A Month Has Flown By Already

Well, guys, sorry for the lateness of this post. I had some technical difficulties with my computer that seemed to take forever, but things are back to normal, so this shouldn't be a problem again. Well, it's going to be a bit difficult to backtrack to what? three weeks ago? So, I'm not going to mention everything that has happened then, but I will bring up the main events and then just summarize the past week.

Well, a while ago I went to the St. George temple, which is only about 5 minutes from campus, so it is perfect, and it is SO BEAUTIFUL!!! My Resident Manager, Janille invited me to go with her and her two little girls, who are just too cute. Janille has become a good friend and has been wonderful, welcoming and helpful. The temple trip was amazing. I checked out the Visitor's Center and watched a movie on Joseph Smith. It was so inspiring and a big tear-jerker. It was so amazing to see a glimpse of his life and painful to see all that he went through for the Saints. He has always been one of my favorite prophets because it just amazes me the courage that he had to establish the church, be martyred for the Saints and die for what he believed. We are so blessed because of his faith and diligence and if it weren't for him, we wouldn't even have such a strong denomination filled with faithful leaders that still guide us today. It's so incredible all that he did for us to be where we are today. Anyway, I was upset that I didn't have my camera with me to take pictures of the temple or anything, but Janille ended up taking a couple, so I will have to post them next time. Overall, I had a great time walking the grounds (or I should say rolling). It is so pretty because the grounds have a rose garden that Janille told me is filled with roses in the spring and summer and it makes the temple just look breathtaking. They don't have much right now because of the fall and winter coming soon, but I'm anxious to see what it will look like in the spring and summer. It was so peaceful and serene just to walk around it. It was a great feeling.

On the academic front, last Wednesday I got to go do observations for Sunset Elementary School, which is about 10 minutes from campus. It is one of my requirements for my Introduction to Education class, and it was a great experience. The teacher that I had to observe was great. His name is Mr. Prince and he is a complete cowboy. His room was decorated from top to bottom in western/cowboy posters and everything. Also, dressed from the head to foot as a cowboy, from the hat to the boots, everything. It was quite the sight, but he was known as "the best teacher." The faculty and the students all loved him and spoke highly of him, and I wasn't surprised. He teaches 4th grade and had the best group of students, I was really surprised. They were all well-behaved and the sweetest kids ever. It was a good class. I also got to observe a Special Ed class, which was exactly what I needed to see, so it was great. The thing that surprised me was that they have two Special Ed classes; one for the mildly disabled kids and one for the severe disabled kids, which makes sense, but not what I went through when I was in elementary school, but it was great. I chose to observe the mild and moderate kids. I honestly was a bit nervous and hesitant to observe the severe kids because I know that I would've gotten A TON of attention from them with the wheelchair.........hahaha! It would've made me feel a little uncomfortable. Anyway, the mild and moderate kids were great. I got to help one of the girls, who was actually from Mr. Prince's class, in the Special Ed class to read. It was a great experience overall. I get to do observations again next month, so we'll see what teacher I will get next, and I will try and see if I can observe the severe kids and just get a feel for how they learn and cope. It should be great.

On the church front, things are going great. I love having a church building nearby, and being surrounded by an LDS-based environment just makes me happy everyday, seriously. I haven't felt so happy in a long time. I truly missed having that influence at Andrew College with church being 30 minutes away and then being the only LDS student on campus. It was tough, but here, I feel like a million bucks. My Institute class is great. The teacher is awesome (Bro. Michael Day), just the funniest and greatest guy ever. I told him about me being from Lithuania and everything, and he was just fascinated with my story. It was funny, he told me I should write a book. He was probably the hundreth person to tell me that, which is probably a sign, I don't know. Not bad advice, but it's in my future plans. I do hope to write a book one day. I think that I do have an amazing story to tell and it would be great for other people to read. Anyway, other than that, I started visiting teaching this past week. My companion is great, her name is Tia Pennerman. She is a recent returned missionary from Atlanta, Georgia, which is way cool. She got back sometime last year and is loving Dixie. The two girls that we visit teach are; Trudie Heaton and Emily Adair, both great girls. Tia and I met with Trudie last Monday and it was great. She seems a bit shy, but she's a sweet girl. She's an art major and seems to enjoy it. I myself met with Emily on Friday, Tia had to go out of town, but I met Emily and it was great because we connected right away and just started talking about our room mate experiences and such. It was good to meet her. As for who my visiting teachers are, I have no clue, I haven't met them yet, but hopefully I will meet them soon.

Well, that seems to be the gist of all my news for now. I am excited for this coming weekend. I will be spending time with Mom, Esther, Tom and Dad in Vegas. Tom, Esther and Mom will be coming Friday to spend a day in St. George going to the Touacahn (I think that's how you spell it) Theater that night to see Aida, and then meeting Dad in Vegas Saturday for a showing of "Love" performed by Cirque Du Soleil at a theater there. Anyway, it will be great to see Tom again, who is in town from India and whom I haven't seen since he left this summer, so I'm totally excited to see him. It will be great to Esther also, whom I haven't seen since I think Christmas, which will be great to hear about her wedding plans and stuff and then of course Mom and Dad, which are always good to see. I'm way excited to spend some time with all of them, and this time I will be sure to take some pictures and will try to post them on here and on facebook, or one and the other. Well, I hope you all have a great week and weekend. Until next week!!