Time is Flying By!! Oh... and I got my VISA!!!

Hey everyone! So time has been FLYING BY!! For reals though! I have under 37 days left till I leave for the MTC and it's really hitting me that soon I will leave my family and friends for 18 months! I called a few days ago to the incredible missionary travel services to confirm my itenerary and ask a few questions and turns out that they recieved my Visa just a a little while before I called! I was so excited! So now that I'm closing in on just a little over a month left I have been doing my best to spend as much time as I can with them:) My family and I took some really cute photos over the weekend and it made me realize how grateful I am for technology(especially cameras).

(from left to right: Ashtyn, Me, and Alyssa) Funny Faces:) 

My and my beautiful sisters and our horse of a dog, Samson (or as I like to call him, Seabiscut) 

Me and Lyssa Gyssa:) 

Me and my mommy:)

My parents and I:) 

Me and Ash. Love her:) 

 As missionaries our technology is limited so we can focus on the work and service we are doing but as of recently we are now allowed to email friends and investigators (we were already allowed to email family). I also found a few new friends on Facebook who are going to the same mission I am and was able to find a few that have already gone to my mission who have been giving me tips which is really cool! I really feel like this is going to change how people look at missions and that they will be much more prepared going into the missions now that we can come in contact with those who have already served in our individual areas! I also found a video on one of my new friends' fb that hilights the Bolivia Santa Cruz mission (even though I'm not going there it offered some insight into what Bolivia is like....oh and there is a really cute monkey towards the end). Check out the video below! 

http://player.vimeo.com/video/10656361

Continuing on with technology, I have been extremely impressed by the Mormon Messages that have been realeased by the church! They have made my teaching the Young Women in my class so great and have really brought great messages and the Spirit to the lesson! I watched one last night with my family that I had seen a few times before in seminary and Sunday school a few times but it left me in tears last night! It really hit me that I'm leaving soon and will be blessed to get to work for what I believe in! It made me really sad to see his whole family in tears as he was headed to the MTC and it made me think of how my family will react.  I am getting more and more excited every day to serve the people of Bolivia! 

Check Out the Mormon Messages Video below! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEIhhTQ1w10

Chipmonk cheeks, discovery, and 40 day COUNTDOWN!

This week was...interesting. Interesting considering I slept through most of it. That's right, you guessed it, it was the week I got my wisdom teeth out. I have hilarious pictures and videos to prove it but I made my family promis not to post them ANYWHERE! Don't worry you're not missing out on much:) I did indeed get beautiful chipmonl cheeks that are finally going down after 5 days and thank heavens for Advil Liquid gels for getting me through this week! For Reals Though! 

I was lucky enough to feel well enough yesterday to get to go work an event for my dad's office (he's a chiropractor). It went way better than any other event has ever gone! Normally we have only a few people sign up and make appointments, but, we had a TON of people sign up and we have some promising leads for future events! 

I also met a really nice guy who was working a booth and we got to talking about my wisdom teeth. One thing led to another and we started talking about how I am going on a mission. Turns out he is LDS! We had a wonderful covnersation and he gave me some great tips for going on my mission:) It was when I was reading my scriptures that night that I had an epiphany in regards to how the day was going! 

I have had so many missionary oppourtunities and learning experiences that have taught me so much since I've gotten my mission call! I also didn't have better outcomes at our event because I worked more or less than normal. I had better outcomes because Heavenly Father is already blessing immensly! I have been getting so much out of the scriptures recently and I've found patience, courage, faith, understanding, and missionary moments in life every single day. It has been keeping me motivated and focused on eternal perspectives! I cannot wait to get out into the field and teach people about my faith and how they can feel such immense and expounding love from our Heavenly Father and His hand in our lives in every little moment and detail. 

Oh and last, but not least... I HAV E 40 DAYS LEFT! 

xoxo

Hermana Schylar Tarvin

It's the little things ♥

I wanted to share a quick story with you all because I thought you'd might appreciate it as much as I did! I was having a garage sale this weekend (p.s. I'm not the biggest fan of garage sales, but, was trying to have a good attitude .. ha ha) and this little Hispanic woman walked up to me to purchase something and asked me if I was LDS because I was so nice(no, really....that's word for word what she said:)). I said I was and that I was going on a mission to Bolivia. She started telling me about her daughter that was on a mission in Albania then started telling me about her conversion story. 

