Wellington Stake Conference

• Today I was so grateful for the spiritual upliftment I received at Stake Conference.  I loved all the talks, tesimonies, and hymns.  Most of all though, I'm grateful for the Spirit that testifies of the truthfulness of the church and of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.
• At Stake Conference I also got to catch up with a dear old friend, Leilani Rorani.  She's awesome, inspiring, fun to be around, and great to talk with.  I love her and I'm so grateful that I got to serve with her in the Young Womens' program a few years ago, for the friendship we have, and for the chance meeting we had today!

Korean visa

• I got my visa today from the Korean embassy which is such a blessing and so exciting.  I'm so grateful that I was eligible to receive a visa and for the opportunity to go live in Korea.
• I'm so grateful that I was able to contact the Branch President of the English speaking Branch in Daegu, the closest english speaking unit to Busan and that he emailed me back straight with all the information I wanted to know. 

Saccral

• I am eternally grateful that my physio (Julia from Miramar Physiotherapy) has done the miraculous feat of getting my saccral (tailbone) to finally sit in place.  When I was around 11 years old I had a really bad accident; I was on rollar blades spnning around when a girl falling down reached out to grab me and I fell down too right on my saccral.  For over a month it was blue/purple, swelled, and incredibly painful.  Against my mum's constant advice, I chose not to get it seen to by a professional.  For years I dealt with the lingering pain and the humiliation that it protruded out of my back; I always figured I'd have to wait till I was resurrected for it to be fixed.  Well, in fixing my shin splints, the exercises I was doing for my gluts brought the pain back on my saccral, the physio was wise enough to see the problem.  My muscles had seized around it holding it in this awkward position, so all my exercises and with some manipulation on her part - I finally have a flat back like everyone else.  It's truly a miracle and something I'm so grateful for!!!

Family, friends, cats, and Korea

• I am so grateful that last week I had the opportunity to spend some time with my brother, sister-and-law, and cute baby nephew - to help out and hang out!
• I am so grateful also for the opportunity that gave me to spend time with one my bff's and her family (I love seeing my bff's married with children of their own, it's a real special gift!).
• I'm extremely grateful that my Mum organised a farewell family dinner with my family from around the Wellington region including my aunts and uncles.
• I'm grateful for the joy and love that Supra brought into my life - RIP dear little friend!!! (Supra was Nathan's beautiful black cat that was run over last week).
• I'm grateful we still have Audi, Supra's son.
• I'm so grateful that I was able to speak with Bishop before heading off.
• I'm grateful that I now how my visa and tickets to Korea - I'm so excited!!!
• I'm grateful that I had the opportunity to spend a few days with my friends the Cherians and to have much quality time chatting.
• I'm grateful for the my friend Michelle Q. who is super smart, funny, and very thoughtful.  Last night I had the opportunity to hang out with her and Lyndi and it was so much fun!
• I'm so grateful for Institute and how it has been such a great blessing to me in my life for years'.
• I'm so grateful that my friend Michael P. came out to Institute to say good bye.
• I'm grateful for the awesome surprise I had to receive an email from my friend Martin C. and to hear his great news of his future humanitarian travels.
• I'm so grateful that Gina F. who lives in Korea has been so helpful with connecting me with other LDS in Busan.
• I'm grateful for an awesome Mum - all the time!!!!
• I'm grateful for girls' time with Haley and Mandy!
• I'm grateful to finally feel like I'm getting back on track with my life :)

A date and the physio

• Today I am so grateful to finally have a date for Korea - September 3rd!  Three weeks till I take to the skies :) ... I'm also grateful that my flights are paid for by the school.
• I'm also grateful for a wonderful physio.  She is so attentive and caring.  I went in today just to pick up the arches for my shoes and she left her patient to come out and fit them in my shoes for me.  She spent time asking how my exercises were going and giving me some advice.  How wonderful to know that she really cares about her patients!

