Ok guys, this post is going to get a little deep, but bear with me here. if you can make it past all the cliches and idea stretching ive accomplished, you may find something worth sharing.
Now it's time for a little back story. as you all know, i got my mission call to Fiji a few weeks ago. well, ever since then ive been getting worried and having some crazy doubts about myself and whether i could really travel around the world, learn a crazy language i know nothing about, and somehow manage to make the trip worth while for everyone. snags in my visa stuff and little things that i have never thought of before have been coming out of the woodwork to bug me day and night.
One day while i was driving home from a particularly slow (and thus thought/doubt inducing) day at work, i heard this song on the radio. i'd heard it a few times before and liked the upbeat rhythm and catchy rhymes, but id never really put the lyrics together before. listening to it over the next few days everything finally clicked and made everything that was bugging me seem a lot smaller or even go away!
I'm sure this isn't what the musician had in mind when it was written, but this is what i got out of it. so here are the lyrics and what it brought to my mind. feel free to look up the song and listen to it while you read. :D
-Home, by Phillip Phillips-
Hold on to Me as we go
As we roll down this Unfamiliar Road
Although this Weight is stringing us along
Just know your'e Not Alone
Cuz I'm gonna Make this place your Home
Settle down, it will all be clear
Don't pay no mind to the demons they fill you with Fear
Trouble, it might drag you down
If you get Lost you can Always be Found
Just Know you're not alone
Cuz I'm gonna make this place your home
After connecting the dots and digging a little more, i sat down and made a list for myself to go with the song.
My New Years Creed for my Mission/Life:
1. I will Hold on to Christ. I will confide in Him and follow his promptings. He will Never lead me astray.
2. I can only grow to my full Potential if i take Risks and face Unfamiliar Challenges.
3.I am pulled by my desire to spread the Gospel, my duty to those whom i will teach, and my knowledge that this is where i am supposed to be.
4. I am Never alone. There will always be people who are placed in my path to help me in my time of need.
5. Christ will help me make my Home wherever He needs me. I will work to make Homes for others, at all times, whether by teaching, serving, or just being a friend.
6. Home is wherever you love and are loved unconditionally. Wherever i find the Gospel, i find my Home.
7. He has a Plan for me. It may not be easy and it may not be obvious, but eventually I will understand and I will be the better for it, in the end.
8. I will be tempted but i will not let it keep me from fulfilling my goals. I will have Courage and not be Afraid.
9. Hard things are bound to happen, and i will have hard days. But no matter what happens I can always start over with a new day and be a better person.
10. I will grow to love the place i am serving, and will always call it Home.
so there it is! i told you it was a little deep. now whenever i hear it, its like a little pick-me-up that tells me to keep going. Hopefully it does the same for you.
much love,
Annie
Jan 4, 2013
Dec 13, 2012
THE BIG NEWS!!
Well, i guess it's about time i started this up again. It's been soooooo long!! Since the last time i wrote, i've had another fabulous semester at Snow College, planned a few more dances for the Institute, graduated, and spent the summer as a Program Director at one of my favorite places on earth: Brighton LDS Girls Camp.ill have to do a more in depth post on brighton because theres no way i could do it justice here. I can't believe how the experiences of this last year have changed me, and i wouldnt have it any other way.
The big news thats getting me going again is my mission call!! After a long application process and being passed up by many friends, my call was in the mail back to me less than a week after we sent my application! I had to wait all day to open it so everyone could be there. pretty sure it was the slowest day at work EVER!! i finally got home around 10 and immediately opened it. drumroll . . . . . im going to FIJI!!! how crazy cool is that?! i think the 'closest' guess goes to uncle kelly and aunt theresea who said somewhere in the caribbean. i know i know, other side of the world, but its still a tropical type island so i say it counts. :D
im so excited and cant wait to get started on the prep.
thats all for now.
much love! Annie
p.s. i wish i could put some pictures up, but my account wont let me and i doubt it ever will :(
The big news thats getting me going again is my mission call!! After a long application process and being passed up by many friends, my call was in the mail back to me less than a week after we sent my application! I had to wait all day to open it so everyone could be there. pretty sure it was the slowest day at work EVER!! i finally got home around 10 and immediately opened it. drumroll . . . . . im going to FIJI!!! how crazy cool is that?! i think the 'closest' guess goes to uncle kelly and aunt theresea who said somewhere in the caribbean. i know i know, other side of the world, but its still a tropical type island so i say it counts. :D
im so excited and cant wait to get started on the prep.
thats all for now.
