Well I think it is time...

I have been wanting to blog for sometime, but I really haven't known where to start or what to say. Coming home from a mission is a very weird experience. I had heard that I was going to be hard and I would be awkward, but I didn't really know how hard it would be or just how awkward I would end up being. My mission meant the world to me and I really can't imagine my life without it. I don't think I would be near the person I am today without it....in fact I know I wouldn't be. By going on a mission I learned so many things and I think that is what I want to blog about today. The blessing/lessons learned from going on a mission. It will be hard to keep it short, but I will try to sum it up in just a few things.


The main thing I learned that has really changed my life and the way I think about things is the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I mean before my mission I thought I knew what the Atonement was and how it would help me, but really I had no idea. Thanks to a companion of mine I was able to come to understand so much. We were able to read "The Atonement and the Journey Through Mortality" by Elder David A. Bednar. That is when I realized that the Atonement covers so much...in fact it covers EVERYTHING in my life. The enabling power of the Atonement is the only was I was able to do the things that are asked of as a missionary, and that is the only way I do things now. I am so glad that I was able to come to know my Savior in a better way and truly come to find out that he is really there for me in so many ways. There are days I wish I could personally go to Elder Bednar and thank him for the perspective he was able to give me because of that talk. If you personally are struggling your life or want to know more about the Atonement I would highly suggest reading it. I know my Savior lives and he is there to help me so much in my life. I am thankful for his sacrifice so that I could live the life I have now. I don't think I will ever be able to repay him for the things he did for me. I will be in debt to him for eternity, and I am totally ok with that because I know he is always there for me.




The first blessing I believe that I got was gaining a love for the scriptures. I am ashamed to say that I didn't really know the scriptures before I left. I mean I had read them and studied them through seminary, but I never really did it for myself until I went on a mission. I don't think I can really put words to how much I love the scriptures now. They really are the words that heal a wounded soul, and help you find answers to the questions you have. The stories in the scriptures are a blueprint for our lives. The stories found in them can guide us to know what to do in our lives. There is so much power behind the scriptures. I mean just think about The Book of Mormon. When someone comes to know that the Book of Mormon is true they come to know that Jesus is the Christ and that the church is really Jesus Christ church. There is no other book that can give you that result. I love the Book of Mormon with my whole heart. It has changed my life and it has changed the lives of so many people. What a blessing it is to have the Book of Mormon in our day. I know it to be true with all of my heart.




I just want to add one last thing and then I will end this post. I came to understand and love the Doctrine of Christ. This one is one of the things that is both a blessing and something I learned. The Doctrine of Christ is the basic units of the church, and it is how we can access the most beautiful thing in the gospel, the Atonement. I am so blessed to have the mission president that I did to teach me how to learn to love this and to take it from my head to my heart. When I came to learn how to do that my mission was changed and so was I. I could go on and on how important these basic things are and why they bless our lives, but it is something that we need to learn for ourselves. The best thing I can tell you in that I know the basic things are what make the difference and I know that the Doctrine of Christ is what will bless our lives more than most things in our life. I know it is what helps us change and become more like the Savior. It is how we can submit our will to the will of the Fathers.

Like I said before I am so glad that I served and I could go on and on about it, but I will end there for tonight. Thanks for reading!

Mission Address

Here is my address feel free to write anytime! Thanks for all the support!

MTC Address-

Sister Caprice Little

MTC Mailbox # 189

IA-DMOIN 0125

2005 N 900 E

Provo, UT 84604-1793

Mission Address-

Sister Caprice Little

Iowa Des Moines Mission

8515 Douglas Ave Ste 19

Urbandale, IA 50322

Why I decided to serve..

I know I have already blogged about this, but I was asked to speak in my ward here in Logan a few weeks ago and the topic was why I decided to serve a mission, so here is my talk that I gave....Hope you enjoy

When I was 16 I received my patriarchal blessing. I was ready to hear what the lord had in store for me. I remember hearing things that just brought tears to my eyes, and then there were things that I could only hope would come true. Toward the end of my blessing I remember the patriarch saying the word missionary. When I heard this I was a little terrified but instantly I thought “that is talking about when I serve a mission with my husband.” Well at least that is what I was hoping for. As a young teenage girl I was not even going to think of serving a mission by myself…. I would TOTALLY be married by 21. (boy was I wrong) After some years had passed and I had started to understand my blessing a little more. The line that contained the word missionary came to me quite frequently. I remember thinking that I was crazy to be worrying about a mission when I was a senior in high school, but the lord brings us things at times when we need them most. There was one day that I was really hung up on the thought of me serving a mission and so I decided that I need to talk to the Lord about it. I knew that he would give me strength to understand what I needed to do. That night I prayed that I would know that if a mission is something I should even consider in my future. That next day in seminary was a powerful day. We had the opportunity to listen to the teacher share their experiences that they had on their missions. Now you can say this was coincidence but I took it as an answer from my father in heaven. I knew right then that someday I needed to serve the Lord. I wasn’t sure when it was going to be but I was going to serve.

