Summer & Fall

All rolled into one! This summer I:

• drove my Grandpa's car to his lake house all by my onesie-stopped once! Maryland to Alton Bay, NH in 9.5 hours, yes I DID, thank you.
• Hit up NYC! with friends-can you say Max Brenner's (chocolate chocolate chocolate), biking central park, MoMA (Starry Starry Night!!), Newsies on Broadway, The Strand bookstore, 9/11 memorial. SO. MUCH. FUN.
• Enjoyed getting to know my coworkers and organization better since starting work with an educational non-profit in late April, especially at the National Conference in mid-July
• Ate bacon sundaes with my visiting teachers!
• Listened to my Grandma speak in Sacrament Meeting about her conversion to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was her first talk since her baptism last year.
• Visited Erin in beautiful Norfolk, VA {who is having her baby right NOW!}
• went to pool parties
• celebrated with friends @ birthday dinners
• went to grad school orientation [eek!]
• flew back to NH to get the car with Rachel and went to a NEW COUNTRY where I got to practice French, eat delicious food, watch part of a French Film Festival, attend church in FRENCH, and see the Montreal Quebec Temple!
• spent lots of time on the National Mall (hello! world famous museums 25 minutes from my HOUSE!) and visited the White House for the 1st time.

This fall I will:

• Work full-time
• Attepmt to pass my 1st semester of grad school
• Continue being really excited and really impatient for Christmas {the Countdown to Christmas page that I "liked" on Facebook isn't helping btw}

So if you don't hear from me until December 18th, I'm either at work, or in my room, drowning under books entitled: American National Security, Essence of Decision: Explaining the Cuban Missile Crisis, and Major Problems in American Foreign Relations. Send a search party at your own risk. In fact, I should be organizing my semester and studying right now. So until Christmas, adieu. Ne vom revedea...someday...

Purpose of Life

I know, kind of tackling a giant but certain events on Sunday got me thinkin'...

Sunday was a great day; it pretty much always is. I went to church and learned, listened, pondered, and conversed about great topics: like the love of God for each of us, scriptures, and the Priesthood (the power of God here on earth).

I am so blessed to have been raised by parents who did everything they could to provide us with a solid foundation, including our family's membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Not only was I surrounded by people, friends, and associates of faith growing up who shared common values but I now attend church on a weekly basis (and activities on, well, pretty much a daily basis) with hundreds of people my age who I consider good friends. People who want the best for me, are happy when I succeed, empathize with me when life is less than fabulous, and definitely have my back!

This background and subsequent life experience has taught and enforced for me many eternal truths, not the least of which is the fact that my life-everyone's life-has a purpose far greater than the 75-80 measly, problem-laden, disease-ridden, difficult years we will live. I hope this is sufficient preface for what happened Sunday evening:

After a nice night with family and celebrating some friends' birthday, I got a phone call from a family member notifying me that my great-uncle (dad's dad's brother, if you follow) Charles had passed away. It wasn't particularly difficult or distressing news for me as he had lived in the midwest my entire life and I only met him on a couple of occasions going to or from our family vacations on the east coast. But I started thinking about the man he was and the life he had lived.

Devoted son, brother, husband, uncle, great-uncle, cousin, friend. A pilot-he loved telling and enchanting everyone with his flying stories. He served honorably in WWII. Tuberculosis took one of his lungs and eventually caused his death when he refused to take medication that would strengthen the one remaining lung against pneumonia which he got last fall.


It all made me a little sad as I thought about it. He died at home, alone (his wife died last year), in the middle of the night, his home care nurse only finding him later; he had previously made the decisions to donate his body to medical science (so there would be no burial, no place for the people who cared about him to visit in his honor) and not to hold a funeral service. So essentially, all of his hard work and dedication, his entire life, would come down to a 50-75 word obituary in the local paper??

No, I quickly reminded myself...he had influenced many people over the course of his life: lovingly caring for family members, impacting young, impressionable nieces and nephews with his colorful, slightly offbeat humor and personality. Not only that, but he still lives, despite his mortal life having ended. I believe very firmly in a life after this one and that we will have the chance to be reunited with the people we care about that have already died.

Uncle Charles lived the life he needed to, inspired the people he was supposed to, and learned the things necessary for him to now progress on a much bigger, eternal scale. Similarly, millions of people have lived lives of obscurity, not leaving a mark noteworthy for the world's standard, but I am so thankful to know each person's life is valuable and important.

No longer MIA!...and what he's teaching

Almost 6 months into his mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Santiago, Chile, I have finally seen pictures of my CUTE wittle brother in a suit with a name tag! Not because he sent them, because our family stalked his mission blog. :) Behold:

 My brother is in the front, second from the left!

Dead center, front row

view of Santiago and the Andes

For details on why he is in Chile and what he is doing there, see here. However, as I spent 18 months in Romania teaching the same things, I can tell you the basics. He was called by a prophet of God (President Thomas S. Monson) to tell people that the church established by Jesus Christ when he lived on the earth began to fade away after His death. Members faced severe persecution and all but one of the apostles were martyred. This is a period called the Great Apostasy, when there was a “falling away” (2 Thessalonians 2:1-3) from the gospel Christ organized. The authority to bestow priesthood keys and to receive revelation for the Church was lost along with many precious teachings. This website, run by the LDS Church, explains things better than I can.

