I spent quality time with my moms side of the fam & let them all know about me serving an lds Mission hoping that they would be supportive (their all Catholics) & surprisingly enough they all lovingly encouraged it. They all told me that I seemed much older this past year with how much I've changed for the better. My mom's Uncle Nick happened to call me from San Diego & tell me
-"all of you girls have always been beautiful but now I hear on the phone all that beauty in your heart, you seem very happy and determined about this path!"
It felt so good to have so much love & support for making this huge decision im set out for. The Vaughn family got me new stuff for my Mission that all really humbled me. I got a plaque that they made saying:
"Scars remind us of where we have been,
they don't have to dictate where we are going"
It meant a lot to me being how I've had a difficult past & come so far since then. I also got a brand new set of Scriptures & a nice carrying case that I will be able to mark prepare for my Mission. I got a picture of two sister missionaries in their apartment and they are studying before they go out. The sister in front of the mirror is standing with a Book Of Mormon in hand and her reflection in the mirror shows that shes wearing the armor of God with a golden sword in her hand. It really touched me & gave me a sense of bravery that hit home. My mom got me numerous pictures to bring with me of my favorite Temples, blocks that say BELIEVE AND CHRIST I WILL NOT FAIL THEE. I also got a picture of Christ with my favorite hymn lyrics "I Stand All Amazed" im all set for the inspiration I need to get out there when the time comes & be surrounded by things that will help keep me motivated. Ive never felt so much love from all the family & friends I shared Christmas with. The Sister Missionaries, Sister Page & Sister Morris, also came over to Brookes with me and we made deserts for families that we teach. I feel like I've been happier this Christmas because ive done more service for others & I saw the impact it made on me. Justin was away in Ecuador with his friend Adam & they were visiting the humble families down there & having a good Christmas so I was grateful for him to be able to do that. Gavin & I went and took his new long board out for a test run and we went til the sun went down.
I've gotten very close with the Sister Missionaries. We have covered a lot of territory & taught many great people. We have taught the guy from my work & now his desire to learn has grown. I now have another person from work who is interested in gaining a testimony of the church & im going to set him up with some Missionaries.
I've met with the Bishop weekly about everything & its been a blessing to have such an amazing ward supporting me along the way. Work has had its up's & down's here & there because people get stressed out too easily & takes it out on co-workers which creates some tension. I do my best to keep the peace & im still adjusting to everything. I've got my business license now & im technically an Independent Contractor/Secretary. The pay is nice to have & its a flexible work place so thats good. School has been stressful only because with College they always give you work as if you have no other life. It keeps you busier than ever & the whole process of things takes a while. I'm still waiting on my financial aid to process all the way & classes have already started. I just hope to gain a greater knowledge of things & do my very best. I've decided to go into Teaching Arts. I have realized the benefits that come from teaching when you plan on having a big family. I want to also get my Masters one day in Psychology & work with young adults. Little by little im adjusting & figuring more out about myself & my capabilities or interests.
Our funny song: "Twilight - what have you done to my wife." has been a huge hit. Created by Brookes husband, lead singer: Mike Seely of ShallowDay put it all together with us. We made the funny music video to go with it, played it at the theater, put it up on itunes & youtube, then BAM. It's only been a week & we have had over 110,000 views! Sunny radio 106.1 actually played it today from so many requests & I have a feeling that will only continue. ShallowDay consists of Mike Seely, Wes Vaughn, & Justin Vaughn. Everyone that knows them loves them. They are all very down to earth guys with loads of talent and the band is more of a side-project for them but music is their passion so with the popularity growing so is their push to success in that area. You can check out their music on Shallowday.com.
I'd be lying if I said I haven't struggled without Justin with me anymore. December & January have been a rough transition of everything but all in all we have talked often & truly feel nothing but loving concern for eachothers well being. We both care greatly for eachother but we both know that we have a lot of growing to do still at these points in our lives. We talk often as close friends & we are both just bettering our lives, supporting one another along the way. I look back on little things we used to fuss about in our relationship & laugh. We were just being so silly & stubborn sometimes. I suppose we would throw a gaurd up once in a while considering how much we have both kinda been hurt in our pasts. Im happy to say amongst the silliness we had millions of great memories laughing & sharing special moments. We both were in eachothers lives for the time that was needed then to help push each other to our next chapters of our life. Im so grateful for Justin Milo Vaughn for the good guy he always is. I've learned so much looking back on my life this last year. I've learned how constant change is & its not to be scared of but its to be embraced. Each new change has its benefits for us if we will only trust in the Lord to guide our paths. Im grateful now for the relationship Justin and I now share because its healthy & its right for now. We are both great people & I know the Lord will bless us as needed according to his timetable & plan for each of us.
