One Week Down & Loving It!

Well I have made it through the first week, and yes I have had good days and not so good days but I am seriously LOVING being a Missionary girlfriend! Dakota is doing great and absolutely loving his mission! I am so happy for him and so very proud of him! I have never felt so strongly that I am supposed to be with him then while he has been on his mission! I know it has only been a week but I just cant deny the feelings I have been getting.

I have already seen so many blessings come from him serving the Lord. And not just for him but for me and his family as well! It really is amazing to see the hand of the Lord in the lives of missionaries and their loved ones! There really is no denying this gospel is true!

Its crazy to think that I have made it through the first week! It seems like nothing! And it feels so great to say that I only have to do this 103 more times! And to some people that might seem like a lot but to me it doesn't! I feel like counting the weeks is much easier than counting months or days. But that's just me, its different for everyone. But seriously, I am loving this whole experience so far and cant wait for what adventures are ahead! Good luck waiting! <3

The Church is True, I'll See You in 2

Well, he is in the Philippines! But first lets review the last few days before he left.

First...his farewell talk! It was on September 8th and he did AMAZING!!! He really is such a great speaker and when he is talking about the gospel there is no denying the spirit in the room! With all that being said I would like to add that I did NOT cry! I was very proud of myself! But little did I know that the water works would begin a few days later.

This is a picture of us after he gave his talk! :)

 

 

Then a few days later on Tuesday, he was set apart as a full time missionary. I help myself together pretty well for the majority of the day! It wasn't until about 2 hours before we went to the church that I started to lose it. But as usual, Dakota comforted me and helped me feel better. However, once we got to the church and his bishop and Stake President asked me how I was, the tears instantly started! And I know that a lot of MG's don't go into the room when their missionaries get set apart, but I am so glad that I did! It was such an amazing blessing!! And even just listening to it gave me comfort.

 

 

And here is the newly set apart Elder Crisp with his Stake President!

 

 

Leaving after he was set apart and not being able to hug or kiss him was by far the HARDEST part of this journey so far! I cried....no I sobbed the whole way home and for most of the night. Then I had to wake up at 3:00 am the next morning to go meet him at the airport. Surprisingly I didn't cry at all at the airport.

 

 

He was super excited to be going to the Philippines!

 

 

I was excited for him too! But the one thing I wasn't looking forward to....

 

 

The dreaded hand shake...which actually wasn't as bad as I expected!

 

 

 

After he checked in, we had a little while to wait before he had to go through security. So we just got to sit and talk, and honestly that was so nice! But after a while, it really was time to say "See you later" for 2 years.

 

 

And then I had to watch him walk away, whistling.

 

This was extremely hard! And I help back tears as he walked out of sight. For the next 2 days was depressed.  But I was tracking his flights so I knew where he was which did help  a lot. So I prayed for comfort and to feel at peace while he is gone, and I instantly felt better! Heavenly Father does hear our prayers and answers them! And then to make it even better, Thursday night I got my first  email from him!!!!! It was really short, but I didn't care! I was happy to hear that he made it and that he is liking it already! I wasn't expecting an email until next week so it made it even better!!!

 

 

So, I am officially a Missionary Girlfriend and my wait had finally, officially started and I couldn't be happier with the decisions he is making! I am so proud of him! 7,350 miles don't have anything on us!!! Here's to the next 730 days...bring it on! :)



The Time Was Already Short...And it Just Got Shorter

The time I have left with my almost missionary is getting shorter and shorter everyday. But it was just recently cut much shorter than was expected and then I want it to be! I originally thought that I would be spending almost everyday with him up until he leaves, but yesterday that hope was crushed! For starters he just started working at his old job to earn a little bit of extra money for his mission, which is a good thing but now he will be working 5 days a week, 8 hours a day. That shortened my time. AND it was planned that when I go back to California next week for my moms wedding he would come with me. But that got shot down when his bishop said that he needed to stay here and go to the temple a lot and get in the right mind set for his mission. So basically I'm not too happy with his bishop right now! So that is a WHOLE week out of the 18 days he has left that I wont get to see him, I wont even be in the same state! And to top it all off, his last week here he will be in Provo and I will be in Layton with my dad. And who knows how often I will be able to see him that week. So its safe to say that I am sad, angry, frustrated and disappointed at this point. :(

There are times when I just wish that he would leave sooner, just so my wait can officially start and he can come home sooner. But I do know that it is important to make the best out of the time we do still have left together, no matter how short that time is. Many other MG's have told me that the waiting to wait is the hardest part. And boy do I believe it!! I didn't realize that this part would be this hard! But I am hoping that because this part is so hard that the rest of this journey wont seem as bad as the beginning. I know that the first few months he is gone are going to be very hard, and will take a lot of getting used to, but it will be so worth it. And time will actually pass even when it seems like its not. I am trying so hard to be positive about everything, but right now even that seems difficult. I pray for guidance and strength to get me through this journey from beginning to end, and learning and growing a lot on the way.

Missionary Bear!!!

Yesterday was so amazing! :) So I have wanted a missionary bear ever since my soon-to-be mish got his call, and yesterday it finally happened! And to make it even better...it was a total surprise! :D So this is what happened...

Yesterday Dakota and I decided to go to the mall. He told me there was something he wanted to look for in GameStop (not my favorite store) he knew that I wasn't the biggest fan of that store so he told me to go ahead and shop around in the stores I wanted to and he would meet up with me when he was done. So off he went and off I went. And we just happened to be in the mall that had a Build-a-Bear which also sold the missionary outfits (yes we are in Utah lol) And while I was shopping I was secretly hoping that he would make me one and surprise me with it, but I didn't get my hopes up. So after a while he called me to ask where I was. I told him that I was just waiting in line to check out and that I would be done in a few minuets. So I walk out if the store and he called me again because he couldn't fine me lol! So he walks up to me holding something behind his back and says "I have a surprise for you!" I got really excited!! He then hands me the birth certificate from Build-a-Bear! I was SO happy!!! Then we went and sat on a couch so he could take the bear out of the box to show me!

