Today was the
BEST! I wish every day was like this but of course it cant be all bells and
whistles all the time. We would never truly appreciate the good if we did not
experience the bad. I got to male and female ward rounds this morning and even
observed the Dr who I thought did not want me there and he taught some clinical
students about HEP B and HIV while I was there so it was super interesting.
During rounds in the childrens ward there were three babes who were going nuts
getting out of their beds and running over to touch my hand and such. The
babies are usually too sick to say anything but they just smile and shyly hide
behind their mothers but I just go in there because it makes me and the
children smile, the really little ones always look open mouthed and mesmerized
because they have never seen an obruni before, well many kids have never seen
an obruni but the babies aren’t old enough to realize that there are other
races of people so I think it especially surprises them. anyway these kids were
going nuts so I finally just made up handshakes with them and played with them
until rounds were over. They were super cute and today the celebrity was
embraced because I know I am going to miss that. After rounds Jackie came up
and brought me a hot rock bun which are so good! its one of our favorite things
and we basically have to stalk the lady for fresh ones so whenever they are
ready, even if we aren’t hungry, we get them. So she brought that up and I
discussed malaria with Salid as we ate. Everyone here invites you to eat with
them whenever they are eating so we invited him to eat with us but he did not
want any. He took me into the lab after that to show me how blood tests
determine if a person has malaria and the technician showed a slide to me and
explained how they count the protozoa in the blood platelets to determine how
severe the case of malaria is, it was way cool. They didn’t have any active
slides at the moment I went there so I didn’t get to look in the microscope but
I will soon. Mama’s sister got admitted for malaria yesterday so I spent some
time talking to her and then around noon Jackie and I headed to Agona to go to
the internet café. Tuesdays are the best, besides Sundays I think they are my
favorite because they are exciting and there is more to do than jus the usual
routine. SOOO we got to the internet café and the first thing I did was look at
my email to find that MY IRB WAS APPROVED! Finally. It was a real relief
because I have been so anxious to get started with interviewing and the more
in-depth portions of my research and now I really will be able to do so. After
the internet café we were walking by Joyce, Mama’s sisters bar of sorts and
Nana called our names. We went inside and drank pineapple Fanta
while sitting
with her and Prince and Unis came in and said hello. We miss having the kids
around the house. I got so excited and made Prince come over and give me a hug
and he just laughed. Mama’s brother was there too, it is fun to have a family
here away from my own. The market was especially great today because King
wasn’t there to show us around so we had to figure out where to go on our own
and it made it super fun. We wandered through the market looking at all the
booths and making friends along the way. Even with the very limited Twi we can
speak we can carry on a minute or so conversation with people and it makes us
and them very happy. Jackie and I were able to find all the ladies we normally
buy from and they were excited to see us so we were proud of ourselves for navigating
to the right places. Market day is very busy and so much is going on so it
makes me feel happy because unlike Kumasi which is overwhelming, Agona just
reminds me of a little bit of the hustle and bustle in America and it is a
strange comfort, we also love days where the four of us can be together because
it is so much fun. After our market was done Cassie wanted to go back to the
bar because she had not gotten a Fanta before and as we were walking there we
saw two white girls on the other side of the street. We naturally got super
excited and Cassie and Jackie started to chase them down. Natalie and I walked
because we had all the stuff we had bought and it was hysterical because the
girls were looking at them like they were crazy. They had this look in their
eyes like why are you chasing after us? Come to find out they were from Germany , had
they been American Im sure they would have been just as excited as we were but
the crazy Americans have a culture all of our own. We figured out that there
was ice cream and we all got some, I got chocolate and it was like the
consistency of an otter pop, buuuuut the chocolate was so good! It was like
drinking cold chocolate milk so I think I will definitely get one every
Tuesday. When we were leaving we were so happy. It had been such a beautiful
day and I could not stop smiling. I tried to remember that feeling and channel
the energy because if I can feel that way every day. My life would be a real
treat. I do appreciate the challenges though so I need to remember to just
embrace them and learn from them. Every day cant be all smiles. Jackie and I
bought noodles at the market so we could have some variety in our meals and it
was the first time we were able to cook a meal for ourselves! It was so fun to
cook again, I had forgotten how much I like to cook and prepare food and
treats!