I have met some really inspiring people lately. I also have the tightest group of girlfriends I've ever known and each of us have a background we all can relate to & be proud of how far we have all come through all of our different hardships. Makayla, Kierstie, Michaela, Lisa, Danielle: you girls mean the whole world to me. I honestly trust them with my life. We are constantly encouraging each other in all things to do better and be strong. They are the ones that make me laugh when I feel like crying & understand me. I have also recieved emails, texts, voicemails, etc from people I hardly know that have told me Im making a difference in their lives in someway & that they actually look up to me... im like WHAT?! is that even possible? I never thought I would hear that from peers of my own age range any time soon but I assure you that each compliment has boosted my drive to want to serve a mission. I have been made humble through others appreciation for me. I give credit where its due and I testify that everyone is at their best when they are spiritually humble & close to Heavenly Father. Therefore, the reason I have been blessed is because of the good that I am doing, the reason I have been inspiring others through my example is because im living right in order for his good works to be noticed through me. All good & light cometh from God, so again I say I give credit where its deserved & he is the one deserving of the credit. I could not of changed my life around for the better if it werent for his mercy & love for me all this time. I could not be such an example to others if it werent for the great knowledge ive gained from this true gospel. I'm now able to radiate the peace i've found to others & I can't say how grateful I am for that. Many beautiful girls have come to me exclaiming that I've gave them the extra encouragement to serve missions themselves & my happiness overflows when I hear that.
I just got back from a weekend trip with a great group of friends to Anaheim, California.
We went down this last weekend to get away & have some fun.
Friday we gathered everyone up in Dallas Knox's shuttle van & headed for California. On the way there, the roads were covered in snow I couldnt believe my eyes! Trucks were all wrecked off the side of the road and accidents all round about but with all of our faith,
we were kept safe & made it perfectly to our Hyatt hotel in Garden Grove. We all read scriptures at night & shared neat experiences of all were grateful for & got a good nights rest to wake up & head to Huntington Beach!
We ate the best Sushi in the whole world. Its was literally heaven!
It was by far the most beautiful sunny day & the waves were huge. We met some cool people, saw some wierdos (which I love because their entertaining) & played some Sand Volleyball. We enjoyed ourselves there til we had to head to AMA Supercross at Angels Stadium. Let me just say there is NOTHING else like Supercross in Anaheim,
it was an experience of a lifetime for me. The next day we all got ready in our Sundays best, checked out, & headed for the nearest Church but we just missed the Sacrament so we got directions to the nearest Singles ward at 1:00 pm. I'm so grateful that we went because it was an awesome experience. California is FULL of beautiful people but its even better when you meet a large number of beautiful people that share your same beliefs. The Church was right next door to the Newport Beach Temple and it was gorgeous! We took so many pictures. After that we all decided to finish off our day with some time at Newport Beach & the best seafood ever! We rented Beach Cruiser bikes and all of us took a ride down the beach side & had fun in the sand.
Lets just say it was an incredible trip, beginning to end & im so glad it all worked out. A group of us came together for a time in Cali, bonded & made some great memories to look back on.
Before I finish this blog I guess I should finish with part of an awesome talk the Sister Missionaries gave me...
The Best Is Yet To Be:
"To yearn to go back to a world that cant be lived now, to be
dissatisfied with present circumstances & have only dismal views
of the future, & to miss the here, now & tomorrow because we
are so trapped in the there, then, & yesterday are somewhat sins."
"Faith builds from the past but never longs to stay there. Faith
is for the future ahead. Faith trusts that God has great things in
store for each of us & that Christ truly is the:
"high priest of good things to come" (hebrews 9:11)
Keep your eyes on your dreams, however distant & far away.
Live to see the miracles of repentance & forgiveness, of trust &
divine love that will transform your whole life today, tomorrow &
forever. That is a New Year's resolution I ask you to keep. I know
that even though it may take much time, with Heavenly Fathers
help, we can let the past remain in the past & smile on the future!"
- Jeffery R. Holland
This has greatly helped my life this week. I hope that you can take
in all that it says and that it can bring you comfort too.
thanks, love you all,
ashley ann gillum
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