Still waiting...

Yesterday it had been three weeks since I had last talked to Britta.  So, I called her.  She said that three potential teachers had been accepted, but they had applied a few months before me.  Erin, my past roommate, was one of them!  I am so excited for her.  She got accepted to the larger school in Feng Yuan, Taiwan.  Britta told me that since the Taiwan schools have started accepting people, I will probably know within the next two weeks.  This is a great trial of patience.  I am just really excited to find out.

Bad Kitty

I blow-dried my hair yesterday, sort of.  Because it was out.

I woke to a foul smell in the air.  My kitty is kept in a cage made out of child-gates at night, complete with a gate on top so that she can't jump out at night.  I came out of my bedroom, and Nala was sitting on top of the couch, looking at me.  I turned to see her cage in disarray, with the top moved off.  The gate that blocks off the hallway to the spare bedrooms was knocked over too.  Nala, what did you do?  Why aren't you in your cage?  I sleep so soundly that I didn't hear any of the commotion.

Now the foul smell I found, was coming from her bed, which she soiled.  It is an animal's instinct to poo away from where they spend time.  Can you blame them?  Nala made desperate and successful attempts to get away from her makeshift litter box.  I cleaned her bed and bleached everything.  Can't be too careful.

But something still smelled foul.  I then discovered it was Nala.  I gave her a bath.  Haha!  It was so much fun.  I have had a weird desire for a while now to give Nala a bath, but my Mom, Nala's advocate, would not allow it.  But she smelled; she needed it.  Nala was not having it.  She made several attempts to escape the warm soapy water, and meowed in a way I had never heard before.

I was concerned for her health, and I didn't want her to get pneumonia or something, so I put her in my mom's bathroom with the space heater on.  It was taking forever for her to dry off.  A blow-dryer would do the job quicker.  I got it out, plugged it in and aimed at Nala.  She treated it like a monster that wanted to eat her.  Hissing, growling, running in circles around the bathroom.

I blow-dried my hair instead.

Here is the squeaky-clean culprit.

Meet Leo!

My new boyfriend.  Just kidding.  I got a guitar!  Last Monday, I decided to go shopping and look to see what was out there.  I went to several music stores and pawn shops.  At my decidedly final stop of the day, I fell in love with Leo.  It wasn't love at first sight, but when I heard him sing, there was no turning back.  He had to be mine.  Leo is a Fender with a Sitka Spruce front and an Honduran Mahogany back.  He came with all sorts of goodies, including: an electronic turner, strings, string winder, strap, gig-bag, picks, and an instructional DVD.  I also had to buy a humidifier, because of my current location in dry, dry, dry Nevada. I am not a natural and only know six chords so far.  Only three proficiently.  I look forward to the day that I can actually play a song.

Leo Photo Shoot!

I dream of guitars...

I have wanted to learn to play the guitar for a while now.  I asked myself, what am I waiting for?  I was going to sign up for classes at BYU-Idaho, but with my already busy schedule, I didn't want to overwhelm myself with more time in the practice room.  The Rec Center here has very affordable lessons for beginners.  Today I looked on Craigslist and Amazon to get an idea of what kind of guitar I would want, and I came across these.  I fell in love.  I want one!  These are Luna Guitars .  I listened to them on youtube.  They sound as beautiful as they look.  They range in price from $200-$400.  To have a guitar that is of such quality, I might be willing to pay up.  The last three are new models not quite on the market yet.  

Vote on your favorite in the comments box.  Here are my favorites:

The only thing I haven't decided yet is when.  If I get accepted to Taiwan, I would be sad that I wouldn't be able to take my guitar with me, so I may be more inclined to live my guitar dream after I get home.  

I hurt...

Yesterday morning I woke up with a pinched nerve in my neck.  I can't move and I hurt.  After two days of pain, I am also annoyed with the situation.  Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

I told him

I decided that dad wouldn't be very happy if he found out that everyone else knew about the Taiwan idea and he was left out of the loop.  So, I told him.  He reacted very negatively.  Am I surprised?  He told me that it was a very bad idea.  And that I would make more money if I stayed here in the States.  I said okay, goodnight, and left it at that.  That was two nights ago.  Not a word has been spoken about it since.

Now, here are my thoughts on the matter.  I am perfectly capable of making my own decisions, and I do not have to ask my parents permission.  I am subject to my own personal revelation, and I have the right to agency, and act in accordance to what I feel the Lord's will is for me.  I respect my parents and their opinions, however I respect my own opinions and feelings more.  Would I go to Taiwan against my father's wishes?  Yes.  Would he throw a fit?  Yes.  Would he then accept the idea and brag to his colleagues about me?  Probably.

I am not going to make any rash or unguided decisions, especially not any this large.

I still anxiously await any new from ILP.

Fast postal service

I called Britta, the ILP-Taiwan representative, yesterday to ask her some questions.  I never did figure out how to put my videos onto a DVD, so I just sent then as files on a CD.  I asked her if that was okay.  She said that she already received my paperwork and CD and that everything was great.  I was so surprised that she had gotten the stuff so quickly.  It had only been a couple of business days since I sent it.

