I hope they call me on a mission...

Well, I stopped growing years ago (if you don't get the reference, watch this), but I submitted my papers to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

For those who don't fully understand what this means, follow this link to get some more information.  Basically, I will be teaching about the gospel to people somewhere in the world for 18 months.  I am so excited!  I don't have my official call yet, though.  If you want to guess where I am going or see where people have guessed, just follow this link.  However, my call should be coming this week, so keep checking back!  I will keep you updated :)

Some people were really surprised when they heard I was doing this.  However, I look back at my life and realize that this is something I've always wanted to do.

(Case-and-point)

Anyways,  I'm not always very good at sharing things close to my heart, but I'm going to make an attempt right here.

I am serving a mission because I have been blessed to learn of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I know why I am here on this earth.  I know Jesus Christ atoned for my and everyone's sins.  I know that, through Him, we can have eternal life.  I know that families can live together forever.  Love and relationships do not end with death.  My own family is so close to my own heart and this knowledge makes me so happy.  I know that, through the Spirit, we can each receive personal guidance from Heavenly Father for our own lives.  (Do you know how stress-relieving this is for me?  He answers my personal questions and listens to my problems.)  I know Heavenly Father loves each of us no matter what we do because we are His spiritual children.  However, as His children, He wants the best for us.  He wants us to be happy.  That is why He gives us commandments-- they are the "recipe" for happiness.  I know that He sends His Spirit to comfort us when we are sad, to give us peace in this crazy world, and to reassure us.  I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet who restored keys of the Priesthood to this earth.  I know that we have prophets and apostles on the earth today.  President Monson, the leader of my church, is a true prophet of God and gives us guidance for our trials today.  I know the Book of Mormon to be true scripture.  I know that there is so much wisdom and guidance in this ancient book, much like the Bible.  I know that the more I learn about my own religion--the gospel-- the more sense it makes, both intellectually and spiritually.  I know I am happiest when I am following God's commandments.

Because I know these things-- and please note, I KNOW these things, not just think them-- I feel that I need to share them with those who have never heard about them.

If you are feeling sad or confused or lost, please please please turn towards God.  He knows you better than you know yourself and can best assess your needs and comfort you.  If you have more questions about my religion, you can follow the link above or talk to me.

I will admit that I don't know everything there is to know.  However, that is actually something that I love.  There will always be more to learn, something to improve on, etc.  Progression is eternal.  But that is a hopeful idea to me.  Anyways, even if I don't know the answer, I am confident we can find it together through study and prayer.

I love you!

-McKenna

I love to see the temple...

I went to two sessions of stake conference this last weekend.

Highlights:

-Perception doesn't change the way things are, particularly in God's plan.
-"Come unto Me" is an often and open invitation
-"Wherever else you think you may be going, I invite you to come unto Him." -Elder Holland
-If we are not worthy to enter the temple here, we will not be worthy to enter the Celestial Kingdom- one is symbolic of the other.
-Family: the essence of why we're here on Earth.
-When we say qualifying for the blessings of eternal life, we mean qualify for the blessings of family.
-If we go to the temple for ourself, we may lose benefits.
-We are all children of God, but what are we doing to become children of Christ?
-Giving up your agency will actually give you more agency.
-The opportunity to face adversary is evidence of God's love- it allows us to learn what He wants, loves what He loves, etc.

Boo!

Some pictures of my life recently:

Homecoming

My roommate, Jamie, and I made blue waffles instead of going to the Creamery to get blue pancakes.

Then, we watched (and collected lots of candy from) the Homecoming Parade.  Here are a couple of my favorite floats:

 

The students on Condo Row put on their own parade this past weekend!  Short description:  THEY HAD A FLOAT!!!  The end.  (Not really.)  But I was impressed with the fact they actually found one (and the giant wooden contraption has just been sitting on the street since).  There were tons of costumed people on top of said float that chucked Twinkies at us cheering masses.  In addition to the pastry hauling celebrators, there was a guy playing bagpipes, Pacman (chased by ghosts, of course), Michael Jackson, a parade queen on top of a scootered couch, lots of costumed ninjas fighting in the middle of the street, scooters, motorcycles, etc.  They basically went around the block about 5 times to loud music and our cheers, then raffled off pineapples, and started a dance party in the middle of the street.  Oh, did I mention this was all at noon on Saturday?  It was pretty awesome.

Speaking of Halloween, here are some more pictures!!!

Friday night- I hung out with good ol' Connecticutians.  Us girls dressed up as single ladies and went dancing.  At one point, the DJ (who we knew) kicked everyone else off the mini-stages near his table so we could get up and dance to our song :)

Saturday night: Can you guess who we are?

... Got it?

... We're CLUE characters!!!!

We attempted to go trick-or-treating.  Becca, Rachel, and Annie brought us to their old Bishop's neighborhood, which happens to be gated.  We actually got in, but we only got 3 (king-sized!) candy bars because we went too late.  But then we went to the WLC dance (got lots of candy from there!), a dance at a blue house (it was PACKED-- I'm pretty impressed I didn't outright fall over in my heels), and rounded out the night watching A Nightmare Before Christmas at home sweet home.