Speak Up Marissa!

As odd as it is to think, I was a shy person at one point. I still kind of am! I don't like by any means getting out of my comfort zone. But 3 words have changed that. Told to me by one of my best friends, and missionary out; Adam. (I miss that kid SO much. But I'm so happy he's doing the Lord's work.)

I would say things to him in public but I would be way quiet, almost a whisper. Finally, he got so sick of it that every time I would he would say loud; "SPEAK UP MARISSA!" At the time I would be so upset at him thinking "Get bigger ears then!!" But now I realize the significance of three words.

Since then, I have become more vocal. I'm more passionate about things I love. Such as the Gospel. It's definitely one of my favorite things to talk about with people. I honestly am so glad I made the decision to SPEAK UP. I honestly don't think that would the testimony I do today if I didn't. I also don't think I would have the crazy friends that I do either. (I mean you've got to be heard with those people;))

So let your voice be heard. Be happy about who you are. Love yourself.

~I firmly believe when you Speak Up you become the person God wants you to be. And that makes Full of Smiles.~

EFY 2014- Promise Bound!

So it's been a while since I've updated this thing. Here's the adventures of EFY. (Obviously.) 

Aviators selfie.

Love me some ginger.

Wahoo!

Leif and Hunter! Hunter's face is pretty funny in this picture! I'm pretty sure I called Leif "Leaf" at least half the time. I'm not blessed in the area of remembering names well!

Trina and I! She's so funny!

Pterodactyl! We are so hot. 

This is pure awesomeness. 

Swedish twister!! That looks amazingly uncomfortable.

Love Kelci's face in this picture. 

EFY dances rock!!

Oh ya know, just stuffing a whale in the trunk, no biggie. 

Our sweet company flag!

Spiritual Thursdays with some of the coolest people around.

Selfie in a selfie!

Kennedy and I both have brothers on a mission! We both wear a piece of jewelry to remember them an that we also have a work to do!

#sistersofamissionary

Some cool kid named Jonah that was in the Variety Show and it was a must that he get his picture taken with Whalebert.

Variety Show practice!

Whitney, Ariana, Me, and Kelci with Whalebert before the Variety Show. We did a Disney Lipsync and "dressed" up or attempted to as the Disney princess. (Whit-Meg from Hercules, Ariana- Belle from Beauty and the Beast, Me-Mulan from well Mulan, and Kelci- Ariel from the Little Mermaid.)

Last day Aviators selfie!

'Stache Selfie

I love Julia! This girl was seriously one of the coolest people I have ever met! 

This is how we 'stache!

Cool company!

I was far too lazy to go through the pictures I had so this is what happened...

Girls yo.

Love these girls! 

And boys. 

                                                                   Selfie-ception

Loved Stacey!

And because Kennedy's face is awesome in this. 

The last escort!

Post dance sweaty-ness...and photobombing. 

In-n-out, because why not? Everyone and their dog was at Jake's Over the Top. So we switched it up!

I failed to get a good picture but, it had said "Come in for a faith lift." I laughed a little too hard at that every time I saw it!

Final goodbyes!

Some of the best people you will ever meet.

My group of girls! Love them all so much!

*Thanks to Kennedy for more than half of these photos!
**EFY is truly the best!
***But really.
****A random girl came up to me at the dance and said that I look like Mulan--basically made my LIFE!!!
*****EFY is something you'll never regret experiencing.

~EFY brings me closer to my Savior and Heavenly Father and Mother every year. I will never regret going and being able to meet the people I do. I LOVE EFY!!! It's a week Full of Smiles! Can I go back??~

Every Seed Has Potential to GROW.

During Sacrament meeting I typically ready my scriptures but today was different. I decided to read the New Era. In it I found an amazing article. (If you want to read it it's in this month's New Era--July 2014-- and is titled; "Abandoned Seeds in Rocky Places."

The story starts of a 14 year-old Elder Kevin R. Duncan of the Seventy. He grew up on a farm and one day he heard a commotion down the road. He goes down to find a truck driver who carried large bags of seeds and one bag had fallen out of his truck. The trucker got out of his truck and saw the bag of seeds in the new tar just put down a few days before. He then decided it would be too much to pick up and drove away angerly. 14 year-old Kevin didn't see a need for that and picked up the seeds and put them in a bucket. His father gave him a small part of the farm to plant his seeds and over time pea grew. The bag was so full of peas that produced many peas that even through his mission his siblings would be able to plant and still have seeds produced to eat.

Elder Duncan believed that every seed was valuable no matter if it had tar on it or not. And I believe the same. Sometimes we can be thrown from the truck and feel as though we are stuck in the tar of our mistakes. But it's amazing to see who and what we can become. Our journey may not be in the circumstances that we desire but we are all each even a part of the farm on this earth. It's up to us weather or not we are going to  thrive or not.

~Every seed has potential to grow and that makes life Full of Smiles.~