Friday, April 18, 2008

Unrighteous Dominion

I found this quote by President Hunter as I was working and I found it intriguing:

"For a man to operate independently of or without regard to the feelings and counsel of his wife in governing the family is to exercise unrighteous dominion."

(Howard W. Hunter, October 1994 Conference Report)

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Called To Serve

Never have I been so excited to go on a mission as I am right now. I just finished interviewing with my stake president, and May 20 (the day he will send my papers in) seems like an eternity away.

During the interview, as I spoke of what missionaries do and of whom they testify, I was able to testify several times of the divine mission of Jesus Christ, of His atonement for us, and of the Father's love. If there is anyone struggling with knowing for themselves what the atonement of Jesus Christ can do in their lives, let me say here that I know that through the atonement, our sins can be washed clean. We do have the opportunity to return and live with our Father in Heaven, eternally, because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. He is our Savior and our Redeemer, the Son of God, and our Advocate with the Father. He truly is "an High Priest of good things to come." I love Him with all of my heart and soul and mind.

Any sacrifice that I have made is worth being where I am right now--able to testify of Jesus Christ and His gospel on the earth today, that we have a living prophet and living revelation from God, and that He is constantly working for the eternal happiness of His children--us!!! For those who are considering a mission, pray about it with an expectation of receiving the answer the Lord wants you to have (this includes older couples--and younger couples who can prepare now to serve a mission). For those who are not considering a mission, first of all consider it (even if it is 40 years away), and secondly, remember Elder Bednar's counsel from this last General Conference and be a life-time missionary.

I love this gospel. I love the scriptures. And I love our Heavenly Father and His Son, our Savior Jesus Christ.

And in four months I will be testifying of these truths full-time!

Saturday, April 12, 2008

"can i ask you a question while i can still talk?"

"how could i have 11 cavities?"

thus began my conversation with the dental hygenist. after explaning that i brush and floss every day (and even use listerine!), the hygenist explained that some people just have genetically bad teeth! (i guess going to the dentist every six months helps somewhat with that...)

oh well, i thought. anything is worth going on a mission for. besides, the dentist had told me that this marathon round of cavity filling would take about two hours--a long time, but not unbearable. and, i am leaving the country in two weeks, so i had to do it all in one appointment, and asap.

and, the hygenist had gone on a mission to romania, and she told me that before she went, she was afraid that she would have to go to a foreign dentist! in romania, she said, when you have a problem with a tooth they just pull it out!

thoughts of laying on a table in a cement room with a solitary lightbulb hanging over me as a foreign dentist yanked out my teeth with rusty pliers kept me in the chair the whole appointment.

all was well until the hygenist gave me a mask for the laughing gas to help me "relax." as i fooled myself into thinking that this noxious substance was actually helping me relax, i started realizing what a beautiful day it was, and how happy i was to be in the dentist's office! however, as soon as the dentist came in to give me my numbing shots, everything was not ok! all of a sudden i was hyperventilating, my heart was racing, and i was starting to cry! i was hyperventillating as the dentist gave me the numbing shots (six!!!), and he repeately asked if i was ok (of course i said yes...what were they going to do if i wasn't ok, send me home?).

when he was done and the hygenist came back in, i asked her to please remove the mask. when she asked if i was sick, i told her (with a rapidly numbing mouth), "i dink i ab allergic to dis duff!" of course i am not allergic, but my body was obviously having a severe reaction, and in my numbed reacted state i couldn't think of another way to describe it. i had to stand up and walk around the office for ten minutes, shaking violently with a racing heart the whole time, as i tried to get my hyperventillating to calm down.

and this was before they even started drilling!

when they did finally start drilling, the dentist became increasingly more and more alarmed at how "bad" my cavities were. "how long since you have been to the dentist?" he asked again, and i ashamedly replied, "three and a half years!" "yeah, these were probably started back then...and they have been decaying since then!"

great.

what was originally supposed to be a two hour appointment turned into a four hour appointment...it was so long, in fact, that the numbing wore off before they did the last two teeth. when the dentist asked if i wanted to be renumbed, i, unfortunately thinking that a few seconds of pain was more bearable than taking more time to be numbed, said no.

and this was a mistake.

when the dentist started applying the filling, my body was suddenly filled with unimaginable pain and i screamed and jerked. i quickly apologized (with a mouth that had been open with people's hands in it for four hours--i didn't know whether my jaw or my teeth hurt worse!), and the dentist, noticeably worried but unable to do anything about it now, said that he was sorry but they were almost done! i knew that, of course, but it didn't make the last minute any less painful, with me gripping the arm rests and hyperventilating. the pain was so bad i even started to cry, and the solitary tear did not escape the eye of the dentist, who apologized profusely but, of course, i had asked for it.

needless to say, three days later, i am still taking advil for intense mouth pain.

