Happy Anniversary!

Apologies to those who have checked my blog with no new news. I know you are all waiting on baited breath for my words of inspiration. hahaha-- Really i'm probably just writing to myself, but here we go.
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY to ME! Today is my 1 month anniversary in Fiji. To celebrate I bought a really corny anniversary card to give to my co-partner James Brown. It has flowers, heart,... the works. I will also enjoy eating a cream bun. Cream buns have become a small obsession of mine. I have even had to limit the days that I eat them. They are homemade bread with a sugary honey cream inside. To say the least they are addicting and probably very fattening. Bring on the FAT!
Well let me just run through a typical day. ( mind that there are no such things as typical days here)
7:00- wake up to the sounds of birds, chickens, stray dogs, and loud roosters. It is hard to sleep in with all of those sounds combined. I then find some girls that go running with me through town. ( In fiji no one does physical exercise, so seeing a bunch of Americans running usually calls a lot of attention.)
7:45- eat, shower, get ready etc.
8-9- go to the first project.
- We have many projects such as square foot gardening, adobe stove making, nutrition classes, exercise classes, health classes, etc. Each project has a volunteer as a project lead. These project leads are in charge of organizing sustainable projects with our partners. James and I go about all day either doing logistical things such as shopping, meeting with government officials, making contacts, talking with the ministry of education and health, or accompanying the volunteers to their projects. If we go out to a village then they usually provide us with lunch.
5:45- it gets dark, so we all return home to eat, relax and have our beloved training meetings put on by James and I.
10:30-11:45- go to bed

I love being out here. The people are always smiling. Most do not have shoes on their feet and are dirty from head to foot, but they are happy. I think us Americans could learn a lot about the true meaning of life from these beautiful people.
Our team consists of 12 volunteers which in 2 weeks will be transforming into 27. We all share 1 bathroom and 1 shower. We wash our own clothes and spend alot of time playing card games, watching movies, talking about life, and reading books. On wthe weekend we can leave and do whatever we would like to.
Last week I went to the Robinson Cruesoe Island. It was beautiful. We went snorkeling, made coconut jewelry, had a bonfire, watched traditional dancing, went kayaking etc. While I did get sick, I was still able to have a great relaxing time.

I have found that this beautiful island inspires me. I look out the window and am penetrated by the beauty of the mountains, the flowers, the trees, the ocean. I sometimes catch myself staring out into the distance for a long time. There really is something healing about beauty. I am so grateful that our Heavenly Father made this earth for us. He is so kind. I have come to a new appreciation and need to be surrounded by beautiful things. ( Nature, paintings, music etc. ) It really does uplift our spirits and elevate our minds. It causes us to ponder on the meaning of life, of our daily actions, our thoughts, our relationships etc. I have found that when I look into the beautiful mountains I cannot control my mouth from forming a smile. It is a natural reaction. The only thing more beautiful than the scenery is the people. These people are so selfless. They love eachother and want to have fun. The other night we were making a garden and stove for a family. Afterwards they took us to a party that the village was having in honor of a man that returned from France. They were all sitting on their woven mats drinking Kava ( a very popular drink that tastes like dirt-- literally like water and dirt--- but they love it ) They were all listening to music and just enjoying being together. As I socialized with one woman she grabbed my hand, grabbed the hand of the man that returned from France and made us dance together in front of the whoel village. In return I grabbed one of the American volunteers and made her dance with him in front of the entire village. It was hilarious. We then formed a Kongo line during which many of the older women joined and caused the whole crowd to fall over laughing. These people are wonderful! I love them so much it hurts to see them have any sort of pain. I wish that I could take away not just poverty, but physical pain, inconveinence, misunderstandings, etc.