President Harvey, Church music, and the Singles

• President George Harvey has been the Stake President of the Wellington, NZ Stake since 2003, and before then he was the 1st Counselor. Because I was the Stake YSA female rep when he was the counselor I had the privelege of working closely with him.  I also worked in the Stake Primary and Wellington Institute and Seminary program, so I've seen his leadership in action many times.  I have always admired President Harvey for his gentleness and humility.  He is a very brilliant and capable man - but he has such a great heart.  I love him!  I think Wellington is so blessed to have him.  Also, his wife is amazing too - so lovely and kind!.... I'm so grateful to have President Harvey in my life, it's men like him that prove to me that there really are great exemplary men.  ...I always look forward to seeing him around the Wellington chapel just to say 'hi'.
• I'm also grateful for the Stake President of my youth, President Mitchell Mackrory.  I remember him because he was always at our youth activities and took the time to get to know all us youth.  He has this amazing family too.  I remember when he was released because his family was moving to the US for work, I cried, like really cried.  He really was amazing!  And he came up to my friend Amy and I and while shaking our hands goodbye, he made us promise that we would only get married in the temple.  Before I got sealed in the temple I wrote to him informing him that I was keeping my promise, and even though I'm divorced now - one day I WILL keep my promise again!
• Sundays is my day that I listen to great church music (okay I listen to church music a lot on other days as well, but definitely always on Sundays).  I'm so grateful for the talents of Mindy Gledhill, Jericho Road, Rebecca Lopez, Jenny Frogley, Hilary Weeks, Cherie Call, Kenneth Cope, David Blasucci, Amy Van Wagenen, Greg Simpson, David Osmond, Dan Cahoon, Janice Capp Perry, EFY music, and of course the wonderful, talented Mormon Tabarnacle Choir!  I love how the music always, ALWAYS lifts my spirit and brings me peace.  I'm so grateful that these very talented group of people have willingly shared their love and talent of music and  their amazing testimonies of the Saviour Jesus Christ with all of us.  Music really uplifts and inspires.  I wish I could thank them all personally for how much they help me everyday, but especially how they uplift my Sundays!  I would want to tell them how different songs touch me in different ways and have helped me out in different moments.  I would tell them that what they do is so worth it!  Because it's touched even one life - mine!  But I know that there music touches more than just mine.
• I love and appreciate the Singles at church so much!!!!  I marvel at their faith, their great, incredible faith.  I don't know a group of people who show their faith more each and everyday.  I know that being a wife (or husband), mother (or father), brings out great challenges that test our faith - but the beauty of being married is that your struggles are borne with your spouse.  Really that takes off a huge load.  Being married gives a sense of purpose and stability to one's life.  Being single - one can float around a lot more.  And that is what happens.  I was once told of a Singles ward (Singles aged 30+) in the US that was closed and the ward memebers were asked to join the family wards.  Apparently between 50-75% of the members just stopped going to church, including the Relief Society President.  They didn't feel like they "belonged".  Since then I have developed so much admiration for the Singles.  And now that I am an older YSA - something I never anticipated, I have had the opportunity to get to know these beautiful brothers and sisters even more intimately.  I know the pain they go through wanting to have a family of their own but not being able to find the right person through no fault of their own, dealing with the odd comment on their marital status - or the pity, trying to fit-in to a family centered church (I've come to realise now that the language we use is even more family-centered even more than the "marriage" talks and lessons), and on top of that, trying to deal with how to plan their lives when they had always envisioned being married with children in tow by the time thet were 30!  It can be all very confusing, so to trust in God, to trust that He loves you no matter what and that He really is mindful of you and that He really does have a plan for you and wants you to be happy - to have that faith even when dealing with singledom, and going through all of lifes ups and downs on one's own is hard.  Especially when the desire to be married and have a family is natural.  It's hard when friends you grew up with are married, having families of their own, and buying houses.  So, when I look at these singles, when I get to know them, I always marvel, yes I marvel at the very reasons why they stay active in the church, how they fully participate and show that they belong regardless of their marital status.  They show their faith no matter and I know that they truly will be blessed for their faithfulness.  I know that God loves them and has a special place in His heart for them, for their great faith.  They truly show that they will be faithful regardless of the trials that God tries them with.  They are my examples and I hope to have more faith like them - reagrdless of whether I remain single or get re-married.  I love them and I am so grateful for their examples. What an amazing blessing it is to be single again and to experience another side to life! 

Shin splints and the physio

• Today I am so grateful for an awesome physio and my shin splints.  Had I not gotten shin splints this past year, I would never have gone to a physio and I would never have found outall the information about my body I needed to keep me healthy and happy, long term.  Now I have the knowledge of how to strengthen the muscles in my legs giving me shapely legs (apparently I really only have myself to blame for my lack of definition in my legs for relying on my frame and not using my leg muscles to hold myself up), raise the arches in my feet, heal my shins splints and stop them from re-occuring, and prevent future back problems.  Really that's a lot to be grateful for!
• I'm also grateful for good health insurance! 

