"Lasts"

Pre-mission life is hard. You want to get in as much as possible before all the restrictions and boundaries are drawn. You have all this time where you don't know what to do with yourself. Some people work, some people are extremely focused, some go to school, some hangout with their friends or family as much as possible, some spend as much time with their girlfriend or boyfriend as they can, then there are always those kids who date as much as possible just to get a few extra girls to write them.  You don't want to be alone for 4 months before you leave so you reach out and befriend the people around you; coworkers, class mates, old friends, new friends, friends from sports and neighborhood friends. Goodbyes become something you dread.

You get stuck for a period of 2 to 4 months, knowing you're headed of to a place where everything is different. Where you're going to experience some of the craziest, hardest, or most uncomfortable and awkward things of your life. You're planning all your "lasts". You get in your "last" family vacations, your last "hangouts", your last "girls' nights" The world will keep progressing while you're gone and the only way you'll find out the tiniest bit of information of whats happening at home is through your parents.  People say they'll write you. And they do. On and off for the first 4 or 5 months. 

 Its a strange feeling. Knowing that youre experiencing all your "lasts" for a year and a half. So many things that I do on a daily or weekly basis are going to dissapear in 48 hours. All my habits are about to change, all my passions are going to be put on hold, or at least reduced to something I may only do once or twice a month. Ive had my last midnight lemonade run. Ive had my last longboarding session around the river. Ive had my last day on the lake. I drove down sunnyside for the last time. I saw my friends in Logan for the last time. I'll watch my last movie, Ill listen to my last Alt-J song. FOR 18 MONTHS. Its surreal. For the big things im thinking "Sure, this is my last time passing through Utah for a year and a half." "Sure, this is my last time hugging my niece for a while." But I won't realize most of these times until they're over. In a few days I'll say "Oh, I didnt think that would be my last lunch date" or "Woah, that was my last soul sesh with my brother for a really long time." It's the weirdest thing. Its surreal.
Well, this is my mission blog, and today I'm saying goodbye to all my "lasts" and looking forward to all my "firsts". 

I cant wait for the first time I lay my eyes on Ecuador. Im excited for the first time i feel confident in my Spanish. Im excited to get to know my first companion, give out my first Book of Mormon, and watch my first Ecuadorian sunset. On my mission I'll live in humid conditions for the first time, eat guinea pig for the first time, hear the sounds of a rain forest. I'll live in conditions that I've never experienced, I'll get to learn the stories of the older generations and teach the younger generations. I'll work as hard as I can every single day, praying for the people I encounter, loving them with all I've got, and in a year and half, the things I cant fathom i'll encounter now, will be the things about Ecuador that I'll dread doing for a last time.

Con Amor,
(Future Hermana) Brittany Nicole Johnson