Tuesday, January 9, 2007
Nauvoo
I just got a very exciting call today! I was selected to go to Nauvoo! Callbacks obviousely went well. Right now I don't know many details except I leave May 4th and come back I think August 31st. They will be sending an iformation packet in a couple of days. It will be such a magnificent experience.
Monday, January 8, 2007
So I failed on writing on Sunday. I had forgotten that we go to my grandma's every Fast Sunday so I failed to plan time to write. I figure the day after is almost as good.
Today we finally got back to normal as far as our work load is concerned. The few weeks before and after the holidays have been really slow. We had nothing to do because all of the people who work there take their vacation time at the same time that the General Authorities take their time off. Everyone said that Summer gets really slow also.
Since we had so much time we actually watched a few movies. There is an auditorium that is on the main floor of the Church office building that we watched a couple of them in. There are three large screens and really good surround sound so we couldn't pass the opportunity up. I felt bad wasting our time like that but there really wasn't anything to do.
We have had a big change in our mission today; Elder Felice left us. His year was up and today was the first day of him not being there. i know I have not said a whole lot about him but we can definitely feel a hole without him here. I think the only way to describe him is very rambunctious. We constantly had to remind him to be quite and calm down. Daily we heard from the people working around us about Elder Felice. They always had something to say about seeing if we could keep the noise level down and they always referred to "the one Elder, the big one". Life will not be as exciting as it was with him here.
Saturday was the callbacks for the Nauvoo performing mission. I think it went pretty well. There were some people who were definitely better than me but there were also some not quite as good. Oh my that sounds conceited. It is the truth though. You can tell when people have more improvement that can happen. I guess I was about middle of the road. At least I wasn't totally embarrassed.
In the callbacks they had Solo singing, Part singing, Cold reading, dance and a part where we introduced ourselves. Of course I had to tell about my family in my introduction and there were a lot of audible gasps when I said "the oldest of 13 kids". I think my worst part of the callbacks was the dancing part. I can dance but when they try to get me to memorize it in just a couple of run through's I get lost. In the solo part I only sang part of my song. There is one chord in the middle that kind of resolves and it holds for a couple of counts. I guess people thought that was the end and they started clapping. It was right before the climax of the song and a whole verse left. I just ended up stopping right there. It worked out.
I am not sure when we hear back about who made it but I thought it was supposed to be today so I am dying. I have the attitude that whatever happens is in the Lords hands. If I am supposed to go I will be chosen but if I need to stay here then I wont be selected. I have been pretty calm about it until about 6:30 tonight. I must admit I got really anxious and I still am. I guess I will just have to wait and see what happens and accept what I am given.
Today we finally got back to normal as far as our work load is concerned. The few weeks before and after the holidays have been really slow. We had nothing to do because all of the people who work there take their vacation time at the same time that the General Authorities take their time off. Everyone said that Summer gets really slow also.
Since we had so much time we actually watched a few movies. There is an auditorium that is on the main floor of the Church office building that we watched a couple of them in. There are three large screens and really good surround sound so we couldn't pass the opportunity up. I felt bad wasting our time like that but there really wasn't anything to do.
We have had a big change in our mission today; Elder Felice left us. His year was up and today was the first day of him not being there. i know I have not said a whole lot about him but we can definitely feel a hole without him here. I think the only way to describe him is very rambunctious. We constantly had to remind him to be quite and calm down. Daily we heard from the people working around us about Elder Felice. They always had something to say about seeing if we could keep the noise level down and they always referred to "the one Elder, the big one". Life will not be as exciting as it was with him here.
Saturday was the callbacks for the Nauvoo performing mission. I think it went pretty well. There were some people who were definitely better than me but there were also some not quite as good. Oh my that sounds conceited. It is the truth though. You can tell when people have more improvement that can happen. I guess I was about middle of the road. At least I wasn't totally embarrassed.
In the callbacks they had Solo singing, Part singing, Cold reading, dance and a part where we introduced ourselves. Of course I had to tell about my family in my introduction and there were a lot of audible gasps when I said "the oldest of 13 kids". I think my worst part of the callbacks was the dancing part. I can dance but when they try to get me to memorize it in just a couple of run through's I get lost. In the solo part I only sang part of my song. There is one chord in the middle that kind of resolves and it holds for a couple of counts. I guess people thought that was the end and they started clapping. It was right before the climax of the song and a whole verse left. I just ended up stopping right there. It worked out.
