I'm writing this blog post about 4 months after my last one.  Boy, when you talk about change that's what's happened in my life!  Right now I'm engaged to the most wonderful man I have ever known and I couldn't feel more blessed.  I waited for what seemed a long time but it was very worth it.  I wanted to tell you all our story of how we met and fell in love.  He fell in love quicker, but for me like the saying goes it came a bit more softly.  I love him very, very much and I wanted to start our story at the very beginning when we met.  I hope you all enjoy.  Disclaimer: this is MY side of the story. :)

It all started on the night of July 18, 2014 when I decided, reluctantly, to go to a campfire with my friend Miranda.  She had been invited by an old mission friend to his late birthday party and she asked me to go with her.  I was reluctant because it was late, I wasn't in a good mood, and I wouldn't know anyone there except her and a guy friend we were taking as well.  Finally I agreed to go and we jumped into her car and took off.  We got there about a half hour later and I was a bit nervous to go there since, again, I wouldn't know anyone there.  Of course, Miranda loves to mingle so I was left talking to other random people.  I heard several conversations while I was mingling and talking to different people, though there was one particular conversation that grabbed my attention.  There was a group of guys talking to one particular boy about his beard and how he should get a beard card when he went to BYU in the fall since his beard was way too amazing to shave off.  I thought it was a bit silly but didn't say anything about it.  He did have a rather large beard and I noticed he was wearing a do rag, a hat over that, and a t-shirt and jeans.  I didn't know what to think of the conversation only that I though it a bit silly.  I moved on though and I ended up talking to one boy (I don't even remember his name) about our missions.  The boy with the beard ended up in our little conversation and not too long after he did the other boy wandered off to another group.  I started talking to him and we intr
oduced ourselves.  This boy's name was Joshua and he was from a place not too far away in a tiny town called Firth.  He had come there because he knew the guy whose birthday it was from his mission as well.  We started talking about our missions and that's pretty much all we talked about. I was surprised by how comfortable and easy it was to talk to him and even give differing points of view without hesitation.  We talked for what didn't seem like a long time when all of a sudden Miranda is telling me it was time to go.  As I was about to leave I wondered if Joshua would ask me for my number since we had talked for quite a while and I had definitely enjoyed it.  I hoped he would and as I was about to leave he rushed over and he asked me if he could get my number.  I was glad he did and happily gave it to him.  Soon we left and took the half hour drive back home.  I had no idea then how much that bearded boy would change my life and how it would never be the same again.

The next segment will be our first date.  Stay tuned for more to come!

The Gift of Change

Anyone who knows me very well knows that my mind can travel to so many places in a matter of moments.  Not that there isn't direction to these thoughts, but they do seem like random tangents to people.  Mind traveling though is quite possibly one of my favorite things to do.  I love to travel to different lands and places that I have never been to and I just imagine what it would be like to actually be there.  I also enjoy thinking about things that are too strange to mention for fear that the person that I wish to discuss them with would either have no clue as to what I am talking about or they wouldn't see the importance of the subject that has kept my mind so captivated.  Right now I want to do something that I have never done before.  I want to write down what has been on my mind lately and let the world take a peek into my mind.  Anyone who is brave enough may dare keep reading further.

Lately I have been thinking a lot about change and what it has meant to me thus far in my life.  Before my mission I dreaded to even think the word "change" and I think God knew that all too well.  I think God has it in His mind that anything that causes anyone discomfort He must insure that that person endures it.  When I got the answer that I needed to serve a mission I was so sure that it was what I needed to do.  I remember calling my dad to tell him my news.  He was the first one to hear about it and when I told him he was so excited.  I remember him telling me that when I got home I would go straight to the doctors, get my physicals, and see the dentist immediately.  When he said "dentist" my mind immediately shut off and I immediately began to doubt if it was absolutely necessary for me to go on a mission.  Needless to say though, I did everything that I needed to do to prepare for my mission when I came home from school.  I will admit though that I did drag my feet.  I didn't want to go because it made me uncomfortable and I knew that this would change my life in ways that I didn't even then comprehend.  As we all know, I went on my mission and I went at the perfect time.  

On my mission we referred to transfers as "cambios", or "changes".  I had many of them and each one made me uncomfortable and unsure of what was going on.  Eventually though I got somewhat used to the seemingly constant transfers, but the Lord still made sure that I wasn't completely comfortable for too long.  Once I felt like I got used to everything I finished my mission and was sent home.  That was perhaps one of the most uncomfortable changes I have ever had to endure.  It was my biggest cambio and I wondered if I would ever get used to being home among such strange and foreign people.  Yes, it is strange to think that Americans, my own people, would seem more foreign to me than the people of Chile.  

After more than a year and a half of being home I still think about the many transfers I went through on my mission and I can't help but be grateful for them.  "Changes" or "cambios" were so hard because I didn't know anyone and I was expected to get along with my companion that I didn't know at all.  I was guaranteed six weeks with her and in the area but anything more than that was uncertain.  I trained myself not to get too close because who knew how long it would last?  I became a robot that didn't feel anything but just went through the motions.  

