Rinna's Farewell

So Rinna's farewell was quite an emotional day for our family! As a surprise Amanda, Natasha, and Paolo sang "Today is the Day". It is a song that talks about how it is important to share the gospel today. This was the first time that Paolo sang in a sacrament meeting so we were all particularly touched by the spirit. Rinna gave a beautiful talk on being a covenant people and then shared the story about how she made the decision to serve a mission. For those of you who don't know I will share it. A couple of months before her mission, Rinna wasn't sure if serving a mission was what she should do. She was doing well in school and enjoyed hanging out with her friends, so serving a mission was not a priority. She volunteered at the MTC each Saturday, acting as an investigator for Spanish speaking missionaries. On one particular Saturday, Rinna was not feeling well at all. Her stomach hurt, and she considered going home instead of volunteering. However, Rinna decided to go anyway because she didn't really need to be actively engaged in the conversation while the elders practiced. When Rinna entered the room, she was surprised to be paired up with sister missionaries. Although it was the same lesson that she had heard for several weeks in a row, Rinna says that this lesson was completely different. She felt the presence of the spirit very strongly and she heard the question "Why aren't you serving a mission?" in her head. She silently plead with the Lord to tell her if she was supposed to serve a mission and she was immediately answered in the affirmative. Rinna says that this was the most immediate and also the most clear answer she had ever received from a prayer. She began to cry and she asked the sisters why they decided to serve missions. After answering her question, Rinna talked to them for a long time. When Rinna left, she knew what she had to do. She submitted her papers within the month and received her call a few months later. We couldn't be more proud of Rinna and her decision to serve the Lord. She is loving the mission field and encourages everyone to consider doing the same. She says it is one of the best decisions she has ever made.