Whatever You Are.....

I'm going to write a little bit about Sydney tonight. I promise I won't gush too much. But he has taught me an amazing lesson over the past three and a half months, actually he has taught me this lesson since I met him but tonight we are sticking to his time on a mission.

Sydney is serving in the Mexico City East Mission and is currently in an area that is very poor and not very clean. Well his second week in Mexico he came down with appendicitis and had to have his appendix removed. Then about two weeks later he got a stomach infection and then about three weeks later he got an intestine infection. Visiting the hospital three times during all of this. And on top of all of these health problems he is in a brand new country, he is learning a new language and missing home. I know I'm not the most descriptive writer but I hope I've painted a good picture of what he was going through. I think through out all of this he complained to me twice, maybe.

After the appendix surgery.

Now what does "whatever you are, be a good one"have to do with not complaining? Sydney has this philosophy if he is going to do something, he is going to do it! I remember on my mission when the pain was really bad I'd talk about maybe going home in moments of weakness. But all Sydney has ever said in the two times he has complained was that it was hard, but that he was doing his best to get better. He could have easily asked to come home to get better, or complained to me, his girlfriend who would understand being a sick missionary. But now he just talked about wanting to get better so he can be the best missionary he can be. Each week as he writes me I feel how happy he is through his words despite the struggles that he is having. He knows during this time his calling is to be a missionary and so he figures even though he keeps getting sick and could make all the excuses in the world to not work hard, he is going to keep going. He is going to be a good missionary.

Soccer with the other Elders. Look how happy he is!

Not only am I in love with this amazing man but I am learning new things from him all the time. He is living Abraham Lincoln's wise words. So as I realized what example he was setting for me I decided it was time for me to bloom where I was planted and be the best I can be. Even though sometimes I may not be happy with where I am or what I'm doing it is important to be present and do the best I can. I've been practicing this just the past few days and man I've seen such a difference. Yes I'm exhausted and sometimes I don't get everything done I need to, but I feel fulfilled. It is a good exhaustion. I know that I'm living in the present and I feel at peace. So guys "whatever you are, be a good one".

Welcome to my Journey.

My name is Sierra and I'm living a life I never could have imagined, and for that I am grateful. I've always been a planner when it came to my life but all that changed May 2012. I had just graduated from BYU-Idaho and was living in Salt Lake City, Utah. I loved my life. I had great roommates, great friends and life was an adventure. But then I got an answer that it was time for me to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. It wasn't part of my plan and after two months of struggling with this choice I decided it was time and submitted my papers.

 I was called on July 25, 2012 to serve in the Washington Kennewick Mission. Now this came as a bit of a shock to me because I was from Olympia Washington, but nonetheless I was excited. I was excited to serve the Lord and become one of His missionaries. I entered the MTC on October 10, 2012. About a month into my mission I started having daily migraines that made life as a missionary really difficult. After a month of doctor appointments, phone calls home, meetings with my mission president I decided I was done. Not done with my mission but done with letting my headaches be a hindrance in my life. I told my mission president I had accepted that I may have daily migraines for the rest of my life and that he wouldn't hear from me about them again. Three days later he called to tell me that they had decided to send me home for medical treatment and as soon as it was figured out I could come home. I was devastated. Once again there went my plans. I went home on January 19, 2013 with no idea what the future held for me but something inside of me knew everything would be okay.

Fast forward five months and we still hadn't found out the cause of my headaches. But the five months hadn't been wasted. I had been called as the Stake Mission Prep teacher, which helps prepare anyone in our area prepare to serve a mission. As well as a Beehive Adviser in the Young Woman program that our church has. Both callings were very humbling and I learned so much. I found I was still serving a mission. In the end of May my leaders and I decided it was time to move on and be officially released from my mission. It was bittersweet. I was excited to move on with my life and see what the future held next but I was scared because I had been holding on to my mission for so long. But the next week everything changed......

I met Sydney Easter. To avoid telling you the long detailed story I'll sum it up the best I can. Sydney and I were from the same ward. He moved in when he was 10 and I was 14. Yes you read that right, I'm older then him. Because I was older then him we never interacted let alone spoke two words to each other. The weekend I met him he was home from Boston for his brothers high school graduation and his dad convinced him to text me, much to my surprise. In fact when I got the text from him I had no idea who "Sydney" was. Finally I figured it out and agreed to doing something with him. I wanted it to be a short lunch or movie to avoid too much awkwardness. Well the lunch turned into a whole weekend of fun together and then he headed back to Boston. I figured we'd stay in touch and become good friends. Before I knew it we were talking every single day and he had planned another trip home six weeks later. The week before his visit home he surprised me with the news that he was moving home. He said it was time. Long story short we started officially dating in August 2013 and were inseparable, something I have never been in a relationship. He received his mission call a month later to the Mexico City East Mission leaving February 5, 2014. A long wait but it was the exact amount of time we needed. I grew to love him in a way I had only heard stories about and seen in movies. Waiting for a missionary was always a crazy idea to me and something I never planned on doing. Once again my planning was out the window. But I don't think of it as waiting. I think of it as living, growing, serving, loving, crying, laughing and preparing for our future. He has been gone for a little over three months and it has been an amazing journey so far. While he is serving the Lord in Mexico City, I am working as an Event Coordinator in Lacey Washington looking for my own personal adventures and opportunities for growth. I don't know if anyone will ever read this blog but I'm starting it with the sole purpose of recording our experiences and growth so that Sydney can read it when he comes home. But if I do have readers welcome to our two year journey of joy and struggles!