We ate with King because Mama was at the hospital and the light was off
so we sat in the dark doing Twi lessons with him. The light came back on for
about an hour and so I jumped on the opportunity to write field notes as fast
as I could but halfway through it went off so I took my computer outside and
continued to write until it died. With the light out there was no light
pollution in the sky and it was a beautiful sight. The sky was black as can be
and the stars were so bright. It was a very cool night too so it felt nice and
we all just laid there looking up at the sky for a long time. I love when I get
the opportunity to just lay and think. Looking at the stars is one of my most
cherished thinking times because I feel like my mind expands as large as the
sky and I have such profound thoughts. It is a beautiful time for discovery and
appreciation of life and love and the Gospel.
while sitting
with her and Prince and Unis came in and said hello. We miss having the kids
around the house. I got so excited and made Prince come over and give me a hug
and he just laughed. Mama’s brother was there too, it is fun to have a family
here away from my own. The market was especially great today because King
wasn’t there to show us around so we had to figure out where to go on our own
and it made it super fun. We wandered through the market looking at all the
booths and making friends along the way. Even with the very limited Twi we can
speak we can carry on a minute or so conversation with people and it makes us
and them very happy. Jackie and I were able to find all the ladies we normally
buy from and they were excited to see us so we were proud of ourselves for navigating
to the right places. Market day is very busy and so much is going on so it
makes me feel happy because unlike Kumasi which is overwhelming, Agona just
reminds me of a little bit of the hustle and bustle in America and it is a
strange comfort, we also love days where the four of us can be together because
it is so much fun. After our market was done Cassie wanted to go back to the
bar because she had not gotten a Fanta before and as we were walking there we
saw two white girls on the other side of the street. We naturally got super
excited and Cassie and Jackie started to chase them down. Natalie and I walked
because we had all the stuff we had bought and it was hysterical because the
girls were looking at them like they were crazy. They had this look in their
eyes like why are you chasing after us? Come to find out they were from 
May 23, 2012
Thank goodness today carried the same spirit as yesterday
did. I woke up with a cheery disposition and even without light I was able to
embrace the day. Walking to work was a joy as usual and upon arriving I decided
that I was going to go do outreach with Jackie and the ladies in the maternal
health clinic. They go out to different parts of the community every once and
awhile taking vaccinations and a scale to people because the hospital is not
big enough to facilitate everyone so they just go to them. We went out to the
jungle and were hiking in with our vaccinations through thick forest and it was
so beautiful. It was sort of surreal because it was totally what I have
imagined when reading books about Doctors hiking for miles and miles to get to
even just one person in order to help them, and though it wasn’t that sort of
situation that is a little of how it felt for a moment. When we got back from
outreach I did some Twi lessons and talked with Salid until it was time to go
home. We have had power now for 24 hours at this very moment so we watched Mari
Mar with Mama and then I went to work writing my field notes. It takes a good
two or three hours so I always try to get that out of the way before dinner
time though it doesn’t always work out that way. For dinner we had bean stew
and bread. Mama was at the hospital again but thanks to our gas stove Jackie
and I can heat up our own meals and can feed King too so that makes us happy.
While we ate King gave us more Twi lessons and I of course made up songs to
remember the vocab words because that is the only way things stick in my brain
permanently. Give me a song and I will never forget that thing I tell ya. I was
not feeling super well after dinner and I have been having a pressure in my
chest which I think is just indigestion maybe from still getting used to the
food or something I dunno. No pepto bismol here so I just decided to work out
to try to get the bubbles out. The Jillian DVD was not playing for some reason
so I just turned on music and did jumping jacks and squats and planks and all
sorts of things as I tried to be creative on the benches. It was a good time
and I felt a little better after doing it. As I was brushing my teeth outside
last night, yes I brush my teeth outside and just spit into the dirt, it is
actually quite fun… I sometimes just feel like I am on a 3 month camping
trip…anyway there was this awesome lightning storm that was lighting up the sky
like crazy. Every other second a huge streak of lightning would just dance
right across the sky. It was beautiful and once again I was just left staring
at the sky in awe of what our Heavenly Father has created for us. I brushed my
teeth for a good 5 minutes because I was mesmerized by that wonderful miracle
that is the sky.
