Well, I don't have a picture of Sister Hooton here! She never did send me one. If she does, I'll add it. :) Anyway, I believe this is the last Sister I'll be posting... It's sad! I have loved reading everyone's stories, and sharing them with you all! I'm sure that Mo will continue hers, so definitely keep up with her at her blog!
Sister Alisha Hooton
Called to serve in the California Santa Rosa Mission
Did the age change effect you?
The age change did affect me. I turned 19 in December and the announcement was made in October, as we all know, haha. Right at first I didn't even think about it in terms of me going. I have three brothers who are ages 17, 15, and 13 right now who will all turn 18 during their senior years of high school, so I was happy for them knowing that they'd be able to leave sooner if they wanted. I also thought of several female friends who I knew would be starting papers as soon as they could. It took until after the session was over and I couldn't stop shaking to realize that I could fill out mission papers right now. This goes into question number two...
Did you always want to serve a mission? Why/why not?
My plan had been to not think about whether I wanted to go or not until I was old enough, and suddenly, I was! And that thought just wouldn't leave my mind. So it took me about a week of prayer, but I ended up feeling that it was the right thing to do.
Where did you want to be called? Why?
I really wanted to go foreign. Not going to lie, but stateside just seemed so lame.
Was your call surprising? How do you feel about it?
So, when I ended up getting called to the California Santa Rosa Spanish speaking mission, for a split second, I was honestly disappointed. But I was lucky enough to almost immediately be reassured by the Spirit that this was right. And now thinking about it more, I wouldn't have it any other way!
Share an interesting missionary experience or story.
Getting a mission call has opened up all sorts of missionary opportunities! My home teacher in my YSA ward told me that right now is an awesome time to be sharing the Gospel, even before I leave. People hear that I'm moving away for 18 months, and they want to know why. And then you tell them all about the Church and why we serve missions! There's this one girl at work that I was able to do that for, we ended up talking a lot about the church that whole night. While she isn't interested in going much further with it now, she wants to go to the Gilbert AZ Temple open house when it happens (I'm from Arizona), and hopefully, that will open up more doors!
Why are you serving?
I'm serving to help people come to know Christ and the happiness He can bring them. I'm serving because the Gospel is true and I want to tell people. I'm serving so that I can grow and mature, get away from home and challenge myself. I'm serving to learn Spanish. I'm serving because I know it will bless the lives of others and myself.
Any advice for future sisters or girls still deciding?
You are more capable than you think you are, especially with the help of the Spirit. A mission is scary! But if you feel that it is the right thing to do, don't let anything stop you.
Any other thoughts?
One of the girls I grew up with in my ward who's like 4 years older than me got back from her mission to Santa Rosa literally 2 weeks before I opened my call. I feel so lucky to have her knowledge to draw on! I know that the Church is true and I can't wait to help the good California people know that too.
--Sister Alisha Hooton
Check out Sister Hooton's blog here! For more information on the Santa Rosa Mission, check out President and Sister Alba's blog!
Thank you so much to those sisters who were willing to share their stories, and seriously, to the rest of you, just for being great! The work is truly moving forward, my friends. Good luck to all! Make sure to keep checking my "Other Missionaries" list, there are new blogs added all the time!
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