I am not sure when we hear back about who made it but I thought it was supposed to be today so I am dying. I have the attitude that whatever happens is in the Lords hands. If I am supposed to go I will be chosen but if I need to stay here then I wont be selected. I have been pretty calm about it until about 6:30 tonight. I must admit I got really anxious and I still am. I guess I will just have to wait and see what happens and accept what I am given.
Tuesday, January 2, 2007
Well here I go again. I warn you that this will be a long one due to the fact that I have not posted in a while. I have thought about doing this every Sunday but I never got into the habit. Now that everyone will be able to see that that is my plan I will be held accountable. Hopefully I will keep to it.
Savior of the World (SotW) just got over on the 30 of December so I think I will relate stories and thoughts I have had during the course of the production. It has been an extremely good thing to have in my life. Now I will have to find something else to do during my nights that will be at least half as beneficial as this has been.
In SotW I was on the tech crew backstage. My responsibilities mostly included making sure the stage and props were set, work some weights and ropes and miscellaneous stuff under the stage, and whatever else the Stage Manager asked us to do. It was interesting to be on the opposite end of a production than what I am used to. As most of you know I like to perform so i have always been on stage. It was good to obtain a new perspective on things. Being able to be on the tech crew ,I think, will make me a better actor/performer in the future. It is true that well rounded education in all things is beneficial. Also, there are definitely a different kind of people in the crew. Not that they are worse just different. I really enjoyed getting to know the guys I was with.
There are some marked differences between a church production and a regular one. I guess that is obvious but I was really enjoying it. Before every performance they would have a devotional. They were really simple most of the time but it was very successful in bringing the spirit to the performance. You could feel every ones testimonies emanating from themselves and through the performance; even I as crew member felt it come trough me.
The unity in the cast was amazing! I know anyone in a play, musical, or some other similar group will say that they feel a bond with the people involved but I have never seen anything like this. There was no competition, no backbiting, putting down, or even just aloofness. There were constantly pats on the back, hugs, smiles and all manner of goodness going on. Everyone was made to feel loved. At the beginning I was worried about being looked down on and everyone just kind of ignoring me but that wasn't the case at all. I had all kind of people reach out to me from age 5 to somewhere around 62. There was one lady in particular that I enjoyed just walking by her. She was the one who played Elizabeth and was a little more than 50 is my guess. She always had a smile ready for you and made you feel as if she really cared about you as I am sure she really did. You could tell that she knew what the production was about and had a close relationship with our Father. As you can see I was really impressed.
I think my favorite Character in SotW is Thomas. You know, Doubting Thomas. He seems to be so real. Just like the rest of us. He was not present the first couple of appearances of the resurrected Christ and for that he had a hard time believing. When Jesus appeared to the Apostles he charged them to be witnesses of him, to go and testify to the world of Him. When Thomas was told this the line he gave was "How can I be a witness of what I have not seen!". Peter response is very poignant: "Plenty of people saw Him in life, watched His miracles and heard His teachings, and yet some of them were among those who condemned Him to the cross. To see Him, Thomas —to see Him as He is, for who He is—we must look with our hearts."
Thomas says that he want to be a witness but just doesn't feel as if he can testify. Unless he "Feels the print of nails" he "can not, will not believe". As I was thinking about this I came to the conclusion that it was not just the fact that he could only believe if he saw but that he harbored some disappointment when he was not able to see the Savior. That may not be what really was going on in his head but I was able to identify with it. When I miss out on something or have a feel slighted I have a negative attitude toward that event. Which goes back to Elder Bednars talk in general Conference about not taking offense. When Peter gently talked some sense to Thomas he realized that he had believed he just needed to discard all of his distractions and listen to the Spirit and his heart. I loved the words to his song after this scene. Here they are: "If I can’t hear His words, Then I will speak them.If I can’t feel His touch, His touch I’ll give.And I’ll rejoice because my Lord called even me, And by His teachings I’ll always live." That is one of the lessons that I was able to glean from this production.
Even though people were good about reaching out and being friends in this play I still didn't feel very comfortable with any one there. There were a couple of times that I really wanted to talk about all of this stuff but I couldn't bring myself to do it. Those were times I wished I had a companion or some of my friends there with me. That is something I really need to work on. Being able to open up and really talk to people.