much love! Annie
p.s. i wish i could put some pictures up, but my account wont let me and i doubt it ever will :(
Apr 15, 2012
Playing Catch-Up
so this is just gonna be a quick update to get me back on track
my classes are going great and i graduate in three weeks! ill be heading up to usu in the fall and start my degree in wildlife and environmental studies. i have loved being on the institute council, it has been such a great experience for me. the formal dances were a little stressful but i survived and even got dates for both! there is one stomp left and ive decided on a decades theme. my roomies and i are super close now and cant believe that the semester's pretty much over. we'll have to do something over the summer, maybe a camping trip? this past weekend was stake conference, and we had some general authorities come; kevin j. worthin of the 70 and l. tom perry! ill go more into that next time.
probably the biggest news is that im going back to brighton this summer!! i was so shocked when they called and asked me to be one of the program directors ( i had applied to be a counselor)! its a huge job but i know i can handle it if i keep my mind in the right place, put aside my fears and depend on the lord. we had our first actual workshop on saturday and it was wonderful! we played some games, went over lots of stuff and basically got to know everyone. i think i have most of the names down.
here's some other stuff thats going on. my sister lauren and her husband have been applying to graduate schools and finally decided on the university of kansas so they will be moving sometime this summer. also my cousin (basically my sister) and her husband have been in the adoption process for 6 months. she's been living in ethiopia for almost a month waiting for the papers to go through. we just got word that we will have zaidee mae jorgensen in our arms by this time next week!! (if all goes well) im so happy for them and the new life they will start together!
thats all for now, love ya!!
Annie
my classes are going great and i graduate in three weeks! ill be heading up to usu in the fall and start my degree in wildlife and environmental studies. i have loved being on the institute council, it has been such a great experience for me. the formal dances were a little stressful but i survived and even got dates for both! there is one stomp left and ive decided on a decades theme. my roomies and i are super close now and cant believe that the semester's pretty much over. we'll have to do something over the summer, maybe a camping trip? this past weekend was stake conference, and we had some general authorities come; kevin j. worthin of the 70 and l. tom perry! ill go more into that next time.
probably the biggest news is that im going back to brighton this summer!! i was so shocked when they called and asked me to be one of the program directors ( i had applied to be a counselor)! its a huge job but i know i can handle it if i keep my mind in the right place, put aside my fears and depend on the lord. we had our first actual workshop on saturday and it was wonderful! we played some games, went over lots of stuff and basically got to know everyone. i think i have most of the names down.
here's some other stuff thats going on. my sister lauren and her husband have been applying to graduate schools and finally decided on the university of kansas so they will be moving sometime this summer. also my cousin (basically my sister) and her husband have been in the adoption process for 6 months. she's been living in ethiopia for almost a month waiting for the papers to go through. we just got word that we will have zaidee mae jorgensen in our arms by this time next week!! (if all goes well) im so happy for them and the new life they will start together!
thats all for now, love ya!!
Annie
Oct 16, 2011
~ a week of service ~
This week was so much fun!!! There were tons of activities and it was so nice to have less homework for a change.
Monday night we played chair soccer with the elders for their p-day, sooo fun!! it's been wonderful getting to know them better. Elder lowther is from south carolina and goes home in january, and elder matthews is from idaho, he's only been out for a few months. anyway they are so sweet and have the best ways of explaining things. They always come over at the perfect times, right when im really missing all my guys who are out on missions, and it makes me feel so much better to see what theyre doing and how much they grow. i hope my buddies are having just as much fun.
The mid week days were pretty normal. I had a substitute in art, finished all my homework in time, same old same old. Thursday i finished my ten hour project for my communications class. my partner and i have been making bags for the head start in mt. pleasant. its a preschool thats almost entirely run on service and grants. we made about 200 drawstring bags and all of our service hours go towards getting more grants for the program. That same day there was a temple service project, we dig up the flowers and replant others every fall and spring. But as you see, i was a little busy so i didn't make it but i heard there was a huge turnout.
One cool thing going on this week was the red thread movement fundraiser. if you haven't heard, the red thread movement is a student initiative that works with eternal threads to support girls who have or are trying to escape sex trafficking around the world. the bracelets we bought were made by a 12 year old girl in nepal who was rescued, one dollar goes to her and the other two go to freeing other girls and setting up more border units to prevent sex trafficking. it's been such a hit down here at snow that they ran out of bracelets after a few hours and are ordering more to sell! i would be happy to get some for anyone who wants to raise awareness and support the movement.
