Encircled About Eternally In The Arms of His Love

The title of this blog post comes from my favorite scripture, 2 Nephi 1:15 which reads:

"But behold, the Lord hath redeemed my soul from hell; I have beheld his glory, and I am encircled about eternally in the arms of his love." 

Every time I read that scripture I picture a big warm hug, or a big blanket wrapped around me.

As most of you reading this know, I returned from an LDS mission to the Georgia Macon and South Carolina Columbia Missions in July 2012. Ever since my mission, I have missed it, and longed to go back to experience all of the things that were a part of my life for 18 months.

A "special" part of being a missionary is the clothes you get to wear. The young men are in a white shirt, suit and tie every day of the week, while the young women wear skirts and blouses or dresses. While the majority of the clothing I wore on my mission either doesn't fit, is worn out, or is... not so fashionable anymore... I haven't been able to bring myself to get rid of very much of it. Besides the things I left behind to companions still serving, I don't think I've gotten rid of any of my missionary clothes.

In January, before leaving for Colorado I had this BRILLIANT idea to make the clothes into something unique and beautiful so I could cherish the memories I had in them. I enlisted my AMAZING friend Allison Dalling to make a project with these clothes. I found a pattern-ish that I wanted it to look something like, dropped a bag of clothes off at her house, and went along my merry way.

I had no idea, 3 months later when it was complete how beautiful it would be and how sacred it would feel to me to have the best 18 months of my life preserved for myself and for my posterity.

Here is my beautiful mission quilt! 

                                       

•  Above we can see one of my favorite polka dotted skirts! I wore it to the Prompt Care when my leg was swollen to 3x it's normal size due to a poisonous spider bite in my last month as a missionary!
• The paisley skirt was a Christmas gift from my parents.
• Hands on Greenville Day T shirt given to me by the amazing Day family from Greer, SC. Brother and Sister Day are super generous and always made me feel like one of their own when I got to spend time in their home.
•  The famous Piggly Wiggly! This shirt was given to me by the Harbor family when I spent Christmas at their house calling home and experiencing my very first Tim Tam Slam! 
• Finally, we can see a t shirt given to me from Selereen, the matriarch, if you will, of the Soram family... An amazing and humble family from Pohnpei, a little island in Micronesia. I only had the pleasure to meet their family three times but i can never forget them and their generosity. Many members of this family have been baptized because of the amazing faith of Sister Madi Chai and Sister Ronda Mae Graves to go and talk to them, even with a major language barrier. Truly the Spirit can put words (even in foreign tongues) into our mouths if we but open them! 
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• The famous I heart SC shirt from Charleston is shown here. Sisters Wright, Graves and I wore these matching T shirts often as our PJ's when we were on special assignment to go on exchanges throughout the mission and help strengthen and encourage the Sisters.
•  The pink damask print skirt was one I wore to both my farewell talk and my very first baptism (Makia Brianna Williams). 
• The Billy Elliot t shirt was sent to me from my sweet parents when they went on a trip to London while I was away serving. I am grateful for their love! 
• My very favorite PINK cardigan is shown with the buttons still intact on the left. Cardigans truly are a Sister's best friend ;) 

• The Georgia Bulldogs shirt was actually purchased after my mission, but I knew it needed to be included to represent some of the most amazing times and miracles that happened the 6 months I served in Augusta, GA!
• The piece of gray material comes from the skirt I wore the day I was endowed in the Denver Colorado Temple, in preparation to serve as a full time missionary. 
• So Fresh comes from the greatest little yogurt place Tutti Frutti. So many fun memories visiting with our YSA investigators and recent converts... and here's a little known, but highly factual bit of knowledge: If you eat frozen yogurt for dinner you will ALWAYS lose a pound the next morning. 
• The mustard yellow fabric comes from a sweater given to me by the beautiful and generous Sister Rachel Brand, who never let me leave an exchange without giving me a gift. The greatest gift was being her companion for 6 weeks and now calling her one of my best friends for eternity

• Southern Girl T Shirt... what a gem! I wasn't born in the South, but I got there as soon as i could 
• Another awesome button up shirt (Go missionary style!)
• The Tutti Frutti logo from the So Fresh T Shirt, The Pig, and a turquoise shirt from my mom.
• The red and black plaid was the skirt that I wore the day I flew from the MTC into the mission field. It was Valentine's Day so we all decided to wear pink and red to celebrate. :) The moment I stepped off that plane in Atlanta I knew the South was where I was meant to be! 

One of the most beautiful and special parts of the quilt is the block that chronicles the dates that make up my mission. Also, the fabric that these words are embroidered on comes from a pillowcase sent to me by Sister Laura North. She, having never met me, let me become a little part of her family while I was serving. She and her sweet family sent me gifts and letters throughout my mission, and encouraged me to be the best missionary I could be. I am thankful to "know" her, and for all of the people in my life who have blessed me so immensely! I loved my mission, and the things it taught me, and the testimony it helped me gain truly is who I am and who I will always be. I am proud of who I am, and I am proud to stand as a witness of Jesus Christ in all that I do. I am grateful for selfless individuals, such as Allison who worked so hard to make this so beautiful for me, and for all of the beautiful people who are now a part of my life as a result of my mission!

When I feel the memories of my mission, wrapped up in this cozy quilt... I truly feel EXTRA encircled about in the arms of my Savior's love.