Summer

Well I suppose it's time for another post. To start off my trip to the Philippines was great! It was a lot of fun to go to some places in the Philippines that I've never been to before. We first went to my friend's areas in Cauayan mission. That was way awesome. It was so cool to see what the Philippines looks like way up north. It was really pretty and the people were awesome. Their personalities were a little different than the personalities of the people in my mission so that was different. But it's just like in the states. The culture is different depending on which state you are in and how you grew up. Then we went to Cebu and went to the temple open house there. That was so beautiful. Seriously the Cebu temple was so beautiful. As we were walking through I just felt so calm and at peace. Even though the temple hadn't been dedicated yet I could still feel the same feelings inside there as I feel when I enter dedicated temples here in the states. Especially when I entered the celestial room. We took some time to sit down and soak in the experience. It was so amazing. I just love temples! I need to go more often. I also got to see a mission companion while we were in Cebu so that was awesome! I just love Sis. Cutanda! Seriously! After that we took a ferry to the island of Bohol. It was so beautiful. We didn't know what we were going to do or anyone there but we went anyway. Things really worked out. We went on a tour and had an amazing tour guide. We seriously were so blessed! We saw chocolate hills, the tarsiers, etc. I loved it! Then we flew back to Quezon City and I visited some members in my areas. That was way awesome too. It was really tough to see some of the members that were really struggling and converts, etc but it was a really testimony building experience. The atonement is so real and our Savior and Heavenly Father truly does care about each and everyone of us. In Preach My Gospel it says that only living the gospel of Jesus Christ will unite races and solve the world's problems, etc. It is so true! The gospel of Jesus Christ is the answer! And the only answer! So the trip was great! One other thing that I just thought about. When we were in Cauayan I got really sick. I woke up early in the morning (the morning we were to fly out to Cebu) with a real bad stomach ache. Let's just say I could not leave the bathroom haha. To make a long story short I asked for a priesthood blessing from one of the members there and he gave me just a great blessing that I would get better and we'd make it to our next destination among other things. Well I didn't feel better right away but after a long car ride to the airport and flight we made it to Cebu. I didn't feel completely better until after being home for a while but I made it through. The whole car ride and flight and even while in QC I seriously thought I was going to go in my pants but somehow made it haha. But seriously, prayer works and the priesthood is so real! I love it! I learned a lot from our trip and I'm grateful for Ulalei Mavae for going back with me and putting up with me throughout the whole trip! It was great! I'll have to post pictures soon. They are all on facebook though but I need to copy them on my hard drive too.

Since the trip I've just been working and that's pretty much it. I've started to read a little which is good haha even though I hate reading! But work has been good. I have a district that just left a couple of weeks ago and I'll post a picture of them. Right now I'm teaching my last district. It's really bittersweet! They are all amazing missionaries and I really pray for the best with them and that I'm able to help them to become the missionaries that the Lord wants them to become. It's going to be tough since they are my last district. I start working with the cheerleaders in a little over a month so hopefully I be able to keep teaching and do that for at least a week. I need to be working on my thesis right now so that's my plans for right now of what to focus on. This weekend I'm going to Idaho for a missionary's homecoming so I'm way excited for that. So yeah life is good. I'm on a softball team right now so that's been fun too although I didn't play too well last night and hurt my quad. But yeah that's pretty much it for right now!

The above picture is of my district that left this past week. A few of them stayed behind for medical reasons but will leave soon!

