Anticipation

So... I'm getting my mission call this week. I'm praying that it comes on Wednesday (aka TOMORROW) because that works better for the people that I really want there and have already talked to about it. So I'm at work and I can't focus and I don't know what to do with myself..... So I found a list of all 370 missions......

Listed here for your browsing enjoyment:

1.     Alabama Birmingham

2.     Alaska Anchorage

3.     Albania Tirana

4.     Alpine German-Speaking

5.     Argentina Bahia Blanca

6.     Argentina Buenos Aires North

7.     Argentina Buenos Aires South

8.     Argentina Buenos Aires West

9.     Argentina Cordoba

10.   Argentina Mendoza

11.   Argentina Neuquen

12.   Argentina Resistencia

13.   Argentina Rosario

14.   Argentina Salta

15.   Arizona Mesa

16.   Arizona Phoenix

17.   Arizona Tempe

18.   Arizona Tucson

19.   Arkansas Little Rock

20.   Armenia Yerevan

21.   Australia Adelaide

22.   Australia Brisbane

23.   Australia Melbourne

24.   Australia Melbourne East

25.   Australia Melbourne West

26.   Australia Perth

27.   Australia Sydney

28.   Australia Sydney North

29.   Australia Sydney South

30.   Baltic

31.   Belgium Brussels/Netherlands

32.   Belgium/Netherlands

33.   Bolivia Cochabamba

34.   Bolivia La Paz

35.   Bolivia Santa Cruz

36.   Brazil Belem

37.   Brazil Belo Horizonte

38.   Brazil Belo Horizonte East

39.   Brazil Brasilia

40.   Brazil Campinas

41.   Brazil Cuiaba

42.   Brazil Curitiba

43.   Brazil Florianopolis

44.   Brazil Fortaleza

45.   Brazil Goiania

46.   Brazil Joao Pessoa

47.   Brazil Londrina

48.   Brazil Maceio

49.   Brazil Manaus

50.   Brazil Porto Alegre North

51.   Brazil Porto Alegre South

52.   Brazil Recife

53.   Brazil Ribeirao Preto

54.   Brazil Rio de Janeiro

55.   Brazil Rio de Janeiro North

56.   Brazil Salvador

57.   Brazil Salvador South

58.   Brazil Santa Maria

59.   Brazil Sao Paulo East

60.   Brazil Sao Paulo Interlagos

61.   Brazil Sao Paulo North

62.   Brazil Sao Paulo South

63.   Brazil Teresina

64.   Brazil Vitoria

65.   Bulgaria Sofia

66.   California Anaheim

67.   California Arcadia

68.   California Carlsbad

69.   California Fresno

70.   California Long Beach

71.   California Los Angeles

72.   California Oakland

73.   California Oakland/San Francisco

74.   California Riverside

75.   California Roseville

76.   California Sacramento

77.   California San Bernardino

78.   California San Diego

79.   California San Fernando

80.   California San Francisco

81.   California San Jose

82.   California Santa Rosa

83.   California Ventura

84.   Cambodia Phnom Penh

85.   Canada Calgary

86.   Canada Edmonton

87.   Canada Halifax

88.   Canada Montreal

89.   Canada Toronto East

90.   Canada Toronto West

91.   Canada Vancouver

92.   Canada Winnipeg

93.   Cape Verde Praia

94.   Chile Antofagasta

95.   Chile Concepcion

96.   Chile Concepcion South

97.   Chile Osorno

98.   Chile Rancagua

99.   Chile Santiago East

100. Chile Santiago North

101. Chile Santiago West

102. Chile Vina del Mar

103. China Hong Kong

104. Colombia Barranquilla

105. Colombia Bogota North

106. Colombia Bogota South

107. Colombia Cali

108. Colorado Colorado Springs

109. Colorado Denver North

110. Colorado Denver South

111. Connecticut Hartford

112. Costa Rica San Jose

113. Cote d'Ivoire Abidjan

114. Czech Prague

115. Democratic Republic of Congo Kinshasa

116. Democratic Republic of Congo Lubumbashi

117. Denmark Copenhagen

118. Dominican Republic Santiago

119. Dominican Republic Santo Domingo East

120. Dominican Republic Santo Domingo West

121. Ecuador Guayaquil North

122. Ecuador Guayaquil South

123. Ecuador Quito