Sister Missionaries

I did it again, I forgot to mention my two friends who have just been set apart for missions:

• Teal - called to serve in the Pocatello, Idaho Temple mission. I love it! I think it's just perfect for her! ... Teal was in my ward when I lived in Provo, Utah (BYU210). We lived in the same apartment complex, she lived directly across from my apartment, and I had the privelege of being her Visiting Teacher. Teal is awesome! She has this beautiful, caring spirit (and she's gorgeous on the outside too!). I loved how understanding she was, for example if something was challenging her in her life she wouldn't get down about the situation she would instead see what she could learn from the situation - and not in a disgruntled manner either. She was always keen to try out new things and get involved. Life with her was always fun, and I was privileged to spend most days hanging out with her playing, talking, dancing, Visiting Teaching - whatever it was, she was so much fun to be with. She's definitely one of my best friends from Provo, and I'm so proud of her for going on a mission! I'm so grateful to have Teal as a friend in my life - I love her!
• Brittany - called to serve in McAllen Texas, Spanish speaking mission. Brittany is such a darling! She too was in my ward in Provo. We first met at a service project, she stood out because she tall and gorgeous like a supermodel. But do you know what - Brittany was into that 'weeding, dirt smoothing, rock laying' service project more than anyone, and by the end of the evening when everyone else had called it a day and gone home, there we both were with about 4 guys and our Bishop finishing off the project. She has this amazing love for God and the church and really loves doing all she can to align her life with God! I used to love talking with Brittany in the parking lot or on visits to her apartment. I'm so grateful for the wonderful example Brittany is in my life - I love her!
  

Institute

• Tonight I'm extremely grateful for Institute. (Wow, when I wrote that sentence I realised I've been attending Institute for 10 years now!). Institute (religious classes set for college-aged students) is a wonderful way to discuss the scriptures in depth. At the moment I'm studying, 'Doctrines of the Gospel', and 'The Pearl of Great Price'. I love how the classes make you think about things. Like tonight in the PGP class we were discussing Adam and Eve. I personally LOVE Eve (and Adam). But with Eve I marvel how much of a choice spirit she was in the pre-earth life to be chosen and to accept a position in which her name would be had for good and bad (mainly bad by misunderstanding people) throughout the world's entire history. And then to be in the Garden of Eden and to make a decision to transgress. I'm absolutely certain that with her amazing spirit, to make a choice like that would have been hard. But I love how she saw the fruit not only as something that looked good to eat, but as something 'to make one wise'. I love that! I love that she wanted to be wise. And I love how she rejoiced after they had been sent out of the garden because of the many blessings they received, like children! Now, please don't get me wrong, she still transgressed - but their was something greater that would come because of it. It gave us the opportunity to come to earth, and with a fantastic plan by Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ had been chosen already to redeem us all. Now isn't that wonderful news we can all be grateful for! Also, tonight, we read the following quote by President Brigham Young, "Every person who desires and strives to be a saint is closely watched by fallen spirits that came here when Lucifer fell, and by the Spirits of wicked persons who have been here in tabernacles and departed from them. ...Those spirits are never idle; they are watching every person who wishes to do right, and are continually propmting them to do wrong". (Journal of Discourses, 7:239). - Have you ever considered the number of spirits trying to tempt us to do wrong here on earth? I always figured that one-third of the hosts of heaven was a lot, must be billions (well there's 6 billion people in the world right now). But now I have to add on all those spirits from people who came to earth and weren't good as well. ...And, because we're in the last days, that means we certainly have a LOT of spirits trying against us! .... It's pretty awesome then that we have a loving God whose purpose is the eternal life of every man, and pretty much that with God ANYTHING is possible - including conquering the billions of spirits who may want to take you and me on in a spiritual battle! ... So you see, tonight I got the opportunity to think a little institute, and to enjoy a lot of great discussion based on the scriptures. I love Institute!
  

Health, Natalie, and the sunshine

• Today I'm feeling great, which is a huge blessing after feeling so sick the past few days. I'm definitely grateful for my wonderful, miraculous health. I don't say miraculous lightly - I've had seriously bad asthma most of my life (thank you Flixotide for being my means of breathing well!), and endometriosis etc (thank you Mrs. Hanifa Koya for being a super fantastic surgeon!!).
• I'm so grateful for my friend and old room mate from SLC, Natalie. She was the youngest of the house and we all loved her. She was super mature for her age and so fun to be around. She's thoughtful, kind, considerate, super righteous, extremely smart, and super awesome. Today also happens to be her birthday - well tomorrow her time. Love you Natalie xx (That's Natalie in the photo modelling her Nurses' Assistant uniform right before work. She's studying to be a nurse).
  
