San Angelo, Texas

I have arrived safely to San Angelo and begun my study at Angelo State in pursuit of a Doctorate of Physical Therapy. Is it going to be difficult? Of course. Do I sometimes wonder what I have got myself into? Absolutely. Am I going to make it? YES! I have sometimes been asking myself if this is what I should be doing or if this is what I even want to do. I have been questioning my decision to move 18.5 hours away from Mom and Dad and things that are familiar to me. Even the 11.5 hour flight to Germany felt more comfortable than this sometimes. But then I think about it and how everything has worked out right for me to be here at this time. And I am reminded of the tender mercies of my Heavenly Father and realize that it will work out for the best. It may be lonely sometimes, but it wont be all the time. I really appreciate President Uchtdorf's talk, "You Matter to Him." The town of Big Spring, where he did his pilot training, is about 1.5 hours from San Angelo. I sympathize with his feelings of inadequacy as he lived there. I know that things will work out in the end. Heavenly Father is wonderful and very aware of us and our situations. Elder Bednar has said something to the effect of honor you covenants, keep the commandments, be a good boy and the decisions you make will be spiritually led. I love the Lord and know that because of Him, it is a wonderful life!

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Deep in the heart of Texas!

Just a real quick update, I have been accepted to the Doctorate of Physical Therapy program at Angelo State University in San Angelo, Texas! It looks like a great program and will be a good place to learn about how to help people as a Physical Therapist. It feels like the right place to go, so now I need to finish my last semester strong! It's wonderful!

"Do you believe in Mircales?!?"

Great Fireside Tonight!

This evening we had a Stake Fireside where we basically just watched clips from varying movies (mostly Disney) and shared comments about their application to our lives. My favorite was the clip about the Miracle on Ice in 1980. I was unaware of the fact that Al Michaels only got this offer because no one else was willing to take it. And look what that game did for his announcing career. Just incredible. "Do you believe in miracles?" I know I do! Anyways, as a result of that fireside I wrote the following e-mail to my siblings and thought I would share it here.
"Hey!
I know I already wrote, but it was before we had an awesome Stake Fireside this evening. I thought specifically about Hillary when this was shared, but I know that it is applicable for you both.

 One thing that was shared by President Heaton was the fact that he once had a spiritual impression concerning the biggest project of his career. I dont know what that entailed, but I do know that President Heaton is the Head Honcho over at the MTC, so it probably had something to do with missionary work. Anyways, he said the impression he got, was to stop trying so hard. To let go and trust the Lord. (He shared this after a film clip from Star Wars where Luke is told to let go, use the force and "trust me") I thought about my mission and how I sometimes thought that I had to do everything perfect or else the work would fail. I was wrong. I may have my faults and weaknesses and problems and everything else, but this is the Lord's work. He will take care of it all. In 2 Nephi 27:20 the Lord teaches Nephi that He is able to do His own work. If Heavenly Father wanted to, He could just pull everyone to the Gospel, have them all be baptized and be saved in the Celestial Kingdom. But that is not His plan. We struggle. We make mistakes. And through it all, we learn. When President Heaton received the inspiration to stop trying so hard, it did not mean he got to relax and not do anything. He still had to work hard, but he had to learn to let go of the worry, I think. He had to stop trying so hard and let things flow the way they needed to flow. And it worked out. I hope this is helpful for you. Love you!"

So those are some thoughts that I had. Life really is wonderful! I hope we don't forget that!

Last Semester

Well, here we go. A new semester, my last at BYU. I am excited, nervous, ready for it to be over, but not ready to move on. I have a lot going on. I will be teaching Seminary at UCAS which is a great opportunity. Still not sure how or why I was chosen out of the other very capable applicants and classmates that I had. I have 9 credits of class and am still trying to work everything out so that I can get everything done. I am starting to train for a marathon in June. I went for a run yesterday that ended up being 11.5 miles long. I have not run that distance since I ran a half-marathon back in April of 2009. It was a good run, but I need to get my nutrition down so that I have the energy to run that long. Jacob has been on his mission for a year now. His birthday is on Saturday. Ellen's was on Friday. She is now 17. There was a wonderful CES fireside tonight given by Elder Jay E. Jensen. It was all about the Gift of the Holy Ghost. About the importance of this gift in our lives. Marriage, as it often is, was brought up again. I asked myself in my notes why I am postponing marriage? Why am I so non-committal? I don't seem to have an answer yet, so I will just keep on searching. Aunt Rachel used to say that Happiness is a Choice. Elder Jensen addressed the topic of choice a little bit. He reminded us of the importance of making choices in our lives. We have been given the gift of reasoning and need to use this gift to make a decision and then take it to the Lord. He will not let us go too far from the path before He will call us back. If we do not feel that we have received an answer, then we press forward to the best of our abilities, doing the best that we can. It was a very good devotional and really brought me to ponder on life, death, and the universe (Thats a shout out to lil sis Ellen). So, what am I going to do? How can I better have the Spirit in my life. Read the Scriptures, Pray Daily, Attend the Temple, Listen, listen, listen...I watched "It's A Wonderful Life" three times this year. That was fabulous! Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin said, "Come What May and Love It." I know that to be a true saying. It's a wonderful time to be alive. Don't forget that! Love you!