A Thorough Cleaning

I love the beauty and serenity of the temple. I love all that it represents, the meaning it gives to relationships, the eternal light it shines on death, and the hope that it brings to life.

I’ve had the blessing of living in various areas of the world amongst people of different religions, cultures, and customs. In the midst of all of the beautiful, unique differences of Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Taoism, and Christianity, a common ideal exists: each people seems drawn to the divine. Each is moved to worship something or someone greater than themselves, and in most cases each is inspired to build spiritual sanctuaries not only as places of religious communion, but also as symbols of their devotion.

For my friends who are reading this who are not Mormon (members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), our temples are sacred places of worship for members of our faith all around the world. You might have seen one of these beautiful buildings in Salt Lake, Hong Kong, Hamilton, Boston, Houston, London or Chicago and wondered about it. We revere these temples as houses of God, even more sacred than our churches, and in them we make covenants with God and perform sacred ordinances, such as marriage, that will bind and connect us to those we love even after death. The blessings of the temple are glorious and are available to every person who lives the standards of the gospel of Jesus Christ as revealed through his living prophets. The goal of each Latter-day Saint is to live a life worthy of entering the temple to receive the eternal blessings God has prepared for us there. Once we have received these blessings for ourselves, we return to the temple often to act in behalf of those who have passed on who did not have the opportunity to receive the ordinances and blessings of the temple during their own mortal lives. What a truly special place the temple is!

Every summer, the temple is closed for about two weeks for deep cleaning and maintenance. During that time, members of the church are invited to come and help with cleaning and various projects there.

Tuesday night we went to help clean the American Fork Temple just up the street from my house. It’s pretty awesome to be able to say I helped clean the Lord’s house. J

I noticed as we were cleaning the temple that nothing is ignored or forgotten. The most minor details are attended to, and even places like the boiler room that most people will never see are cleaned and maintained thoroughly and regularly! This made me think. It stands to reason that if our bodies are temples, just as Timothy says in the Bible, we ought to make sure that we are taking care of the details of our lives, even the aspects of our lives that no one but God and ourselves will ever see. Our thoughts, our motives, and our actions when we think no one is watching are parts of our character that need regular cleaning and maintenance. At the temple, even though the floors had already been swept, the carpets vacuumed, the walls dusted, and the door handles disinfected just a day earlier, there were again scuffs, crumbs, dust and fingerprints that needed to be cleaned again. We too may find scuffs, crumbs, dust, and fingerprints in our temples that need cleaning on a daily basis, and because of the atonement of Jesus Christ, we can feel that cleansing power in our lives as frequently as we choose to use it.

I love being in the temple. I love the Spirit, the peace, love, simplicity, and clarity I feel there. Even being close to the temple, looking at it from the outside, being on the grounds calms my Spirit and gives me peace and joy. I can feel the same way in my own temple if I keep it clean. And I want others to feel those feelings radiating from my temple when they’re close to me.

Spring

I love spring flowers--sometimes even just thinking about tulips and daffodils and pink tree blossoms makes me happy. I always loved walking down the stairs south of BYU campus in the springtime because bunches of red and yellow tulips and daffodils were starting to pop up in the beds on the hillside. And when the breeze would blow, a shower of pink and white petals would fall down lightly from the trees onto your head. I think the Lord was thinking about me when he said, "Yea, all things which come of the earth, in the season thereof, are made for the benefit and the use of man, both to please the eye and to gladden the heart..."(Doctrine and Covenants 59:18). Happy spring!

The Second Wind

I like to run. I think it can be really therapeutic sometimes. And I like to run without headphones because it gives me a chance to clear my mind and think.
Just the other day as I was out pounding the pavement, I realized that running is a lot like life. What I mean is this: For the longest time, I never really knew what it felt like to get that second wind that everyone always talks about. I never knew, because I had never let myself run far enough to get or need one. I would run until I was tired, and then I would simply stop.
What I never realized was that sometimes, even though you're tired and out of breath, or think you've gone as far as you can go, or are ready to give up, if you just keep running, the second wind really will come--and suddenly you're able to run further than you ever had before.
Sometimes in life, we never let ourselves "run far enough" in a relationship or in a job, or in the direction of our goals to let the second wind kick in. Sometimes we just stop when we hit a slope or start to get tired or think we can't go any further. Why not keep running? You'll never know how far that second wind can take you unless you try.

Skydiving

So, I guess I kinda left everyone hanging after my skydiving post. FYI I didn't end up going... but never say never!

About Life

As miraculously strong and resilient as these amazing bodies of ours are, they can also be so vulnerable and fragile. The recent death of a friend's mother after a long and well-fought battle with cancer has made me think a lot about life. Her funeral Thursday was the first I've ever attended, and what a beautiful tribute to the courageous, positive, selfless, fun, full life she led! What touched me the most however, was that there seemed to be no question about her love of life, and about the deep love and care she had for the people around her. There was no question that she loved them, and no question that they knew it! Life, and the people in our lives are two of the most magnificent and generous gifts God has given us. So, the question is, what are we really doing with these gifts?