So I guess if I just post every 2 months then I should be good right? Well this semester is finally over. I'm so glad to have a break and to not have to worry about school or anything! Yay! Since finals week though I have been teaching full time at the MTC. So I'm teaching 2 districts right now until one of my districts leaves next tuesday then I'll be back to teaching just one district. So life has been full of 8 or 9 hour days at work depending. So it's been pretty busy even without being in school. But I really do love the MTC. But I will be quitting in august so I can have a graduate assistantship at BYU. It's been so much fun working at the MTC and I really do love missionary work and I love working with the missionaries on a daily basis. Just the other night I was helping one of the sisters in the zone with some problems and it's just so great to talk to them and hear their testimonies. I'll miss it so much! My district that leaves next week has been awesome! They have all progressed so much. It's been a crazy week with one elder having shoulder surgery another having knee surgery tonight and then another possibly having knee surgery too. We find out tomorrow whether or not he will. It's just been tough on all the missionaries. They are still working hard and could be a little more diligent but they are trying. They are great missionaries and will do great things! My new district is doing well too. They are improving slowly but surely.
Well I'm going to the Philippines in 2 weeks and I'm way excited! I won't be spending much time in my mission area but we are planning on going to a few other places in the Philippines. It'll be a ton of fun haha! So most of this morning I was trying to find cheap flights and such to travel within the Philippines. So that'll be my summer break. Other than that i'll just be working and I should be working on my literature review and thesis but I haven't really taken the time for that yet.
I did mention earlier that I was getting a GA position at BYU. I'll be working with the cheerleaders. It'll be a different experience that's for sure. It'll be good though because essentially I'll be on my own and in charge with treatments and everything. So it'll get me back into the swing of things with athletic training. I definitely need the experience so yeah. Anyway, I look forward to a new semester with new classes and one step closer to getting my masters. This year was really busy and tough but it all worked out okay but maybe just not quite as I'd expected it to work out. Well that's it for now!

Welp my district leaves tomorrow. Dang I'm going to miss them so much! This week hasn't been too bad. I didn't do so hot on my test but oh well. I know I studied hard for it. So I still feel good about it. This week I have a ton of homework and stuff to get done and I really need to work a lot on my literature review. I've been so slow with it! Ugh! Also I get a new district on wednesday! Thank goodness there are sisters! We'll see how things go. It's just always good to get a fresh start. My last district was super amazing though and so good at Tagalog that I don't know what I'm going to do. It's always tough because new districts tend to get compared to the previous one haha but it's okay. I'm excited and I'm gonna push them hard! And try not to fall off my chair their first day haha.....anyway here's a picture of my district that leaves tomorrow. Life is good! :)

A post finally

My bad for not posting. I didn't realize that my last post was almost 4 months ago. Life just keeps you busy I guess. For some reason I thought I posted not too long ago. Must've been somewhere else. Last semester is over and it ended fairly well. I do have to retake one of the classes next semester so that kinda sucks. But so is life. Christmas was fun being in San Diego and all with family. Especially when mom got on the DDR haha! But no it was really fun going to Disneyland. I really needed a vacation. I need another vacation already haha. So last semester turned out pretty well and my missionaries made some drastic changes and left the beginning of january. They were fun to teach. I'm teaching another district that is about to leave in about a week. Can't believe how quick time flies. They are a great district and work hard. I'll post a picture of my district that left a month or so ago. I'm really praying that the next district I get has sisters again because none of the other districts in the zone have sisters. If I don't get sisters then we will have like 50 elders. As much as I love the elders it's good to have sisters. School has been going okay this semester. It seems like I always have a test or homework or a quiz that I need to study for. I have 2 tests this week so I need to study hard. I think I have another one next week. I swear that one class has test after test after quiz. Wow! I'm trying to work on my thesis but my literature review has been very slow in making. I really need to crack down in it these next 2 weeks and just start writing. I've gotten a lot of the research done though. Not sure how to get it to be over 10 pages though wow. We'll see! Other than that nothing exciting is really going on. I have a friend who really wants to go back to the Philippines so I'm really considering taking a vacation this summer there. I've been trying to save up a lot of money for things. Work has been fairly hectic lately trying to help out the zone but I have really been feeling a lot of love for all the missionaries and teachers and honestly try my best everyday. Not everyday is good though. Welp I'm about to head off to eat dinner at Miriam and Jerry's so I'm excited for that! I'll try and update more next week on a couple experiences that I've had lately and my district that is about to leave and such. Life is good although a struggle sometimes! :)

Well things have been okay lately. Not much to report on. I'm actually doing pretty well in all my class except for one. Not sure how things will turn out in that class. I just keep praying for a miracle! I have a lot of writing to get done before Thanksgiving break and a group project to work on. Other than that though I don't have much to do before finals. I can't believe the semester is almost over! Oh and good news is that I found out I was supposed to get a tuition discount this semester so I went in and talked to them about it and they will give me one next semester! That will save me a lot of money! So I'm excited about that. My district right now is doing well. they are still trying to adjust but things will start to get better the next couple of weeks. They are all great missionaries. That's pretty much all I've got to report on! Sorry there is nothing more exciting going on in my life. Oh and it snowed for the first time yesterday. blah! I do not like the cold and am so not looking forward to the winter!