May 24, 2012
Today I woke up
still feeling a little lousy but not bad enough to stay inside so I got ready
and Jackie and I made a smoothie for work. We put in oranges because we have a
ton…bad idea. The pulp was overwhelming because it is thicker than our oranges
back home. But it still tasted way good so we are just going to start having
banana mango smoothies with the protein powder I brought. We have oatmeal most
mornings for breakfast so this is a good change and tastes oh so good! On the
way to the hospital this morning we were in a chipper mood and talking to everyone
out in the streets is more fun because we can say a few more things than we
could before. As we were walking we started talking about pioneer treks. Since
I have done two I was thinking back on those experiences and reflecting on what
they meant to me. I started explaining to Jackie how it felt when all the boys
left to go be the ‘Mormon Battalion’ and us girls had to push the carts alone and
then I started talking about what it was like when we were going straight up a
hill that seemed like it would never end and how we were so tired and just
wanted to sit down and die but how people dressed in all white came walking out
of the forest to help us push. I started crying as I told her about that
experience and I don’t think I really understood how much it impacted me until
this morning. It hit me so hard that we are not alone, ever. Heavenly Father
will always send his angels down to help buoy us up when we are down, or to
move our feet when we feel like we cannot physically go on any further. We are
never left comfortless or without His spirit and guidance if we are living
worthy of those blessings. I am so grateful for the knowledge I have and for
the understanding I have gained about simple principles of the Gospel. I would
not have learned or realized things in the way that I did had I been anywhere
else or were it at any other time. Heavenly Father just puts us right where he
needs us to be and right when he needs us. Work was SO SLOW today. Everywhere.
In the MCH, in the female, male, and childrens ward…so slow. That is a good
thing because it meant that there weren’t as many sick people but it makes for
a long day. I went to a clinical meeting though this morning and afterward a
pharmaceutical representative came and gave a presentation about this new
malaria drug, well its not really a new drug but it is a different combination
than the regularly used drugs. It was very interesting to see how a sales pitch
is made and I was super into the business aspect during this meeting. Being
here I sometimes think I want to be a nurse, other times a business woman,
other times I love being an anthropologist, and sometimes I just want to be a
mother because these children are so sweet and they just want to be with me
always. I did a lot of just sitting and talking with nurses and Jackie and
Salid and I worked on some of my interview questions as I want to start with
that next week. Being an anthropologist is a very interesting thing. You are
experiencing a way of life but at the same time it is as if you are watching a
movie of what is going on because you have to remove yourself from the
situation while still being in it in order to be objective to what is going on
and to be able to analyze what is important to jot down because you think you
will need it later in writing up your notes. I love what I have learned here so
far though. I am learning the value of good hard work and determination and
will. I am learning that I am so blessed beyond that which I ever imagined. I
am learning that I can live without power. I am learning that I can live
without running water. I am learning that I can sweat more than I ever thought
humanly possible. I am learning that being close to the Lord is the best thing
EVER. After work we went home and watched Mari Mar with Mama, its like coming
home after school to watch Gilmore Girls with my Ma as I did in high school.
Such drama its hilarious. Jackie and I went over to Abigails, a nurse who lives
next door, and she put in this Chinese film which was so weird but I think Trent would have enjoyed
it since he could understand what they were saying. I took a video for you
Trenter.
We started singing hymns while we were over and Abigail showed us some
in Twi so we learned a few and I am going to memorize them so I can sing them
at home. Im sure our pronunciation is awful but its fun to sing in Twi. As we
walked back to our house for dinner the kids poured out of the nooks and
crannies where they were playing and all followed us inside. We played games
and danced and sang the ABC’s with them for the next 30 minutes and then ate
the foods. For scripture study we are in Mosiah right now and I realized while
reading today how many IF, THEN statements there are in the scriptures. It is
always about how we will be blessed IF, or we will gain salvation IF, and only
then it is on the Lord’s time. I pondered this for awhile because I was
thinking about how every decision I make leads to something. Every choice
becomes an action and a subsequent reaction follows. Even when I am doing all
the right things, I still may not receive an answer or a blessing on my time
because the Lord knows when I need it most and it may not always come when I
think it should. I am learning to live with that uncertainty and to be okay
with it. I don’t know why I am prompted to do certain things sometimes but I
know that He knows so that is enough for me. I just hope I can continue with
this faith and hope in Christ for the rest of my life because I sure am gaining
a lot of it here.
