So Much Gratitude :)

I spent this past week in San Jose. Thanksgiving was great and I had a blast! Every time I leave Rexburg or Utah or wherever it is I am, I want to be better. I left San Jose 3 hours ago and I have plans on how I can become a better person financially, spiritually, mentally, and physically. I am STOKED to get back into the daily grind and just rock the world! Many great plans will unravel upon my return to the Mormon corridor.

With this past week being Thanksgiving, I really had a lot to be thankful for. I try to be thankful on a daily basis, but of course with the holiday I rediscovered much that I have to be thankful for in my life. I'm going to list a few:

1. I have the best friends in the world. I am thankful for them every single day, but with the many things going on in my life lately, I am grateful that I can turn to them when I am struggling and I am grateful that they can always make me laugh. My best friends, they keep me sane, sometimes they make me insane but my life would be hell without them. My best friends know who they are if they are reading this, I love you guys a ton!
   
   
   
   
   
2. My family rocks! I don't see them as often as I should, but they know that I love them tremendously. We truly put the "fun" in "dysfunctional," and I wouldn't have it any other way.
   
   

3. My San Jose family kicks butt too! They allow me to come to them whenever I want and they welcome me with open arms. I always have a good time when I am with them. I love my San Jose family a ton!
   
   
   
4. I belong to Christ's true church on the earth. I could seriously write pages and pages on why I love the restored gospel. If you really want to know more, just ask me. I'm not afraid to answer questions or share stories.

I am totally going to try to update my blog more often. It's good for me and it's good for my family and friends who want to know what is going on in my life.

Oh, I have breaking news as well. I'm moving to Provo in January.....

Sigh of Relief!

A missionaries biggest fear is being forgotten by the people that he/she served. Over the weekend, I went back down to San Jose and attended a ward that I had served in. I was terrified that I would get there and no one would remember me. I had been worried last week, but as Sunday morning crept up on me, I started to really freak out. I stayed at the Osborne's house and I told Raeann and Rebekah and they both were like, "dude, you honestly have nothing to worry about!" Of course, I still was worried. We got to church a little bit late, and when we walked in, immediately, Sister Davis looked over at me and was so happy to see me! I was a little relieved because I love Sister Davis! After Sacrament meeting, everyone came up to give me a hug and to say, "hi." It was SO nice and I was SO relieved! Everyone had remembered me! All my fears fled  and I was SO happy to be in the Almaden Ward. I had really missed those people and I was very grateful to go back and visit them. Definitely won't be the last time :)

This is the Osborne family, plus Andrew, minus Ramsey. I love these guys so much!!! They are family to me. We went to McDonald's and got hot fudge sundaes in our pajamas. SO much fun!!!

New Adventures.....Again

I started my new job on Thursday. That first day was just me being trained, and it wasn’t bad. I thought it would be worse, but it really wasn’t bad. The next day was when I started by myself. That was a little bit scarier for me. I’ve taught the gospel to people on their doorsteps before, but I’ve never done sales. I always scare myself for some reason. “What if I don’t sell anything? What if I make no money this summer? If I don’t make any money, how will I pay for college? How will I pay off my car? How will I be able to live? What am I going to do?!?!” The perks of having O.C.D……

I definitely have those worries. Yesterday, my Dad called and I talked to him about it. We talked about how I’ve sold for 2 days, and in those 2 days, I’ve sold 3 new accounts. He just convinced me that it will be okay. Yeah, you make money based on how hard you work, but if you’re out there working and doing your job, then you’re gonna sell! You might not sell as many as you would like, but you’ll sell! A sale = money, end of story. Why fret? Why worry?

Motto for my summer: Work hard and be happy, success will come. SO true! 

My Home Away From Home

To start the week off, I spent several days in San Jose. Monday night, I rolled into town about 5:30pm and went straight to President and Sister Watkins' house. It's always good to see them! I love my mission president and his wonderful wife! They always uplift and inspire me. I love them tremendously! They took me out to dinner where I was able to catch up with them and learn about all of the exciting things going on in the mission. I sure do miss being a missionary!

It was weird seeing all of these people and not teaching them about the gospel or being super spiritual with them. Of course I strive to be an example of righteousness to them, but it just wasn't the same. No companion. No curfew. No limits. No badge.....no badge. When I realized that there was no badge there, it was almost depressing. I was romping around this city at my own pace and doing my own thing. It was great, but it was also a little disheartening because my purpose was definitely not the same. Living here in Sacramento, however, I will be down in San Jose quite often. My home away from home. I left my heart in San Jose.