My brother is telling people about Joseph Smith, a teenage boy in 1820, in upstate New York, during a time of religious excitement. Joseph was confused about which church he should join and asked God through prayer. The answer he received was that none of them were true. He (through the power of God) was instrumental in restoring the true church of Jesus Christ to the earth again.

Recently, there has been a lot of media, political, and other attention focused on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (or Mormon Church). I am generally happy about the attention regardless of whether it is positive or negative because it means more people with become at least a little familiar with the church I belong to! Once in a while, however, I feel it is necessary to clarify; even if the offender could be classified as psychologically insane and even if no one is listening to me :)

Anderson Cooper interviews Dr. Robert Jeffress (a baptist pastor who believes there should be an evangelical president in the White House and called Mormonism a cult):

Now...even if "cult" can be theologically defined as a religion/religious group with a founder other than Jesus Christ, Mormonism (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) doesn't qualify. Why? Because Joseph Smith did not found said church. Jesus Christ did. Joseph Smith restored it. If you have questions about that, see my linked websites, comment here, or get in touch with me and I will put you in touch with people like my brother who are in your area. People called of God to explain it.

P.S. Points to Anderson Cooper, he ROCKS!

Sunday Gems

Last Sunday (well, September 18th), I hit the jackpot! I heard two really great talks:

The first was in church. Lay members of the congregation speak in LDS church services, which I LOVE. Not only does everyone get a chance to practice public speaking, we also get to hear different personalities and viewpoints expand on simple truths and doctrines of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It's GREAT! Bro. Gordon Smith (former U.S. Senator from Oregon) spoke about self-identifying and defining yourself; something that is especially pertinent to me at this point in time: unemployed, not in school... :) Below are the highlights:


I would urge you to be defined by your gifts, not by your current job.
Your calling is to find your spiritual gifts.
Find your gift and give it away.
You make a living by what you get, you make a life by what you give. -Winston Churchill
Told the story of Joseph (sold into Egypt). Elaborated on how difficult things were for him at work: a slave, rather unpleasant situation with boss's wife, thrown in prison (multiple times), but he went to work to serve.
Also shared an experience about hiring two girls from BYU into his senate office, figuring he'd give them a chance. He said they came to work not because the work they were doing was extremely important; they came to make the lives of those they worked with better.


You know a talk is great when you start making a list at the bottom of your notes, outlining your own spiritual gifts. :)



The second talk was a part of the "Why I Believe" fireside series, Sunday evening talks sponsored in part by the Washington D.C. Temple Visitor's Center (open to the public daily, 10am to 9pm). Business executives and community leaders are invited to share the source of their faith in Jesus Christ and His restored gospel. Brad Bryan, an old bishop (pastor, congregational leader) of mine, shared the story of his conversion to the LDS (Mormon) Church. He is a powerful writer and speaker. I filled up a whole week of my tiny 3"x5" planner copying as much of what I thought applied to me as I could:

Three men are put in a room and told the one who can open the door will receive a great prize. Two of the men immediately begin doing complex calculations to determine the makeup and specifications of the mechanisms and hardware of the door. The third man walks over to the door, turns the knob, opens the door and walks out. We don't try and yet many things are in our very power.

The secret of life: be ready for opportunity.
It is not that we endeavor to get ahead of others, but to surpass ourselves.
"Facing up to reality" or "understanding our limitations" but it's giving up all the same.
Brad Bryan says the first reason he believes is because of the confidence the Church helped restore in him.

Of course, it is the responsibility of those who hear the talk to actually apply what they furiously write down into their lives...

A Camping We Will Go

I spent the week of June 21-24 at Girls Camp at Camp Misty Mount in Thurmont, MD with over eighty 12-18 year old LDS young women and it was FABULOUS! I was "over" the 6th year ladies who were in charge of running the camp. They were so well-organized they didn't really need help and I got a free week to help where I could but basically hang out and learn from some incredible young ladies (shh, don't tell).

MY Ladies!

We did everything from learning first aid and cloud formations to swimming, hiking, crafts, devotionals, singing, skits and EATING: kabobs, dutch oven, the food the incredible ladies in the kitchen made and Mexican Smores!! Thanks for a great week ladies!!

CHI CHI CHI, LE LE LE, CHILE!

Disclaimer: There is no picture with this post because after 8 1/2 weeks in the MTC, we have received ZERO pictures from our dear missionary. We stopped receiving letters a few weeks in. Apparently we should have been sending stamps instead of cookies.

After two long (believe me Elder Kimball, I understand) but valuable months at the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah, Elder William Kimball flew to Chile (Santiago East) yesterday to begin the remaining 22 months of his 2 year LDS Mission.