What are we doing with life? Are we truly living it, creating opportunities for ourselves to see and do all those things we always hoped we’d experience someday? Are we living our dreams, or are we always just dreaming?
Who are we helping? Are we trying to see others as God sees them? Are we really looking beyond ourselves and lifting those around us? G.K. Chesterton wrote: "How much larger your life would be if you could become smaller in it...You would begin to be interested in others. You would break out of this tiny...theatre in which your own little plot is always being played, and you would find yourself under a freeer sky, in a street full of splendid strangers."

Are we opening our hearts and letting those around us know how much we care about them? Are we letting others into our own lives? Are we allowing ourselves to love, even at the risk of being heart broken? Perhaps the ability to experience heartbreak is a blessing—a reminder of how fortunate we are to have a heart that is alive, open, and able to deeply love and care about others.

There are aspects of my life and of my relationships that I'm trying to improve each day--I think that's how it is for just about everyone. I realize that I don't always express it in my words and actions, but I hope my family, friends, and associates realize how much I love and care about them. I hope that God can see that I'm trying my best to fully live this amazing life He's given me. Life can be really, truly wonderul if we just make it that way. God wants us to be happy. He knows us. He knows our needs and our wants. He knows our potential, and He wants us to succeed. He wants us to be kind to each other. He wants our relationships to be good and strong. He wants us to love each other and serve each other. It really is because of Him that death has so much meaning, and life has so much purpose!

Some people laugh through their noses...

My friend Nate made me cry at work a couple of weeks ago. Now before you start biting your thumb at him, let me explain.
It all started a few months ago when everyone at the office was gathered in our break room for our weekly company meeting. The room was packed, seating was limited, and wall space to lean against had been claimed. So, Nate, being the resourceful person he is, decided to use the edge of our 20 gallon trashcan as his seat (before I continue, you should know that I'm sharing this only with Nate's permission). Perhaps in a brief moment of lapsed judgment, perching his rear on the edge of a giant open trashcan seemed like a bright idea...but then, as you might have anticipated, the edge of the can buckled, and in went Nate to a pile of pizza boxes and apple cores. Fortunately he recovered gracefully without injury to much other than his pride, and without detracting too much attention from the speaker.
I've heard President Monson quote J.M. Barrie a couple of times when he said, "God gave us memories that we might have roses in December." How true this is. On a day when I was exhausted from lack of sleep, school work and other responsibilities, barely keeping my head above water, the simple humorous memory of Nate's trashcan mishap brought a much needed dose of pure gut busting cheer! The kind that brings tears to your eyes!
So the question is this: when was the last time you laughed? I mean REALLY laughed! I'm not talking about your average through-the-nose, closed-mouth, under-the-breath chuckle. I'm talking about that good, crazy, uncontrollable, stomach aching, breath sucking, tears are streaking down my cheeks, I can't finish my sentence laughter!
I highly recommend it if you haven't done it lately. In fact, here are a couple of things you can try if you need a little help getting your mirth on:
1. Think of one of your most embarrassing moments--as humiliating as it was then, its probably funny now... re-read your journal from Jr. High if you need a little inspiration.
2. Spend some time with little kids...and listen to all the profound things they say, watch them play soccer...
3. Play the laughing game-get together with your family or friends and lay on the ground with your head resting on someone else's stomach...and just start laughing. It's head-bobbing fun!
4. Go to the Mechanical Museum in San Francisco and sacrifice a quarter to listen to the giant wax laughing woman. Creepy? Yes. But it left me amused.
5. Watch Brian Regan, Napoleon, Nacho, Raising Arizona, Baby's Day Out, The Phone Call, or better yet, old home videos from the good ol' days.
Just laugh a little. After all, they do say "laughter is the best medicine"...unless of course you have dengue fever or something...
Thanks for the "roses" Nate!

To dive, or not to dive, that is is the question...

Skydiving. What kind of crazy person would willfully agree to participate in such a rediculously insane activity?!! Well...maybe me. The question is, do I have the nerve? I know that might sound strange coming from the girl who has no problem jumping off of bridges; but really, the idea of skydiving makes me a little nervous.
People say that bungy jumping is scarier than skydiving--this doesn't make sense to me. I guess it probably has something to do with what physics do to your stomach on the way down. It just seems to me that a skydiving catastrophe would yield far more serious consequences than a bungy jumping accident. I mean think about it for a second, if your bungy cord snaps, it will probably happen when you've stretched the cord to it's fullest length, which will have slown you down, and at which point you will also be closest to the ground...and even if that logic is faulty, there will probably be water at the bottom of the ravine below to cushion the fall ;).On the other hand, if you jump out of a plane, and your parachute doesn't open, you're pretty much out o'luck!
Yet, I'm still contemplating doing it Saturday anway...call me crazy.