May 25, 2012
I woke up this
morning at 6 and was wide awake. I did not have to be awake for another hour
but I couldn’t fall back asleep because I kept having this feeling that I
needed to just get up and go to the hospital even though it was an hour early,
I got up and went. Besides the fact that I made it to rounds with one of the
Doctors I am not quite sure why exactly I went in for that extra hour this
morning but I know that the Spirit was prompting me to do so and I would have
been disappointed had I not listened and just tried to go back to sleep. Jackie
brought me up a smoothie and it was so good! it was just straight bananas and
mangos with protein powder and powdered milk. We did another batch of outreach
today, not in the jungle this time but just down the road from the hospital,
the opposite direction of my house.
It was a holiday today so everybody was out
on the streets. Men, women, and children were everywhere more than usual and it
was fun to see everybody going about on their day off. I haven’t seen anything
special on holidays here other than some people don’t go to work and children
don’t have school but they sure do love their holidays here. It was cloudy and
cool when I woke up this morning so I wore my hair down. It is surprising how
such a simple thing can make you so happy, it was so great to feel the breeze
blowing in my hair and I forgot how much I like to wear it down. Its so long
and trazzzy right now though it was out of control. But I embraced it anyways.
We were there from about 8:30 to a little after 12:30 and on our way back it
had started to mist a little bit and the rain was about to come. As we were
walking through the street with all our stuff we walked past a barber shop and
Celine Dion was belting from within. “the rain wash away my tears” I stopped in
my tracks and my heart leaped with joy for a moment because it brought me such
immense joy and I just started singing at the top of my lungs as I walked
through, looking at the sky and singing as I walked through the street and took
in my surroundings made for a truly beautiful moment. An already wonderful day
became even better. When we got back we were locked out of the MCH because the
security guard who had our key had gone to Agona to register, all the
government workers had to register today. So my backpack is locked in the MCH
and it has my scriptures and school books and such so I guess I wont be doing
any school for the weekend but that’s okay I will enjoy the break! Mama was
away too when we got home from work today but we had bought some eggs so we
made scrambled eggs and all we had was salt to flavor them but it was actually
quite good, we ate that with some crackers and then 2 of our friends who are 14
and 15 walked over to the beauty salon by Konya Market so we could watch Mari
Mar. It is so funny to watch with Ghanaians because they get so into it which
makes us get so into it but it is getting super annoying because it is just
filled with drama drama drama. At the salon a woman was getting fake nails put
on her fingers and toes. I don’t know how anyone can have those things on
living like this when you are hiking through the dirt everyday but everybody
needs a little pampering sometimes I guess, the nails were just like the ones
you can buy in the nail polish aisle and put on yourself but it was a funny atmosphere
to be in. maybe sometime when I get sick of washing my own hair I will go to
the salon and have it washed for me, that sounds great about now and Ma, one of
the first things I am doing when I get home is getting a pedicure with you so
put it on the calendar. After Mari Mar we came back home and I started to write
my field notes. I was just sitting in our courtyard on a bench and slowly but
surely the rat pack showed up. They snuck in and before I knew it there were
about 8 of them just staring over my shoulder as I typed. They said “you
playing with laptop?” I laughed and said I was doing homework. They continued
to just stare and Jackie was writing in her journal so they all went and peered
over at what she was doing as well. I love Jackie, we are so similar and just
want to be together always so its nice to have someone to talk with and relate
to all the time and we sure can laugh with one another. I am positive that
Heavenly Father places people in our lives at the right time and in the right
place and she is such a great companion for me here. She is so smart and has
done a field study before so she helps me a lot and on top of that our
spiritual talks are awesome and we think we are way funnier than we probably
are but it is great. We hung out with the kids for awhile and I continued to do
my homework. As I was reading Sheri Dew’s book, ‘God Wants a Powerful People’,
I read a passage that was so beautiful to me Bruce R. McConkie taught that
while Christ created the earth and all forms of plant and animal life, “when it
came to placing man on earth, there was a change in Creators. That is, the
Father himself became personally involved. All things were created by the Son,
using the power delegated by the Father, except man. In the spirit and again in
the flesh, man was created by the Father. There
was no delegation of authority where the crowning creature of creation was
concerned” God is full of such splendor and He created human beings. It was
so amazing to think about the opportunity I have to be here studying His most
precious work. I get to be here learning about His sons and daughters. That is
why I study Anthropology. I get to learn about God and His majesty through
learning about the people in Ghana .
