Well I feel like last week was already so long ago! Time is just flying by and it's hard to believe I've almost been here for a "transfer" already (Once a missionary, always a missionary)! I had the amazing and absolutely wonderful privilege of playing hooky at school and skipping work to road trip it down to Utah to see some of my most favorite people in the whole world. I don't know what it is about the mission life, but I think it is absolutely amazing how fast two complete strangers can become best friends over a short, 6 week period! Alora Davis was my MTC comp and we were only together for the first 6 weeks of the mish. In fact, we were pretty much on opposite ends of the island as I traveled all over Negros and she stayed close to Bacolod. The only times we saw each other regularly were when we both became Sister Training Leaders and had to travel to Bacolod once a month. It was as clear then though, as it is now, that no matter how short amount of time our companionship was, a beautiful friendship was born.
And that was extremely evident as soon as we were reunited again last weekend! I stayed with her and her family Thurs-Sat morning and it was so much fun! Alora's mom sent me stuff almost every week while we were MTC, but finally being able to meet her and the rest of the clan confirmed what I had felt through the gifts and notes, that I was already a part of their family. I felt right at home! They took me in right away and it was just fun being around them. The funniest and coolest part too was being able to talk in Ilonggo with Alora knowing that no one else understood us (That actually worked out really well on our double date Fri. night too, but I'll get to that).
Before getting to that whole date thing, I'll do a quick Thurs. recap. I got to Lehi around 3:30pm where Alora picked me up. We went to lunch at one of her favorite places,Shaun's Smokehouse, and I ordered a 6 oz. teriakyi burger by recommendation! It was delish, but man, was I full after that! We then went home to just hang out before heading to Cambria's wedding reception. Alora's younger sister, Breanna, went with us and we headed up to Syracuse. When we got there we saw my trainer, Lydia Bushman and fellow batchmates Alyssa Shakespear and Kaitlin Potter, with their men, which was fun! Then a little later some elders from the mish, Curtis Eagen and Landon Garner showed up. We chatted and after the going through the line (Cambria looked gorgeous!), we decided we were hungry so we went to dinner. It was hilarious catching up and reminiscing about the mish. Man, those were some crazy times...
Friday we stayed busy pretty much the entire day! We got up in the morning and had super healthy pancakes with blueberries (these people are health nuts...that's the only thing doesn't mix well with us (;) and then headed to the hospital. We went to the hospital to see Amber, Alora's sister-in-law, and also to get her niece, Skylie. I got to play aunt for the rest of the day when she finally warmed up to me! It was fantastic! Amber wasn't feeling well at all so we left pretty soon after we got there. I got some cute snapshots of Sky and Alora though...cute, cute.
When we came back to Alora's house we decided that we wanted to on a shopping spree so we headed out again...with Sky! Can I just tell you how crazy it is to take a two year old shopping with you?! Man, that was a hilarious experience for sure! We got some cute clothes for our date though, so well worth it.
The date. Oh, the date. Haha :) Let's just say there were a lot of firsts! First blind date, first date to a haunted house, first time my date kinda got stolen (we'll save that for another time :p), and my first date after the mish. It was interesting for sure and a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing! So long story short, we went to eat at Cafe Rio in Draper and just kept adding to our group. By the time we all headed to the haunted circus we were a group of 11! We already had our tickets so we just went right in, but the problem was that the line to get in the actual haunted part was ridiculously long and we ended up waiting to get in there for over an hour! But let me tell you, it was worth it! Now I'm not usually scared concerning stuff like that, but this one was actually a little frightening! I was pleasantly surprised, honestly! The costumes and makeup were pretty impressive, but mostly all the other stuff freaked me out like the strobe lights, smoke and spinning walkways. Haha, but either way, I enjoyed it a lot.
Saturday we slept in a little and then once we got up I got ready to leave. We headed over to Rue 21 so I could return a ripped shirt I bought and to meet Alan and Annette since I stayed with them Saturday night. It was hard saying goodbye to Alora again. I feel like that weekend really strengthened our relationship and reaffirmed to me that she was put in my life for a reason! I love that girl!
We pretty much just hung out at Alan's house until Ashlan and I went to see Meet the Mormons. I told her I would come down from Rexburg to go with her so she had to wait for me and she did! We had fun just bonding and laughing our heads off over stupid things. I'm blessed to be close with her! And I'm blessed to live so close to Alan and Annette now that I can go down and visit whenever! Every time I have to leave Logan (10) always says, "Wait, you're leaving?!" with a horribly sad look on his face. It makes me laugh, but it also makes me feel happy, especially when he ends with, "But I don't want you to leave! I want you to stay forever!" I love that whole family! So many fun memories!
On a more spiritual note, lately it seems as if my life has been getting a little out of hand. I've been getting so caught up in other non important things that it seems as if my priorities have been taking a backseat. I keep saying that I'm trying to get into a routine and have a schedule like the one I had on my mission where I was always doing something meaningful, which allowed the spirit to always be with me, but for some reason I'm not working hard enough to get there. I've noticed a huge difference in this last week compared to the other ones. My prayers were becoming less sincere, my scripture study was almost nonexistent and my temple attendance really was nonexistent. I could blame it on my schedule or the fact that I'm trying to be a good student and keep good grades, but you all know me. And since you know me and my experiences, then you know that I recognized right away that I needed to stop any sort of excuses and not start blaming other things, but that I really needed to change. I was sitting in sacrament meeting with Alan and Annette's family last week while pondering all of these thoughts. I knew I needed to change something and I knew it needed to be immediately. So after packing up all my stuff on Sunday and saying goodbye, I left with the resolve to "try a little harder to be a little better" in the upcoming week.
Starting Monday and continuing today, I wake up about a half hour to an hour earlier to make sure I have time to read my scriptures before doing more homework or getting ready for class. It's rough sometimes, to pull myself out of bed, but it's been one of the biggest blessings that has happened to me since I've been home. I have become more thoughtful in my prayers, especially concerning letting the Lord lead me to wherever He needs me to go, doing whatever He needs me to do. AND I went to the temple! I was tired and it was hard to stay awake, but I felt the Lord's spirit and I felt rejuvenated. Each day hasn't been incredibly easy and I'm not feeling super energized all the time; my attention span regarding homework hasn't magically gotten longer nor am I suddenly excelling at everything, but I can tell the difference. I can see the difference in my attitude, my problem solving skills, my drive, and most of all, in my increase in strength and ability to handle all of the things I go through every day. It's been incredible to feel like I am finally living the gospel of Jesus Christ, that I fought so hard for others to understand and live. I am a living testimony that these things are true. I can see the differences and they are changing my life.
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