Reaching the Top

I am an Activity Days Leader for my church. Twice a month, we do activities with the girls ages 8-11 in our community. It's one of my favorite callings I've ever had because I feel like I get the opportunity to remind these little girls how important and capable they are. 

Last week, we took them on a hike to the Wind Caves. It can be a pretty tough hike for little legs to climb and not only that, but we left at 4:30 in the afternoon. It was smoldering hot. The girls begged for a break every 30 seconds and for a while, I wasn't sure we would make it to the top.

However, those little fireballs proved me wrong. 

We made it to the cave and enjoyed the wonderful view around us. They were all so proud of themselves. They had climbed a mountain! One of the girls even outstretched her arms and said, "This is proof that God loves us." I think it made my heart melt.  

On the way back down, we passed a group of high school boys and one said, "Look, those little girls did it so we can too."

The girls all replied proudly, "Yeah! We did it! Girl power!" 

It put a smile on my face the whole way down as I overheard the little ladies saying things like,

"I can't wait to tell my parents." 

"Look how high we climbed." 

"That was hard but it was soooo worth it." 

Also, it was encouraging to know that all the girls drank enough water since every single one of them had to pee on the way down. 

That night as I took a bubble bath and scrubbed all the mountain dirt off my feet, I just couldn't stop thinking about what those girls taught me that night. 

I've been thinking a lot about trials lately. Sometimes good people have to go through bad things and there is no logical reason as to why. When I was 17 years old and went to Ethiopia, I had my eyes first opened to this. We paid a visit to a hospital (it was more like a giant barn). I saw things I'd never witnessed in little old Idaho. I met with deformed children, blind people, malnourished people, and after we visited the wing of females infected with AIDS, I lost it. I walked out into the hallway and broke down crying. How could God do this to these innocent people? Why did I have it so good? I wasn't any more deserving. 

There aren't answers to everything, at least not answers I always understand, but I do know that trials can make us better people. Trials are a part of our story and how we respond to those trials will make us or break us. Sometimes when trudging through the dirt and heat, we just want to sit down on a rock and say, "I quit." Or maybe we want to turn around altogether and go back where we came from. 

But sometimes, we push through it even though it's hard and it hurts. We press forward until we've overcome the challenge and reached the top. And the top is a beautiful place that not everyone always gets to see. 

I hope these girls always want to reach the top.

  

Ethiopia Culture

These pictures are for a group project I am doing in a class. I figured this would be the easiest way to get them to my group members. So group members, look over them and take note of which ones you think should be used in the presentation.

The rest of you. . .feel free to take a look.





I love these people.

An Elephant's Faithful. . .100%

I had the awesome opportunity to teach Relief Society on Sunday. Boy, was I scared! But at the same time, I really loved it! I love getting to prepare for things and teach myself more about certain topics, and it's super rewarding to get to pass on what I found to others. I swear the girls in my ward are all perfect, little angels though. So I felt extremely inadequate to try teaching them something.


Inadequate to the max.


I think all went well though. They didn't tell me never to come back, so that's a good sign. I really want to just share a few things I learned about on my blog though. Because I'm in LOVE with the topic I got to teach about. It's a topic that all of us use in our lives every single day! People that would like to think they aren't religious even use it.

It's called FAITH.


All those crazy LDS people like me out there probably remember singing that song in Primary,


"Faith is like a little seed. If planted it will grow. ."


There is also this scripture, which is quite nice:


Alma 32:21

And now as I said concerning faith—faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true.


Hmmm, so let's think about this. When we plant a seed, don't we expect that if we take care of it in the right ways, it will grow into a flower? Or maybe you planted a pumpkin, so it will grow into a pumpkin. Whatever the heck you planted, that's what you expect to grow. Don't you have faith then? Because you can't see it yet. . .but you hope for it. . .and it happens.