It is truly amazing. We did not eat much today so when Mama texted and said she
was bringing us home something we were happy though a bit nervous. We said a
quick prayer that it would be safe for us to eat but we trust Mama, she takes
good care of us and let me tell you…it was SO GOOD! She brought us home this
fried rice that had green peppers and onions and cabbage and carrots and a
piece of chicken that was way good and there was even a scoop of sour
cream…honestly it was the best thing I have tasted in a long time and it was
something we could have ordered at a restaurant back home! After dinner we
played cards with King and then watched the Italian Job. Great day.
It was a holiday today so everybody was out
on the streets. Men, women, and children were everywhere more than usual and it
was fun to see everybody going about on their day off. I haven’t seen anything
special on holidays here other than some people don’t go to work and children
don’t have school but they sure do love their holidays here. It was cloudy and
cool when I woke up this morning so I wore my hair down. It is surprising how
such a simple thing can make you so happy, it was so great to feel the breeze
blowing in my hair and I forgot how much I like to wear it down. Its so long
and trazzzy right now though it was out of control. But I embraced it anyways.
We were there from about 8:30 to a little after 12:30 and on our way back it
had started to mist a little bit and the rain was about to come. As we were
walking through the street with all our stuff we walked past a barber shop and
Celine Dion was belting from within. “the rain wash away my tears” I stopped in
my tracks and my heart leaped with joy for a moment because it brought me such
immense joy and I just started singing at the top of my lungs as I walked
through, looking at the sky and singing as I walked through the street and took
in my surroundings made for a truly beautiful moment. An already wonderful day
became even better. When we got back we were locked out of the MCH because the
security guard who had our key had gone to Agona to register, all the
government workers had to register today. So my backpack is locked in the MCH
and it has my scriptures and school books and such so I guess I wont be doing
any school for the weekend but that’s okay I will enjoy the break! Mama was
away too when we got home from work today but we had bought some eggs so we
made scrambled eggs and all we had was salt to flavor them but it was actually
quite good, we ate that with some crackers and then 2 of our friends who are 14
and 15 walked over to the beauty salon by Konya Market so we could watch Mari
Mar. It is so funny to watch with Ghanaians because they get so into it which
makes us get so into it but it is getting super annoying because it is just
filled with drama drama drama. At the salon a woman was getting fake nails put
on her fingers and toes. I don’t know how anyone can have those things on
living like this when you are hiking through the dirt everyday but everybody
needs a little pampering sometimes I guess, the nails were just like the ones
you can buy in the nail polish aisle and put on yourself but it was a funny atmosphere
to be in. maybe sometime when I get sick of washing my own hair I will go to
the salon and have it washed for me, that sounds great about now and Ma, one of
the first things I am doing when I get home is getting a pedicure with you so
put it on the calendar. After Mari Mar we came back home and I started to write
my field notes. I was just sitting in our courtyard on a bench and slowly but
surely the rat pack showed up. They snuck in and before I knew it there were
about 8 of them just staring over my shoulder as I typed. They said “you
playing with laptop?” I laughed and said I was doing homework. They continued
to just stare and Jackie was writing in her journal so they all went and peered
over at what she was doing as well. I love Jackie, we are so similar and just
want to be together always so its nice to have someone to talk with and relate
to all the time and we sure can laugh with one another. I am positive that
Heavenly Father places people in our lives at the right time and in the right
place and she is such a great companion for me here. She is so smart and has
done a field study before so she helps me a lot and on top of that our
spiritual talks are awesome and we think we are way funnier than we probably
are but it is great. We hung out with the kids for awhile and I continued to do
my homework. As I was reading Sheri Dew’s book, ‘God Wants a Powerful People’,
I read a passage that was so beautiful to me Bruce R. McConkie taught that
while Christ created the earth and all forms of plant and animal life, “when it
came to placing man on earth, there was a change in Creators. That is, the
Father himself became personally involved. All things were created by the Son,
using the power delegated by the Father, except man. In the spirit and again in
the flesh, man was created by the Father. There
was no delegation of authority where the crowning creature of creation was
concerned” God is full of such splendor and He created human beings. It was
so amazing to think about the opportunity I have to be here studying His most
precious work. I get to be here learning about His sons and daughters. That is
why I study Anthropology. I get to learn about God and His majesty through
learning about the people in
May 26, 2012
This morning when we woke up we tried to do the Jillian work
out again but it just doesn’t want to play in my computer anymore which is so
confusing but we just made up our own workout anyway and I think I’ve got a
good system going for what I’ve got here. We worked out to Angels and Airwaves
and it reminded me of you Fry! We left around 9 for Wiamoase to make breakfast
with the girls and attend a wedding. We bought a huge loaf of bread in Agona
before hopping in the taxi and made French Toast. It is always fun to make
things from home and though we didn’t have syrup or cinnamon we just spread
peanut butter on and ate it with bananas and it was great. We met up with
Vickie, an English woman who works with Natalie at the Clinic, around 11:30
because the wedding was at 12. Our guide was not there so Cassie called her pal
Nemo and he took us to the church. When we arrived it was past 12 so we were
nervous we were going to walk in late but we forgot about Africa
time for a moment, when we arrived it was nowhere close to being underway. A
man came up to us and told us we needed to go greet the bride and groom so we
did and then went back to sit down. It was funny because we went into the room
where the bride was and she was just in there with her sister watching Johnny
English, that movie with Mr. Bean! We sat down and watched with her for a bit
and chatted with her about the wedding and then went to go say hello to the
groom. Being here is so fun and it is fun to be noticed all the time and it is
fun to have so many people who want to talk with you and learn about you, but
it is also a little overwhelming sometimes when you wish you could just be a
part of what is going on without special treatment but I think it will be the
only time in my life where I am treated like such a celeb so I guess I should
just enjoy it. The wedding started at about 1 and it was so fun!