Worth a Fortune...Cookie

I cracked open a fortune cookie yesterday and found this message inside: "Look for happiness and you will find it." Seems pretty simple, but it was a nice reminder to always look on the bright side of life.
Oh, and by the way, my lucky numbers are 1,7,10,28,40, and 2.

President Hinckley

“Things will work out. Keep trying. Be believing. Be happy. Don’t get discouraged. Things will work out.”

--President Gordon B. Hinckley

Sunday night at about 7:oo pm, President Gordon B. Hinckley passed away. It's hard to put into words, exactly how I feel about his death.
I smile and feel so much genuine joy when I think of the happiness President Hinckley must have experienced as he was finally reunited with his wife again. I think we could all sense how much he truly loved and missed her during the years after her death. I hope to have a marriage like President and Sister Hinkley's some day.
I feel gratitude and awe when I think of the "unwearyingness" with which Pres. Hinckley served. He was a man with a truly selfless, kind, loving, pure, generous, accepting, Christ-like heart, as well as a hard-working, diligent, wise, unshakable character.
He valued both secular and spiritual knowledge, and his testimony of the beautiful, simple, fundament principles of the gospel was borne with unwavering conviction. My own heart has been deeply moved, and my own testimony fortified as I've listened to President Hinckley bear witness of the reality of a loving Heavenly Father, the divinity of His Son Jesus Christ, and of Joseph Smith's miraculous vision of these two glorious beings.
President Hinckley's testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon was stiring, and his invitation to the church to study from its pages was inspired. And just as he promised, my life has been blessed with an added measure of the Spirit as I've made time to feast upon the words of Christ.
Perhaps of all the contributions President Hinckley has made to the church and to the world during his time as a general authority and as President of the church, his work in building temples is among the most significant. I am especially grateful for President Hinckley's inspired plan for the construction of the Hong Kong temple. It is a unique and beautiful building, the presence of which is truly blessing the lives of members of the church throughout Southeast Asia. Just three weeks ago I had the pleasure of going back to the Hong Kong temple. On my way out, I met up with Brother Pun, a member of the church I had the opportunity to help teach and see baptized when I was serving as a missionary in the New Territories. He was on his way in! Because of the inspired work of President Hinckley in bringing a temple to the people of Southeast Asia, Brother Pun and his wife have been able to receive all of the blessings that come from service in the Lord's house.
I love President Hinckley and will miss him! I know he was a true prophet of God, led by the hand of the Lord in his direction of the church! Ialso know that President Hinckley's successor, President Monson, will be led by that same loving hand. God loves us. He won't leave us in the dark, and giving us living prophets to guide us is a manifestation of that love.

Merry Christmas family and friends! This will look familiar to some of you. It's a copy of the Christmas email I sent out a few days ago. Enjoy:

I hope the holiday season is finding you all healthy, happy and safe! And I hope you've all been enjoying the spirit of the season. There's just something so special about the feeling this time of year. I think our hearts tend to open up, and we recognize the needs of others around us more than we usually do at other times. I hope these feelings of generosity and love motivate us to take action and really give what we can to those who are less fortunate than ourselves.

I've learned so many great lesson about kindness and generosity from the lovely family and village who have taken me in during my time in Thailand. I've been living with a little Thai family in their home out in a very rural village called Keng Sanam Nang. Although these people lack many of the comfortable conveniences most of us are blessed with every day, they are some of the most cheerful, loving, giving people on earth! They go out of their way to make sure you are happy and taken care of. Each day as I walked through the village on my way to the school where I taught, the people would come out to the street just to wave and say hello as I passed by, and often offered me some of the food they were preparing for their own families. They help eachother harvest their crops without expecting payment, and simply show their gratitude by helping or sharing the harvest in return.
My host "mom", Suwaluk has been raising her neice's daughter for eight years, has provided housing and paid for the education of three poor college students, and gives clothing and support to their struggling families.
Wednesday was my last day in the village. At school, each of the students, one by one, handed me flowers they'd picked, flower leighs they'd made, notes they'd written, and pictures they'd drawn. I was so touched by their thoughtfulness. And as I walked home through the village, stopping by shops and people's homes to say goodbye, many of the people ran inside to find something...anything, they could give me as a going-away gift.
What wonderful people! They've taught me so much, not only about Thai cooking, rice cutting, Buddhism, and culture, but also about enjoying life, and caring for others. I just arrived in Malaysia today and will be spending Christmas here with my friend Carla, who was also doing volunteer work in Thailand. I'll miss being home with everyone,but I'm excited to be in a fun new country. I hope everyone enjoys their celebrations and remembers the true meaning of Christmas. I think that regardless of our religious beliefs, the principles of love, charity, sacrifice, and selflessness that Jesus Christ taught can be beneficial for us all! I am so grateful for Christ's influence in my life. I know that he is my Savior and that he strengthens me beyond my own capacity every day of my life. It's because of him that not only Christmas, but also LIFE is so meaningful for me. I love you all and hope the best for you this Christmas...and every day!