First week in Fiji

Well I sit here at the computer feeling like a Fijian woman. I know I have only been here 1 week, but I feel like a part of the community. When I see foreigners I am tempted to stare ( only to realize that I am one). This past week has been a great one. James and I searched adn searched and finally found a green house on a hill for our volunteers. It is perfect. I feel like i'm on the mission again because I more easily see all my little prayers being answered. Perhaps it is because I have no school, jobs, or dating to distract me from the spirit. Or perhaps it is just because i'm paying attention and in great need of guidance. I pray all day long from waking up to getting on a mysterious bus to a new part of teh island to buying food. Everything has been so new but I love it. Just yesterday I was taught how to wash my clothing by hand. I feel a little guilty that many people do this everyday and I have always had the comforts of a machine. I have learned how to get around in a country where you have no one to help you. There is no mission president or senior companion to guide you. It is me, James, and the spirit. I'm grateful that neither James or I are shy. We talk to everyone and therefore learn quickly. Many people have been brought into our path to guide and help us. We have found a wonderful cook who is the same lady that will be helping us wash our clothes. Tommorrow we will be participating in a parade around Tavua. It is a parade promoting a Crime Free town.
Yesterday I had a great friend ( who refers to me as her sister) do the beautiful Henna designs on my arm adn hand. She is going to teach me how to do this along with how to cook Indian food.
In Fiji there are 2 groups of people. Fijians and Indo-Fijians. They are not on the best of terms, but they are both wonderful people. You can tell them apart by their hair usually. The Fijian people have more curly hair while Indians have more straight hair. They are beautiful people.
In the past couple days I have had times where it was only me. ME adn the people. I feel like I'm falling in love again. It's only been a week, but these people are eternally apart of my heart. They have already become family.
I have been grateful this week that the spirit has blessed me with peace. No matter if I lose my phone, get lost, can't find a house etc. I had a peace that surrounded me. I think alot of that is because of the beauty of this place. It is the prettiest place I've ever seen. Beauty really does heal the soul!
Well 2 volunteers came in today. We took them to the best bread store and walked around town. It's a great summer. I'm so grateful to be here!

FIJI

Hello everyone!
I am writing from Fiji- I've been here for about 24 hours. James and I flew in and it is gorgeous! Humid, hot, and looks like mexico- or uganda according to James!We are in the process of looking for housing! ITs great! i'm going to write in this weekly to update ya'll and for a small journal!
Yay for fiji!

The Second comforter

In John 15:26 to 27 It says
"But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:
27 And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning."
In these scriptures Christ is speaking to his apostles and promising them the guidance of the Holy Ghost. It is unknown whether his apostles actually understood what Christ was saying. (I personally believe they had no clue.) They were so accustomed to being around Jesus and having the ability to ask him about their concerns that the idea of some unseen being might have seemed unreal. Yet, just like his prophesy’s of His death and betrayal came to pass, this also came to pass.
What, or shall we say who is the Comforter? The Comforter is the Holy Spirit. He is not Christ. While Christ and the Spirit have the same purpose and goal, their bodies are separate. Since the Spirit has no body his mission is special. He can touch spirits. Through this ability he is able to comfort us when we are sad, guide us when we feel lost, and tell us what we ought to do.
What an amazing reality. While Christ had to leave this earth, he sent the other part of the God- head to stay with us. The spirit can be felt by everyone as they do good things. It is the good feeling that one gets when one serves another, prays, or sacrifices. Yet, if we want to have the spirit guide us every day there is a requirement. We must accept baptism and live according to the laws of God.
I am grateful for the spirit. I have called upon its comfort daily and have become stronger through its promptings.

Art Museum: identity found

Recently our class participated in a inspiring tour of BYU's Museum of Art. Our "tour guide" was a wonderful woman by the name of Rita Wright. I was very impressed with the way that she used questions, ideas, and stories to enlarge our vision. I found that as she helped us enlarge our vision, personal revelation came.... and this art began not just a work of art nailed to a wall ... but instead it was a glimpse into the soul of man.

Questions!
As we moved from painting to painting Rita would continue to ask us questions such as "what emotion does this art evoke, how does this represent Christ, etc." As she asked these questions I was given direction to begin pondering and exploring my mind and feelings. As I did so thoughts and feelings came that I had not thought of before. I started seeing myself in the paintings. For example, there was one painting that was a woman holding a perfectly baked bread loaf. At first glance I thought it was a nice painting but had the desire to pass it by because it did not strike my first glance. Yet, As she kept us in front of this art piece I found myself in the woman. This woman was noticeably tired from her days work, yet with great posture and presentation bestows the bread to the audience. This is perhaps how I/we are everyday. Every day I personally strive and work for an goal, a person, or a desire. Most of the time I am tired, a little stressed, but persistent. I want so badly to do my best, give my all, and present it well. I strongly believe in sacrificing for what we desire most. This painting became a representation of that ideal to me.

As we moved on through the Art museum we were also stopped in front of a wall sculpture. The scene it portrayed was of a man in the crucifix position ( undoubtedly Christ himself) , who has a rod exuding from his finger. Connected to the rod was the hand of another man. Our tour guide gave us some ideas of what this could represent. Yet, we cannot be sure if the man is jumping up to hold on to the rod, or letting go and falling. As I looked at this sculpture I yet again found myself inside of it. The rod spoken of vanishes as it gets closer to the finger of Christ. This I interpreted as follows. We must hold on to the rod in order to be led to Christ. Yet, as we get closer to Christ the rod disappears ( kind of a walk in the dark , faith idea) and then we see Christ himself. Therefore this man who is on the rod I see as me. A person who has been trying to faithfully hold on to the rod, yet feels the rod disappearing and feels fear because of the unknown. Yet just like the sculpture…all I need to do is look towards the Savior and he will catch us.
Art is one of the most powerful tools that can bring us to Christ. How wonderful!:)

Words: the carrier of our faith

John 1:1-5
1 IN the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2 The same was in the beginning with God.

