Life Lately

Let's jump back to December for just a moment. I was trying to make a lot of difficult life choices back then. One day I was applying for grad programs, the next I was going to work as a country director for HELP International, another day I would be making elaborate travel plans, and a day later I was on to something else. The whole process was becoming exhausting, this was especially true for my parents. One day my dad called me and said frankly (more frankly than I would have liked) "Jari, you're 22 years old. It's time to grow up and make a decision so pick whichever one is right and stick to it. You're done flip-flopping around." So I thought a lot about it, I prayed about it, and that night I decided that the plan that I liked best, and the one that felt the most right was to serve as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. So that's what I am doing. On May 16th I will report to the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah then approximately 9 weeks later I will head to the Morristown, New Jersey Mission. So there you have it, I am capable of making decisions and I'm rather excited about this one.

Since I am reporting just a little over a month from when I graduated I decided to play pretty much the entire time in-between the two. First stop, Utah. I only stayed two days but I was able to visit with some of my most favorite people chatting, eating, and enjoying the lovely spring weather. Brenna made a delicious Easter dinner, Michelle taught me how to skip a rock, Holly and I had a lovely chat, and Sean even recounted all his favorite things about Utah and college life. Those were three days well spent. 

Second stop, Chicago. I wanted to spend time with my dear friend, Courtney. She is getting married in August to another friend of mine, Israel. Since I decided to serve a mission I will no longer be able to stand as her bridesmaid which breaks my heart. I still wanted to be a small part of the planning and see her before I left. We spent the week trying food and exploring the venue for her reception, shopping for dresses with the bridesmaids, laughing at wedding comedy movies in the man cave, baking treats, and oohing and awing over shoes, cakes, and Ryan Gosling. I adore Courtney and her family, they are so fun-loving and easy to get along with. Thank you again Shade family for letting me join in on the fun for a week. 

Now I'm home in perfect, sunny, wonderful Florida. About a week ago my aunt and uncle flew in from Brazil so we headed off to the emerald coast for five days. Make that 7 Brazilians, 3 Americans, 4 Halvsies, and 1 RV. It was a party. Lots of beach volleyball, frescoball, fruit, golden corral stops, made up sign language/English/Portuguese/Spanish communication, singing, and lots of laughing. I'm rather fond of hanging out with my huge, crazy family. Of course there is no such thing as a vacation without an adventure, so it shouldn't have been a surprise when the RV broke down for a little bit. Luckily everything got fixed and we were able to all travel back home together, and we definitely made the most of it. You haven't lived until you've had a traveling karaoke night complete with dance instruction courtesy of my father. It was a happy vacation full of sweet memories and gorgeous scenery. I'm so lucky to live in such a beautiful state. 

You would think that maybe I'd slow down for just a second, but that would be completely out of character. The first night back from the beach my family "surprised" me with tickets to the Lion King Broadway tour. I'm terrible about finding out about surprises just barely too early, but at least we had an extra ticket and were able to surprise Blake's mom, Liz. Surprise or not the show was beautiful. The Lion King has always been one of my favorite movies, and the show was just that more striking and emotional. Personally I feel that there are so many levels past entertainment and towards spiritual that the story line is capable of covering. If you ever have a chance it see to I would definitely recommend it. 

And the adventure continues...

Before the 16th the agenda still includes a Honduran dinner, two Brazilian dinners (can you tell my family is into food), scuba diving, blueberry picking, and a little Utahan get together with some family there. Life lately is pretty good. 

alright, alright, alright, hey!

After South Africa I began the long trek home. 22 hours of travel is longer than any human should ever be forced to endure. I got home with enough time to unpack, do laundry, sleep, repack, and sleep a little bit more. Then I was off to Virginia for three weeks of efy. Eventually I was offered one last session in Amherst, Massachusetts making it one full month of efy madness.

EFY is an acronym that stands for Especially for Youth, and it is a week long summer program for youth ages 14-18 that focuses on uplifting participants based of the doctrines of the gospel as taught by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Basically we take a group of kids each week starting on Monday and sing, dance, teach, testify, and play all week long. Then we return them to their parents on Saturday with new friends, new perspective, and strengthened testimonies. It's a miracle program. I attended in 2004 and 2005 as a youth and started the counselor gig last summer. I liked it so much that I went back for more.

