So I was talking to my friend and former MTC companion Jaime last night (it was already today in Mexico) and she wished me a happy 5th anniversary of entering the MTC. Today, on the 31st of January 2012. I returned her well wishes and then she said, "Do you know what else is today?" I laughed and said "Justin Timberlake's birthday!" because I can never miss the opportunity to talk about my love. (Yes, I'm aware he was part of a boy band that disbanded about 10 years ago. I still love him. And them. Get over it.) To my surprise, that really was what she was talking about!

Apparently, every time we talk about entering the MTC I also talk about Justin's birthday. Well, when someone you love has a birthday, it's worth talking about.

Anyway, yes. It is this very attractive fellow's 31st birthday:

(Geez. Sometimes I forget how cute he is.)

But more importantly, today marks 5 years (half a decade!) since I entered the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah to begin my 19-month mission to Buenos Aires, Argentina. More accurately put, to begin a 19-month rollercoaster that has forever changed my life.

I thought I knew what to expect, but the truth is you have no idea what a mission really is until you've served one. Sure, you know what missionaries do (although after three days of walking around our area I, apparently with a very bored voice, asked "Is this it? This is all we do every day?") but you just have no idea what a mission really involves. The emotions, the experiences, the challenges, the triumphs, the intensity. You also have no idea the level of depth your relationships will achieve or the drastic spiritual, mental, and emotional growth you will experience. It is an inevitable result that anything connected with your mission - people, places, music, language, food, smells - will forever touch your heart in a place that is associated with intense emotion.

My mission was easily one of the hardest things I've ever done. There were so, so many bad days. So many days when I didn't want to be there, when I wanted to come home, when it just didn't seem worth the effort. Days when I was just so tired. But there were also days when I was so happy, when I felt completely at home, when I couldn't imagine why I would ever want to do anything else.

I hadn't expected the details, but I did expect the mission to change my life. I was right about that.