I had other questions as well.  One of the forms I had to fill out asked about any and all diagnoses.  I had to write "Eating disorder."  I asked Britta if that fact would hold me back.  She didn't think that it would, because they were more weary of problems that inhibited one's ability to teach.  That put me at ease.  I know that whatever happens is what the Lord wants me to do.  I constantly seek the will of the Lord. 

The cities that they send people to are Feng-yuan and Hsin-chu. (I think.)

Because of the time schedule, with the departure date only a few months away, Britta predicted that I would find out whether or not I will be hired within two to three weeks.  I now must be patient and not go crazy.  

Clarification on "Mormonism" and Polygamy

Polygamy — or more correctly polygyny, the marriage of more than one woman to the same man — was an important part of the teachings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for a half-century. The practice began during the lifetime of Joseph Smith but became publicly and widely known during the time of Brigham Young. Today, the practice of polygamy is strictly prohibited in the Church, as it has been for over 100 years.

In 1831, Church founder Joseph Smith made a prayerful inquiry about the ancient Old Testament practice of plural marriage. This resulted in the divine instruction to reinstitute the practice as a religious principle.

Latter-day Saint converts in the 19th century had been raised in traditional, monogamous homes and struggled with the idea of a man having more than one wife. It was as foreign to them as it would be to most families today in the western world. Even Brigham Young, who was later to have many wives and children, confessed to his initial dread of the principle of plural marriage.

Subsequently, in 1890, President Wilford Woodruff, fourth president of the Church, received what Latter-day Saints believe to be a revelation in which God withdrew the command to practice plural marriage. He issued what has come to be known as the "Manifesto," a written declaration to Church members and the public at large that stopped the practice of plural marriage.

Later, describing the reasons for the Manifesto, President Woodruff told Church members, "The Lord showed me by vision and revelation exactly what would take place if we did not stop this practice. If we had not stopped it, you would have had no use for ... any of the men in this temple ... for all (temple sacraments) would be stopped throughout the land. ... Confusion would reign ... and many men would be made prisoners. This trouble would have come upon the whole Church, and we should have been compelled to stop the practice."

Today Church members honor and respect the sacrifices made by those who practiced polygamy in the early days of the Church.  However, the practice is outlawed in the Church, and no person can practice plural marriage and remain a member.

The standard doctrine of the Church is monogamy, as it always has been, as indicated in the Book of Mormon (Jacob chapter 2): “Wherefore, my brethren, hear me, and hearken to the word of the Lord: For there shall not any man among you have save it be one wife; and concubines he shall have none. … For if I will, saith the Lord of Hosts, raise up seed unto me, I will command my people; otherwise they shall hearken unto these things.”

In other words, the standard of the Lord’s people is monogamy unless the Lord reveals otherwise.  Latter-day Saints believe the season the Church practiced polygamy was one of these exceptions.

Polygamous groups and individuals in and around Utah often cause confusion for casual observers and for visiting news media. The polygamists and polygamist organizations in parts of the western United States and Canada have no affiliation whatsoever with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, despite the fact that the term "Mormon" — widely understood to be a nickname for Latter-day Saints — is sometimes misleadingly applied to them.

President Gordon B. Hinckley stated the following about polygamy in the Church's October 1998 general conference:

“I wish to state categorically that this Church has nothing whatever to do with those practicing polygamy. They are not members of this Church. Most of them have never been members. They are in violation of the civil law. They know they are in violation of the law. They are subject to its penalties. The Church, of course, has no jurisdiction whatever in this matter.



"If any of our members are found to be practicing plural marriage, they are excommunicated, the most serious penalty the Church can impose. Not only are those so involved in direct violation of the civil law, they are in violation of the law of this Church. An article of our faith is binding upon us. It states, 'We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law' (Articles of Faith 1:12)


This info was found at this website.

Stolen Innocence

Today, I finished reading "Stolen Innocence" by Elissa Wall.  It was an autobiographical account of a girl raised in an FLDS community, forced into marriage at age 14 and the victim of repeated sexual abuse.  After being married for 4 years, Elissa escaped the community and the life she was forced to live.

I am so grateful for the religious freedoms I have.  I am also very grateful that we have a living prophet on this Earth today that receives direction to guide us.  I am grateful for agency and that I can live my life however I choose, whether I choose the way of the Lord or not.  

With Warren Jeffs assuming power as the FLDS prophet, the FLDS people were living in an almost communist situation.  All agency was taken away from the members.  Members who strayed were shunned and ostracized.  

I am just so grateful that I was born to my parents, and not to parents practicing FLDS.  I am not condemning the FLDS people.  As I read this book, I felt so much compassion for them.  They are good Christian people, who only did what they believed was the will of God.  Warren Jeffs is an evil, power-hungry man, who took advantage of the good FLDS people.

The videos

Well, I sent the videos and other documents off on Saturday. Now starts the waiting period. For the video, I had to read a story and teach an activity for a child between the ages of 4-6.

This is the ID photo I sent.

This is the story video. It is not the best, but I didn't want to start over and do another take.  The only reason I posted this is so Rachel can see them.  She helped me a lot with ideas.  Otherwise, it would be too embarrassing. 

This is my Activity. At the end of the video, my mind goes blank. You can see that. Haha!

You have probably noticed that there are not videos in this post.  I waited for hours and they never uploaded.  Each video was about 6 minutes long.  That is probably why.