Wow! 6 days to go! :)

I promised before that i was going to tell you guys how i decided that i wanted to go on a mission. well here it is:

Life was going great but I felt like I had hit a wall! I had a job and it was great I was having fun and making good money, my grades were getting better and I was getting over my school slump that I was in. Then one day it started to hit me. I was sitting alone in my apartment watching conference Oct 2011 and it seemed like everything was talking about Missionary Work. At that moment I was completely against going on a mission. I thought that it was just for those women that didn't get married. At that moment I completely threw the idea out of my head. I had a few other small instances where I felt that i should be going on a mission but I always said no... I didn't want to go on a mission and I was completely blocking that idea from my mind. Then one day I was sitting in sacrament meeting and there were really great talks being given! Again I got the feeling that I should be going on a mission or I will miss out on a great opportunity. I felt like god was telling me it was my decision, but he wasn't going to be able to"ok heavenly father i'll go on a mission" For the closing hymn we started signing "i'll go where you want me to go" and I just broke down crying! My roommate asked me why I was crying and I just turned and told her, "it's cause I don't want to go on a mission". She laughed and gave me a hug. Of course now i'm really excited but it's funny how our heavenly father has things planned for us, even though we ourselves don't know yet. I'm so grateful for the gospel and the blessings it's brought to my life, and i'm excited to share it with the people of Russia!

Hey guys here is my address that I will have while i'm training at the MTC. You can use deareleder.com to send free mail. I will have my sister post my PO BOX number when I arrive at the MTC!
I love hand written letters and packages as well!

MTC Address:
Sister Laura Chavez Tedford
Russia Moscow Mission
Provo Missionary Training Center *
2005 N 900 E
Provo, UT 84604
United States

*PO Box to come after I enter the MTC!

Only 14 days to go

<3 Laura

I've been reading up on what to expect at the MTC and what my schedule will be like and I ran into this. Let me know if it's not accurate!

I can't believe in just 15 days ill be at the MTC! I don't know how i'll do with the language! :s Russian seems soo hard! 

Does anyone have any tips for me? What should I do before I leave on my mission? How to prepare?

Hey Guys:

I started this blog so that i can keep you all informed on what is going on during my mission! I will be leaving for the MTC (Missionary Training Center) on April 24th! That's only 16 days away! I can't believe the time has finally come! I am nervous and excited at the same time! The funny thing is, i've been away from BYU-I for about 3 months already, and I am barely feeling the "I miss it so much I can cry" feeling! I think it's somehow also linked to the mission nervousness!

I am so thankful to our heavenly father for the opportunity to let me serve the people of Russia! Let me tell you a little bit about how I received my mission call. I had just returned from a long day out with my cousins (we had gone to this theme park called "Chapultepec Majico") I was exhausted, and as usual I logged on to Facebook, I then noticed that I had a few E-mails. I opened up my E-mails and started reading them all. The last one was an email that said "Sister Tedford, Congratulations on your new assignment. We are happy to have you in our mission, here is a welcome packet that will give you helpful information about the Moscow, Russia Mission." I was in a bit of a shock, a lot of things ran through my head at that moment, and one of them was that someone was playing a joke on me. I slowly stood up and got my parents attention. I told my dad "um, dad what is this" I showed him the E-mail and he started flipping out. He started saying someone was joking with me, and he started to pace back and forth not knowing what to do. I checked the E-mail address it had been sent from and it was a @ldschurch.org address. My mom was really excited, but my dad could not believe his eyes. He ran into his office and turned on Skype and CALLED RUSSIA! Luckily the hour difference is of 9 hours so it was 9 AM there. He got in touch with the mission president's secretary, she told my dad that yes, I would be serving in Moscow, Russia. Our whole family was so surprised and we said a prayer and thanked heavenly father for this great blessing. Later I received my actual call, but i already knew haha.

I'm grateful for the opportunity and for the blessings from Heavenly Father.

Ps. Next time i'll tell you why I decided to go on my mission!

<3 Laura