You wanna hear about the best Family Home Evening ever given? This is a little off topic, but not really, plus it's hilarious. Over the summer, my family had the chance to teach FHE to the old folk at the assisted living center. Brian and I got pulled into helping, but it was fun. He played the guitar and we sang together. Anyways, we were to teach them about faith. My mom had this cute idea of letting the old people plant their own seed in a cup of dirt, and then they could watch it grow. They would then have a flower to enjoy in their little rooms. Well, as you might know, these older people get various pills handed to them throughout the day. Some of them can't see very well, and maybe some are a little loopy (I hope I'm loopy when I get old). So as we handed out these cups of dirt, and then a seed, they automatically thought it was pill time. We had old folk everywhere eating their seeds. It was rather hilarious, I thought. You don't have to go around eating your faith though. But it is something you can develop. By working at it. You have to want it. You can't just sit and wait for it to grow. Same with the plant. If you don't water it and keep pesky bugs away, your seed might just die. To be faithful, you need to take action and do good things in the life that is yours.


I like Horton from the children's book, Horton Hears a Who. I think he's a very humble character. He is also very faithful. His motto is actually,

"I meant what I said and I said what I meant. An elephant's faithful, 100%."


Even when all the animals in the jungle think that Horton is a nutcase, he still sticks by his story. He knows something is on the speck he found. He WILL NOT deny it. Such a sad story this would have been if Horton would have denied what he had faith in. All the Whos in Whoville would have died! And I love Whos!

Especially this one!

I really would like to end this entry by sharing the following video. It is one of my favorite churchy videos ever. Probably because the people involved in the video are so close to my heart. It's a tender spot for me. After going to Ethiopia, I know I have a lot of things to work on. The people of Ethiopia have faith that could slaughter mine. Even though the man in this video, Anthony, has passed, I am forever grateful to him. I love him and hope I can tell him thanks for showing such an amazing example of faith. He made change in Africa possible. I'll tell him. Someday. . . Enjoy. Make sure you have tissues nearby. You may just cry.

Go out there and show some faith now. I don't care what you have faith in. Whether it be in a higher being, a flower growing, that you'll wake up in the morning when you go to sleep at night, that you'll accomplish all your dreams. . .just have a little faith. You can have faith that some Whos live on a speck even. Just find some faith and let it glow.

Now for that video. . . . . .

If Music Be The Food of Love, Play On.

It amazes me how powerful music is. And I love it. I love music, and I love it's power. It can totally take over a person's emotions. It can be healing. It can boost a person's esteem. It can make a person break down and cry. And one of my favorite things about music, is how it can make you remember. . .

I had a fun time this past weekend. Brian took me to Bear Lake to stay in a cabin with a bunch of his friends from high school. It was great to finally meet them all. And even though we were the only not married couple there, I managed to fit in somewhat. After a few days of the fun at Bear Lake, we drove back to Logan and went to a baptism. All baptisms are special of course, but this one felt very special. One of the Ethiopian girls that got adopted and now live in Logan, got baptized. From there, we went to Brian's house and we were in a boat parade! It took place at night, and all the boats were decked out with lights! Amazing!

Even though everything about this weekend was a good time, I very much enjoyed mine and Brian's time on the road together. It was his job to drive Danger Ranger from point A to point B. It was my job to pick the music. Brian and I both love music, which makes driving with the tunes blasted a guaranteed good time. We both get excited about the songs that come on and we sing them together like it's nobody's business. After all, what really sealed the deal with me falling for Brian was the night I learned he could play the guitar. And sing. Well. But that's a whole different story for another day. . .

The interesting thing about our concert in the truck though, was when I'd put on a song I loved. . .and Brian didn't know it. I was in shock with a few of the songs. I listened to some of them constantly in high school. But while I was in high school, Brian was doing that little, two-year mission thing. And they don't really get to listen to music on those. Unless it's like church related or something. I told him I'm going to make him a mix of all the awesome songs that he's missed out on.

It's funny how different people have their music (their is a goofy word, by the way). And it's funny how you can hear certain songs, and they take you back to a certain memory. Instantly.