Friday was definitely a happy day, i just woke up feeling wonderful! I got to sleep in, and my only class was cut short because the heater was out of wack. We had an amazing friday forum with paul pace, a stake president from loa utah. First his wife spoke on standing in holy places, she told us that if we always are worthy and keep the spirit with us then we will always be in a holy place. Pres Pace talked about faith and how we are all taught differently by example or reading the scriptures. He made a great parable about faith and the north star. Just as we are shown how to find the north star by those who are close to us, those same people show us how to believe in the gospel, but it wont do us any good unless we use the star to guide us through our adventures, or use faith to guide us through life because the difference between belief and faith is action. we cannot wait for miracles to develop our faith, we have to use our faith to create miracles.
After friday forum i got to go to lunch with the pres. pace and his wife (every week some council members take the speaker out to lunch). We had a nice relaxing afternoon in the apartment and that evening most of us went to a school concert. The orchestra and choirs performed brahm's requiem, it was gorgeous! Later we went to a haunted house up the canyon and screamed out heads off then finished up the night by staying up late with taylor and watching the patriot for a school project.
On saturday i took my communications test, read a lot and had a guitar jam session with my roomies. that night we got the guys and played volleyball outside for a while, went on a walk to watch the shooting stars, then played ultimate spoons and drop the keys in the parking lot for a few hours. thats where the cop found us lol!! he had been watching us from the street for a while and was trying to figure out what we were doing. after he made sure we weren't fighting or anything he let us take pictures in the back of his car and with him! All in all, it was a fantastic weekend.
This morning was church as usual. The elders sat with us today and all the talks were on peer pressure. After lunch mariah, bekah and i went to the rest home to visit and play games. Those old people are so sweet! there was one lady named afton who talked to us for about an hour. she's 98 years old! when we were talking she kept forgetting what she had already said so she told us about her grandkids and meeting her husband about 5 times, you could see her face light up every time she remembered something about them. so cute! Tonight its the guys turn to host dinner and games, but they wont tell us what they're making! They had better not steal our ideas!
So to sum it all up, life is fabulous, college is fun, i love my room mates and am making tons of new friends and having great experiences. Can't wait for fall break and yellowstone with the fam next week!
Love you all,
Annie
Monday night we played chair soccer with the elders for their p-day, sooo fun!! it's been wonderful getting to know them better. Elder lowther is from south carolina and goes home in january, and elder matthews is from idaho, he's only been out for a few months. anyway they are so sweet and have the best ways of explaining things. They always come over at the perfect times, right when im really missing all my guys who are out on missions, and it makes me feel so much better to see what theyre doing and how much they grow. i hope my buddies are having just as much fun.
The mid week days were pretty normal. I had a substitute in art, finished all my homework in time, same old same old. Thursday i finished my ten hour project for my communications class. my partner and i have been making bags for the head start in mt. pleasant. its a preschool thats almost entirely run on service and grants. we made about 200 drawstring bags and all of our service hours go towards getting more grants for the program. That same day there was a temple service project, we dig up the flowers and replant others every fall and spring. But as you see, i was a little busy so i didn't make it but i heard there was a huge turnout.
One cool thing going on this week was the red thread movement fundraiser. if you haven't heard, the red thread movement is a student initiative that works with eternal threads to support girls who have or are trying to escape sex trafficking around the world. the bracelets we bought were made by a 12 year old girl in nepal who was rescued, one dollar goes to her and the other two go to freeing other girls and setting up more border units to prevent sex trafficking. it's been such a hit down here at snow that they ran out of bracelets after a few hours and are ordering more to sell! i would be happy to get some for anyone who wants to raise awareness and support the movement.
Friday was definitely a happy day, i just woke up feeling wonderful! I got to sleep in, and my only class was cut short because the heater was out of wack. We had an amazing friday forum with paul pace, a stake president from loa utah. First his wife spoke on standing in holy places, she told us that if we always are worthy and keep the spirit with us then we will always be in a holy place. Pres Pace talked about faith and how we are all taught differently by example or reading the scriptures. He made a great parable about faith and the north star. Just as we are shown how to find the north star by those who are close to us, those same people show us how to believe in the gospel, but it wont do us any good unless we use the star to guide us through our adventures, or use faith to guide us through life because the difference between belief and faith is action. we cannot wait for miracles to develop our faith, we have to use our faith to create miracles.
After friday forum i got to go to lunch with the pres. pace and his wife (every week some council members take the speaker out to lunch). We had a nice relaxing afternoon in the apartment and that evening most of us went to a school concert. The orchestra and choirs performed brahm's requiem, it was gorgeous! Later we went to a haunted house up the canyon and screamed out heads off then finished up the night by staying up late with taylor and watching the patriot for a school project.