Friday, April 11, 2008

Hong Ye's Baptism

today i witnessed something beautiful. my friend from china, hong ye, was baptized. last semester i was her visiting teacher, and i have watched her grow as she has taken the missionary discussions, read the book of mormon, and gone to church for the past seven months.

i found out last sunday that she was getting baptized, and i immediately ran up there and congratulated her. it has been a long road for her, especially being raised in china, being chinese, and having only been in the states for seven months.

tonight, i watched her as we sang the hymns ("nearer my God, to Thee" and "i know that my Redeemer lives"). she kept smiling, as though she could hardly keep the joy and happiness inside and wanted to share it with the world.

it is moments like this that make me more impatient than ever to serve a mission--and to be able to share this happiness, this good news, this opportunity of salvation, with others! just a few more weeks and they will send my papers in...

on a related note, this is my third dear friend that has been baptized in the three years i have been at byu--one from mexico, one from korea, and now one from china. pretty good for being at byu, eh?

Thursday, April 10, 2008

ok bye!!!

today was my last day volunteering at wasatch. unfortunately i did not realize this until i was about to leave this morning, when mrs. mattinson turned to me and said, "this is your last week isn't it?" i hadn't realized that next week they have spring break and so won't have class on thursday.

is it ok that i cried when i left?

i have gotten really attached to these my little friends, and i was hoping that they would get attached to me too. i really wanted them to like me, even though i just walk around and help them with spelling and tell them how cool their stories are and how good they are at math. however, i think last week was the clincher.

last week, i taught them arabic and hebrew.

mrs. mattinson was kind enough to allow me to give a presentation on israel/palestine and jordan, and i talked to the kids for about 20 minutes about arabic, hebrew, jews, muslims, and the like.

it was one of the most thrilling things i have ever done.

the kids liked it too--but even so, i do like to think that my shushing them when they sit on the "carpet" to listen to stories and always helping them with their reading was just a teeny bit appreciated--not because i need to feel appreciated, but because i wanted to have done some good for them since they did so much good for me. leaving campus to help at the same elementary school where i went to school was more than therapeutic, and i finally felt like i was doing good for the world. and, i enjoyed this round of volunteering with 3rd graders at wasatch much more than the last one two years ago.

before this, i was more than excited to go to jordan in two weeks--what i am going to miss here? going to more classes? grading student papers?

not a chance.

but now, now when i think that i won't see rebecca and alexa and beth-el and emma and all the rest any more, my heart just breaks. these kids have become a part of my life...i even looked at all of their science fair presentations! we learned about myths and fables and native americans together! and today they were at an assembly for most of the time that i was there, so i barely even got to see them. instead, i was in with the next door teacher's math stragglers, who had to finish their addition and subtraction sheets before they could go to the assembly (which was an adventure in itself, because the last two students were siblings of two people that i went to elementary school with! some things never change).

my consolation prize? as i was getting ready to leave, the "special guest presenter" turned to me and asked if i was about to leave, and as i said yes, i said, "can i say goodbye, though? this is my last time, guys!"

the whole class groaned, and one girl looked like she was going to cry!

clearly, there was some attachment there! i must have done some good in this small class. as i left, i told everyone, "i will think about you in egypt and jordan!"

i think i will have to send a couple of emails to their teacher with pictures of me and the egyptian/jordanian kids. who knows, perhaps some budding middle easternist in the class will be inspired by my stories and pictures!

or perhaps i just don't want to let go...

Thursday, April 3, 2008

understanding the world...in provo, utah

today i had the choice opportunity of giving a presentation to the third grade class where i volunteer each week about israel. i volunteer at wasatch elementary (my alma mater, and the best school in the land!) and each thursday morning i go and help the kids with reading and math...and good behavior! it is really fun and each time i go i remember that i wish i would have chosen elementary education for my major. :)

anyway, today i taught the class about israel/palestine. i taught them a little arabic, a little hebrew, and i taught them about muslims and jews. it was more than thrilling to see the kids so excited about arabs and israelis...not least of all because i am so excited about them! after showing them the hijab, the kafiah, the kippuh, and some random souvenirs, including the cool little bottle of sand i bought in jordan, i asked if they had any questions.

what do the little children wear? (normal clothes--except the really orthodox jews, whose little children always wear sunday best--even when hiking masada!)

what do the police officers look like? (all girls have to serve for 2 years in the israeli army, and all guys have to serve for 3 after they graduate from high school)

my name is hebrew! (it really is--her name is beth-el!)

what do they learn at school? (the same thing as here, except a few more languages...)

i was amazed and delighted at the world-education these little sprites are getting...and that i got at wasatch. in addition to several different nationalities here, i asked what languages were spoken by the 3rd graders...korean, spanish, mexican, and german were a few listed.

one reason that wasatch is so diverse is because byu brings in so many different countries, cultures, and languages. although sometimes i think everyone at byu is the same, sometimes i realize how awesome it is that i have friends from germany, palestine, jordan, syria, columbia, russia, south america, and many other places...and american friends that have been all over the world!

and all in provo.