Now for some light hearted stuff.
There was one scene in SotW that involves an orange tree. As the tech crew we had to set it up and take it down as quickly as we can because it happened in the middle of the performance. This tree was the bane of all of our existences on the crew. The oranges were rigged up so that you could "pick" them off of the tree. The problem with this is that a lot of them would just fall off with out picking them. The tree had three different section that we had to assemble every time and as we would carry them on stage oranges would periodically fall. One of these times we had an orange drop bounce across the stage down a couple of steps and right into the Orchestra pit. It literally took about five seconds and everyone was just watching this orange bounce around. Another time one of the girls had a basket full of oranges and as she was walking on stage she tripped, the basket fell, and the oranges went everywhere. So instead picking oranges off a tree the actors had to pick oranges off of the ground. It was pretty funny.
Through the whole play there are actors that portray angels that are always there watching the events and periodically burst in to song. In one scene there are a bunch of angels that come down on stage and then exit. During this scene they exit in groups and the last group to leave was an older girl leading a younger one by the hand. As they walk off stage the younger girl is supposed to look toward the audience until she is off. Unfortunately the older girl was not aware of this and led the little girl right into a pillar. We all agreed that alone proved that angels have flesh and bones. Even angels can walk right into walls.
It was a really good experience and I hope to be able to do it next year as a performer. I recommend everyone seeing this if they have the opportunity. It really is a faith builder and such a wonderful missionary tool.
I am really sad it is over. It was such a good thing to fill some of my time and to be a part of. Now on to the next thing whatever it may be.
This mostly focused on SotW so in the next couple of days I will update on my actual mission. Until then...
Savior of the World (SotW) just got over on the 30 of December so I think I will relate stories and thoughts I have had during the course of the production. It has been an extremely good thing to have in my life. Now I will have to find something else to do during my nights that will be at least half as beneficial as this has been.
In SotW I was on the tech crew backstage. My responsibilities mostly included making sure the stage and props were set, work some weights and ropes and miscellaneous stuff under the stage, and whatever else the Stage Manager asked us to do. It was interesting to be on the opposite end of a production than what I am used to. As most of you know I like to perform so i have always been on stage. It was good to obtain a new perspective on things. Being able to be on the tech crew ,I think, will make me a better actor/performer in the future. It is true that well rounded education in all things is beneficial. Also, there are definitely a different kind of people in the crew. Not that they are worse just different. I really enjoyed getting to know the guys I was with.
There are some marked differences between a church production and a regular one. I guess that is obvious but I was really enjoying it. Before every performance they would have a devotional. They were really simple most of the time but it was very successful in bringing the spirit to the performance. You could feel every ones testimonies emanating from themselves and through the performance; even I as crew member felt it come trough me.
The unity in the cast was amazing! I know anyone in a play, musical, or some other similar group will say that they feel a bond with the people involved but I have never seen anything like this. There was no competition, no backbiting, putting down, or even just aloofness. There were constantly pats on the back, hugs, smiles and all manner of goodness going on. Everyone was made to feel loved. At the beginning I was worried about being looked down on and everyone just kind of ignoring me but that wasn't the case at all. I had all kind of people reach out to me from age 5 to somewhere around 62. There was one lady in particular that I enjoyed just walking by her. She was the one who played Elizabeth and was a little more than 50 is my guess. She always had a smile ready for you and made you feel as if she really cared about you as I am sure she really did. You could tell that she knew what the production was about and had a close relationship with our Father. As you can see I was really impressed.
I think my favorite Character in SotW is Thomas. You know, Doubting Thomas. He seems to be so real. Just like the rest of us. He was not present the first couple of appearances of the resurrected Christ and for that he had a hard time believing. When Jesus appeared to the Apostles he charged them to be witnesses of him, to go and testify to the world of Him. When Thomas was told this the line he gave was "How can I be a witness of what I have not seen!". Peter response is very poignant: "Plenty of people saw Him in life, watched His miracles and heard His teachings, and yet some of them were among those who condemned Him to the cross. To see Him, Thomas —to see Him as He is, for who He is—we must look with our hearts."