On saturday i took my communications test, read a lot and had a guitar jam session with my roomies. that night we got the guys and played volleyball outside for a while, went on a walk to watch the shooting stars, then played ultimate spoons and drop the keys in the parking lot for a few hours. thats where the cop found us lol!! he had been watching us from the street for a while and was trying to figure out what we were doing. after he made sure we weren't fighting or anything he let us take pictures in the back of his car and with him! All in all, it was a fantastic weekend.
This morning was church as usual. The elders sat with us today and all the talks were on peer pressure. After lunch mariah, bekah and i went to the rest home to visit and play games. Those old people are so sweet! there was one lady named afton who talked to us for about an hour. she's 98 years old! when we were talking she kept forgetting what she had already said so she told us about her grandkids and meeting her husband about 5 times, you could see her face light up every time she remembered something about them. so cute! Tonight its the guys turn to host dinner and games, but they wont tell us what they're making! They had better not steal our ideas!
So to sum it all up, life is fabulous, college is fun, i love my room mates and am making tons of new friends and having great experiences. Can't wait for fall break and yellowstone with the fam next week!
Love you all,
Annie
Oct 9, 2011
sweet serendipity
hey guys! so these past two weeks have been interesting. i had tons of stuff to do and not enough time to do it but somehow it all worked out, i learned a lot and had a great time.
first off, i got a ride home last weekend at short notice. it took a few stops and car changes but i eventually got home, and its a good thing too! mom had bought tickets for the whole family including daniel to go to fightmares! it was so much fun and even though daniel got a little motion sick i think he had a good time.
another surprise came that weekend; luke called me friday morning and told me that nonna had passed away during the night. she went peacefully, surrounded by family at the ripe old age of 88. we went to the vigil service sunday night after conference then i stayed up in salt lake for the funeral on monday. it was a beautiful service, exactly what nonna would have wanted, with lots of friends and family there for support.
dad drove me home afterwards and of course we ended up getting distracted once we got to ephraim. :D we went and got dinner and ice cream at the malt shop, walked around the pioneer memorial park, ordered the ink for my printer and talked for a while. i dont think he left till about 9, oops, sorry mom!
so this week i had so much stuff to do! an art project, a rough draft for a huge paper, and two tests! i dont know how, but everything worked out well and even though i was really stressed out, i still had a fabulous week with my room mates. they are the best!! they could tell i was feeling a down, so they did little things throughout the week that kept me going. thanks you guys!
thursday night the missionaries showed the new joseph smith movie at the institute building. its pretty much the same one that has been at the joseph smith memorial building for a while but little parts were added or taken out to make it more non-member friendly. it was really good, and it was nice to be able to see it again. those missionaries are amazing! seeing them makes me so proud of all my friends out there serving their own missions.
finally, friday was the institute stomp. i decided to make it more fun this time and added a theme; NERDS! basically, everyone dressed up in glasses, suspenders, and mismatched socks then danced around like the crazy, fun loving college students we are. at first i was gonna have decorations and stuff but as the day got closer nothing seemed to be working out! no one was coming to meetings, things weren't being done on time, and only one girl showed up to make decorations meaning we didnt have any. not to mention there was a stomp put on by the school the following night and i was worried the students would skip mine! but as soon as i got to the institute friday night, i knew everything would be fine. most of my committee came to help set up, and everyone was totally decked out and ready to party! people danced the night away and i actually had time for a few slow dances this time! all in all, everyone had a blast.
first off, i got a ride home last weekend at short notice. it took a few stops and car changes but i eventually got home, and its a good thing too! mom had bought tickets for the whole family including daniel to go to fightmares! it was so much fun and even though daniel got a little motion sick i think he had a good time.
another surprise came that weekend; luke called me friday morning and told me that nonna had passed away during the night. she went peacefully, surrounded by family at the ripe old age of 88. we went to the vigil service sunday night after conference then i stayed up in salt lake for the funeral on monday. it was a beautiful service, exactly what nonna would have wanted, with lots of friends and family there for support.
dad drove me home afterwards and of course we ended up getting distracted once we got to ephraim. :D we went and got dinner and ice cream at the malt shop, walked around the pioneer memorial park, ordered the ink for my printer and talked for a while. i dont think he left till about 9, oops, sorry mom!
so this week i had so much stuff to do! an art project, a rough draft for a huge paper, and two tests! i dont know how, but everything worked out well and even though i was really stressed out, i still had a fabulous week with my room mates. they are the best!! they could tell i was feeling a down, so they did little things throughout the week that kept me going. thanks you guys!
thursday night the missionaries showed the new joseph smith movie at the institute building. its pretty much the same one that has been at the joseph smith memorial building for a while but little parts were added or taken out to make it more non-member friendly. it was really good, and it was nice to be able to see it again. those missionaries are amazing! seeing them makes me so proud of all my friends out there serving their own missions.