Young men and women spend anywhere from 3-12 weeks at the MTC learning how to teach the doctrines of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and usually studying another language. From personal experience, I know the work they are called to do all over the world is the most sacred, inspired, important work and the best thing they could possibly be doing with their time! Not only are they humbly inviting people to learn more about their Savior Jesus Christ, about a book called the Book of Mormon and about a boy who was called to be a prophet named Joseph Smith, but they are (frequently obliviously) learning more about themselves, the Latter-day Saint Church, religion, culture, psychology, sociology, cooking, cleaning, motivation and leadership in a 2-year time period than they have learned in their entire life up to that point!

As evidenced in emails he has been sending us, it is clear Elder Kimball has already learned a lot (starting with week 1 up through last week):

I miss you all loads, but the grand thing is is that there's so much to do I don't have time to be distraught about it. THE MTC IS LIKE YOUR BEST FRIEND(S)! Take EFY and "multiply it by six!.............." I will be sending part of a written letter later, because there is some info I would like you guys to have. If you could please send my regards to everyone and tell them I am reading their letters, I just can't respond to everything...My first meal was steak and potatoes and yes I ate everything on my plate(s) :)

There's something here called the free box! Any elder puts anything in there it's yours for the taking (I have a box of Nerf Guns!)

I'm in a great district...It's almost liked we planned it in the pre-existence!


I'm pretty sure every missionary here feels like the prophet Mormon..."not even a hundredth part can I write." And it's so true. We have the coolest teachers here and we have the best district and zone. We have just about the best everything! I miss you all and love you all and Can't wait for the second coming so I can remember and tell everything to you all.


Well...it's been 5 weeks!! Certainly hasn't felt that long. It honestly still seems like I just got here yesterday...and if things go according to regular schedule for the MTC, then I'll be a Hosting Missionary this Wednesday!!! The "homework" here has been bumped up a notch since we got Hermano Ellot to be our teacher! He is way cool. He's also more "you can do this, (at least with the Lord's help), so do it! It's good practice for the field, I guess.

MTC is really spelled G - R - E - A - T - !

I know the Gospel is True! I know that we will be blessed if we are obedient!!! I know we can be happy also if we are obedient!

Things going on here: I finished reading the Miracle of Forgiveness! It's pretty powerful - I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone!

Teaching is going great (except for it could still be better). But it's been getting better!

We should be leaving for Chile in about 2 weeks! I can't wait to get out, meet my trainer and mission president and get to work!

Well...Oh yeah! We got a really great lesson the other day from Hermano Jensen...HOLY SMOKES! He is a great teacher! And he gave us some study work and we'll also be having another great lesson Saturday evening from him.

I'm not sure there is too much to tell...most of it is small stuff...eating, sleeping, and studying...All what's left that's cool that I can say is that MIRACLES DO HAPPEN! I remember a saying, "If the church were not true, the 19 year old boys that go out on missions would have sunk the church, years ago"...and so very true! The Gospel is real and it blesses the faithful young men and women who go out and serve missions. The church will grow! But, as President Hinckley said, "Activity is the genius of God's church." I believe there will most certainly come a time when it IS every member a missionary because either you'll be for God, and will be able to stand the trials that will come your way, or we'll not be as hardworking as we should be in the church, in inviting and teaching, and because of our lax nature, we'll lose our testimonies and our good standing with God, and we will be left to ourselves to deal with our problems. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said, "As we come closer to Christ, the path of discipleship becomes narrower and narrower..." keeping the commandments probably will take more faith and sacrifice in being obedient. I know the President, his Counselors and the Quorum of the Twelve are Special Witnesses and receive guidance to direct the church. THE HEAD OF THIS CHURCH IS THE LORD JESUS CHRIST - the prophets just speak His words. So listen.

Give my love to ALL the family, everywhere - learn from your own and others mistakes so you don't have to make them as well

And the Church is True.

Love you all

Elder Kimball

After saying "Sé que nuestro Padre Celestial nos bendecirá al guardar los mandamientos," he was gone from the other end of the phone. I love you Elder Kimball! See you in 22 months!

Origins

On October 31, 2009 I walked out my door on the 4th floor of an apartment building in Cluj-Napoca, Romania to find dog poop and one kiwi fruit occupying the same 1 square foot space on the landing. Aside from having a strong desire to regurgitate breakfast, I was intrigued. How do two seemingly different objects come to be in such close proximity to each other?? The wonderfully fabulous Sora V., who resides in my top ten favorite people in the entire world list, kindly posed for a picture:

after which, I laughed to myself while the aforementioned Sveta Vasylyeva likely mused on how strange her companion was. Perhaps it was the state of eternal exhaustion I seemed to be functioning in or the two hours I had just spent attempting to create analogies and metaphors tied to scripture stories and religious principles in personal and companion study, but that combination seemed like the perfect example of how nonsensical and purportedly messed up life can seem. I therefore vowed in the elevator ride down that kiwi and dog poop would somehow become my life maxim, motto or mascot, if you will, for putting life events into perspective and proper order. And so it begins...