Thomas says that he want to be a witness but just doesn't feel as if he can testify. Unless he "Feels the print of nails" he "can not, will not believe". As I was thinking about this I came to the conclusion that it was not just the fact that he could only believe if he saw but that he harbored some disappointment when he was not able to see the Savior. That may not be what really was going on in his head but I was able to identify with it. When I miss out on something or have a feel slighted I have a negative attitude toward that event. Which goes back to Elder Bednars talk in general Conference about not taking offense. When Peter gently talked some sense to Thomas he realized that he had believed he just needed to discard all of his distractions and listen to the Spirit and his heart. I loved the words to his song after this scene. Here they are: "If I can’t hear His words, Then I will speak them.If I can’t feel His touch, His touch I’ll give.And I’ll rejoice because my Lord called even me, And by His teachings I’ll always live." That is one of the lessons that I was able to glean from this production.
Even though people were good about reaching out and being friends in this play I still didn't feel very comfortable with any one there. There were a couple of times that I really wanted to talk about all of this stuff but I couldn't bring myself to do it. Those were times I wished I had a companion or some of my friends there with me. That is something I really need to work on. Being able to open up and really talk to people.
Now for some light hearted stuff.
There was one scene in SotW that involves an orange tree. As the tech crew we had to set it up and take it down as quickly as we can because it happened in the middle of the performance. This tree was the bane of all of our existences on the crew. The oranges were rigged up so that you could "pick" them off of the tree. The problem with this is that a lot of them would just fall off with out picking them. The tree had three different section that we had to assemble every time and as we would carry them on stage oranges would periodically fall. One of these times we had an orange drop bounce across the stage down a couple of steps and right into the Orchestra pit. It literally took about five seconds and everyone was just watching this orange bounce around. Another time one of the girls had a basket full of oranges and as she was walking on stage she tripped, the basket fell, and the oranges went everywhere. So instead picking oranges off a tree the actors had to pick oranges off of the ground. It was pretty funny.
Through the whole play there are actors that portray angels that are always there watching the events and periodically burst in to song. In one scene there are a bunch of angels that come down on stage and then exit. During this scene they exit in groups and the last group to leave was an older girl leading a younger one by the hand. As they walk off stage the younger girl is supposed to look toward the audience until she is off. Unfortunately the older girl was not aware of this and led the little girl right into a pillar. We all agreed that alone proved that angels have flesh and bones. Even angels can walk right into walls.
It was a really good experience and I hope to be able to do it next year as a performer. I recommend everyone seeing this if they have the opportunity. It really is a faith builder and such a wonderful missionary tool.
I am really sad it is over. It was such a good thing to fill some of my time and to be a part of. Now on to the next thing whatever it may be.
This mostly focused on SotW so in the next couple of days I will update on my actual mission. Until then...
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Sunday, December 17, 2006
I feel like it has been a while since I last updated this but it has only been five days. I guess that is longer than I should let it go. There has been a lot of stuff going on this week. Well lets see...
I don't know how many of you know but I auditioned for a performing mission in Nauvoo. There is a group of twenty young missionaries who go to Nauvoo during the summer and put on a myriad of shows and act as tour guides during the summer. On Wednesday I think it was, I got a letter back telling me that I had made call backs!! I couldn't believe it. Out of hundreds of people who auditioned they wanted to see me again. I figured it would be fun to audition but when I learned how many people auditioned and how accomplished some of them are I pretty much counted myself out. Getting called back was really awesome. Callbacks are on January 6th so we shall see how it goes.
I had an interesting thing happen to me the other day. Elder Harwell and I were waiting to cross the street to get into the Conference Center when a Hispanic couple offered us some money. I had heard that missionaries run into people who give them money but I never expected it to happen to me. We tried to tell them that we were service missionaries and we still live at home therefore, we didn't need the money. We couldn't just walk away because we had TV's in our hands and that would be kind of rude. After refusing it a few times we finally accepted because they would not give up and were holding up traffic. (they were in there car) After they had went we counted the money and it came out to be six dollars for each of us. I felt really bad accepting it and decided I should probably give it to fast offerings. It was kind of interesting.