124. El Salvador San Salvador East

125. El Salvador San Salvador West/Belize

126. England Birmingham

127. England Leeds

128. England London

129. England London South

130. England Manchester

131. Fiji Suva

132. Finland Helsinki

133. Florida Fort Lauderdale

134. Florida Jacksonville

135. Florida Orlando

136. Florida Tallahassee

137. Florida Tampa

138. France Paris

139. France Toulouse

140. Georgia Atlanta

141. Georgia Atlanta North

142. Georgia Macon

143. Germany Berlin

144. Germany Frankfurt

145. Germany Hamburg

146. Germany Munich/Austria

147. Ghana Accra

148. Ghana Cape Coast

149. Greece Athens

150. Guatemala Guatemala City Central

151. Guatemala Guatemala City North

152. Guatemala Guatemala City South

153. Guatemala Quetzaltenango

154. Guatemala Retalhuleu

155. Haiti Port-au-Prince

156. Hawaii Honolulu

157. Honduras Comayaguela

158. Honduras San Pedro Sula

159. Honduras Tegucigalpa

160. Hungary Budapest

161. Idaho Boise

162. Idaho Pocatello

163. Illinois Chicago

164. Illinois Chicago North

165. Illinois Chicago South

166. Illinois Nauvoo

167. Illinois Peoria

168. India Bangalore

169. India New Delhi

170. Indiana Indianapolis

171. Indonesia Jakarta

172. Iowa Des Moines

173. Ireland Dublin

174. Italy Catania

175. Italy Milan

176. Italy Rome

177. Jamaica Kingston

178. Japan Fukuoka

179. Japan Hiroshima

180. Japan Kobe

181. Japan Nagoya

182. Japan Sapporo

183. Japan Sendai

184. Japan Tokyo

185. Kentucky Louisville

186. Kenya Nairobi

187. Korea Busan

188. Korea Daejeon

189. Korea Seoul

190. Korea Seoul West

191. Louisiana Baton Rouge

192. Madagascar Antananarivo

193. Marshall Islands Majuro

194. Maryland Baltimore

195. Massachusetts Boston

196. Mexico Chihuahua

197. Mexico Cuernavaca

198. Mexico Culiacan

199. Mexico Guadalajara

200. Mexico Guadalajara East

201. Mexico Guadalajara South

202. Mexico Hermosillo

203. Mexico Leon

204. Mexico Merida

205. Mexico Mexico City East

206. Mexico Mexico City North

207. Mexico Mexico City Northwest

208. Mexico Mexico City South

209. Mexico Mexico City West

210. Mexico Monterrey East

211. Mexico Monterrey West

212. Mexico Oaxaca

213. Mexico Puebla

214. Mexico Tampico

215. Mexico Tijuana

216. Mexico Torreon

217. Mexico Tuxtla Gutierrez

218. Mexico Veracruz

219. Mexico Villahermosa

220. Michigan Detroit

221. Michigan Lansing

222. Micronesia Guam

223. Minnesota Minneapolis

224. Mississippi Jackson

225. Missouri Independence

226. Missouri St Louis

227. Mongolia Ulaanbaatar

228. Montana Billings

229. Mozambique Maputo

230. Nebraska Omaha

231. Nevada Las Vegas

232. Nevada Las Vegas West

233. New Hampshire Manchester

234. New Jersey Cherry Hill

235. New Jersey Morristown

236. New Mexico Albuquerque

237. New Mexico Farmington

238. New York New York North

239. New York New York South

240. New York Rochester

241. New York Utica

242. New Zealand Auckland

243. New Zealand Wellington

244. Nicaragua Managua

245. Nicaragua Managua North

246. Nicaragua Managua South

247. Nigeria Calabar

248. Nigeria Enugu

249. Nigeria Lagos

250. Nigeria Lagos East

251. Nigeria Lagos West

252. Nigeria Port Harcourt

253. North Carolina Charlotte

254. North Carolina Raleigh

255. Norway Oslo

256. Ohio Cincinnati

257. Ohio Cleveland

258. Ohio Columbus

259. Oklahoma Oklahoma City

260. Oklahoma Tulsa

261. Oregon Eugene

262. Oregon Portland

263. Panama Panama City

264. Papua New Guinea Port Moresby

265. Paraguay Asuncion

266. Paraguay Asuncion North

267. Pennsylvania Harrisburg

268. Pennsylvania Philadelphia

269. Pennsylvania Pittsburgh

270. Peru Arequipa

271. Peru Cusco

272. Peru Lima Central

273. Peru Lima East

