Many of you "Utahans" are already aware of the 97 day challenge. If you have NOT heard about it log onto http://www.hinckleychallenge.com/ and create a personal account TONIGHT. The wonderful decision to honor our beloved Prophet by reading the Book of Mormon in 97 days was presented by several youth and it is gaining momentum. Thousands of people are starting their reading on Jan. 4th (tonight) and each day logging onto their personal account on the Hinckely website and recording how many pages they've read. The goal is at least 1 million pages recorded in the 97 days following his funeral!
... what a great way to celebrate his life and make him smile down upon us. My mom e-mailed this challenge to me...and asked me to join her....I'm starting tonight....so you should too:)
Tonight was also special because of a particular experience I had at work. I have had so many in my few short years here in Omaha....things that open my eyes and help me recognize how others view life. MUCH, MUCH different than I ever realized...until I witnessed it first hand by moving out of my little sheltered and wonderful Brigham City!***
I have learned things that disturb me beyond belief I have to admit...things that make me scared to let my baby grow up in this world.....but I have also met people who are stronger and been through more trials than I could ever imagine. I am so grateful for the chance I get, on occasion, to teach others around me about my church. I am an oddity at Vatterott College....to put it lightly!!! People know that I am "different". People know that I was married in a "beautiful church" (a.k.a... the temple) that only some people may enter. They know that I am honest...that I speak kindly of others...and that certain topics are not discussed in my presence. I am the youngest teacher BY FAR at my college....but I have so many colleagues twice my age stop by my classroom from time to time to ask questions and look at pictures of my "wedding" in that wonderful building in SLC! I get questions about ALMOST EVERYTHING YOU COULD IMAGINE...Trust me!
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Tonight I had yet another opportunity to teach. Doug...the librarian at the college (who is so sweet....but deaf and struggles with OCD)....stopped me in the hall and said with concern, "Kristin...I'm not sure if you know this, but the leader of your church has died!" I patted Doug on the shoulder and reassured him that I did know and continued to explain that it was both a Sad and Happy thing that he had passed. Doug then asked, "You loved him didn't you Kristin?" I then got to explain to him how I felt....and I could just tell that he understood. He didn't know exactly how I could love a man so much that I had never met before ....but I could see that he understood.
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He then went on to exclaim...."But DO NOT WORRY KRISTIN....the mormons have voted and chosen a "successor" today!" I then began to laugh...almost uncontrollably. I thanked him for keeping me so updated! I have met so many people with "ideas" or strong beliefs that they understand how "we" work....and it is always so much fun to teach them otherwise:)
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Needless to say....Me and Doug sat down in the library for a while and had a talk about how it works....and I felt a comfort as I explained that our Church will never be without a leader and that our prophets are called by god....and not chosen by man. It was a simple experience. But one of those you don't forget. I loved it....and although I know you can have missionary experiences ANYWHERE....I will truly miss moments like tonight...when I know that I have sparked an interest or a feeling inside of someone who didn't know that there was something "bigger" to this life. Something I know about...and am SO grateful for.
10 comments:
what an awesome experience to be able to talk to Doug and so many others about the gospel. I think we in utah really do take for granted the blessing we have to know so much about life and the gospel and I feel so blessed to live in a community where I'm not afraid to have my kids grow up in. I'm scared for the day we move out and I only hope I can live by people who will be good examples to my kids whether they are LDS or not. I'm glad you shared your experience on your blog.
Hey Kristin!
Isn't the blogging world so fun? I spend WAY to much time blogging when I should be doing other things-oh well. Yes, Portrait Innovations is great! I'm such a cheap-o. I can never bring myself to pay the big dollars for all the pics I like. I think Mike would kill me. Have you tried fondant cakes before? They are SO fun! It's just like playing with play-doh and you can make anything out of it. I've got the funnest fondant book with all sorts of ideas if you ever want to look at it. A play date would be great! I just hang around all day with the kids and would love to have some company! Can't wait to get out to the zoo.
Hey, I went to that site today and signed up. It sounds like a great idea and I'm glad that you filled me in on it! Did you know that the day it ends is the day the boys graduate from Law school? Crazy huh?
how awesome is that!?! what a great example you are. and how blessed are we to always have a prophet? we are so lucky to know what we know.
Hey again! How did the home-made fondant go? I bet it was a pretty long process. I've never tried that. I use the Wilton fondant-you can buy it at Wal-mart or Hobby Lobby. It's so easy-I just open the package and roll it out. Wilton has 5 packages of colors-white,primary colors (this is where I got Kaden's red color), neon colors, pastel and natural colors. The packages are about $6-so not too bad. Hope that helps! I'm doing a 2 tiered valentine cake with red,pink and black. We'll see how it turns out next week. These kind of cakes are so fun to plan! Good luck with the hat! Let me know how it goes!
Thank you for the blogging advice. I am sure I will have plenty more. I have pics of Jaxson to email you.
I found you on Britanys blog and thought I would visit. I had alot of fun at dinner with you guys tonight. YOur little Jaxson is super cute. Talk to you later
that was a neat experience you shared. I haven't heard of the 97 day challenge but I think I'll be going to the site right now:)
That is so great! I totally know what you mean. I grew up in Seattle and members were definitely the odd ones. We got all kinds of crazy questions too! =) How nice that you are having positive experiences sharing the gospel. So about photoshop. NOOOOO don't spend all the cash. You guys can buy the program at the student store with your ID cards for like $300! maybe a little less. Also, start snooping around for a new found buddy who works for Adobe, that's what I did- I payed the guy $50 for the whole thing!!! CS3 is the best, I have never used CS2 or CS. 7.0 I think would be fine for you too. Really I think Elements is a GREAT program, and it's about $100 at Costco. I used it until around Thanksgiving. Any of the programs you can get your hands on for a good price will turn your world upside down. They are all amazing and if you just want to improve your picture quality, they would all work great.
Kristin- those experiences are one of the BIGGEST things I miss from living outside Utah. It's interesting when you're a minority isn't it. You never know what kind of seeds you've planed:)
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