There has been quite a bit going on this week for me. My bishop asked me to speak in church this week and only gave me four days notice; then he doesn't even tell me the subject until Friday. Needless to say, I got a little antsy. I planned on writing it Saturday night but then I had to babysit and Malia (the baby) was having troubles. I ended up throwing something together an hour before church started. I guess it went alright though because I got some positive feedback. I just hope my ineptitude didn't impede the spirit from touching others in sacrament meeting. Also, I got to sing in Relief Society today. I had a voice recital this Saturday night too. I guess that was not a whole ton but combined with preparations and my other daily things it got a little crazy. I am glad to have all of it done with though. It does feel good to be so busy and productive though.
I know I will think of more to say latter but for now this will suffice. I hope that as Christmas draws near we try to find room for our Savior. Do something conscientiously that brings you or some one else closer to him. Merry Christmas!
I don't know how many of you know but I auditioned for a performing mission in Nauvoo. There is a group of twenty young missionaries who go to Nauvoo during the summer and put on a myriad of shows and act as tour guides during the summer. On Wednesday I think it was, I got a letter back telling me that I had made call backs!! I couldn't believe it. Out of hundreds of people who auditioned they wanted to see me again. I figured it would be fun to audition but when I learned how many people auditioned and how accomplished some of them are I pretty much counted myself out. Getting called back was really awesome. Callbacks are on January 6th so we shall see how it goes.
I had an interesting thing happen to me the other day. Elder Harwell and I were waiting to cross the street to get into the Conference Center when a Hispanic couple offered us some money. I had heard that missionaries run into people who give them money but I never expected it to happen to me. We tried to tell them that we were service missionaries and we still live at home therefore, we didn't need the money. We couldn't just walk away because we had TV's in our hands and that would be kind of rude. After refusing it a few times we finally accepted because they would not give up and were holding up traffic. (they were in there car) After they had went we counted the money and it came out to be six dollars for each of us. I felt really bad accepting it and decided I should probably give it to fast offerings. It was kind of interesting.
There has been quite a bit going on this week for me. My bishop asked me to speak in church this week and only gave me four days notice; then he doesn't even tell me the subject until Friday. Needless to say, I got a little antsy. I planned on writing it Saturday night but then I had to babysit and Malia (the baby) was having troubles. I ended up throwing something together an hour before church started. I guess it went alright though because I got some positive feedback. I just hope my ineptitude didn't impede the spirit from touching others in sacrament meeting. Also, I got to sing in Relief Society today. I had a voice recital this Saturday night too. I guess that was not a whole ton but combined with preparations and my other daily things it got a little crazy. I am glad to have all of it done with though. It does feel good to be so busy and productive though.
I know I will think of more to say latter but for now this will suffice. I hope that as Christmas draws near we try to find room for our Savior. Do something conscientiously that brings you or some one else closer to him. Merry Christmas!
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
So I guess Britton fell through with his Eagle project for now. We wont be doing that service project but I would still love to be able to something. If any of you who read this have any ideas then let me know. Ask anyone you can think if they have something and keep your eyes open. I will be doing the same. Thanks to all of you.
Saturday, December 9, 2006
I have a couple really cool experiences with Savior of the World that I have to share. If I don't do it now I will probably not do it or just forget.
Last night we heard that Elder Nelson was there and that seemed to make everyone want to do their best. I know why it made people feel that way but it is kind of sad that some of us just don't get that drive to our best by ourselves. But I digress. Because everyone had that extra push you could feel the spirit and the strength of everyone's testimony of our Savior. At the end of the show Elder Nelson came and spoke to us with his wife. Since I was on the tech crew I was in a position where I got to walk beside him for a bit. (I get excited about these kinds of things) When he spoke it made me realise that what we do is important. Yes it is fun and is just a play but has the ability to touch the people who come to watch and those who are involved. There is a feeling of empathy with the characters and the Spirit is able to testify of the things which are depicted. Needless to say, I love being a part of it.
Today was the hearing impaired version of SotW. We had ASL translators and TV's with the words on it. Only those who were hearing impaired or those who were related or involved with them in some way. Before the show started we had a man come backstage who was both deaf and blind. His wife was helping him around and using Helen Keller technique to communicate with him. (Signing into the hand) We were letting him feel all the props, the costumes, and walk around to get the feel for the set. It was really fun to watch him and the joy in his face. But that was not the best part. When the little tour was done we were talking with him and his wife and said something that really struck me. He "said" that he really felt like he was walking in the days of Christ. First of all it was really awesome that he was able to feel that way just by walking around and feeling things. Most importantly I realized something that might be totally wrong but it felt good to me. Since he was blind and deaf he didn't have all the distractions that come with it and was able to really feel. He was able to feel that connection with his Savior. Something I wish I could do better; take all the distractions away and connect with my Savior. I would like to say I would give up my sight and hearing for it but I am not sure if I could do that. I can however take the distractions I give myself and set them aside.