Twas the day before Christmas...

Christmas eve this year was truly a unique one for me.
To start out the day, Carla and I headed down to China town in Kuala Lumpur to look for some breakfast. As we wandered through the shop lined streets with chinese lanters hanging overhead, we stumbled upon an inscense filled Buddhist temple. As we kept walking, we came across an ornately decorated Hindu temple. The brightly clothed patrons with their wreaths of marigolds almost made me feel like I was back in India for a moment.
Later, a little further into the city, we stepped into a small mosque where dozens of men were lying down waiting for prayer to begin. The sound of busy car traffic on the street outside, the monorail above, and the mellow prayer call was quite an interesting combination.
We then made our way to the national museum and bird park. We ate lunch on the balcony of a great little restaurant overlooking the bird park and even had a few colorful flying visitors join us during our meal.
Late that afternoon we drove down to a lighthouse overlooking the Straits of Malacca between Malaysia and Indonesia. The trees surrounding the lighthouse were crawling with little silver monkeys...the friendly kind, not the mean ones who try to steal your stuff:) Apparently they really like green beans and peanuts, so we fed them as they climbed all over us with excitement. (Just a side note, little monkey hands are so human like! Almost like the hands of a little kid with slightly tough skin).
After feeding the monkeys, we fed ourselves too. We had a great seafood dinner of crab, prawns, fish, and veggies in an open air restaurant on stilts over the river.
We finished our meal just as the sun set then headed off to take a boat ride. But, this was no ordinary boat ride. The night sky was dark, the nearly full moon was dimmed slightly by surrounding clouds, and most incredibly, fireflies lit up the bushes on the sides of the river. It almost didn't seem real! There were sooo many fireflies twinkling in the bushes, it almost looked like the bushes were covered in flashing Christmas lights. Phenomenal!
There were monsoon rains on and off all day long, but luckily we had perfect timing and were either inside or in the car every time the rain was the hardest.
And to top it all off, when we finally returned home, I was able to sit alone quietly reading the New Testament accounts of Christ's birth!
What a memorable Christmas eve!

Elephant Riding in Kanchanaburi

Here kitty kitty...

While in Kanchanaburi, I visited a tiger reserve run by monks. The monks have been raising these tigers since they were kittens, so they're pretty harmless, yet as I crouched down to pet these amazing animals, I couldn't help but think of the book "Life of Pi" that I finished reading a couple of months ago(if you haven't read it, read it!)...oh, and Yan Martel was right when he said you should remove your hat before approaching a tiger.

Bridge on the River Kwai

Last week, I spent a couple of days in Kanchanaburi, the city in Thailand where the Bridge on the River Kwai is located. The history of this bridge and the infamous death railway is fascinating. During the Japanese occupation of Thailand during WWII, the Japanese wanted to create a more direct route accross Thailand into Burma (now Myanmar) to transport supplies, so they forced POWs from America, Australia, NZ, England, Austria, and other countries, as well as local Thais and other Southeast Asians to construct the railway. Hundreds of thousands of people lost their lives through disease, accidents, torture, and sheer exhaustion--hence the name "Death Railway". The bridge was bombed by allied forces a couple of times to try and cut off the shipment of supplies accross the river, but was rebuilt. This portion of the bridge is original. Trains (and tourists) still use the railway and cross the bridge every day.

The Grand Palace and Wat Pra Kaew, Bangkok

Long Live the King!

Tuesday was the King of Thailand's 80th birthday. And what a celebration! This crowd of people was gathered near the Siam Center (a giant shopping mall in downtown Bangkok) to honor the king on his special day. Nearly everyone wore yellow, lit candles, and sang the king's song and the Thai national anthem at the same time as thousands of other Thais gathered in other locations throughout the country. These people really love their king! In a small way he reminds me of King Benjamin--a king who truly has the welfare of his people at heart. He has been king for 60 years and for decades has worked to be one with his people and to understand their needs. I think he's the world's longest reigning monarch...and over the only country in southeast Asia never to have been colonized by a foreign power. Wouldn't it be wonderful if all the world's great powerful leaders were so genuinely good and loved (without propaganda) by their people!

Reconsidering rabies

Maybe I should have gotten that rabies vaccination after all...
No fatal wounds yet, but a few close calls. I really think my host family's cats have something against me.