This may sound a little weird to you that I decided my senior year in high school I was going to serve, but I knew it was something that I needed to do. I had to put my trust in the Lord and follow what I felt my patriarchal blessing was saying to me. Our blessing can be such a strength to us. I encourage you to read and study yours monthly or weekly if you can. If you have not received yours strive to get it as soon as you feel ready for it. There is no age limit.

Father’s day two years ago I was asked to speak in church with my friend, his dad Kevin had said that he would come listen to the both of us speak in church. At this point Kevin was not a member of the church, and wasn’t really interested in joining. As my friend was leaving another ward he felt as though he should call his dad to see if he was ready to go to sacrament. Kevin told my friend that he needed to come home because he thought he was having a heart attack. At this point my friend raced home as soon as he could. Shortly after he got home Kevin was raced to the hospital and was taken into great care. This was a scary time for most people that knew this family. After much arguing from some non member family members my friend was able to give his dad a blessing at the hospital. This made a world a difference in my friend and in his relationship with his father. Kevin didn’t end up having a heart attack but this experience opened him up to the gospel more. Kevin started to come to church more and more. We all wondered what was going to happen when my friend left for his mission. If the letters from a missionary would change this man or not. My friend left February 2 for his mission….a short two weeks later he returned back home one last time before he left for Hawaii to baptize his dad. Kevin now is in the high priest group presidency and is a faithful member of this church. He is one of the greatest people I have ever met.

I tell you this story because the change I saw in Kevin made me want to serve a mission even more than ever! There are people out there just like Kevin who need the gospel in their life, and it just takes the right amount of time and the right person to get them there. I honestly can’t wait to go help people make this change that Kevin has made.

We don’t need a mission call to Iowa to make a difference in people’s lives. We can do that here in Logan or our home towns. People are out there for us to reach. I guess that is the main reason why I am serving a mission is to go reach those people and help them find the happiness and hope I get from this gospel…

Thanks for Reading!!

It shows in your face

You don't have to tell how you live each day;
You don't have to say if you work or you play;
A tried, true barometer serves in the place --
However you live, it will show in your face.

The false, the deceit that you bear in your heart,
Will not stay inside where it first got a start;
For sinew and blood are a thin veil of lace --
What you wear in your heart, you wear in your face.

If you life is selfless, if for others you live,
For not what you get, but how much you can give;
If you live close to God in his infinite grace --
You  don't have to tell it, it shows in your face.

USU Basketball Game

This was the most intense thing I have ever been to......I LOVED IT!!! I am glad we beat BYU....Man it felt so good! ha I am sad that I won't be attending many games this year due to the fact that I will be in Iowa, but for now I am going to live it up as much as I can! 

Well I don't know what else to say except for....

I LOVE USU BASKETBALL

THE END

 Karly and I

 We are excited to be in the game FINALLY!!

Scotsman 

I am an Eagle

"I will choose to associate with people whose lives and lifestyles I admire. If I associate with chickens, I will learn to scratch at the ground and squabble over crumbs. If I associate myself with eagles, I will learn to soar to great heights. I am an eagle. It is my destiny to fly." -The Traveler's Gift by Andy Andrews

I have realized lately how much my friends mean to me. They are such a great strength to me and they support me in whatever I do. When I went through the temple a few weeks ago many of my friends traveled great lengths of time just to be there with me. That means the world to me that they would travel to just come support me. These girls have been with me through the thick and the thin and I am going to truly miss them as I go out and serve the Lord, but I know this is what I need to be doing.

They are my eagles and they teach me how to fly to great heights. 

