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Wednesday, April 25, 2012

A Story of Conversion

So, one of my friends here at Uni is Daniela. She is an International Journalism major like me. We had two classes together last semester and we worked on a couple of projects together and she lived down the hall from me. Daniela is originally from Mexico but moved to Texas when she was 9-years-old. Her  and her family have lived there since.

Daniela and I were both on the school trip to Poland. We shared a hostel together with one other girl. One night, after a full day of sight-seeing, the three of us, plus a few of the other students were hanging out in our hostel room. Daniela was editing photos she had taken that day when she got a Skype call from one of her friends back home. She said, "oh, this is my friend from Texas, he's away at University too at BYU." A red flag went up on my LDS radar. So I asked "Is he Mormon?" I already knew the answer. She said "yes, he is" and I said, "Oh, me too." Daniela got happy and she turned her computer around so that Michael (BYU student in the computer) and I could awkwardly wave at each other. Once the Skype conversation ended, the room of students I was in, started asking me questions about the gospel. I get real nervous answering these kinds of questions, for fear that I might say the wrong thing or say something that will lead people to think badly about the church.

I made it through the Q and A with flying colors, but I kept asking Daniela about Michael to find out how much she knew about the gospel and who he was. She told me he had put in his papers to go on a mission and he was leaving on January 4th. I told her she should write him letters while he was on the mish, cause I know how much missionaries like that. She said she planned to.

Fast forward to the end of January when I went back to University after Christmas break. I caught up with Daniela and she told me she had been to Michael's farewell and she had written him once. One day, I logged into Facebook and I had a message from Daniela asking me where she could find a Book of Mormon. I told, I was on it. She had that book in her hands within 48 hours. I felt a little guilty, like maybe I should have been the one to ask her if she wanted one. Turns out, Michael had written her and gave her scriptures to look up and read.

Every once in a while I would ask her if she had any questions on what she was reading and she always smiled and said she didn't. I told her if she did, she could ask me. Then one Sunday I was sitting in sacrament meeting and the bishopric were giving the talks. In his talk, the Bishop gave the ward three challenges: (1) Read the scriptures daily (2) Meet two new people in the ward and (3) INVITE someone to meet with the missionaries. He emphasized the word 'invite'. He explained that the only thing required of us was to ask someone if they wanted to meet with the missionaries. If that someone said 'no', we still did our part.

I immediately thought of Daniela. After church that day, I sent her a message and asked her if she wanted to meet with the missionaries. She responded happily with a YES. So, the next week I went and told the sister missionaries about her and set up the appointment. The first day the four of us  met was Tuesday, March 20th. We continued to meet every Tuesday and Thursday after that and three weeks after the first visit, Daniela agreed to be baptized on April 20th! I was SUPER excited for her! She read the scriptures on her own, she prayed on her own and she came to this decision on her own. WOW.

In all honesty, I don't feel as though I did much by way of Daniela's conversion. I'm just excited that she was open and willing. I have been really lucky to be able to sit in on the discussion and hear the basics of the gospel. You remember things and learn new things when you go back to the basics. I will never forget the first time I heard Daniela pray! Inspiring. It's a scary thing to do in front of your peers even when you have been doing it your whole life and she did it with out that kind of experience. She took the bull by the horns! And then, the missionaries asked her to write down her testimony a few days before her baptism and she read it out loud to us. Made me proud and warmed my heart. It was UH-MAZING. 

So we planned the baptism and I was asked to give a talk on 'The Holy Ghost and Enduring to the End'. It was OK. I got through it. Also, I brought cupcakes.

Daniela and I after she got baptized.
Daniela and one of the sister missionaries that came.
With the elders.
Sister Buckley has been teaching Daniela since the beginning. Daniela was Sister Buckley's first baptism since being on the mission.
Sister Freeman on the left started teaching Daniela with Sister Buckley a couple of weeks ago.
The four of us in front of the baptismal font.

Sister Felix with Sister Buckley are the two original missionaries to speak with Daniela. Sister Felix finished her mission on April 12th and is back home with her family.
That is Easter Sunday.

Susan "choose the right" B.

Friday, April 20, 2012

Happy Happy Birthday!

Today is Madison's 14th birthday! I really wish I could be there to celebrate with everyone and have a piece of birthday cake with you! Have a great day, good luck tonight in The Wizard of Oz play! I wish I could be there to see that as well. Happy birthday girl!