Border Patrol

Well, I'm legal to stay in Thailand for another 30 days. I had to run across the border into Laos to renew my visa over the weekend. It was an adventure. After taking several buses, minibuses and tuk-tuks, Carla (another volunteer in a different village) and I finally made it to the border. When I stepped up to the booth where they stamp your passport, the guard working there said he didn't know if I'd be able to get the visa into Laos becuase all but the very last page of my passport were full. The Laos visa takes up an entire page (complicated long story...). Anyway, forunately when I went through immigration on the Laos side fo the border, I had no problem...except that now my passport had no more empty pages...meaning no place for a stamp back into Thailand, out of Thailand, into Malaysia, out of Malaysia, back into Thailand, out of Thailand, into Hong Kong, OUt of HOng Kong, and Into America... So, I took a little trip to the US embassy in Laos where they kindly added extra pages to my passport. Now I have plenty of space to explore the rest of the globe. Watch out world. Here I come!

Carving the beef

Thanksgiving this year was unique. The family I live with asked me if I could make American tuna sandwiches for dinner. So, even though I don't really like tuna that much, and even though I'm not sure how tuna sandwiches are different in American than they are in Thailand, I honored their request and whipped up the special treat. When I was finished, my host mom placed a butchers block, a knife, and a bowl of nearly raw beef in front of me and asked if I'd ever chopped beef before...hmmm. So, I didn't get to carve a turkey, but I did get to chop beef (which by the way we fried and ate with sticky rice and tuna sandwiches for dinner).
Before dinner, I went for a bike ride to explore the rice paddies beyond the village again. The sun was low in the sky and the breeze was blowing over the fields and through the trees, and I could only faintly hear the sounds of dogs barking and children playing in the village--what a peaceful feeling. I came upon an old lady standing barefoot, cutting rice near the siide of the road, so I stopped and asked (through charades) if I could help. She kinda giggled, motioned for me to come through the fence, handed me a sickle, and we cut rice together. I'm certainly not a pro, but hey, maybe next time I eat Thai basmati rice, I'll think a little more about the hand that might have harvested it.

No Frog-eye salad

It's Thanksgiving, but there will be no turkey and stuffing for me this year. I'll admit that I'm feeling a little homesick for family and friends, not to mention buttery mashed potatoes and frog-eye salad:) But, chin up! I'm in Thailand! And there is much to be grateful for here too! While America is enjoying pumpkin pie and Aunt Marilyn's toffee and siging "Over the River and through the Woods", I'll be savoring my rice and bananas and singing "If You're happy and you know it.." with a bunch of 4th graders.
For my scripture study this morning, I decided to focus on gratitude. I read some of my favorite verses like Alma 34:38 which reminds me of the connection between gratitude and having the Spirit. I also re-read Sister Parkin's April Conference address, "Gratitude: A Spirit filled Principle". I loved this talk, especially one particular part. She says the following:
"Gratitude required awareness and effort, not only to feel it but to express it. Frequently we are oblivious to the Lord's hand. We murmur, complain, resist, criticize, so often we are not grateful. In the Book of Mormon, we learn that those who murmur do not know 'the dealings of that God who created them'. The Lord counsels us not to murmur becuase it is then difficult for the Spirit to work with us."
"Gratitude is a Sprit-filled principle. It opens our minds to a universe permeated with the richness of a living God. Through it, we become spiritually aware of the wonder of the smallest things. which gladden our hearts with their message of God's love. Theis grateful awareness heightens our sensitivity to divine direction. When we communicate gratitude, we can be filled with the Spirit and connected to those around us and the Lord. Gratitude inspires happiness..."
I have so much to be grateful for, yet too often fail to recognize the Lord's blessings in my life.
Nature is beautiful, people are good, art is inspiring, food is delicious, weather is pleasant, trials are refining, work is rewarding, and God's love is abundant only if we see them as such.
I am thankful for the experiences, people, and knowledge that have made me into the person I am today. And I know the Lord is making more of me than I could ever make of myself. I'm thankful for his grace.
Sawat dee ka! and Happy Thanksgiving!

Man fingernails

Why do so many Asian men like to grow out their pinkie fingernail? Personally, I think there are far more attractive physical characteristics a person could chose to enhance.

Some People Should Not be Allowed to Hold the Conch...

Here's one of my journal entries from this weekend. It was a lot of fun...really!:)
Friday Nov 16, 2007:
"Some people should not be allowed to hold the conch! I'm on a bus right now with a bunch of Thai teachers going for a weekend outing...I have a feeling this is going to be one of the longest weekends of my life. Who does karaoke on a bus...at 4:30 in the morning?! And whoever decided it was a good idea to put microphones on a bus in Thailand was crazy! Someone has been talking or singing on the mic non-stop since we got on the bus...I know I'll look back on this experience later and laugh...didn't these people wake up at 3am like I did?! I'm praying for patience:)"
"...it is now 7:00am. Karaoke is still going strong:)...the microphone chiefs have quieted down and passed the conch to a few other people who want to try their hand at karaoke. I have decided on two new rules for the microphone: 1. If your normal speaking voice is already louder than the microphone, you are not allowed to use it; 2. If you yell into the mic, you will be thrown from the bus..."
"...it is now 3:30pm. Believe it or not, yes, we are still on the bus, and yes, karaoke is still teh entertainment of choice. How much of this can a person take before they go bonkers?! WE did have two brief breaks, one for breakfast, and one for lunch..."
"Well after approximately 12 hours of karaoke, we've arrived at our destination..."
So, the weekend was actually really fun. We stoped stopped at a famous art school where a world famous artist teaches, went to a vineyard, got fresh oranges at an orange grove, visited a famous Buddhist temple, "climbed" at mountain to watch the sunrise over an Bhuddha shrine, did more karaoke, went to a place called Kuen Ming that reminds me a little bit of the mountains in southern China, and definitely didn't get enough sleep...oh, the memories:)