I went on to train an incredible missionary and was so stressed out and worried that I forgot how to feel.  I didn't get to finish her training and was "changed" to be in a trio that would change my entire mission.  Those two women taught me how to me a missionary and how to feel again.  The mission wasn't about going through the motions but to feel with everything that I am.  "There are no true endings, only everlasting beginnings." - Dieter F. Uchtdorf.  I became a missionary and not just a robot.  The Savior did that for me and I am forever grateful for that change that happened in my life.  He filled me with His love and I don't know where I'd be without it.

In essence, change is a wonderful thing.  It is inescapable, inevitable, and remarkable.  It is very difficult to change and it is extremely uncomfortable at times, but it is necessary if we want to become the beings that God always intended us to be.  We didn't come here to be robots and just go through the motions, checking off commandments that we have accomplished and move on.  We have to give our hearts, our everything to the Lord and then He will fill it.  C.S. Lewis said it perfectly when he said, “Christ says, 'Give me All.  I don't want so much of your time and so much of your money and so much of your work: I want You.  I have not come to torment your natural self, but to kill it.  No half-measures are any good...  Hand over the whole natural self, all the desires which you think innocent as well as the ones you think wicked - the whole outfit.  I will give you anew self instead.  In fact, I will give you Myself: my own will shall become yours."  

I think part of the trick to life is allowing change to actually occur rather than fight against it.  Perhaps the new change in your life will bring you sadness and pain...or it could bring you happiness and joy beyond anything you could have imagined before.  I think it depends on your attitude and perspective.  Of course you will endure pain, but you will also experience joy and happiness.  What will you focus on?  That is all up to you.

There you go, a peek into my brain and my thought process.  I hope it was somewhat enjoyable though a bit long winded.  All I have to say is this: keep changing.  God never intended us to stay the same but exhorted us to "become new creatures"(Mosiah 27:26) and to "offer [our] whole souls as an offering unto him..." (Omni 1:26).  I know that if we trust in the Lord and rely on Him, everything will work out as it should.  He will help us change into the person we always wanted to be and who He always intended us to become.

Have I done any good?

And I'm back to this blog writing thing.  I do admit at times I feel like there is nothing worth writing on this thing, but hopefully that is not the case.  This past while things have been a bit stressful on my end.  Life tends to do that to us every now and again.  I decided to change my major and that means grad plans and trying to figure out what my next move is going to be.  I've decided to be an International Studies major and I'm extremely excited.  Before you all start asking, "What are you going to do with that?" I'll just tell you I'm not sure yet.  The possibilities are enormous and I've got time to figure it all out. 

Amidst all the stress, fretting, and worrying about the future it's incredible how I really don't need to be worrying about it.  All I need to do is get busy doing the right thing instead of worrying about things I can't control.  Lately it seems like all I hear about is service and I love it.  Service to me is love in action.  How much service do you do?  How much are you worrying about how others treat you instead of how you are treating them?  Do you think more about yourself or more about others?  And my all time favorite question...Have I done any good in the world today?  I ask myself these questions all the time and I wish I could always have the right answer for all of them.  I don't want anyone to feel horrible about themselves if they feel like they've given the wrong answer to any of these because I know we all can do some improving, myself included.  If the answer to the question "Have I done any good in the world today?" is a no, I would invite all of us to respond in a positive way.  The answer comes in the chorus of that beautiful hymn.  It says, "Then WAKE UP!  And DO something more!"  Yes, we all can do just one thing more.  Wake up!  Look around you!  Get out of your slum, rut, or hole!  Life is a wonderful thing if we all help each other along.  President Thomas S. Monson said, "True joy comes by making others happy."  I know this is true because I have seen it in my own life. 

So, my challenge for all of us is this: do something today to edify, uplift, and strengthen those in our lives that need a helping hand.  I know that as we strive to lift, to serve, and edify each other in our lives that the storms of life will be that much more enjoyable. 

A bit of catching up

Okay, I realize I haven't been on this blog in...3 years?  Yes, more than 3 years.  I would try to catch up with ya'll but I fear that would take way too much time.  Suffice it to say I've had a busy 3 years.  The best part about it was...oh dear...considering my last post I should at least tell you a little bit of the story.  Okay people, prepare for the nutshell version!  Unless most of you know the story then just skip to the interesting stuff.

It actually started in October of that year of 2010.  I was really trying to decide what to do with my life and it really was quite difficult.  I had two friends on missions and I felt like I was floating through life with no purpose.  I decided to fast on it and ask the Lord what He wanted me to do.  So, on November 7, 2010 I fasted and asked the Lord what He would have me do.  To make it short the answer I got was a strong feeling that I needed to serve a mission.  That next semester I moved home and started my preparations to go on my mission.  It wasn't easy but finally on March 25, 2011 I got my call to serve in the Chile Concepción South Mission.  To put a year and a half in one sentence I had the best time of my life.  It was full of life changing events and I met and grew close to the best people I have ever known.

I came home a little over a year ago.  It was tough coming home but it was good for me.  The Lord was merciful and helped me find work soon after I returned and helped me be successful.  Right now, a year later, I'm at BYU-Idaho and I'm loving it.  It's quite cold here but it's an incredible place to be.  I still have my challenges and struggles, but who doesn't?

I'm excited to start blogging again.  I honestly had a hard time getting going on it again because I don't know who would be interested to listen to my words of wisdom or about my inspiring life, but maybe there is someone out there who will be.  For that one person I commend you!  Buckle up folks!  This may turn out to be quite a ride, but it will be worth it!  From here on out, enjoy!  Thanks for reading :)