3 All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.

4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

This scripture is perhaps one of the most famous scriptures in the Bible. It is so famous that it has been arranged into many different songs. In fact it was one of the earliest Christian songs to be sung. There are more verses/words, yet, I would like to focus on the first five. It is interesting to see that the Word is referring to a being, or in other words, Christ. Why would Christ be referred to as the Word? While pondering this I reflected on the purpose and use of words in our lives today. In the dictionary it defines words as the following, “Words are a unit of language, consisting of one or more spoken sounds or their written representation, that functions as a principal carrier of meaning.” As I read this I was hit by the words representation and carrier of meaning. We cannot see God, yet Christ can. Christ is our representative to the Father. His very body is the vehicle by which we have been made free from our sins IF we will repent and change. Everybody’s life has meaning. We determine everyday what our individual meaning and purpose is. Every time we repent and change this meaning changes because we are changing our vision, our thoughts, our wants, and our perspective to that of Christ’s. He then “carries” all of who we are, makes us perfect, and presents us to the Father. He literally is our form of communication with Heavenly Father.
A common old phrase goes like this, “my word is my bond.” This implies that whatever one chooses to say, they are choosing to do. If I say I will be somewhere at a certain time, I will. If I say I like something, I do. Basically anything we say is true and thereby turns into action. Today this principle has been disregarded and therefore there are liars, cheaters, back stabbers, and a lot of people who speak a lot and do very little. Anything that our Heavenly Father or Jesus Christ says is true and therefore is cultivated or acted upon. This is why “all things were made by him and without him was nothing made.” He said create earth, and it happened, he said let there be light, and there was. I hope that perhaps I may be so true to my word that I make life happen instead of watch it.

Life Lessons from His death: The Book of Matthew

When the world thinks of Jesus Christ what does it think? While many will recall his miracles and teachings, many more will remember His death. The sign of the cross has become a common symbol for those who worship and believe that Jesus Christ is our Savior. While a symbol may create mental images which cause us to reflect, it is not until we delve into the Bible accounts of His death that we really can begin to understand it. One such account is found in the book of Matthew.
The account of Matthew demonstrates the evils of money. We cannot be sure why Judas turned Christ in, yet, we know that for this devilish act of hypocrisy he received 30 silver pieces. This is the same amount that then was used to buy a field, which became known as the “field of blood.” This detail added by Matthew is one of uniqueness. This example of betrayal still continues on today. Many people will do anything for money, including selling others or oneself. How horrible! Yet, as we continue to read Matthew he does not focus on this. Instead he focuses on the fact that each hypocrisy and horrible thing that happens to Christ are all manifestations of His divine calling. Many times Matthew tells us that what happened “fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet.” Perhaps this is why He allowed himself to feel the pain that in reality through His power could have easily chosen not to feel. Perhaps this is why He endured. He knew who He was. He knew for what purpose He was living and dying. The scriptures say He “held his peace.” I believe that in reality He did hold his peace. No one could disturb Him. He was solid and determined in what He was accomplishing.
As Christ was being tortured we are not told of Him using any type of restraint. Matthew simply tells us of the treacherous things that were done to him. This I take as strength. If Christ resisted, yelled, kicked etc. I am sure they would have put this in the account. Yet, Christ was able to control Himself and His natural reactions. As I thought about this I have become more determined to become this way; to be able to control our natural reactions.
The one expression He did use and was recorded was when He was on the cross in the dark. He cried “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me.” This plea exemplifies His love of the Father and His depth of pain. Christ had always had His Father there to help and guide Him. Yet, in order to feel the pain of all men God left Him alone for a little bit. As we reflect on this plea, let’s remember anytime we might have called out for our parents. Perhaps when we fell off our bike or when we were being hassled by our siblings. We call on them for support and love. Our Savior also called to His Father for support. I know that Heavenly Father lives. His son is Jesus Christ. They are 2 different and distinct individuals. Because our Heavenly Father loves us soo much He sent His son to die for us. I know this is true. I know it through reading the Book of Mormon and prayer. If you will read and pray you will also know, and have a deeper relationship with our savior Jesus Christ.