An outing with the kids

My second day in Kathmandu, Elder and Sister Taysom introduced me to Cody, Dustin, and Morgan. They're three great guys, all members of the church, who came to Nepal to do a trek through the Himalayas and also to do some volunteer work. Everyday they go to a home for children whose parents are in jail. They teach them, but mostly play with them and just make the kids happy! I was able to go help out with the kids for three days. One of those days we took the kids on an outing up in the mountains. We climbed through some beautiful forests, past waterfalls up to a picnic site near the first water generated power plant in Nepal. We had so much fun playing around in the water with the kids, and chasing the monkeys away as they tried to steal our lunch. So much fun!

Nepal Vs. Oman

We got tickets to the Nepal vs. Oman soccer game. Sadly Oman won 2-0, but it was still fun to watch. We had front row seats in the press section so I'm pretty sure we made our debut on Nepali national TV and onto the sports page of one or two news papers. I liked the chant the little girl behind us kept shouting out: "East to west, Nepal is the best!"...true for scenery and hospitality, but not so much for their national soccer team.

LDSC Water Project

You can read more about the water project below, but in this photo we're sitting/standing on one of the main LDSC built cisterns where water collects, then flows through pipes down into the village. The villagers were so grateful for this assistance! When we arrived at their villages, they greeted us with small boquets of marigolds and placed flower garlands around our necks.

LDS Charities Water Projects

Although the Church is not officially registered in Nepal, we definitely have a presence there! The members there are kind, humble, happy, generous, strong people. In fact two young nepali sisters and one young young nepali elder will be receiving their mission calls this coming sabbath! Couple missionaries who serve in Kathmandu work primarily with LDSC (LDS Charities) They have been involved with some wonderful projects including teaching, supplying and distributing wheelchairs to those in need, and helping to supply water to mountain villages.
Cody, Dustin, Morgan and I were able to accompany Elder Taysom, Elder Bradshaw (two senior Elders), Pres. Pona (former Branch President), and two local representatives of Choice Humanitarian (the NGO the church works with on Water projects) up to a couple of the villages where water projects are under way.
For years, a large water pipeline has been running right through one of the villages, but for some reason or another, the Nepali government would not allow the villagers to tap into that water supply. Instead, the women in the village had to climb up and down steep slopes several times a day to collect water from a small well. Somehow, LDSC and Choice were able to convince the government that the people in the village needed access to the water. The church has provided pipes and the materials to build water pumps throughout the village, Choice supervises the work, and the villagers themselves are responsible for digging the trenches to lay the pipes. LDSC and Choice are also working with local village representatives to train them on potential future issues with the water lines just to make sure things run smoothly years down the line when the villagers are running the show on their own. This is one of the village with a small harvest of rice.

The Top of the World!

Seeing the Himalayas was one of the most moving experiences of my life! 6:30 am Sunday Oct 28 I boarded a small plane for a scenic flight over the Himals (as they're called by the locals). As we climbed through the clouds over Kathmandu, the city below faded away and the the snow-capped tops of the Mountains appeared! The grandeur of Mt. Everest and the surrounding peaks was literally awesome! I was nearly brought to tears as I sat staring out with joy, wonderment, and gratitude. It was like heaven, and I really felt so close to Heavenly Father. I poured my heart out in thanks to him for creating such a perfectly beautiful magnificent place!

I'm the White girl in the middle...

This was taken just before I left the Bal Ashram. I love these kids!

dinner company

This is the light above my table at the Rainbow Restaurant in Pushkar India. I think sometimes the lizards fall asleep on the wall and just fall off. Fortunately this one didn't...I prefer my rice without lizard.

One of these things is not like the others...

Periodically groups of women from nearby villages come to visit the Bal Ashram. On one occasion, I noticed that they were all staring at me as they walked past where I was sitting studying, so I got up and approached them to say "namaste" (hello). They thought it was soo cool that I was actually speaking to them--they all swarmed me and wanted to shake my hand. After I had exhausted all the Hindi I knew, we just kinda stared at eachother. Then I pulled out my camera to take a photo and they went crazy! Indian women either love to have their photo taken, or they cover their face with their shawl and shy away from the camera. These women were not shy! as soon as the photo was taken, they all grabbed for the camera and fought with eachother to see the picture...I just stood back and giggled:)

First glimpse of the Taj Mahal

It's not a zit...really.

