Hiya friends, My name is Laura Christine Rutherford, but you can call me Laura. Or Hermana Rutherford, which is what I'll be known as for the next 18 months. Why you might ask? Because I've been called as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints! Wooo! I will be serving in Riverside, California and preaching in the Spanish language! I am so excited for this adventure in my life, and I've created this blog so that you guys can follow me on my journey.
A little background: I'm from a small town in Washington called Sequim. It's located on the Olympic Peninsula which is in the very very north west corner of the United States (think Seattle, but better and northwest-er)! With it's lush green atmosphere, high mountains, and the ocean near by, it's safe to say that Sequim is one of most beautiful places on planet earth. While it's not the most populated city by any means, it's surroundings make up for any lost big city attraction, some of my personal favorites include: swimming, hiking, smelling the lavender, kayaking, snowboarding, picking flowers, enjoying all the wildlife (elk, horses, eagles, cougars, etc...), and wakeboarding at Lake Sutherland. Growing up I loved to play basketball, soccer, and softball. And I may have been a high school cheerleader, but don't tell anybody! I often took for granted the amazing place in which I was born and raised, but I quickly understood how blessed I was as soon as I moved away.
After graduating high school I moved to Boise, Idaho and attended Boise State University. Soon I decided to serve a mission and put my schooling on hold. I am planning to return to Boise when I am done with my mission and am hoping to enter the nursing program back at BSU. While I was there I made some amazing friends and was able to take part in the Institute and be a member of a singles ward in the area, both of these things had a huge influence on my decision to serve a mission! If anyone from Boise is reading this, please know that you played a part in helping me become who I am today and were influences and examples to me in helping me prepare to become a better missionary.
I cannot express how grateful I am for the opportunity to serve as a full time missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints! Growing up I never would have thought that this would be something I would end up doing, but I am so excited that it is. While serving on my mission in Riverside, CA I will have the chance to find and talk with people who are interested in learning about the restored gospel of Christ on the earth today. I will have the opportunity to teach of Christ's Atonement, His love and Plan of Salvation, the blessing of modern-day prophets, and invite those interested to take the necessary steps to take advantage of these truths! If any of you have questions or would like to get ahold of me, I would love to receive emails from you while on my mission at: laura.rutherford@myldsmail.net
Thank you all for your support!