This past month has been crazy and busy. I was swamped with tests and a literature review so that consumed a lot of my time. Now I just have one more midterm tomorrow and I guess another one next week and just some more papers and presentations and then I'll be good for a while. I don't know I guess I just keep thinking I'll get a week off of school or something. But I'm going to get busy these next couple of days so I don't get behind like I did before. Anyway, things are going okay. School is going okay but I need to be doing better. The district that I have been teaching at the MTC just left last night. It was so tough to see them go. I miss them all so much. They worked hard and I literally saw miracles performed right before my eyes. It's just such an amazing experience to see and to be such a small part of the Lord's work. I'm grateful everyday that I can go to work and teach those missionaries. I don't get a break at all and will be getting a district tomorrow. So I've been busy trying to prepare for them to keep my mind off of the ones that just left. One elder however did have to stay behind. He had his tonsils removed last tuesday so he'll be here for another week until the doctor will clear him. He's a great elder and I've been trying to help him too. I know all the missionaries I taught will do amazing things. I just pray for their safety. Anyway, that's pretty much what has been going on as of late.
I have worked a little extra with covering a softball tournament at UVU and then last weekend working the high school volleyball state championships at UVU too. So I'm definitely due some money haha....it's interesting that now I can get paid for watching sports all day instead of as an undergrad where I never got paid and worked even harder. I'm excited for thanksgiving coming up so I can see family and get a couple of days off of school at least. Anyway, back to work. I gotta get prepared for a presentation and study for my midterm in the morning! I'm posting a picture of my district that just left. Wow, it's hard to believe that I'm now teaching my 10th district! Crazy!

Hmmm....what has happened the past couple of weeks? Well I guess quite a bit has happened. School has been really busy. I need to finish writing this literature review before tuesday. So far I'm not doing so well with it. It's a lot harder than I thought it would be haha. Anyway, things at work are going well. These past couple weeks have been pretty busy but good. I have been blessed to teach one of the best districts ever! They are all very diligent and just really amazing. They work hard and we've had some great, spiritual experiences together. Seriously I am so blessed to teach them and essentially to be taught by them!
Last weekend I had the opportunity to go to my mission reunion. That was a lot of fun. I mean I got to see a former companion and I also got to see my mission president and his wife which is essentially why I went to the reunion. So it was awesome! It was so good to see him and everyone else. What's sad is little did we know that while we were enjoying filipino food and each others' company the Philippines was just starting to get hit hard by a huge typhoon that I'm sure you all have heard about. It's really sad. My second area had some pretty bad flooding and mud slides but they are up in the mountains so the flooding went away. The mud however is still there and many houses of members have been destroyed. My last area was hit the worst. Because it borders the floodway from other rivers to Laguna Bay the flooding there was severe and the city is still mostly underwater. Some areas the water is about chest deep or higher still. It was so sad to hear about and I've seen many pictures that have just made me cry. What amazing people live in that city and country! I know they can get through this! I just wish I could help them. I had a great epiphany the other day about all this that I shared with my missionaries. Just like how I can't be there in the Philippines to save these people, my dear friends, our Heavenly Father cannot be here to save us. But it is through other people that the Lord works and it is through our prayers that others are able to be helped. But it has to be through other people like missionaries or others that the Lord answers our prayers of help for others. I know that the Lord has been answering my prayers. Especially since another big typhoon was headed straight to Manila but at the last minute changed it's course and headed more north perhaps saving the Manila area. Anyway, I know this gospel is true and I'm so grateful to be a member of this church. Conference has been so great so far too. Anyway, I'm going to post some pictures so you all can see how bad it really is over there. They need all the help they can get right now. Most the pictures I will post will be pictures of my last area, the one that was hit pretty bad. One of them is a picture of one of the Elders I taught a few times at the MTC who is serving in my mission. The others just show how high the flood water is still. Here is a link to a video that shows really just how bad it is. Watch it here!