There was a
whole lot of dancing and singing and more dancing and more singing. There was a
part where there was a dance just for the ‘obrunis’ and it was interesting
because the Pastor talked about how they usually don’t let foreigners come but
that they were happy we were there because it signified unity. The bride and
groom belong to a church called Savior
Church Africa .
Then Wizards of Waverly Place came on, there is a channel on Saturdays that
plays American shows and Jackie and I were laughing at how much we enjoyed to
hear voices that were not voiced over a Mexican soap opera. There was then a
little segment about a man who lives in Agona because he is trying to make a
difference and he started a business making bicycles with bamboo. It sounded
sweet and reminded me of Fryan once again, Ry you are the coolest. Just sayin.
I am exhausted and sunburnt from today so I am definitely going to sleep well
tonight.
There was a
whole lot of dancing and singing and more dancing and more singing. There was a
part where there was a dance just for the ‘obrunis’ and it was interesting
because the Pastor talked about how they usually don’t let foreigners come but
that they were happy we were there because it signified unity. The bride and
groom belong to a church called
May 27, 2012
Today marks one
month in Ghana .
That blows my mind. I cannot believe I have already been here for one month yet
at the same time I think like wait, I have only been here for a month because
it seems like it has been longer but either way I just cannot even believe that
I am in Africa sometimes. Sundays are always
wonderful for many reasons and today was no exception. Since my backpack is
still locked at the hospital til tomorrow morning I did not have my scriptures
or my journal to take to church with me so I was not quite sure what I would do
seeing as I don’t understand anything being said but I was able to just sing
and study hymns to myself during Sacrament and I brought C.S. Lewis ‘Mere
Christianity’ with me and read that during Sunday School so I was able to
really ponder about Christians and our religion as well as study the hymns and
what they mean to me so it was actually a good few hours. The hymns were so
funny today, I had the biggest smile on my face the whole time we were singing
because since we do not have the piano, the chorister just gets up and sings
the first phrase and whatever key they sing in and in whatever notes, the
congregation then follows. I don’t remember what hymn we sang for the opening
song but the melody was just not quite right so it was very funny to sing and I
was just giddy with happiness because these people just love the Gospel so much
and they sing with such fervor and it doesn’t matter that there is no
accompaniment or that the tune is a little off because they are praising the
Lord with song and it is beautiful. After church we walked home with some of
the girls in the Young Women and I think next week I want to go to their Young
Women and see what they are learning because that would be fun and maybe we can
speak English. We came home and had our group meeting and ate beans and fried
plantain which is so good! Our group meetings always turn into spiritual
discussions even when we begin talking about our projects and it is so amazing
to see the spiritual growth that has happened inside of all of us even just
after this month. Natalie gave a spiritual thought from a quote President
Hinckley said which Im sure many people have heard before, it is the one about
everything working out. In it he says that he wakes up every morning just
knowing that no matter what happens, it will all work out. I have to believe
that because if I tried to understand everything without the faith that I have
in my abilities and in the outcome of this experience, I would drive myself
crazy trying to figure everything out and then I would completely miss out on
the experience of just being here. I already pray more fervently and
consistently than I ever have before and I read my scripture with a real thirst
for knowledge, so much that I never want to stop reading and I never want to
stop praying. The relationship that we can gain with our Heavenly Father and
Jesus Christ is such a beautiful thing, I don’t know how anyone can live without
it. I have been able to think in terms that I have never before thought here
and I can do things that I didn’t think possible within my own intellect
before. it is a truly amazing experience and I think at the end of all this, my
spiritual progression will be the greatest blessing I received. We wanted to
watch the Testaments today and Cassie brought the case but the movie wasn’t
inside so we watched Pride and Prejudice and Cassie allotted us each to one of