Susan "wishing I was in Cali" B.

Friday, April 13, 2012

Day Trip To Oxford

Last month, I went with the school on a day trip to Oxford. Home of Oxford University. The one that Emma Watson attends. She was no there the weekend I went, but the sun was out and it was such a pretty day! Oxford is mostly a college town, but there was a chocolate festival AND a book festival there that weekend! I was in heaven! Here is a look at what I saw:
This is a HUGE bookstore that I want to live in!
How cute is that little bridge?
I'm going to have a replica of it to put in between the east and west wing of my home when I get my own pad.
I love gargoyles.
I really want this book.
This is Christ College, the book festival was next to it.
Susan "cupcakes just find me" B.

Saturday, April 7, 2012

Alice's Adventure's in Wonderland Ballet

Ever since I was a little girl, my favorite Disney character has been Alice from Alice in Wonderland. When I was in the fourth grade I dressed as Alice for Halloween and then again when I was in high school and 3 more times as an adult. It's not just the blond hair that attracts me to Alice, nor the pinafore adorned dress. She's someone I can relate to. Not all of us aspire to be a princess. Now, I find myself wandering through a foreign world with professors as mad as the Hatter and the feeling of comfort that appears and disappears like the Cheshire cat. So I get her, Alice. Even more now as an adult then when I was a child. I have devoured this story in all it's forms. I've read the book not to mention every variation of written material, watched the countless versions of the movie adaptions, seen the play/musical, bought Cd's who's compilations were inspired by the story, watched the made for t.v. shows, and now, my latest, I have seen Alice's Adventure's in Wonderland the Ballet.

Shahida and I went to a performance at the Royal Opera House. It was magical! I think the perma-smile on my face was bigger than the Cheshire cat! It was so beautiful. The set, the props, the dancing-PERFECTION! I couldn't take pictures during the performance, but I got some off the web. I tried UBBER hard to upload two videos of the ballet, but it would not work. So you are going to have to watch them on You Tube.
Waiting for the show to start!
This is what the poster that I saw in the tube station looked like. I nearly flipped my lid when I saw it!
The view from our seats.
Ah, I love the Mad Hatter!!! He did a tap dance that was INCREDIBLE.
The Red Queen was SUPERB! Why do I always love the characters you are suppose to not like?
Yeah, the portrayal of the Cheshire Cat was amazing.
Susan "I'm late! For a very important date!" B.

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Final Iceland Post

These are the last of the Iceland pictures. It was a great week. I learned lots, for example, I learned that I am a California girl through and through. I need sunshine and light to keep me happy and flip-flops and only one layer of clothing.
Icelandic Viking.
Fun fact: Icelanders "believe" in trolls. They have legends and stories about them. It's believed that if you put your sweet, loving child to bed at night and they wake up the next morning mean and bratty, then a troll must have stolen your sweet child and replaced it with a devil child. True story.
This is Maggie! She and I became fast friends this semester and I adore her. She didn't go to Iceland with the other students and I, but she met up with me for a few days of fun!
This church was directly across from my hotel. In fact, if I looked out my bedroom window, this is exactly what I would see. For a few kronor you can go to the top of the chapel and look down at all of Iceland. So I did.
Inside the church.
First view.
Little boxes: There's a green one and a pink one and a blue one and a yellow one and they look just the same.
While I was up top the church taking pictures, the clock stuck! Man Alive! It was LOUD.
Around the city of Reykjavik (Ray-k-vic)
This building is a music hall. At night the whole building is lit to look like the northern lights. Oh shoot, I forgot about those. If I get pictures of the northern lights I will post them.
This sign was in a souvenir shop. Made me chuckle. Funny Icelanders.
Bill Clinton ate at this hot dog stand...and so did I.
That's my hotel.
Random street.
This is their city jail. Pretty fancy huh? I learned that women are hardly ever convicted of a crime. If a women goes on trial for something or is accused of something, the Icelanders will assume that a man drove the woman to commit the crime. Example: A woman steals a bow and arrows from the local convenient store, then a man must be after her and she needed protection and it was the only way to get. She is set free. You have to love Iceland.
Parliament, not much security.
And now, graffiti that I enjoyed around the city.
"I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass."
My vans made a heart in the snow.
Susan 'From now on, all my crimes will be committed in Iceland" B.