Sister Smyth

Yesterday marked my 10 year Anniversary of the beginning of my full-time mission in Phoenix, Arizona for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It's weird to think that whole thing was 10 years ago. It feels really surreal sometimes. Here's the little description I put in my professional resume:

"February 2000 to July 2001 Full-time representative for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: Assisted with humanitarian aid in northern Arizona, developed speaking and presentation skills, and communication and people skills. Trained small groups in communication skills. Learned to organize and prioritize time and resources."

That doesn't even begin to describe all of the people I met, stories I shared and heard, facets of myself I discovered, rollercoaster of emotions I felt, or the relationship I developed with God. Even now, I read through my missionary journals and I can't explain what the whole experience meant to me. I know that it was something I had to do, I know there were specific people I had to meet, and I know that I am who I am today because of all that I learned. (How's that for vague?)

I can't find a photo of myself from the actual day I went into the MTC (my scanner isn't cooperating anyway), but here are a few others.

A photo of my roommates from the semester before my mission. We all sang "I'm Ready Lord" at church the Sunday before I left, and since I left right after Valentine's Day, I talked about God's love for us.

A photo of me at the Jordan River Temple, after having completed my first endowment session. I went through about 10 days before I entered the MTC. (I have been back to this and other temples many, many times since then.)

This is the family photo I carried around for my entire mission (notice how dirty it became). This photo was taken December 1999. By the time I came home, we had welcomed my new sister-in-law into the family, too, rendering this photo out of date :) How I wish I had the patience to let my hair grow this long again!

With Sister C at a 7-Eleven on Bell Road in Phoenix. A few days before I left, I asked my mom if we could stop by 7-Eleven and get a slurpee. She said, "Do you think they won't have slurpees in Arizona?" Sure enough, for the first 15 months of my mission I served in towns small enough they didn't even have a 7-Eleven! When I mentioned this to one of the member families in one of those towns, they offered to drive my companion and I to Phoenix for the next transfer meeting there. The family made sure to stop at this 7-Eleven so I could get my slurpee. The crazy thing? A few months later this 7-Eleven ended up being a part of my last assigned area.

This is at the Salt Lake airport on the day I came home July 2001. Phoenix to Salt Lake -- not very far away, but it was a whole other world and a whole other life for me!