During this whole discussion you could tell his wife was really affected as well. I couldn't help but just smiling and the assistant stage manager was in tears. There was such an outpouring of love and a feeling of unity through our brother Jesus Christ. It really struck me deep.
Last night we heard that Elder Nelson was there and that seemed to make everyone want to do their best. I know why it made people feel that way but it is kind of sad that some of us just don't get that drive to our best by ourselves. But I digress. Because everyone had that extra push you could feel the spirit and the strength of everyone's testimony of our Savior. At the end of the show Elder Nelson came and spoke to us with his wife. Since I was on the tech crew I was in a position where I got to walk beside him for a bit. (I get excited about these kinds of things) When he spoke it made me realise that what we do is important. Yes it is fun and is just a play but has the ability to touch the people who come to watch and those who are involved. There is a feeling of empathy with the characters and the Spirit is able to testify of the things which are depicted. Needless to say, I love being a part of it.
Today was the hearing impaired version of SotW. We had ASL translators and TV's with the words on it. Only those who were hearing impaired or those who were related or involved with them in some way. Before the show started we had a man come backstage who was both deaf and blind. His wife was helping him around and using Helen Keller technique to communicate with him. (Signing into the hand) We were letting him feel all the props, the costumes, and walk around to get the feel for the set. It was really fun to watch him and the joy in his face. But that was not the best part. When the little tour was done we were talking with him and his wife and said something that really struck me. He "said" that he really felt like he was walking in the days of Christ. First of all it was really awesome that he was able to feel that way just by walking around and feeling things. Most importantly I realized something that might be totally wrong but it felt good to me. Since he was blind and deaf he didn't have all the distractions that come with it and was able to really feel. He was able to feel that connection with his Savior. Something I wish I could do better; take all the distractions away and connect with my Savior. I would like to say I would give up my sight and hearing for it but I am not sure if I could do that. I can however take the distractions I give myself and set them aside.
During this whole discussion you could tell his wife was really affected as well. I couldn't help but just smiling and the assistant stage manager was in tears. There was such an outpouring of love and a feeling of unity through our brother Jesus Christ. It really struck me deep.
Thursday, December 7, 2006
Hey everyone. Thanks for all your comments I love checking the blog and reading what people have to say. I have to say sorry for the format of these posts. I cant figure out how to get paragraphs or any kind of indentiation to show. I swear I am not that ignorant on the proper way to write.
I have been keeping really busy during the day and during the nights so I am finally starting to feel like I am accomplishing something. Of course it wears me out also. It is a little embarrasing to see how often I want to just sleep or lie down. This is a good sign though. It means that I am hard at work.
I just had a meeting with a lady that I work for from the casting agency. She has a new project in mind that she wanted a few people to work on and she wanted the missionaries that have already been doing stuff like it. Her project is to clean out the whole database of people who have auditioned throught (how do you spell that?) the years. A lot of the info that is in there is either oudated or has been entered innacurately. Since I have been working with the database she wants me to add this to my duties. I was glad to do it because now it means I will have contact with people and not be sitting behind the computer all day. I never thought I would say this but I am actually glad to be able call people and talk on the phone. OH, ther ar three missionaries assigned to this and one employee. The employee is one of my friends Mandi Mendenhall! Out of all the people in provo and all the people that work for the Motion Picture Studio Mandi is the one I will be coordinating with. We will see how much contact we really have though. I might be excited for nothing.
Another really exciting thing happened to me recently. We had a christmas devotional for the whole audiovisual department in the Curch Office Building. Every department has an Apostle assigned to oversee it and the Apostle over Audiovisual is Elder L. Tom Perry. He spoke at the devotional and afterwards I got to shake his hand and speak with him for a couple of minutes. Mostly he just welcomed me and said how great it was that I was willing to come serve the church in this capacity. It was really neat. I had no idea how big he is! He is at least as tall as me and is pretty broad. He used to be in the Marine Corp so I think that is where he gets the broadness.