274. Peru Lima North

275. Peru Lima South

276. Peru Lima West

277. Peru Piura

278. Peru Trujillo

279. Philippines Angeles

280. Philippines Bacolod

281. Philippines Baguio

282. Philippines Butuan

283. Philippines Cagayan de Oro

284. Philippines Cauayan

285. Philippines Cebu

286. Philippines Davao

287. Philippines Iloilo

288. Philippines Laoag

289. Philippines Manila

290. Philippines Naga

291. Philippines Olongapo

292. Philippines Quezon City

293. Philippines San Pablo

294. Philippines Tacloban

295. Poland Warsaw

296. Portugal Lisbon

297. Portugal Porto

298. Puerto Rico San Juan

299. Puerto Rico San Juan East

300. Puerto Rico San Juan West

301. Romania Bucharest

302. Russia Moscow

303. Russia Moscow West

304. Russia Novosibirsk

305. Russia Rostov-na-Donu

306. Russia Samara

307. Russia Vladivostok

308. Russia Yekaterinburg

309. Samoa Apia

310. Scotland Edinburgh

311. Scotland/Ireland

312. Sierra Leone Freetown

313. Singapore

314. Slovenia/Croatia

315. South Africa Cape Town

316. South Africa Durban

317. South Africa Johannesburg

318. South Carolina Columbia

319. South Dakota Rapid City

320. Spain Barcelona

321. Spain Bilbao

322. Spain Madrid

323. Spain Malaga

324. Sweden Stockholm

325. Switzerland Geneva

326. Switzerland Zurich

327. Tahiti Papeete

328. Taiwan Kaohsiung

329. Taiwan Taichung

330. Taiwan Taipei

331. Tennessee Knoxville

332. Tennessee Nashville

333. Texas Dallas

334. Texas Fort Worth

335. Texas Houston

336. Texas Houston East

337. Texas Houston South

338. Texas Lubbock

339. Texas McAllen

340. Texas San Antonio

341. Thailand Bangkok

342. Tonga Nuku'alofa

343. Uganda Kampala

344. Ukraine Dnepropetrovsk

345. Ukraine Donetsk

346. Ukraine Kyiv

347. Uruguay Montevideo

348. Uruguay Montevideo West

349. Utah Ogden

350. Utah Provo

351. Utah Salt Lake City

352. Utah Salt Lake City South

353. Utah Salt Lake City Temple Square

354. Utah St George

355. Venezuela Barcelona

356. Venezuela Caracas

357. Venezuela Maracaibo

358. Venezuela Valencia

359. Virginia Richmond

360. Washington DC North

361. Washington DC South

362. Washington Everett

363. Washington Kennewick

364. Washington Seattle

365. Washington Spokane

366. Washington Tacoma

367. West Indies

368. West Virginia Charleston

369. Wisconsin Milwaukee

370. Zimbabwe Harare

Where is Selina going on her mission?

Where is Selina going on her mission?: Answer this question: Where is Selina going on her mission?

I hope they call me on a mission!

This is it!!! As of today my mission papers have been submitted to Salt Lake and all I have to do for the time being is wait..... I should get my call either on the 23rd or the 30th!

I'm going to jump OUT of my SKIN! AHHHHHH!

"There shall be no other name given": My decision to serve

As many of you know, I have decided to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I am THRILLED about this opportunity!

For those of you who don't know, this is the run-down on serving a mission:

My family and I will pay for me to leave home and school for 18 months to proselyte and preach about Christ . I don't know where I am going yet but I could be called just about anywhere in the world, speaking any language.

When I told a few of my friends, their first response was "You're never going to graduate!" I just laugh this off. It's true that I probably will not get my undergrad until I'm at least 26, but I personally don't see the point in rushing through school. Anyways, the point of this rambling is that I'm not concerned about how long it will take me to get through school especially when I the things I am doing are far more important than grades and age.

But WHY?