the characters so we were just laughing the whole time when certain scenes
would come up or when a certain character trait would be realized in one of us
that had just been portrayed in the movie and it was funny to watch with that
mind. I also realized how beautiful the cinematography is in this film, Phantom
of the Opera was the same way and since movies seem somewhat of a luxury here
since we have a limited supply, I am even appreciated movies in a way that I
never did before. Truly, this experience is changing my life. Talking to my
momma at the end of the day is always the best. I wish I could talk to everyone
but the fact that I get to talk to her at all is the worlds best. Hearing her
voice and hearing about my siblings and how well everyone is doing makes it okay
to be here away from it all. I am so grateful for the health and happiness my
family is afforded right now because it makes it easier to be away when life is
running smoothly for everyone and when we feel like we are all exactly where we
are supposed to be.
May 28, 2012
I guess it doesn’t
matter where you are whether it is in California ,
Utah , or Africa …Mondays
are still kinda lame. I don’t know why, maybe its an attitude problem but
Mondays are always so hard for me. My motivation is low and my spirit is low, I
cant figure it out because it should be at an all time high after the spiritual
upliftment of a Sunday. Maybe I just need an attitude adjustment when it comes
to Mondays. Not much of anything happened at work today though I did talk to
one of the Doctors and he gave me permission to observe in his consulting room
so I will be doing that starting Wednesday which is exciting. I am finding that
it takes a lot of time for research to build upon one thing after another and
after a month of just observation during rounds and around the community I am
excited to take things a little further. I hope to have an interview set up by
the end of the week as well so I can get going with that. I just need to remind
myself that all things take time. Salid is working on getting his research published
as a book right now and he had me help him for a few hours this morning to
format it and get everything all set as the publisher wants it. I am no expert
on anything he asks me to help him with but because I am here doing research
and because he is impressed with my own proposal and such he always asks me to
read over his things and help him with titles and resumes and such and it feels
good just to have someone who is far above me in school and work and life
experience, treating me as an equal and as someone who’s opinions are
respected. There was a young child screaming its head off today in female ward
though and I never went in to see why because the scream made my stomach curl
and my tear ducts swell and my body sweat so I had to leave…that may be another
reason why I did not feel too productive today. After hearing that I was a
little bit disabled, I did not want to hear and see all the pain and suffering.
I definitely would not be cut out to be a nurse, no sir. I thought I would for
a minute because I love the look of joy on people’s faces when the Doctor says
“discharge” but I don’t like to see people suffer. Its hard. After work though
I was able to catch up on my scripture reading and I read for near two hours.
We are in Mosiah right now and it was the first time that I was able to really
follow the whole process from King Benjamin in Zarahemla, through Abinidi and
Alma and then the detour to Limhi and the battles with the Lamanites and then
back to where Alma and his people left off and in comes Ammon and Amulon on
either side of the battle and it was just the coolest experience reading my
scriptures today because I could really vision what was going on and the whole
thing played like a movie in my mind. It is amazing to see the trends and counsels
in the Book of Mormon too. The main doctrines teach faith and repentance over
and over again and every single chapter testifies of Christ and of His
redeeming love. It is undeniable. And so beautiful. The diction and imagery in
this book is amazing too. When the Lamanite daughters are abducted by the
Priests of Noah and the battle rages among the Lamanites and the people of
Limhi, it reads that ‘they fought like lions for their prey’ and that ‘they
exerted themselves and like dragons did they fight’. If that doesn’t paint the
image of the fiercest battle then I don’t know what would. The scriptures are
seriously so cool and I now understand how my Dad could read for hours and
hours in the wee hours of the morning before starting his day. After reading all
that, I feel like there is nothing I cant do with the Lord on my side. I feel
like I am becoming a spiritual geek, oh well, I love it. Booze woman is around
our house a lot