Aside from the sad and disheartening part of the trip, I had a blast! I saw people who I haven't seen in over a year. I got to go to San Francisco for the first time. I even got to share the gospel a little more with someone who I taught, but who never progressed. Oh how my heart swelled when I was able to talk about the restored gospel with my friend! It brought back a flood of memories! Good memories of course, and it made me pretty happy.

Life is good :) my family was sad to see me leave after I had only been home about a week, but they know that I love them. They know that I won't be gone forever.

These People are the Best!

I've been away from my family for quite some time now. I got home from my mission, then a month later I left for college. I saw them for a month! Not enough time! They're awesome and I totally miss them and love them SO much! With that said, here are some pictures of them.

This is my Dad, my step-mom, my two brothers, and I in Tombstone, Arizona. Dad is a rockstar! He taught me how to work hard and that if you want something, go get it! Plus, he's good at math, and I love math.

This my Mom, step-dad, my brother, Brennan, and I. My Mom is awesome! She's had some rough times and been through a lot, but she always looks at the bright side and she loves her kids!

(P.S.: I look good in this picture. I'm skinny and tan.....what ever happened to that? Lol oh it's probably because you can only see my head.....)

These are my brothers. Tony, then me, then Brennan. They're cool.....I guess. No, they are both awesome and I love them to death. We didn't always get along (and we have video to prove it) but we love each other and I am so glad that they are both my brothers.

This is my best friend, Bryan. Yes, he's family, and I know that he'll always have my back. He and I have a blast when we're together! (In this picture there are 2 black ladies behind us on the roller coaster.....they were SO annoying!) Oh yeah, we love roller coasters and amusement parks - especially Six Flags Magic Mountain.

This is Bree. Oh Bree. Lol! She has been one of my best friends since freshman year in high school. Our hobbies include singing and dancing in the car and looking like idiots in public. We're pretty much awesome! She's the one on Santa's lap, not actually Santa. What kind of Santa throws up a peace sign? A cool Santa!

This is Kendra. She too is one of my best friends. She liked me even when I had that hideous rat on my face that was supposed to be a mustache, facial hair if you will. She has been to hell and back and she is SO strong and such an amazing person!

Personable? I guess so!

On Sunday, I had a ward mission meeting. During some down time, the second counselor in the Bishopric asked me, "you struggle with anxiety, right?" I replied, "yeah I do." He then said, "then why are you like the most personable person ever?" Wow, am I really? I've been a very shy person in my life. I haven't always been talkative or outgoing or even personable as the second counselor put it. It gave me an opportunity to look back and think of what changed me. Why am I not shy anymore? I mean, it used to be that once I got to know you, I loved you instantly, but now, I don't have to get to know you in order for me to be real and open with you.

After thinking about it, I changed a lot on my mission. I went from being the guy who didn't talk much to being the guy who was the loudest in the room all the time. What an incredible realization that was for me! Yeah, I suffer from anxiety, but that's just a minor bump in the road now. It used to be huge, but we've moved past that and things are different. Of course I still have issues with it at times, but they don't define me like they used to. You want a moral from that story? Go on a mission! You're missing out on something that will make you SO much better. Maybe it will make you more outgoing or social. Maybe it will make you a more spiritual person. Maybe it will help you budget or manage your time better. Whatever it may be, a mission will change you!

With that new-found openness and ability to be more social, I love BYU-Idaho. I've probably said it a million times, but I do! We went sledding last night for Family Home Evening. Being from Arizona, I may have gone sledding 2, 3, maybe 4 times in my life. Afterwards, I had snow in my face, my hair, down my pants, in my shirt, and everywhere in between, and it was a BLAST!!! I've made great friends here. I sure do miss the friends that aren't here in Rexburg with me, but life is good and I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Tired and Busy.....

School is rough! I am beat, exhausted, tired, and may go crazy at some point before the end of the semester. No just kidding, I won't go crazy. So, I take an anti-anxiety medicine (now you're thinking, 'oh maybe he will go crazy.....' I won't. Promise.) because I have Generalized Anxiety Disorder, I'm starting to think that that may be contributing to my increased fatigue. I'm workin' on it. We'll see what happens.