This year the theme was "Believe. Hope. Endure." It is difficult to regurgitate all the wonderful messages that were shared over the weeks, so forgive me for not trying. I will simply say that I am so grateful for opportunities to serve and forget myself. I know that as I make it a priority to assist others and fill their needs the Lord takes care of me.

Highlights of efy month:

• Happy Birfday Amurica Orientation Dance!
• Jared, the boy who was just old enough to make the age cut. He taught me not to take life too seriously
• Having my girls bolt across the field, screaming my name just to come give me a hi-five
• My kids referring to themselves as Jar-ites
• Jowling every Wednesday night
• Seeking the good
• Secret service for fellow counselors
• Someone re-rewriting the words from "Jar of Hearts" to "Jari of One Heart"
• Offering a challenge and not thinking it would be a huge deal, then finding out it changed things for someone: Pray to know the Book of Mormon is true, I promise you'll get an answer
• Sharing dreams
• Celebrating random holidays every day
• Stop and stare flash mobs at dances
• Remembering how awkward it is to be a teenager
• Finding out that a girl has a balloon phobia...as balloons are falling from the sky
• Adele karaoke, followed by Taylor Swift karaoke
• Having the company name "Pass the Immortality"
• Having prayers answered by the service of others. A specific thank you to Jenna Aldridge, Michelle Walker, Kristen Ford, and Esther Harsh. You women amaze and inspire me.
• My kids telling me that I would be the coolest mom ever...still haven't decided how I feel about that comment
• Making up a new ridiculous dance move, and having people incorporate it. By next summer the Bernie will be out and the Jari will be in!
• Counselor slide shows
• Finding a roommate and new friends for Utah
• Being reunited with people from Southeast
• Finding a sauce packet from Taco Bell that said "roadtrip" while on a roadtrip
• At testimony meeting when kids say things like "Normally when I feel the spirit I get a warm fuzzy feeling, but right now it's like a giant teddy bear giving me CPR."

I loved every single person that I worked with and every participant I worked for. I am so grateful for your examples, for your patience, for your friendship, and for your spirit. If any of your are reading I want you to know that I have a testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ, I know it is true. I know the Book of Mormon testifies of Christ and as you read it your relationship with your Savior will grow and you will feel loved. I know that Heavenly Father knows us perfectly. I know that he understands our full potential and offers guidance and direction as we strive to reach it. I know that as we work to keep commandments and hold true to our standards that we receive blessings, even if we cannot see them at the time. It is my prayer that you will each remember that you are a Child of God with divine potential and purpose. Have faith and believe in Christ. Exercise hope through the atonement of Christ, with an expectation that as you do what is right and repent when needed that you will receive every promised blessing. And as trials and afflictions come remember to endure them with humility and patience.

efy, you're just great! Thank you for a splendid summer.

Summer Sunshine

I just realized today that my summer is more than half over, and I've barely documented any of it. So here it is in the brief :

I went to Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize for a Travel Study program. Basically the coolest experience of my life. Some highlights you ask? I hiked a volcano (it erupted two weeks later), snorkeled in a torrential rainstorm, got stopped by some Zappatistas, hand fed a howler monkey, zip lined over one of the seven wonders of the world, saw lots of ruin sites, parasailed with an old man....and a million more things

Then I headed back to Idaho, threw Annalee a couple bridal showers, visited Timber in Oakley Idaho and hiked in City of Rocks, hung out with Bruce, reunited with a few of the 206 girls and ran a million errands. It was lovely.

Then I headed off to Chicago to be with my Disney friends Courtney and Israel who I hadn't seen in a year and a half, plus I'd never been to Chicago.

And now I'm in Florida. It really hasn't been that interesting since my return. I've seen a couple friends here and there, but mostly I've just bummed around the house. I went to Kansas City to see Annalee complete her term as National Post Secondary President of the club SkillsUSA. That was a fun trip, and it was really cool to see all the hard work that she has put into that organization, and how empowering of a group it is for those kids.

The most recent of my adventures has been EFY, a church camp for youth from ages 14-18. They spend a week in the care of young single adult counselors; during the week they attend religious classes, play games, go to dances, and basically just have a rockin week. I was able to be a counselor, I was over a group of 10 girls most of which were 16-17ish. My co-counselor, Matt, was amazing! He was over 10 boys who were the same age as the girls. As a company we played, laughed, learned, and taught together. I was able to share my testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ (more information can be found here) and help build the testimonies of these youth. They were amazing, and SO energetic. I loved every minute of my week, and would give ANYTHING to get to do it over again!