Here are my souvenirs from my night at the Ghats: A bindi dot and some red string around my wrist. Still not sure what the significance of each is. I'll have to do some research. Oh, and the walls in Varanasi are covered with murals, paintings, and advertisements--a super colorful place!

Bathing in the Ganges

Ganga (Ganges) River

The Taj Mahal!

I think I kinda look like a sister missionary in this photo. ha.

pictures worth a thousand words

so, you'd probably rather be looking at photos than reading these long posts. well, to be honest, id rather be posting photos than writing these posts, but alas, Indian computers have been somewhat at odds with me the last couple of times i've tried to post pictures. I'll put photos of the amazingly stunning Taj MaMahal, the bathing ghats of the Ganges River, some of the other awesome forts in India, as well as the local life of the village where I live. So, check back later. Until then you'll have to actually read something.
Life in the village is very simple. Children tail me everywhere I go trying to see the digital photos I take. And I love to see the surprised look on peoples faces when I stop to practice my limited Hindi with them--they think it's so great that I can even say Namaste (hello). Camels pull carts through the narrow streets, and often traffic jams occur when a rickshaw, camel cart, bus, car, and scooters all try to pass eachother at the same time. I teach a group of 10-12 year old boys for about three hours each day, have hindi lessons for about one hour each day, play with the kids, do meditation with them, help in the kitchen, and use the rest of my time to do basically whatever I want.
The past few days I've been away from the Bal Ashram (center for the boys) visiting Agra and Varanasi. The trips on buses, trains, and rickshaws have been crazy long, but it's been worth it! I can hardly describe how amazingly awesome the Taj Mahal was! I could have stayed there all day just looking at it--definitly qualifies as one of the great wonders of the world! Varanasi has been interesting. I didn't think I liked it much at first, but then being there at the Ghats with thousands of devoted Hindus last night was an unforgetable experience.
Hopefully I can find a computer that will let me upload photos soon--a picture is worth a thousand words!

Puja

Last night I did Puja (offering) on the Ghats of the Ganges River. A little girl led me through the crowds of pilgrims to a "Brahman" priest who chanted something in Hindi, tied some red string around my wrist, put a red bindi dot on my forehead, then gave me some sort of blessing. And for all that he only wanted a small donation of 500 Rupees:) Sounds a bit like priestcraft if you ask me:) Okay, really though, being here in Varanasi has been amazing! The shop keepers, hotel owners, rickshaw drivers, and even the beggars are more aggressive here, but to see the puja rituals is soo cool. Thousands of people come here every day and night to bathe in the "sacred" waters of this river. Across the river from the balcony of my guest house room, I can see funeral pires--I think the Hindu people believe that if you are cremated and your ashes are spread over the waters of the Ganges River, you're automatically guaranteed moksha (release from the chain of reencarnation--like eternal life or nirvana).

At the Bal Ashram

Bal Ashram Boys

It's hard to believe that these boys were once exploited child laborers rescued off the streets of India and Nepal. Here we sit in front of the small library at Bal Ashram (the rehabilitation center) where we hold class for three hours each day.

Music Appreciation

Muse Music...interesting place. I went to a concert there last night with my friend Adam. It's one of those venues I'm not sure I could adequately describe--you really just have to experience it. It's basically a dark little hole in the wall on University Ave. with a small stage, some chairs, a couple of big very used couches, and an orange neon sign that says "PEOPLE" mounted to the bare, unfinished old brick walls. I get the impression that it's the sort of establishment where the same groups of punk/goth/emo people meet up on the weekend, just to kill time and check out bands.
The band we went to see was a two man show: Nate (Adam's friend) on the drums, and Matt on the electric guitar (I can't remember their band name). Adam warned me before hand that the show might be little weird, and I'll be honest, it wasn't really my favorite genre of music...; nevertheless, I can still appreciate talent and passion when I see it. And Nate and Matt were very passionate in the expression of their talents. They played with a lot of engergy and a lot of volume! And I say, why not?! Maybe more of us ought to be more confident about expressing our talents more boldly and creatively. Of course every talent is different, but it's talent none the less.
I remember a poem written at the beginning of Chaim Potok's book Davita's Harp. It went something like this: "They say, 'you have a blue guitar. You do not play things as they are.' And I said, 'ah, but things as they are, are different on the blue guitar.'"
Don't be afraid to be different, and don't be afraid to embrace diversity...within reason, of course:)
Definintely a fun memory!
p.S. I'll let you know when I can start hearing out of my right ear again:)

