Still Excited!!!!

Ok, I am totally excited for this mission thing!!!! As it is slowly getting closer I am getting more and more excited!!! I have spent a lot of time researching the area, and it is so beautiful. I thought I would share some really pretty pictures of some of the areas I may have the opportunity to see!!!

Birmingham England!!!!!!!!

Wow! I got my mission call last night!!!!! We tried to web cam with Jess and Cari and Mom, dad and Aubrey. It took a while to figure out but we finally got it! Then I opened her up! It said I was called to serve as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I would be assigned to labor in the England Birmingham Mission!!! I report to the MTC in Preston England on October 31! I can't believe it! I am so excited to serve a mission, and go someplace I've never been before, and I won't have to worry a ton about not knowing the language!!! It includes Wales, and I've heard Welsh is pretty tricky to understand! Also English accents are way cool! This is so amazing, and I am so excited to get out there!!! If you have any good mission tips let me know!!! I know in the MTC I can only write letters, and I am not sure about the mission field. If you want to write me a letter though, I am pretty good at getting back to people, we'll have to see what this mission schedule allows though. My address is...

Sister Andrea Winn
England Birmingham Mission
187 Penns Lane
Sutton Coldfield
West Midlands,
England B76 1JU
United Kingdom

Pretty long I know. I just thought I would share the great news!

Update

I talked with my bishop on Sunday and he told me that the stake was searching high and low for my papers and they were no where to be found. Bad news. But... I had a thought in my mind that my old bishop may have kept a copy of these documents that were lost. I expressed this feeling to the bishop, so he went to look in my file. Lo and behold, there were the copies. I ran super-quick over to the stake offices (as fast as I could go in heels) and gave them a new copy of these papers. So, as of last night they were able to go in. I am not sure when my papers will go in for real, but it should be the next few days. THEN I'll get my mission call. I am so incredibly grateful that Bishop Hardy kept a copy of those little guys. I am expecting to get my call by next Thursday or so, if not I'll call the stake to see how things are going. So now the dilemma is over and I am SO glad. It was lame. Turns out the same thing, or at least similar thing, had happened to my bishop, my brother, and to a boy in my ward, so they all understand my feelings. Also lots of other people that i don't know I bet. Well, that's the update!!!

Lost...

So the newest development in the mission area is this: my mission papers have yet to be turned in. I had supposed that they were turned in on June 22. Today is July 12. This morning my bishop informed me that he found out that the stake had not sent in my papers yet. Funny how that happens, I called the 23 of June to make sure that they submitted them, and according to them everything was turned in just fine. Apparently, one of the men who works alongside the stake presidency was supposed to mail in my medical and dental paperwork. Didn't happen. He went on vacation or something... I wasn't paying much attention at this point. All I know is that this fellow thought he had my papers in one briefcase, when he looked, they were not there, so he is supposing that they are in his other briefcase. If not, I'll have to get new papers filled out by the doctors and dentist. I have yet to be informed of the current status of this man's briefcase examination. He may find them today and send them in, in which case, all is well. I may, however, find out tomorrow that he can't find them, then the real work begins and it may take a good chunk of time to actually get these forms. Then they'll call me on a mission. Right now I'm sort of angry, and the more I think about this problem the more angry I will get I think, so I am trying not to think about it. This happens all the time I am sure, so others know just what I am going through, my bishop for one. My brother also had to wait a ridiculous amount of time to get his mission call. So, I guess all my frustrations have been sufficiently vented. My papers will eventually get turned in for real, and I will eventually find out where I am going and when, then I will go. And do.

Pretty Girls

So, the Winn girls have this amazing trait of being able to make possibly the ugliest faces known to man. You'd think we look so nice and normal, until now...

Fourth of July Pictures

Fourth of July Jubilation

I went home for the lovely holiday of Independence Day. It was very interesting to think that I might miss next year's Fourth of July if I happen to get called to serve outside the United States... interesting. Anyway, it was a super-fun weekend, the fam went to Wallowa Lake near Joseph Oregon, and it was beautiful. We went boating, Aubrey learned how to wakeboard, and I attempted (unsuccessfully), and we saw some real neat stuff. Here are my pictures!!!