finally, friday was the institute stomp. i decided to make it more fun this time and added a theme; NERDS! basically, everyone dressed up in glasses, suspenders, and mismatched socks then danced around like the crazy, fun loving college students we are. at first i was gonna have decorations and stuff but as the day got closer nothing seemed to be working out! no one was coming to meetings, things weren't being done on time, and only one girl showed up to make decorations meaning we didnt have any. not to mention there was a stomp put on by the school the following night and i was worried the students would skip mine! but as soon as i got to the institute friday night, i knew everything would be fine. most of my committee came to help set up, and everyone was totally decked out and ready to party! people danced the night away and i actually had time for a few slow dances this time! all in all, everyone had a blast.
last but not least was church today, which was amazing as usual. i was reading the story about the brother of jared (always one of my favorite stories) during sacrament meeting. ether 2:25 and 3:4 stood out to me. i compared 2:25 to life in general. christ is saying that he has prepared us for this life and its challenges but we have to have a plan and ask him for help if we fall short. then in 3:4 the brother of jared is asking christ to touch the stones and make them shine. this one made me think of our leaders as the stones, when they are touched by christ they light up and help guide us all through life.
well those are my thoughts for this week, i hope everyone is doing well! dont forget that none of us are perfect, but if you do your best and try your hardest, the lord will make up the difference. i love you all!
well those are my thoughts for this week, i hope everyone is doing well! dont forget that none of us are perfect, but if you do your best and try your hardest, the lord will make up the difference. i love you all!
Annie
Sep 25, 2011
September 25th
So, this week has been pretty awesome. i love all my classes and have had tons of amazing experiences so far. its been kinda quiet because theres a bug going around our building so alot of people have been sleeping away the afternoons, which left me going on lots of walks and reading (after homework of course!) lately ive been wandering down by west campus to visit some horses and on the way i walk by the creek and cut through the pioneer memorial park. theres this awesome old pioneer house there thats normally shut up, but this time there was an exhibit going on so i got to walk around inside. the woodwork was amazing! they put so much work into their homes back then!
Last night was the general relief society broadcast and it was fabulous! as usual, my favorite speaker was pres. uchtdorf. he has such wonderful insight and stories that help me understand what he is teaching. this new talk was based around forget-me-nots and the five things (for the five petals) we should never forget: 1. be patient with yourself, we all have strengths and weaknesses. 2. there is a difference between good sacrifices and foolish ones, dont get caught up in the later. 3. be happy now, dont wait for your golden ticket. 4. the "why" of the gospel, think about why you do the things you do. 5. the lord loves me, i am not forgotten.
For institute this semester im taking a book of mormon class, among others. a few days ago we were talking about the attributes of christ. my teacher brought up a comparison between these attributes and the facets of a gem. i cant remember the exact way he put it but i took it one step further and applied the gem to our lives. in the beginning of life we are a gemstone in the rough, precious in gods eyes even if we cant yet see it. as we go through the trials of life we receive many cuts, and if we allow these cuts to be polished through lessons into the facets of christ we are able to take in more light from the gospel which in turn makes us shine with a greater brilliance as we grow in experience and righteousness.
well thats it for now, i cant wait to get all my projects and dance planning done so i can enjoy conference next week! i cant wait to hear what new revelations god has for me! i love you all and hope to see you soon!
Annie
Last night was the general relief society broadcast and it was fabulous! as usual, my favorite speaker was pres. uchtdorf. he has such wonderful insight and stories that help me understand what he is teaching. this new talk was based around forget-me-nots and the five things (for the five petals) we should never forget: 1. be patient with yourself, we all have strengths and weaknesses. 2. there is a difference between good sacrifices and foolish ones, dont get caught up in the later. 3. be happy now, dont wait for your golden ticket. 4. the "why" of the gospel, think about why you do the things you do. 5. the lord loves me, i am not forgotten.
For institute this semester im taking a book of mormon class, among others. a few days ago we were talking about the attributes of christ. my teacher brought up a comparison between these attributes and the facets of a gem. i cant remember the exact way he put it but i took it one step further and applied the gem to our lives. in the beginning of life we are a gemstone in the rough, precious in gods eyes even if we cant yet see it. as we go through the trials of life we receive many cuts, and if we allow these cuts to be polished through lessons into the facets of christ we are able to take in more light from the gospel which in turn makes us shine with a greater brilliance as we grow in experience and righteousness.
well thats it for now, i cant wait to get all my projects and dance planning done so i can enjoy conference next week! i cant wait to hear what new revelations god has for me! i love you all and hope to see you soon!
Annie
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