AHHHH! When will it end!

To everyone who has expressed their love and concern for Brandon, I want to say that I love you so much and share what I have learned from Brandon about the swine flu. I have been postponing venting my worries about it but am just plain worried. I sit online every chance that I get reading about it, praying that there will be a break in the epidemic. My latest letter from Brandon said that the missionaries are under strict sanitation orders. He sent me his copy of the guidelines:

• Wash your hands frequently, especially if you have had contact with someone that is ill.
  
• Avoid touching your mouth, nose and eyes with your hands.
  
• Do not greet someone directly with a handshake or a kiss. (come greet me with a kiss, I'm safe, I promise!)
  
• Avoid places where there is close contact with large groups of people, like the subway and buses.
  
• Cover your mouth and nose with a disposable tissue when you cough or sneeze.
  
• Eat fruits and vegetables rich in vitamins A and C (carrots, papaya, guayaba, oranges, mandarin oranges, limes, lemons, pineapple, etc.)
  
• If flu like symptoms are detected, seek medical help immediately.

On top of this they are not allowed to eat from street vendors and the missionaries carry antibacterial gel. All their church meetings have been cancelled until further notice from the church. I always wish Brandon was here with me but I know that he is doing the Lord’s work. Is it to much to ask for him to come home until this blows over? I guess all we can do pray for Brandon and all the other missionaries at risk of being exposed.

Brandon wrote: "Pretty much everyone is wearing face masks and we wear them when we go outside. Really dorky but it is better to be safe. The buses are kinda empty and the lack of tourists in the city is strange. Kinda weird to be in a city that was once so busy and is now relatively quiet. Kids are not going to school, people are staying home from work and all
our church meeting are canceled. Everything we are told is pretty scary stuff about how quickly it spreads and how many people are dying. Pray for everyone here."

This whole thing is driving me CRAZY! I am trying to not go insane but can I just say how ridiculous it is that we live in a world like this! Why does Brandon have to be in Mexico instead of somewhere safe like North Dakota?

Here is the statement that the church released:

“Church leaders are closely monitoring news, security and medical reports
regarding the swine flu outbreak. The Mexican government has requested that all
churches and organizations in Mexico City and affected areas suspend public
meetings and has asked residents to follow basic sanitary precautions to guard
against infections. We have asked our members and missionaries to follow these
precautions and Church leaders have cancelled meetings until further notice. All
missionaries in the affected areas are reported to be safe."

New Calling!!!

My Bishop pulled me aside today to give me a new calling. I am going to be a RS teacher and I am SOOOO nervous, excited, and anxious. I will be teaching once a month which gives me a month to prepare. I can't wait to talk to the pres. and find out what my first lesson will be on! I am so scared that all the sisters are going to have to listen to me talk for 40 minutes. I really hope that I am not boring. I have never had a calling like this before ('cept when I was a GD teacher but there were only 5 or 6 in a class and being Laurel's pres was pretty tough because I would have to conduct all the time and give lots of mini-lessons) but this is just so much more stressful then those.

Even though I'm embracing change and going forward with faith I will seriously miss being a VT supervisor. I got to know so many amazing sisters who I will miss having church reasons to call. I will miss getting to know all the sisters in their homes, being a VT sub and having busy days at the end of the month to make sure we get 100%. Being a supervisor was challenging but I liked having a goal to achieve and being a teacher is so much different. I will just have to prepare as much as I can, pray, have faith and let HF use me as an instrument to touch the sisters who need to hear the words of the lesson. If you have any teaching tips let me know. I will post when I get my fist lesson looking for ideas! OH BOY!

SO PRECIOUS!

I got this in an e-mail and it was just to precious not to post!For Sale: Useless Cat

Dear Toaster

Toaster, Oh Toaster

I'm pretty sure that my parents got you as a wedding gift a billion years ago.
You had no setting, just overdone.
I love eating bagels in the morning but had to buy small ones that fit into you.
Once you caught on fire and I thought you were broke but you kept on cookin'.
Now you are dead and I have no idea why.
You passed in your sleep without a struggle or a battle.
I will always miss you, no toaster will ever be the same.

Oh to be 17 Again

Yes! I saw the movie opening day and Yes! Zach is as beautiful as ever! It was certainly not an original story idea but a classic one. And let's be honest, you could tell that same story over and over and I would go see it as long as the actors are as beautiful as Zach!

