One Step Closer!

Today I made a significant step towards going to India--I finally got my passport photo taken and the papers turned in! That's one thing I don't understand about the whole passport thing: Why do the pictures have to look like mug shots? The "don't smile" rule only worked part-way, so I have a really weird look on my face and my hair is kinda messy too. And the funny thing is that that picture will grace my passport for the next ten years! Lucky me... Oh well. If it gets me to India I guess I'm alright with it.

We Thank Thee O God For a Prophet

Recently I have been thinking about what a blessing it is to have a living prophet on the earth today. In a day of confusion and darkness, how appropriate to have a man of God who can lead us steadily on our way to eternal life! I had the opportunity to watch the Joseph Smith movie at the Oakland temple again yesterday, and once again the Spirit witnessed to me that Joseph Smith truly was God's chosen prophet who restored the fulness of the Gospel to the earth. I love the prophets of the Book of Mormon and the Bible and know that they spoke words of truth, but today I was reminded that the words of the living prophet take precedence over those that came before. Having grown up in the Church, I know I have become over-familiar with the fact that we can have access to the words of a modern-day prophet whenever we desire. With the Internet and the Church website (www.lds.org) we have a plethora of resources with information and talks that can last our whole life through! What a blessing it is to be able to hear the latest council of our prophet twice a year in General Conference! Not only can we hear his words, but we can see his face and feel that immense love that he has for each one of us.
Thomas S. Monson has been ordained as a prophet, seer, and revelator of this time. He knows our day and our challenges, and he can guide us in God's way like no other man on Earth. He is Heavenly Father's ordained messenger and witness, and he will never lead us astray. We should be eating up his words more than anyone else's! I came upon an interesting question: What IS the prophet telling us today? If someone asked me that, could I answer sufficiently? Honestly, I'm not sure I could at this time. Thus, I have determined that I am going to compile a book for myself with President Monson's General Conference talks especially, and other talks as well, from the time he was sustained as the prophet in April of 2008. I am excited to search his words and find the recurring themes and council he has for us! I love President Thomas S. Monson!

India Here I Come!

It's official--I'm bound for India in just a few short months! I think a lot of people are wondering how this all came about. I admit, it IS kind of random for those who haven't been following what has been going on in my life recently. So I'll give you all a synopsis of what led me to decide to go to India.
I am a Junior at Brigham Young University, majoring in Anthropology with an International Development minor. I love learning about various peoples and cultures and have always had a desire to travel, but have NEVER been out of the United States (not even to Hawaii or Alaska, either)! I admit I feel very culturally naïve! There is so much to see and learn about, and while one can learn a lot through the internet, books, movies, conversations with others, it is definitely not the same as actually being there!
The past semester, I got an extreme case of "gotta-get-outta-here-itis" and felt a strong desire to leave the country this summer, but it didn't seem like it would work out. I want to travel to other countries, but I want to do more than that--I want to make a difference in people's lives. I was looking to see if I could participate in an internship abroad, but unfortunately I was too late to do anything through BYU. This came as a disappointment, because I have a full-ride scholarship through BYU and could have the majority of my expenses covered. I decided I would just have to wait until next summer.
Patience is a virtue, or that is what my grandma always told me, so I figured this was my chance to work on developing that trait. One morning, however, I was working and had an interesting experience. At BYU, I worked as an early-morning custodian in the Talmage Building, and would work every weekday morning from 5 to 8, cleaning the classrooms. As crazy as it sounds, I loved that job because I basically had 3 hours every morning to ponder about life and whatever else I wanted to think about. I was in one of the classrooms, and I had the distinct impression that I should apply for a passport. This caught me completely off-guard. I know it was not just a thought from me, because I had no plans to travel this summer. But I have learned that when I receive a prompting like that, I must obey, no matter how weird or crazy it sounds.
I was contemplating what this might mean, when I ran into an old friend from back in California. He is on an Arabic study-abroad this summer in Jordan. I expressed to him that I wished I could travel this summer and he responded with "Why not? Who says you have to just go through BYU?" He told me that if he could change anything in his life, he would have traveled more when he was my age, because as you get older, you have more responsibility and it is harder to leave. That was an interesting thought... who DID say I could only do something through BYU? These thoughts remained in the back of my head, but I still didn't think much about them.
One day, I was walking through the Wilkinson Student Center at BYU, when I passed a table with some handouts about an organization, Rising Star Outreach, which assists people associated with leprosy in India. I felt a feeling that THIS WAS IT! This was what I needed to do! I began to research the organization a little bit, and kept having a reassuring feeling that I could contribute to this cause.
It was such a random and far-fetched idea that I was a little nervous talking to my parents about it. But when I told my mom about my feeling that I should get a passport, she surprised me when she told me they had been feeling the same thing about renewing my dad's passport. She also said that if this was what I felt that I should do, they would support me 100%.
With that, the next challenge was money. I had no promise of a job in California, so I determined that I would probably return to Utah over the summer semester and work custodial as well as a peer mentoring job. But then my former employers from California called me up and offered me a full-time job for the summer! I know that all this was not just a coincidence. God is watching over me and is mindful of my desires. If I save up all my money, I will have enough to pay for the expenses of flying to India and working with Rising Star Outreach.
Quick Facts:-There are over 700 leper colonies in India alone today-Once someone is diagnosed with leprosy, not only does he or she become a societal outcast, but the rest of the family as well-Leprosy is treatable
About the Organization and My Experience:-Rising Star Outreach has three major initiatives:to educate the colony children in a safe, healthy environmentto provide leprosy patients with their own small businesses using micro-financeto address the unique health challenges of the colonies with mobile medical units-I will be just a few hours out of the city of Chennai, which is on the south-eastern part of India-I will be there from August 11 through August 27-I will be performing various tasks, such as tutoring the children in English and with other homework, assisting in colony building projects, and going with the medical units to assists those with leprosy

This is going to be one of the most challenging experiences in my life, but I think it will definitely be worth it and I hope I can make a difference in those people's lives. I will keep you up to date on what is going on!
P.S. If you would like to participate with me by donating financially, I welcome any contributions!