Boston by Augustana
My first date. . . If you know this song, you'll guess that my first date must have not been the greatest thing to ever happen. I've heard worse stories about first dates. But mine was definitely awkward. I had the hugest crush on the boy I went with too, so it was a pretty sad experience. I remember as we were sitting in the Mexican restaurant, eating our food, this song came on. There were hardly any people in the restaurant, so you could hear the song nice and clear. . She said I think I'll go to Boston...I think I'll start a new life,I think I'll start it over, where no one knows my name. Yep, that sounded about right. I wanted to get far away from that restaurant I was sitting in. As far away as Boston even. I tried not to cry as I picked at my burrito and listened to the sad song about escaping. That cute boy didn't talk to me again after that date. Until years later. But my sixteen-year-old taste had changed after 3 years when he came back when I was 19.


Fireworks by Plain White T's
Hurdle races. . . Mmmm, hurdle races. I listened to this song before every high hurdle race in high school. It did wonders for me. With volleyball and basketball, I never got the least bit nervous. Track was a whole different story. It could be the day of a small track meet where I knew there wouldn't be much competition. . .and I'd still be sick all day at school. I got crazy uptight before my events. People knew to just steer clear from me. You just don't want to talk to Kelsey when she's in the zone. This happy song always calmed me down a little. I could still hear it ringing in my ears after the gun would go off. I would explode from those blocks just like some fireworks, and try my best to tear through those hurdles.


White Houses by Vanessa Carlton
I think she wrote this song for me. . . This song is about losing people you love, losing a part of yourself, and losing your innocence. Maybe you were all faster than me. . We gave each other up so easily. . These silly little wounds will never mend. I feel so far from where I've been. So I go, and I will not be back here again. I'm gone as the day is fading on white houses. I lie, put my injuries all in the dust. In my heart it's the five of us. In white houses. The summer I first heard this song (summer before my senior year) was the summer that two of my best friends moved away for college, the summer my heart got torn out and stomped on, and the summer I forgot who I was a little bit. And there were five of us friends. And the song takes place in summer too. It's kind of ironic, really.


If You Wanted a Song Written About You, All You Had to Do Was Ask by Mayday Parade
A night I was really drugged, and really ticked off. I had just gotten my wisdom teeth out, and those that encountered me during that time can back me up on the fact that I was very goofy. It was the first time I'd been on any kind of pain relief besides your basic pain relief medicine. And boy, did that stuff work like a champ. I can remember little parts of what I said and did, but not everything. But I've heard stories. Two things that don't mix well, I learned, are drugs and boys. I had been dating a few boys, just having fun before I went to college, but there was one that I really liked. The big problem with us was that we were a lot alike. We played head games with each other like mad. And I discovered I liked doing the playing lots more than getting played. He was just about to leave on his mission, and he promised me that he'd come see me after I got my wisdom teeth out. Well, he lied. I was out and about after my teeth were out. I wasn't swollen at all. Just goofy and sometimes emotional. So I went to the fireworks in Preston with my family and my sweet Shayla. The boy was also there. With another girl. As we were getting ready to leave, I was mad. I don't know everything I said and did. But I was told later that we ran into some of his friends and his little brother, and I told the brother, "Tell your brother I hate him." I don't really remember all that rage, but I do remember this song coming on and yelling at my mom to turn it up louder. And louder. And louder. And I hope this makes you happy now that the flame we had is burning out. And I hope you like your pictures facing down, as even broken hearts may have their doubts.


I could do this forever. It's kind of fun. But I'll just do one more, so I don't bore the couple people out there kind enough to read my blog.


God Love Her by Toby Keith
A boy dedicated this song to me once. I'm not even joking. I've never had a real sweet, beautiful song dedicated to me by boys I dated. It was always songs like this one. But I actually take a little bit of pride in this particular dedication. I remember the boy saying, "I've been listening to this song all weekend, and it totally makes me think of you." I'm pretty sure I laughed out loud. And I still do everytime I listen to it, might I add. You better believe I downloaded it off iTunes the day after he had me listen to it. She holds tight to me and the Bible on the backseat of my motorcycle. So I'm a good girl that likes to have fun. And sometimes I do unpredictable things. I think I can live with that.



Music can change the world because it can change people.

~Bono

Thanks Bono. You're the man.