 

Cutest bear EVER!

 

I could not stop smiling!!! He then showed me that he put a voice recording in it so that whenever I miss his voice I can hear it though my bear! So when I squeeze its hand in his voice it says "I love you Princess and I'll see you soon!" At this point I was trying to hold back tears of joy! :')

 

 

 

Love this little guy! <3

 

Now, when Dakota leaves little Elder Crisp here (the bear) will be my cuddle, hugging, kissing, crying and "anything else I would normally do with Dakota" partner! haha :) And I think its safe to say that I will be one of those girls that is overly attached to my bear! And I don't even care!

 

 

 

I love Dakota so much! And I am so thankful that he listens to me and thinks of my needs, and what will be of comfort to me while he is faithfully serving the Lord and the people in the Philippines for 2 years! The wait may be hard at times but it will be so worth it! I am so in love!!! <3

 

39 days until he leaves.





 









The 1st of the farewells

Today was Dakota's (soon to be Elder Crisp) first of 2 farewell talks. Since we are from California but have been living in Utah for the past few years, while we have been in California visiting Dakota was able to give a talk in our home ward. He will be giving another talk in his ward in Provo closer to his departure date. But I am so proud of him and how far he has come and all the trials he has overcome to get to this point! And I am pretty proud of myself for making it through his whole talk without crying! :)
   These past few days I have really seen the Lords hand in my life and how much he loves his children. Dakota and I were planning on driving back to Utah tomorrow morning (Monday) but I ran into some car problems and now our trip has been delayed a few days. At first I was so discouraged and frustrated and all I could think was that Satan was trying his hardest to make things difficult for Dakota and I to get back to Utah so he could finish the last few things he has to do for his mission. But today after his talk I realized that everything I thought was going wrong was really a HUGE blessing in disguise! Because of my car troubles, we were able to have an open house for Dakota after church. I have never felt so blessed and so loved from my Heavenly Father and the people in my ward as I have today! So many people were willing to donate money to Dakota to help him on his mission, since he has zero support from his family. All of the financial worries we had before are completely gone! All because these people know how important missionary work is. I am so overwhelmed will joy, happiness and love! I love my Heavenly Father and Savior, I love this gospel, I love the members of this amazing church, and I love my soon to be missionary! I honestly don't have the words to describe exactly how I am feeling, except that I have never felt quite like this before! My testimony and faith has been strengthened so much today, and I couldn't be happier!!! <3 :D

Waiting to Wait

June 12, 2013 is when my "unofficial waiting for my missionary" began. That was the day Dakota received his mission call!

I had just got to work when he called and told me that it came. I honestly thought he was joking! But after a little convincing and A LOT of freaking out I knew that it had actually come! Unfortunately I didn't get off work until 5:00 and once I got off I still had to drive all the was to prove....in traffic to watch him open it. Let me just say, longest day at work EVER!!!! But, I finally made it to his apartment to see where the Lord had called him to serve! As he opened his call we were both kind of freaking out. I honestly don't know which one of us was freaking out more! (probably me) Then after was seemed like forever he finally read....

Dear Elder Crisp,

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 Philippines Angeles Mission. It is anticipated that you will serve for a period of 24 months.

You should report to the Philippines Missionary Training Center on September 13, 2013. You will be prepared to preach the gospel in the Tagalog language.

 

 

                               We were both pretty excited!!! And still freaking out about it!

 

 

 

And that brings us to where I am today, Waiting to wait for my missionary! I know that once he gets out in the field he will do amazing things and bless the people of the Philippines so much! And he in turn, will be blessed for his hard work and sacrifice. :)

 



 

Our Love Story

It all began back in June of 2011. Dakota and I started hanging out because of mutual friends, one of which who started bringing him to church. We became fast friends! And it didn't take long for me to start liking him as more than a friend. I only hoped he was feeling the same way! For almost a month we just hung out as friends, but I was hoping we would become more than friends. Then Father's day came around and since my dad wasn't home and I knew his wasn't either, I texted him to see if he wanted to come hang out. He said he would but our other friend Shawn was over at his house and they were watching movies. But me knowing the way to a man's heart (his stomach) told them that if they both cam over I would make them strawberry shortcake. The response was "we're on our way!"
So when they got to my house I made them their dessert and we played board games and watched movies for hours! At around midnight Shawn said that he had to go home. So once he left Dakota and I were by ourselves. We continued to talk for another 3 hours! Finally at around 3:00 am I was so tired and I told him that I needed to go to bed. I was expecting him to just hug me and leave but that is not what happened! He began to clean up al the games, I told him not to worry about it and that I would take care of it. He insisted on picking them up so I let him. Once he had finished we hugged goodbye...but this hug was special, it lasted for 5 minuets! Literally, I could see the clock the whole time and I times it! We then looked at each other, and I was praying that he would kiss me. The he whispered "I'm just gonna go for it" AND HE KISSED ME! It was the best kiss of my life! I knew that there was something special about this guy. When he left I was smiling. When I went to bed I was smiling. When I woke up I was smiling. :) :) :) So a few days later on June 25th, we were having a bon-fire with some friends and we made it official! And we have been together ever since! We have definitely had some ups and downs, but that's normal. But through everything we are even more in love than I ever thought was possible! I LOVE DAKOTA ARTHUR CRISP!!!! <3

Our first picture together!

July 2, 2011