"And moreover, I say unto you, that there shall be no other name given nor any other way nor means whereby salvation can come unto the children of men, only in and through the name of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent" Mosiah 3:17





That is why. Because Christ payed the ultimate price for us to achieve salvation. Because of the Atonement Jesus Christ completed everyone has the opportunity to improve and really become something better. We can become clean. In a world that constantly bombards us with filth and things that bring us down, I want to share the light the the gospel offers. There is light, peace, and strength that comes in the gospel and from faith in Christ that cannot be duplicated. Because I have the knowledge of eternal life and of Salvation. Because we all, regardless of life situation are spirit children of our Heavenly Father and we have a divine heritage. Every person has potential to progress. I feel that hundreds of thousands of people are living day to day without a true knowledge of who they are. I want to share the greatest gift that has been given to all mankind.  The gospel is the center of my life and I know that it answers the deep questions that, without the knowledge of the plan of salvation, would plague us. I want to share the hope that Christ brings into my life and bring others unto Christ so that they can work for their salvation and experience all the gifts that God has for them. 


This decision did not come easily at first, but now that I have realized that this is what I am supposed to do I can't help but be ecstatic about it! With the exception of my testimony of this gospel I have never felt so sure about anything in my life. 

Because the sunshine is different in California

Ah.... Dear blog readers,

I just want you to know that when I have free time it is WAY easier to Pinterest than it is to blog. Sad, but true.

So I have spent the last week or so hanging out in California for a much needed break. This last semester really tried me, but I adapted and survived, THANK GOODNESS. And actually the grades just came out and I will say that they were not as bad as I was expecting.

First of all, I drove down to California with a boy that I had only met once for about 5 min. Colton was one of Ioua's groomsmen and he is one of the craziest people I've met. He was practically bouncing with energy the ENTIRE drive down. I spent about ten  hours with him and I will testify to that. Anyways, he got really excited about driving through Vegas so we drove down the strip and even stopped to walk around for a bit. I'll admit, my fear of crowds got the better of me so I stuck pretty close to him but I had a lot of fun! I also didn't expect to feel like I was back in Russia, but I found myself pulling out the "Ice Queen" face that I learned in Russia. Regardless, I had a lot of fun stopping on the strip and I don't regret it.

The "Cool" shades picture

So I maybe liked our detour adventure a little bit...

So after our little adventure we got into Yucaipa about 1am where McKay and Ioua picked Colton up from my house. I got to sleep around 2am because I had to take care of some things. The next day was my BIRTHDAY! so Launa (my sister) came over from Arizona and make me baked french toast with strawberries! yummy!

Birthday morning with Crazy Person hair:)

Dad likes it when I come home too

Anyways breakfast was SOO SOOOO GOOD! I loved it. I went to Six flags with Colton, Colton's friend Arleen, McKay and his room mate Omar. There were nearly NO lines. The longest line was for X2 and it was about a half hour long. 

longest wait of the day

"I want to go jump in the "O"!"

Epic end of the day shot

My legs were BURNING hot on this stupid bear, but you know? I don't regret it :)

We rode about 7-8 rides and repeated Goliath and Tatsu... My two favorites:) 

When I got home we had DELECTABLE cheesecake that Jed made for me:) Also topped with strawberries. My family knows how to celebrate!

22!!

Summary: My 22nd birthday ranks among my best birthdays ever! SO great!

The next few days were also fun: BBQ at my grandma's house, Brunch in Pasadena with Alex (friendship going strong after 8 years), Ioua's wedding and lots and lots of fun!

CUTE

I love America

First time grilling hamburgers

Alex and I- laughing at our attempts to take a picture of us:)

California has been incredible:) sorry this blog post was so long with so little actual stories....

Hopefully I'll update soon:)

I don't like to post some things in my facebook status...

Dear Mom,

This morning, I miss you a lot.
I am counting on the fact that in the eternal scheme of things this really will be "but a small moment".
I love you.

Forever,


your Lina

Dear Mom

Dear Mom,

Here are some things that I would have liked to call and tell you about recently....
1) I have a new favorite flower!!! It's called a Persian Buttercup. Though you probably already know what they look like I'll show you anyways:

The best part is that they come in yellow a lot!!! I made an arrangement with them as my primary flower for floral design and it's been my favorite so far.

2) We started learning how to Polka in my dance class! It was hilarious at first but soooo much fun! We were all sweating at the end of that class.

3) Daffodils are blooming everywhere and I think of you always. I miss you and I love you. See you soon!

Siempre con Amor,
Selina