My next step was asking myself when I could start my papers. I was in college at the time attending BYU-Idaho. At first, I thought I had to wait until April to turn them in, but a girl at church mentioned she was going to start hers in April and that her birthday was in August. My birthday is in July which meant I could start mine a month earlier than planned!!! I finished all of my paperwork and medical/dental stuff within a week and a half. I was set to go by March 5th. I went and had my interview with my bishop and he told me I had to wait until the 18th of March to turn my papers in. I wanted to know where I was going right away!! I was a little upset, but the wait was worth it. Once March 18th came around, I was in the Taylor building at the school anxiously waiting to have an interview with my stake president. I had never even met him before the interview which was different for me. He welcomed me in with a warm smile and a firm handshake. The first thing he said to me was, "You will baptize so many people in the Philippines with that blonde hair and beautiful smile." (He was once a mission president in the Philippines). I awkwardly laughed and said "thank you" as I thought to myself, "This is it, Gracie. You will be going to the Philippines!" (boy, was I wrong) We went through the interview process pretty quickly and made small talk. After it was over, he looked at me with tears in his eyes and said, "Sister Platt. You deserve to go somewhere amazing. Your Heavenly Father is so proud of you. It's great to see young people like you willing to serve our Lord." He was so sincere and left me with a smile on my face the rest of the night. I HAD DONE IT. MY PAPERS WERE IN. THIS IS REALLY HAPPENING. I thought as I walked out of the building with chills running down my spine.
**April 4th (thursday)***
I had classes all day until 1 in the afternoon and wasn't expecting my call until the next day. I was getting groceries for a picnic when I got a phone call from my roommate/best friend Lexie Reategui. She said that our friend Jack Champion's call was "in the building" and that I needed to come home and check the mail to see if it was there! I started to scream and freak out as I hurried home. I went to the mailbox and sure enough, the beautiful white envelope was there with "Sister Gracie Platt" written on it. I jumped up and down and my face turned all red from happiness and I honestly couldn't contain it. I went around my whole housing complex just telling everyone that I got my call and the majority of the people I told I didn't really know. I was just too excited. I called my parents and told them and my dad said, "I just had a feeling it would come today. I just knew it." ha. Father knows best! I told my siblings and we all decided to open my call at 5. I HAD TO WAIT 3 HOURS. It was torture. My friends decided that I should probably get out of the house and go to the park and get my mind off of it so I didn't go crazy. We had a picnic and played frisbee which was so much fun. I couldn't stop smiling. Finally, at 5 o'clock, my family got on skype and Annie and Ryan came over (It was their anniversary). I stood in the corner of the room filled with people that I loved as I quickly opened the envelope. As I read, "You are assigned to LABOR in the ALABAMA BIRMINGHAM mission"I KNEW that this was the place I was supposed to go. It all made sense. I would of never thought I would of been called there, but when I really think about it, it really is PERFECT for me.
Heavenly Father truly knows where we need to go and He has prepared people for me to teach. I cannot wait!! I hope I come back saying, "y'all" hehe. I will report to the Provo MTC on August 21!
God is SO amazing!!! :) His work is progressing and I'm so glad that He trusts me to serve those in Alabama.
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