• And again, the weather is so super gorgeous today that I'm so grateful that we have been blessed with another day of sunshine. Love it :)
  

Korea, Jillian, and the Sun

• I am so grateful for the phonecall I just received from the Authentication Unit telling me that they finally have my Criminal Record Check to be Apostilled. I'm going into town now to pick it up and send it to Korea - the final piece of my paperwork for my visa. Yay, I'm so happy!
• I am so grateful for my beautiful friend Jillian. She's had a hard life, but through it all, she's become one of the most beautiful daughters of God I know. Her understanding of God and life is exceptional. I love her because she thinks a lot like me, but she's so much more hilarious. Love you Jillian! (That's her in the photo doing what she loves, travelling; and in particular travelling to the Middle East for a semester abroad).
  
• And, how could I not be incredibly grateful for this beautiful sunny day today! The sun is so beautiful and really has healing powers. A little dose of the sun heals the body and mind.
  

My Testimony of God!

When I first arrived in NYC I went out shopping for some essential items for my new apartment. As I was walking around the store, one thing kept sticking out and I felt impressed to buy it. It was 'The Secrets' Gratitude Journal'. When I bought it I hardly knew how important it would become to me. I already kept a journal, and I continue to do so, but I kept my gratitude journal in addition to my normal journal. This time around I thought it would be better to keep a blog about the things I'm grateful for with the hope that it might inspire others to feel gratitude for their lives too!

Well for my very first gratitude post, I wanted to write the most important thing to me - my testimony of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, of the Atonement of Jesus Christ in which He took upon Himself all our sins and our sorrows, and He overcame death with His resurrection. I love Them because They first loved me!

The painting above I painted when I was 18 years old. It was my acknowledgement of how my testimony of God had blossomed throughout my youth (in particular with the Young Womens' Personal Progress programme*). I added a future missionary badge because I loved serving with the missionaries in my area, I loved finding and fellowshipping with the missionaries, I loved sharing my own testimony with my friends and sharing with them the Book of Mormon. I really loved knowing that I was a daughter of God - still do. That knowledge keeps me going when life gets tough. And it wasn't until I was in NYC, when after a long, hard period, I finally felt it was right to move on with my life and divorce my ex-husband. That feeling of complete loss was huge - and there was only one thing - only one thing - that keep me going, that made me feel like I still had something of worth in my life, and that was my testimony of God.

Maybe you believe in God, maybe you don't, or maybe you don't know if you do or don't. But I want to share my testimony, my absolute conviction, that I KNOW that Heavenly Father lives! He really does. He answers OUR prayers. He has answered mine. I have felt Him. Really I have - that feeling of of His presence around me, His love - and I have known without a doubt that He lives, and that He loves me. I have had times when I should have been sad, so incredibly sad, but He has taken me from that sadness and lifted me up and given me a peace that was not my own.

I also KNOW that Jesus Christ is His Son. He is our brother, our Saviour, our Master, our Redeemer, our King! He did live on this earth, and He was as many agree, a great teacher, and a great example. But more than that, as Gods' son, he could do what no-one else could. He could suffer for all (everyone who has ever lived and who will live), for all our sins. He paid for our sins. So when we sin, and we all do, there's still hope, we can repent and be forgiven because He already paid the price - but we need to accept His gift to us. He also took upon Himself our sorrows - so when life gets tough, and it will, go to Him, accept the gift of the Atonement and feel the miracle of having your burdens made light. Finally, He died and was resurrected, or in other words, He overcame death. Because of that we all will be resurrected again - with perfect bodies. We will live again after this life. We can be with our families and loved ones forever. We can be with God again.

For all of that, I am so grateful and will be forever!

*Personal Progress is a program in the Young Womens' program (girls aged 12-18) of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The program is centred on developing one's testimony of God by focusing on different projects. Some of these projects are: Studying scriptures based on Integrity and writing about your feelings and understanding about what you've read in your journal. Actively serving your family for three weeks and record your experiences in your journal. Organise a community service project for the youth to all participate in. All the projects are based on the values of: Faith, Divine Nature, Individual Worth, Knowledge, Choice and Accountability, Good Works, Integrity, and Virtue.