As I was an EFY Counselor this summer and preparing to go volunteer in an orphanage in Zambia, I remembered why I love the gospel so much and how much joy came into my life when I was focusing on bringing myself and others closer to God. I started thinking about John the Beloved and the three Nephites and how they are still tarrying around on this earth until the coming of Christ. Their sole purpose in this life is to uplift others and proclaim the gospel. Honestly, that is ALL I want to do... even if it is just going about restoring hope that there is still good in this world, I want to spread that light...the light of Christ. One day I was so tempted to just get down on my knees and ask God if I could just be one of them. I thought to myself "Well, I'll do the closest thing that I can do right now!"
SOOOOO...
Family and friends, since I personally converted at age 16 to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I have always wanted to serve a full-time mission. I tried going on a mission a couple of years ago, but the timing was not right. But after having been through life changing experiences, I have had an even deeper longing to dedicate my life to the Lord. When a woman marries a man, she takes upon the name of her husband. This symbolizes commitment, love, loyalty, devotion, eternity, united as one... I realized I already had a name! At baptism, we take upon us the name of Jesus Christ. When we are baptized, we are committing ourselves to Jesus Christ. We are promising to always remember Him and that we will be His disciple. I have been baptized and I took upon the name of my Savior. The most important relationship I will ever have is the relationship I have with my Father in Heaven and with my Savior Jesus Christ. 
Many people have asked me how and why I am so happy and optimistic... It really is because I am a Latter-day Saint, a Mormon. Dallin H. Oaks, a modern day apostle once said: "Knowing what my Savior did for me - I feel privileged to make the small sacrifice in His service. I want to share the understanding He has given me." This is how I feel. The timing is finally right and I feel so strongly that I am meant to serve my God and my brothers and sisters. This is why for the next 18 months I will be serving as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Santiago, Chile!
For more information on my faith, here are some awesome resources to turn to:
- www.lds.org
- www.mormon.org
- My personal profile on mormon.org
- Click here to receive a FREE copy of the Book of Mormon
My only means of communication will be through letters and emails - I HOPE TO HEAR FROM YOU!
My contact information from September 2014 - March 2016 will be:
Email address: nusly.phillips@myldsmail.net
Letters & Packages:
Hermana Nusly Phillips
Chile Santiago East Mission
Cristóbal Colón 6824
Las Condes
Región Metropolitana
Santiago, Chile
CHILE
In my time in Zambia, I came across this quote that really touched me (tweaked it a bit to personalize it for myself):
"People talk of the sacrifice I [will make] in spending so much of my life
in [Santiago, Chile]. Can that be called a sacrifice which is simply paid back as a
small part of a great debt owing to our God, which we can never repay?
Is that a sacrifice which brings its own blest reward in healthful
activity, the consciousness of doing good, peace of mind, and a bright
hope of a glorious destiny hereafter? Away with the word in such a view
and with such a thought! It is emphatically no sacrifice. Say rather it
is a privilege. Anxiety, sickness, suffering, or danger now and then
with a foregoing of the common conveniences and charities of this life,
may make us pause and cause the spirit to waver and the soul to sink;
but let this only be for a moment. All these are nothing when compared
with the glory which shall be revealed in and for us. I never made a
sacrifice. - Dr. David Livingstone, the first European to discover Victoria Falls
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