Tuesday, January 4, 2011,
2010. 2010 was crazy. It will forever be ingrained on my psyche as a year of such High Expectations. Never before had I experienced a year with sooo many miraculously high "highs" and treacherously low "lows". I grew more than i could have imagined spiritually and even emotionally, probably socially too....but physically I was worse than I'd ever been (for a few months anyway).
January I went into the MTC and it was incredible!! I thrived! I'd never been in an environment where the Spirit was so concentrated and the people all shared a common goal and purpose! It went by waay too fast and saying goodbye to my compainion Sister Kirkpatrick was not fun...in fact it was terrible! But we kept in contact and she continues to inspire me with her efforts as a missionary in Arkansas/Tennessee!
February I was in Washington! In the Field and ready to harvest!! My first area was Bellingham and it was gorgeous...and huge. Sister Halladay (my trainer) and I had great times where we'd spend the whole day on foot! Talking to everyone we saw and knocking every door! February was also when i started getting my headaches. It started with one, maybe two, a week, then by the end i was having nearly four a week!
March we were transferred to Everson! White washed again! Neither one of us wanted to leave Bellingham...but were forced to because of a creepy man. I cried when we had to leave. Everson was the largest area of my mission-and right on the border of Canada! It was awesome because while we were there they had the Vancouver BC Temple Dedication-and we were able to attend at our church building!
April was the time where I learned about the Atonement and developed a close relationship with my Savior. The day after we were transferred to Everson I got a migraine that did not go away--for 5 weeks and 5 days. No matter what I did (and believe me--i tried EVERYTHING)-nothing helped. During Conference I got a very strong, distinct impression that I would be going home. That broke my heart. I had been having thoughts like that for weeks-but i pushed them away thinking it was the adversary. I was determined to stay! Progressively i got worse-one night i even ended up in the ER. Sister Halladay and I were blessed sooo abundantly that transfer. I learned about true charity and sacrifice and how it feels to come out stronger after you've been pushed beyond every breaking point that you have.
May my third transfer, my third area, my third companion! I was transferred to Duvall and I know that that was divinely inspired for many reasons. Duvall was my Miracle Area. The day after I got there, my migraine went away! I had forgotten what it felt like not to have one! I just kept telling Sister Fish "You have no idea how amazing this is!!" Sister Fish became one of my best friends instantly. We had soo much fun together-talking, walking down the street waving at cars, knocking on doors and planning our lessons--our time together passed much too quickly! This transfer was all about service! Because the rain was starting to let up everyone wanted us to help them with yard work. We must have done an average of 20hs/wk! It felt amazing to be doing service, actual hard physical labor! I loved that ward more than i knew was possible! Then-my migraines came back with a vengeance. I had thought I had passed a test and been given a second chance & would be allowed to finish my mission! But Heavenly Father had other plans for me.
June, I left Washington on the 4th sad to be leaving but wondering what the future would bring. I had planned on serving a mission my whole life and now that it was over i had no idea what to do with myself! Fortunately, I have an incredible support system. I knew, without any doubt, that my family would be ok with me coming home. That there wouldn't be any judging or negativity. When i got to the airport, my family wasn't there! So I picked up my baggage and figured "it was Utah and someone would probably be willing to take me home" All around me people kept saying "welcome home sister!" then they'd look around, wondering why i was all alone...lol Then I saw a group of people gathered around the escalator with banners and balloons. I crept up behind them and asked who they were waiting for? They turned around shocked and confused and amused and my mom wanted me to go back up there so she could film it.
July I became an Aunt to the most awesome, cutest little nephew in the world! Curtis James Kitto was born on the 22nd. That month I also went back to Las Vegas with Alexis to celebrate her birthday-we saw Lion King again and Phantom! It was awesome. Also-my friends were starting to come back from their missions. It was really nice to be able to talk to them about stuff!
August I had a procedure done that severed/blocked some of the nerves in the back of my neck (to prevent me from getting migraines). Not gonna lie, it was pretty excruciating. And I couldn't move my neck for almost 3 weeks afterward. I decided to have this done so that I might be able to go back and serve--or at least live a more normal life. Well...a few weeks after the procedure I got a call from the Missionary Department and they told me that the operation had been more major than we thought and that they were submitting that I shouldn't go back out. That was hard to swallow. That I didn't really get to have a say in the process. But my Stake President said we'd wait till November to know for sure.
September was my Birthday, and being 22 is awkward. I had never known anyone to say that they were 22, only 21 or 23...so it was weird. Oh! And Sister Halladay came home! She helped me feel soooo much better about everything, like she always does, and just put things into perspective. And I helped her adjust with the transition to being home.
October Mom and I went to Disney Land! We had a blast! Alexis and Cameron got engaged! Sister Fish came home from Washington!
November I was officially "honorably released" as a missionary. My heart broke. Rachel got her Mission Call to Chile!
December I couldn't believe that the year was over.
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My name is Kimberly. I love to live & live to love. Passions include music, travel, laughter, & people.