Within our little "eldership" we are supposed to have gospel discussions everyday. I just found this out. We havent ever really done them so I was surprised to find we were supposed to. From now on I am going to try and get us to do it everyday. Of course I got really into the idea of doing it more often so Elder Andrus decided to have me give the "lesson" that day. I only had two minutes to prepare so I whipped out Preach my Gospel and decided to teach the Christlike attribute of Hope. I was a little nervous but it seemed to go okay. I guess that is what missionary work is about, using the spirit and teaching on the spur of the moment. Of course full time misionaries get to go to the MTC and focus on learning and how to teach and then they get to prepare what they want to teach everyday. I just got thrown into it. (I know, I know, I am whining. I will learn.)
I am excited to get to learn knew things and I can definitely see where I can grow and what I can improve on. One thing I am learning is that there are multiple ways to serve the lord and all of them are important. We may have our hopes set on a certain thing but the lord has a different plan. The trick is to not get angry, frustrated, or downhearted. Just take what is given you and decide to fill the calling the best you can.
I have been keeping really busy during the day and during the nights so I am finally starting to feel like I am accomplishing something. Of course it wears me out also. It is a little embarrasing to see how often I want to just sleep or lie down. This is a good sign though. It means that I am hard at work.
I just had a meeting with a lady that I work for from the casting agency. She has a new project in mind that she wanted a few people to work on and she wanted the missionaries that have already been doing stuff like it. Her project is to clean out the whole database of people who have auditioned throught (how do you spell that?) the years. A lot of the info that is in there is either oudated or has been entered innacurately. Since I have been working with the database she wants me to add this to my duties. I was glad to do it because now it means I will have contact with people and not be sitting behind the computer all day. I never thought I would say this but I am actually glad to be able call people and talk on the phone. OH, ther ar three missionaries assigned to this and one employee. The employee is one of my friends Mandi Mendenhall! Out of all the people in provo and all the people that work for the Motion Picture Studio Mandi is the one I will be coordinating with. We will see how much contact we really have though. I might be excited for nothing.
Another really exciting thing happened to me recently. We had a christmas devotional for the whole audiovisual department in the Curch Office Building. Every department has an Apostle assigned to oversee it and the Apostle over Audiovisual is Elder L. Tom Perry. He spoke at the devotional and afterwards I got to shake his hand and speak with him for a couple of minutes. Mostly he just welcomed me and said how great it was that I was willing to come serve the church in this capacity. It was really neat. I had no idea how big he is! He is at least as tall as me and is pretty broad. He used to be in the Marine Corp so I think that is where he gets the broadness.
Within our little "eldership" we are supposed to have gospel discussions everyday. I just found this out. We havent ever really done them so I was surprised to find we were supposed to. From now on I am going to try and get us to do it everyday. Of course I got really into the idea of doing it more often so Elder Andrus decided to have me give the "lesson" that day. I only had two minutes to prepare so I whipped out Preach my Gospel and decided to teach the Christlike attribute of Hope. I was a little nervous but it seemed to go okay. I guess that is what missionary work is about, using the spirit and teaching on the spur of the moment. Of course full time misionaries get to go to the MTC and focus on learning and how to teach and then they get to prepare what they want to teach everyday. I just got thrown into it. (I know, I know, I am whining. I will learn.)
I am excited to get to learn knew things and I can definitely see where I can grow and what I can improve on. One thing I am learning is that there are multiple ways to serve the lord and all of them are important. We may have our hopes set on a certain thing but the lord has a different plan. The trick is to not get angry, frustrated, or downhearted. Just take what is given you and decide to fill the calling the best you can.
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Ooops, I forgot to say a couple things. First thank you so much to Jonessa Smith. She set this all up for me and was so willing to help. Second, I have an idea to keep social contact. I want to set up a "club" of sorts. It will focus around service and be a way to have a support network. I want to call it "Army of Helaman" ( Actually that credit should go to Gloria Bowden's genious). My brother is going to do an Eagle project and might need help so I thought we could help him out and to kind of get this whole thing started. I will let people know about this through the blog. If you want to be a part of this please let me know and if you have any suggestions or questions go ahead and tell\ask me.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)