 She was originally from Guatemala but moved in with her sister in L.A. as a single mom. The missionaries met her on the street and she started taking the lessons. She was baptized and has been an active member ever since. She then told me that she was introduced to her husband through the missionaries and they now have been married for 17 years and have 7 children. She told me she has been trying to find her missionaries for years to thank them for bringing her to the gospel and she told me that someday someone will look for me to thank me for helping bring them to the gospel. 

By the end of her story I had tears running down my face. How could it be that I got to meet this amazing woman and hear her story on a random day (when let's face it, I wasn't in the best of moods because of the garage sale). It was then that I realized I had been feeling the Holy Ghost so strong I had goosebumps. I realized that this was not a simple coincidence that this incredible sister stopped at my garage sale and asked me if I was LDS because I was so nice. This story changed my life. It really put things in perspective for me and made me realize that even though we (as missionaries) don't truly convert people to the gospel because the Holy Ghost does, that we are tools in Heavenly Fathers hands to help convert them and bring them to the one true gospel so that they may enjoy the blessings of it. I am so blessed to have this gospel in my life and I am grateful that Heavenly Father puts experiences in our lives so that we may gain a personal account to build our testimonies and faith. It's because of experiences such as this one that I personally can say that I have a true testimony of this beautiful gospel and all of the blessings it brings:) 

I seriously am obsessed with David Archuleta's version of Be Still My Soul:) I've become a bit attached I think because it was one of the things that helped my through some of the obstacles leading up to decided whether or not to go on a mission! He has such an incredible voice and I really look up to him as an individual in this gospel! Check it out:)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p92fMgMt_Zw

Enjoying the Journey!

So lately I've been up to a lot! Now that most of the prep is done for my mission, I've had a lot of time to think about what it's actually going to be like and how I may or may not be prepared to serve the Lord, yet, every single time a thought comes to mind about not being prepared or worthy enough to teach people this gospel I instantly think of that undeniable, comforting, burning desire that I felt whenever the
Prophet, Thomas S. Monson, made the age change! As I've been reading my scriptures, studying Preach My Gospel, doing family history work, and praying more and more I've come to a realization. I can come up with a million ways I am not good enough, but, I am a daughter of a Heavenly Father who loves me and would never give me an opportunity to even have an experience such as this unless I was worthy! Having these doubting thoughts has only now strengthened my testimony in knowing that as missionaries, we are only tools. I know it's well known that the Holy Ghost does the converting and I guess for me it took an experience such as this to strengthen my testimony of that! I am not perfect, but, I know that Heavenly Father loves me and has a plan for me (and my personal ideas and timing of how my life is meant to work out isn't necessarily part of the bigger plan.) I am so lucky to have this gospel in my life and I cannot wait to serve my fellow men!

         *The beautiful LDS Mount Timpanogos Temple*
Only 61 more days and I will be off to Bolivia! So this time has actually been flying by pretty fast! I was so incredibly blessed to have a rather spontaneous trip to Utah. I got to visit my amazing family and was able to go to the Mount Timpanogos temple with several of my aunts, my mom, and my grandparents. It was such a wonderful Experience and being only my second time through I really felt the spirit as strong as I did the first time. It was such a beautiful memory that I wouldn't give up for the world! I do have to admit that leading up to our afternoon session, we had a pretty crazy day! One of my aunts wasn't feeling well, there was kind of a snowstorm (no biggie), my cousin got sick on a run so we had to go find him to take him home, and my knee got slightly jammed in a car door. Nonetheless we made it to the temple and that is all that matters! No matter what came in our way, the ultimate peace that came from being able to go to the temple just made it all worth it! So for all of you (fellow) future missionaries out there do not get discouraged. Don't let all that extra time between getting your call and arriving at the MTC get you down or let it give you anxiety. Just know everything happens for a reason and enjoy the journey:)