Wednesday Worries

It has really been the hardest days of the year so far. I have had no time for myself and certainly no time for the blog! It is so horrible that I had to have such a terrible week just after conference weekend when I was on such a spiritual HIGH. I know that Satan will do everything he can to crush my spirit so it is up to me to EndureToTheEnd.

It has been test after test at school, all my assignments are piling up, I did not get a single letter from Brandon (I think one got lost in the mail), my boss hates me (I think) and Juliette passed away. I am so sad that the last time I saw Juliette was TWO WEEKS ago. I wished I could have been there at the end! My parents said that it was a peaceful passing and they wished I could have been there too. They got her for me on my third birthday and she has been my best friend ever since. One of the hardest parts about going to collage was not taking her with me, and now she is in heaven and I will not get to be with her again in this life.

The day I got JulietteLast night, I was so down from the news and everything else that I drove to the Seattle Temple in Bellevue (an hour and forty minutes away) just to sit on the grounds. It is the temple that Brandon and I are going to get married in and we used to love to make the drive and have picnics on the grass. The temple closed at 8PM right before I got there which was sad because I wanted to go into the waiting room but just being there was so peaceful. It was pretty cold and rainy as usual but I brought a blanket, umbrella, stationary and my scriptures so that I could sit outside. I spent the night with the Johnsons who used to live in my ward before moving to Seattle. They were happy to take me in even though I gave them no warning. They moved Jarad (oldest of 8 perfect children) to the couch and I slept in his bed. We ate breakfast after 5:30 scripture study, the kids left for EM seminary and I drove back to catch my 8AM class.
I miss Juliette so much and know she is in a better place. Jane sent me this Native American poem that she found this morning and it was so fitting and perfect.

Do not stand at my grave and weep
I am not there I do not sleep.

I am in a thousand winds that blow
I am the softly falling snow.
I am the gentle showers of rain,
I am the fields of ripening grain.

I am in the morning hush,
I am in the graceful rush
Of beautiful birds in circling flight,
I am the starshine of the night.

I am in the flowers that bloom,
I am in a quiet room.
I am the birds that sing
I am in each gentle thing.

Do not stand at my grave and cry.
I am not there. I did not die.

I Heart Conference

This is my first conference with Brandon on his mish and missionary work was on my mind. I knew that if I prepared myself to be taught that HF would put the right words directly into my heart. I felt like every talk was about being a missionary, either full time or as a member missionary and I am excited to share the gospel with those around me. Conference is a huge spiritual charge for me and I have to use that charge to it's fullest over the next six months. Here are the treasures that touched me!

Elder Cook told the story of the Atheist campaign in London telling people that there is no God. This surprised and crushed me. I have such a great work ahead of me as a member missionary with Satan so strong in these last days. I pray that Brandon's mouth will be opened to those who are in the midst of spiritual storms. I wish that we could preach God's love on buses and let everyone know that there is a meaning to our time here on earth.
The Atheist Campaign The message I want to share with the world! God Lives and Loves You....The Mormons Elder Cook also instructed "Our Obligation is to love and teach and never give up". Love is the most powerful gift we have. I LOVE LOVE LOVED Elder pearson's Six destructive D’s:

Doubt, discouragement, distraction, lack of diligence, disobedience, disbelief. This time in my life is the hardest it has ever been. It is so hard being in school, not being able to talk and be with Brandon and feeling alone around people who do not understand what I am going though. My most important calling right now is to be cheerful and serve others. Avoiding the destructive D's is going to have such a + influence in my life!

Elder Oaks quoted President Monson after telling President Hinkley's "forget yourself and go to work" missionary experience. I know that everyday Brandon is learning to forget himself. He is such an amazing missionary who I admire so much. President Monson said “You can never love the Lord until you serve him by serving his people”. What amazing and inspiring words.

Mother Teresa "We cannot do great things only small things with great acts of love"

Elder Perry has always held a special place in my heart. When I was in High School he visited my region and spoke during a regional EMFS (early morning fire side) on the importance of the Articles of Faith. I am so grateful that my mom made me memorize them when I was eight so that they have become part of who I am. I felt that it was inspired that his talk focused so much on Missionary Work. The phrase that stood out the most to me was "Missionary work becomes the responsibility of all of us as soon as we have been warned". I love conference and can not wait to get Brandon's notes from what touched him. I am going to put together a conference package for him later today with some of my inspirations!