In my ward here on campus, I am a ward missionary. When I first got the calling, I thought to myself, 'we're at a school with a bunch of Mormons, why do we need a ward mission? Especially if of the 60 non-members on campus, none of them are in our ward. How is this gonna work?' Since I was called, I have been attending mission prep class for Sunday School. I love going to mission prep!!!!! I know that I am not preparing for a mission (been there, done that), but I seriously just find so much happiness in helping these young men prepare to go on missions. They're gonna be rockstars in the mission field! Especially if they're attending BYU-Idaho and going to mission prep every Sunday before their missions?! Oh yeah, they'll do great!

SO embarassed.....

Okay, I was walking through the Manwaring Center on campus today, and as I was walking down the stairs, I slipped and fell down a whole flight of stairs!!! Aca-awkward! It was SO embarassing! No one was laughing though, which is nice, but it still left me a little flustered and totally embarassed, not to mention super sore and bruised. My whole right side is in pain.

New friends :)

In the church, we usually do something called Family Home Evening on Monday nights. Here at BYU-Idaho, they put you into FHE groups. Today, my roommates and I got assigned our group and we had such a blast! Our group consists of my roommates and myself and the girls who live in the house next door to us. Tonight was so much fun and I look forward to Monday nights with these awesome people!

Holy cold!

There she is! The bustling metropolis of Rexburg, Idaho.....

First Sunday in Rexburg

Today, we went to church. The day started with interviews with Bishop. His name is Bishop Dennis and he is a super nice guy! In our interview, he kept asking if I could be a ward clerk or an executive secretary. I got a little scared afterwards.....who knows.

Fast and testimony meeting was great! The testimonies were so sweet and wonderful! In the student wards, you don't get those people that get up and take 20 minutes to tell you how their dog did a funny trick and it helped them gain a testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Nothing weird like that. It was very spiritual and I can tell that I will like this new ward and this new place. It might be hard at first, but I WILL get used to it and I WILL like it here.

Since senior year in high school, Kendra and I have been friends. In that period of time, she became one of my best friends. She's still one of my best friends! She was here in Rexburg for the weekend and she will be leaving tomorrow morning. I am going to miss her SO much! She's going to school at BYU in Provo, Utah. She's so much fun and I will miss her Mormon mom haircut LOL!

 

 

 

College Tip #1

When you walk into a room and there's a couple cuddled up on the couch with a blanket, WALK AWAY!!! Awkward.....I have been assured that this will probably happen again.

Ready, set, GO!

Crazy weekend! I began my journey up to BYU-Idaho on Thursday, January 3, 2012. I met up with a guy I met on the BYU-I ride board named Scotty. Awesome guy! He's super cool! Turns out he knows one of my best friends, Kendra. Thursday night, we stayed in Provo. I stayed the night at Bryan's apartment.

Thursday night, I had dinner with Bryan, Kendra, and Jeff. Jeff was my first zone leader on my mission. I have been writing his sister, Alicia, for almost 2 years now. She's currently on her mission in Milan, Italy. She's a great girl! Anyway, we were having dinner when Jeff mentioned that he was dating a girl from BYU-I named Rachel. Kendra of course asked what her last name was. Turns out, Kendra and Rachel are friends. Jeff calls Rachel to meet up with us at Cafe Rio in Orem, Utah. Rachel walks in with Scotty, my ride, and another friend. Such a coincidence and a totally fun night! We had a blast!

The next day was our drive up to Rexburg, Idaho. Might I mention that Utah and Idaho are covered in snow at this time of the year. Freezing cold! My poor Arizona boy butt got SO whooped and I was just dying! We get to Rexburg. Yay! Finally! I'm excited and nervous all at the same time. What are my roommates going to be like? What is my apartment going to look like? Will I be able to make friends? So many things going through my mind.

I get to my place. It's actually a house which I thought was cool. Nothing exciting to write home about, but you get what you pay for. Right off the bat, I have to go to the BYU-I Center for a devotional where President Kim B. Clark of Brigham Young University - Idaho introduces himself to all the new students. It felt weird. Kendra was gone, Scotty was gone, and I was all by myself. It sunk in. This might really just stink! I might just hate it here! President Clark began to speak. He talked for a little bit and the Spirit just fell over me. I felt comforted. I knew that I would be okay. Of course, the first week or two would be tough. That's how I am with all big changes and adjustments, but the Spirit had confirmed to me that I didn't have anything to worry about. I knew exactly what I needed to do to have a great time here.

This first weekend was filled with events that helped the new students get involved and introduced to BYU-Idaho. It was called "Get Connected" and I had a lot of fun doing it!