Kosraean Wedding

My cousin got married. His bride is from Kosrae, a small Micronesian island. As a result the wedding was vastly different from any I've ever attended. I think it would have just seemed like a laid back wedding if it weren't for the food (which unfortunately I didn't think to get pictures of). The whole experience felt like playing pretend to me though. So here are some "pretend wedding" pictures.

Beginning the Bucket List

As I near the end of my time in Minnesota I am scrambling to cross off activities from my Minnesota Bucket List. 

Catholic Cathedral in St. Paul

Doesn't do justice to the actual majesty and grandeur of the inside.

Mickey's Dinning Car. Ever seen Jingle All the Way? Mighty Ducks? Those are just a few movies with a scene filmed right here.

Each table has their own little jukebox. We all enjoyed singing along to Lean on Me at the top of our lungs. 

Murder Mystery

My life wouldn't be the grand adventure it is without great friends. Normal people watch movies or play games. We have murder mystery dinner parties. The pictures are horrible, but we still had fun.

The dinner table

 

Our beautiful hostess (the murderer) and her husband

 

 

 

I played the role of Phoebe Tyler Wallingford, a matronly blue-blood

If you look close you may see my white highlights

A Woodland Adventure

Today was a beautiful day, so I decided to go exploring and see what adventures I could find.

The trail I took didn't look like it gets much use.

One of the few people I saw on the part of the trail that was maintained and used.

The view from a hidden beach I found.

There were some beautiful leaves right on the shore.

 And as the sign says, it was "really neat."

 The gold leaves were even reflecting the sunlight.

Doesn't it just look so peaceful?

Scissor Guardian

Yesterday, about an hour before leaving work, there was news that the bank down the street from my office had been robbed
 and that cops were out looking for the culprit.

Concerned about a young single girl sitting by herself during all of this, an agent went to the office manager
to make sure he'd be close by,
just in case. 

No need to worry after this! If any robber came in, my boss would have shown him just what a staple remover can do!

Conversion

Remember that whole college student thing? Ya, that's in transition mode right now too, and it's rather difficult.

Not only have I been out of school for nearly 3 years, but I am transferring colleges. There are all sorts of new terms and ways of doing things that I have to work at staying calm sometimes.(I mean who has ever heard of TSIP? And using my personal email instead of a school one? How weird is that!) I consistently have to remind myself that it's a process and that eventually it will be second nature. I also have to remind myself that I know I'm going where the Lord wants me to be.

Sound familiar to anyone? (Specifically people who have joined the LDS church later in life?)

That's right! Analogy time! But hey, I FINALLY think I can relate! (So I got too excited not to share this.)

I've heard of (and personally witnessed) new converts growing frustrated after joining the church. It's a new language. It's a new culture. It's a new social group. It's confusing. It can be frustrating. I've always known that, but now I really KNOW it.

You hear the familiar words like "Jesus," "Spirit," "faith." But what about those other words? "Bishopric," "endowment," "trunky?" What are those? You knew you were doing the right thing in joining the church but now what you mostly feel is confused and often frustrated.

Here is what has helped me in my own "conversion":

1. Asking! I've had to humble myself and realize that sometimes even the simple things confuse me. But it's better to ask and look stupid than stay quiet and really be stupid.
2. Research. Go to the right source of course. I've spent many hours exploring the Texas State website and wearing their search engine out. 
3. Prayer. Whenever I get really frustrated I start losing hope. I question if my decision was right. But I KNOW it's right! So I pray for peace, patience, and faith. 

Understanding will come! But not all at once. After some time I'm sure I'll look back and laugh, "psh! I can't believe I had such a hard time with that!"