She has grown a foot or two!

When I was 10 years old I had 3 brothers. For the longest time I had the desire of having a sister. 

I will always remember the Sunday she was born.

 A family friend pulled me out of my Sunday School class. 

My parents had not even told him if the baby was a girl or a boy.

They were calling me on the telephone at church so that I would be the first to know that I had a baby sister. My desires became a reality! 

I have had the privilege of watching her grow up these last 19 years. Independent, strong-willed, faithful, diligent, hilarious, capable, goofy, talented. These are just a few of the words that describe her beauty. 

When Shannon was preparing to receive a mission call she had an interview with the Stake President.*

I wanted to share a portion of that interview that my sister shared with me.

Stake President: What if they send you to a humid place?

Shannon: I guess I would have frizzy hair.

SP: What if they send you to a cold place?

S: Then I will get a jacket.

SP: What if they send you to Baton Rouge, Louisiana?

S: Oh perfect, I am learning French, I can make it better.

SP: Oh, well, what if they send you to an English speaking mission?

S: President, I speak English, that's fabulous!

SP: So if I tell them you would be willing to serve anywhere you would be good.

S: Definitely!

I wish you could hear her tone in the text. Shannon's desire is to serve the Lord wherever he may send her.

Where is she going you ask.

"Dear Sister Clements,
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 New Zealand Hamilton mission!!
I'm Going to NEW ZEALAND! I report straight to the MTC in NEW ZEALAND! I leave august 1st! I am ready to get out there and serve the Lord!" 

Ever since she has received her mission call she has been researching everything New Zealand and the people who live there, learning of their culture. You can imagine the response that she gets when she says she will be in New Zealand for her mission. "What a dream mission!" For her though it is not about the place she is going to. For her it is the purpose of her service and who she will be serving. Her dream mission is going wherever the Lord wants her and being in his service.**

*In preparing for a mission applications are filled out and interviews occur. The Stake President is a local leader overseeing several congregations in a geographical area. 

 

**As a sister in the LDS church it is not a requirement to serve a full-time mission, but if you have a desire to do so and feel that is a purpose you are to fulfill you may do so. The principle I think Shannon so well demonstrates is that sisters in the church can all fulfill a dream mission if we strive to be where the Lord wants us and in his service whether or not it is a call extended by the church to go to another location.