Y'all Don't Even Know

Two More days!

AHHHHHH!

My sister gets home from her mission to the Belgium Netherlands mission. She went Dutch Speaking. She sent this picture this week. This is amazing. 

She also sent a really sweet testimony:

 "On Sunday I was able to speak in church, to thank the branch for everything they have done and to talk about my mission. I know I have a lot more to learn but I have learned a whole lot. I've learned to rely on my Heavenly Father and that He hears and answers our prayers in a very personal way. I know that the gospel of Jesus Christ was restored through Joseph Smith and that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. I know that we all make mistakes, but thanks to the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we don't have to be defined by any of them. We are blessed to be able to always change and improve.

I love Belgium and the Netherlands, they will always have a piece of my heart. I love the amazing people I've met here, they've changed me and I'll never forget them. This email isn't enough to say everything that I want to, but no email would be. Fortunately, I have the rest of forever to talk about my mission :)

Ik ben enthousiast om jullie te zien hoewel het ook moeilijk is om afscheid te nemen. ik hoop dat jullie een hee fijne week hebben! Tot straks! (I'm excited to see you although it 's hard to say goodbye. I hope you have a nice week! See you later!)"

I have loved seeing how my sister grow through the past 18 months. She has really changed for the better and I am really proud of her giving her all to something she truly believes.

I know that she will be a different person when she gets home. She is one of my best friends. She is going to be a different person now, in all the best ways. I am excited to get to know the new her all over again. 

Risky business: Finding Joy

So the past few days have been a true growing experience. Last night there was a church meeting 18 to 30 women and the younger ones could bring their parents. It was so uplifting. The last speaker really touched me. His topic was "The Joy of Taking Risk". 

My mind bounced from a few different thoughts. What is this guy thinking? Risks and joy, do they even go together? If they do go together, how does it apply to me?

The speaker was named Elder Sinclair. He is an Area 70 in my church. He started with discussing the concept of  performance management. The story of the prince who asked Christ what he needed to do to be with God again. This story is found in  Mark 10:17-22. My interpretation has always been "Okay, he just wanted to know what else he needed to do."

 Elder Sinclair's was different.  The prince wanted a pat on the head and Christ to say "well done my good and faithful servant". Instead, Christ said give up all the things of this world and follow me. 

Doing the will of God leads to joy. I have been more happy doing the things that I know are right. This man left the presence of Christ down trodden. He said he couldn't do what Christ was asking to do. The man was not ready to take the risk.  

Are we ready to take the risks God needs us to take?

Bits and Blessings

The past few days have been really exciting for me. I got a second job which will help with my school costs. I am filled with gratitude at the opportunity. It will be fun working at Soma. The intimate apparel store. Soma is a brand known for high quality and being able to help all kinds of women. They go up to a 44G cup, which is awesome. This covers more sizes than most other brands.This will give experience and the opportunity to be able to have less debt for grad school!

In addition, I was offered a scholarship!

They will be taking a few grand off of my tuition! It takes a pretty significant portion away of my worry. The scholarship I was awarded was for academic merit. I am so unbelievable blessed. 

There has never been an offer made, to me, for academic achievement ever. I am not  that strong of a student. I haven't been since I was little. Everyone has strengths and book learning is not mine. I have been so blessed. I mean I am just a few thousand closer, but that is so much better than before. 

Money is the biggest stress currently. It keeps me up late at night, it will continue to get better. The closer to my goal, the better I feel about my choices. I hope that I will be employed soon after graduation and I will pay off any debt I have then. For the sake of progress small sacrifices have to be made.

 

I Love Rejection!

The past few days have been really amazing. As many of you know, I was admitted to Swansea University. I am so unbelievably excited to attend. I mean I literally can walk from campus to the beach. Granted, it is Wales, therefore very very cold ocean.  

I mean, who wouldn't want to live in a place like this!?

Anyway. I have been waiting to hear from the last university I applied to; it would have been great. I would have been in North Carolina. It would have been expensive, but it was something I was willing to pay. 

On Saturday, I got the last response! 

"Dear Miss Hopkin,

We regret to inform you that we are unable to offer a position in our program."

Since applying for school, I hoped to only get into one school. All you really need is one acceptance. And there are many reasons to not be offered a position. My self-mission and goal may not align with what they teach, or there are a lot of people who applied for the program, or a many other reasons. 

I felt very confident in my decision to go to Wales before I knew about the other responses. It makes it really easy to decide where to go when there really isn't an option. This made everything really awesome and most importantly simple. There have been so many choices over the past few years; it is a relief to not have to make yet ANOTHER one.

The challenge to apply for visa is the next step. I had to get finger printed, which is cool.  Now  I have the potential to be charged with crimes, because they have my finger prints. Not that I would ever do anything to require using those.  My worst crime I have ever committed is jay walking. Other agencies have my finger prints. I mean I do work in a hospital for children. It will be nice to get this next step done.