This past Saturday I was going to go to Ephraim and Richfield to see some of my old roommates and friends. Friday night I was having some doubts about going, but I just pushed them out because I really wanted to go see my friends. I was planning on leaving my house around 6:30am so I could get there at a decent hour. Do to being out late Friday night I was just going to wake up at like 6:15 and get on my way. When my alarm went off I didn't want to wake up just yet, so I turned it off. I ended up waking up about a half hour later. I rolled out of bed and slowly started to get ready. (which is unusual, because normally if I am running late I rush to get ready. And then get on the road shortly after) Well when I got upstairs I noticed my parents weren't awake yet. Which is also weird cause they wake up at like 6 every morning. Well shortly after I started to get ready my mom had woke up and was starting to make some breakfast. I went into the kitchen after I got ready and said 'I was leaving' and she said 'no I made these pancakes you are going to eat some.' So I obeyed and ate my breakfast. Shortly after I finished I said that I was going to get on the road. When I finished saying that my sister, Crystal, called and said she had heard that there was a wreck in canyon. She just said that it was a semi that had jackknifed. When I got off the phone with her I called my roommate Shacari and told her what I found out. We then started to think of a plan. We talked about just meeting in Provo, but we didn't really know what we would do there. Because of this we decided that I would still just meet them in Ephraim. I told my parents that I was leaving and off I went. I only got to Shacari's grandparents house before I was at a dead stop on the freeway. Like people were just parked on the freeway waiting, so then I called my mom and told her. She said 'well wait it out for as long as you can and then you might just have to come home.' Well as I was talking to my mom Shacari called me and said 'Caprice turn around RIGHT now. You are not coming down here the roads are way too bad.' Now I trust Shac and what she tells me, so right then and there I turned around not even questioning her. When I got home I instantly felt that I had made the right decision and I was so much happier just by making that one action. Anyway...when I get home my family got a phone call telling us that one of the guys in our ward was involved in car wreck that morning. We almost instantly knew that he was involved in the 25 car pile up plus 4 semis. We didn't know his condition except that he was in the hospital. My dad called down to the hospital a few hours later and they had said that Roger had been released. So on Sunday my dad went over to see Roger but he didn't answer the door, and so later that day Roger had called my house saying he was sorry he couldn't get to the door fast enough to talk to my dad. This gave my mom the chance to ask him what happened...he proceeded to tell her that he was about the 21st car and he saw the wreck and he started to slowly break but still managed to hit into a semi. There was a car behind him that however didn't break and smashed into the back of him. He then told my mom his injuries that weren't as bad as they could have been, but then my mother being the wonderful lady she is asks him what time he had left his house. He told her that he left his house around 6:30!!!!!!! When I heard this I about died! If I would have woke up on time to go to Ephraim there is a GREAT chance that I could have been car #20,21,22,23,24...who knows what would have happen. I really don't ever want to know what would have happened if I would have left on time that day or continued on when Shacari told me to turn around. 

You may wonder why I brought this story up when I was talking about friends, but I feel like my friends played a big roll in my life. I am grateful that when I am stubborn and don't listen to the spirit that I have friends that will rise up to the occasion and tell me what to do. I feel so VERY blessed to have the friends I do that surround me. I don't think I would be the person I am or the missionary I will be without these girls! They truly are EAGLES and they have definitely raised the bar to make me a better person. I will never be able to repay them...

I am so very blessed

Love you girls

Boredum

As I wake up in the morning and roll out of bed,

I realize it is only Monday and I am already dead. 

Before I know it, it is twenty after and I need to make a dash,

for I can't be late to my class.

As I try to stay awake through my next two hours,

I just imagine myself running through a field of flowers.

To my temporary home I must go,

As to which roommates will be home I do not know.

I sit home and wonder what I could do,

Maybe I should color a princess picture or a few.

After I am done with that I will break out the fun,

and stop being such a nun.

No I don't mean drinking beer,

For my behavior for a future missionary would not appear.

I suddenly hear a noise at the door,

That must be Erin to come play Nintendo 64.

This is our life as of now,

I believe that it isn't much more exciting than that of a cow.

All we do is game all day and night,

We are starting to become a terrible sight.

Our hair is in knots, our face is out of whack, and our eye are starting to become blurry,

and this is all happening in such a hurry. 

Maybe we should stop this new addiction,

Or our life will start to become a prediction.

This life we are living is starting to become kind of scary,

Maybe we should go back to watching Perry.

I guess what I am trying to say here is we have no life,

and we need to get one if we would like to become a wife.

That is still down the road a few years,

So lets live it up and not drink any beers.

Play Nintendo, Eating Candy, and Having fun with roommates,

is how we celebrate.

So this is it for now,

go and milk a cow!

Have a great day!!!

(This was a pointless post...Sorry)