Typhoid and Mother Theresa

I went to the Utah County Health Clinic yesterday to get a prescription for malaria medicine...whoa, let me clarify: I do not have malaria:) it's a prescription to prevent me from getting malaria while i'm in India and Thailand. Anyway, while I was there, I decided to get a new typhoid vaccination as well. I don't know what having typhoid really feels like, but for about four hours after getting the shot, I thought maybe they'd given it to me...actually, didn't that Jenner guy discover that you had to give someone a tiny dose of smallpox in order to make them immune to smallpox? My arm still aches a little, but the other unpleasantness is gone. I guess four hours of discomfort is a lot better than the real thing would be.
On the up-side, while I was laying in bed feeling yucky, I got to watch the Catholic TV channel. You're right, I'm not Catholic, but I stopped because they were telling the story of Mother Theresa. What an amazing Woman with an inspiring story! Her parents instilled in her, at a very young age, the importance of making change for good in the world. Her father was involved in the fight for freedom in Albania, and after his death, even though the family was nearly destitute, they opened their home to the hungry and homeless . Theresa's (then named Agnes) mother taught her children always to see the face of Jesus in everyone.
She loved her family in Albania, but felt deeply in her heart that it was her mission to go to India to serve the people there. And she did. She started out in Calcutta, teaching at a a very comfortable Catholic school for upper-class girls. She enjoyed the work there, but knew that her true purpose for being in India was to serve those who could not help themselves. So she left the school/convent, made a vow of poverty, and went to live amongst the people.
She wasn't quite sure where to start because there were so many people to help, so she began teaching two small homeless children how to read in the street. Soon, the numbers increased to 40. People heard about what she was doing and donated supplies and desks. She wanted to help the sick, so she went to hospitals to gain hands on training about how to treat wounds, clean sores, administer medicine, etc. She was not afraid to go amongst the poorest of the poor, the sickest of the sick, and the most rejected in society. On one occasion, she found a dying woman in the street and carried her to a hospital for treatment. The doctors refused to help her, but Mother Theresa stood her ground and refused to leave until the woman was treated.
She begged for help from local churches, hospitals, and the government, and she received it. In 1950 she formally established the Missionaries of Charity, whose purpose was to administer to the poorest of the poor. The MC has since branched into over 133 countries.She opened schools, clinics, and places for the dying to pass away peacfully and comfortably. In 1979 she deservingly won the Nobel Peace Prize. And fianlly passed away in 1997.
What an amazing Christ-like woman!
Don't worry, I'm not about to become a nun:) I do however feel more confident about my own abilities to create change for good in the world.
Sometimes we may feel that there is so much to be done, that what we do really won't make much of a difference. We may not act at all, simply because we think that what we do won't really have an impact. Mother Theresa knew that there were millions of people in India who were starving, homeless, sick, and dying. But she didn't think about the millions all at once, just the ONE she was helping at the moment.
We all have the ability to change the world, ONE person at a time.

4am Anxiety

It's 4am. I should be asleep, but my mind is racing. I'm leaving in six days and have so much left to prepare! I'm excited, but more overwhelmed! My dad gave me a blessing a couple of days ago that helped put my mind at ease a little bit, but I'm still feeling some anxiety. I know it will all work out (like my mom always says), it's just the working it out part that's sometimes the hardest:).

Guns and Country Music

I think if you're going to go shooting, and if you're going to listen to music in the car on the way there and back, it really has to be country music. It just makes sense. Nora Jones and guns just don't mix; Tim McGraw and guns just do.
My friend Adam took me shooting yesterday for the first time in probably 10 years. Minus the bruises in my left shoulder from the jolting shotguns, and the mysterious cut on my thumb, it was a lot of fun! You'd be proud to know that with a little help from the pro, I even hit some stuff...actual targets...not just random stuff:)
And yes, we did listen to Tim McGraw in the car.
Thanks Adam!

Kawarau Bridge

I was in Queenstown, New Zealand--The adventure capital of the world! The place where bungy jumping was invented! I had to do it!

I took off my hat, rolled up my pants, and crawled onto a little platform mounted to the side of the bridge. Rock music (I think maybe Bon Jovi) played on a portable radio as I sat watching the bungy guy strap the cords to my ankles.

He helped me up and held onto my hand as I hopped to the edge of the platform.

I could feel the butterflies in my stomach as I looked over my toes to the water below--43 meters is a long way down.

My family and other spectators watched from a viewing area at the edge of the ravine probably thinking I was out of my mind--maybe I was:)

"1-2-3....aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa....bounce, whooooooa, aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa...bounce, whooooooooooa, aaaaaaaaaaaaaa.......!"

AJ Hackett, eat your heart out!

India or Bust!

Sometimes when I think about it, I start to hyperventilate. A mixture of excitement, nervousness, and overwhelmtion swirl around inside my head and my stomach.
In 18 days the fulfillment of a dream begins!