Testimony for Fast Sunday

Church today was inspiring!  It seemed people stood up in droves to fill the stand in order to bear their testimony.  I was particularly inspired today after a brother in our Ward, Parker, stood up and bore his. I had walked to the front of the congregation, but found that there was not enough time for me to bear my testimony as I would like today.  But, I am able to share it here and now! And I don’t feel awkward taking pauses to think and ponder!

This is a remarkable church! There are remarkable people!  I am grateful for those who are willing to share their testimony and the personal things which have made an impact in their lives.  The things people mentioned made an impact on me today.  They made me more grateful for the blessings I have, and I was also inspired to be better in all I do. What I share I do in hopes that it may also help some other person.

King Christian X, a Christian Example

Although it is not fast Sunday, I did have the opportunity to fast today, which I feel is something which can make almost any day better.  Not only that, but today in church today for the first time in my over 22 months serving I was called by the Bishop to stand up and fill some extra time left at the end of sacrament meeting.  I was not nervous about standing up, but as I had fasted my head was a little fuzzy, my stomach was growling, and I just felt really tired.  The entire time was talking I had this verse running through the back of my mind; “verily, this is fasting and prayer, or in other words, rejoicing and prayer.” (D&C 59: 9-10)  I am not sure how well the “rejoicing” popped out of the brief testimony I shared, but I do feel that the opportunity of being here as a missionary and the difference is something to rejoice about!

Today we were actually able to attend a Sign Language Ward again, which I love attending!  To me, it is amazing that many of the deaf members will take the time to talk, when I have to finger spell about every other word I want to say!  They are an icon of patience and perseverance, and I have loved being with them briefly.  In the sacrament meeting today, I was uplifted by the Spirit, and there were a few things I learned about which stood out to me.  I think one of my favorites was the story of King Christian X of Denmark—

Blessings and a Broken Head (Literally)

Please note the "I bleed true blue" shirt he is wearing :)

Last weekend I had an unexpected surprise.  On Friday evening while we were in the middle of a lesson, my companion Elder Fallentine mentioned that my Mom was messaging him on facebook.  I was a little confused at why she was messaging him until I heard the message, that my brother was currently in the emergency room here in Provo and my Mom was asking if I would be allowed to go and give him a blessing.  I was informed he had fractured his frontal lobe, but was ok.  With that little information my imagination did begin to wander very much.  What exactly does ok mean?  And how is it ok with a broken head?  Is ok simply that he isn’t dead, or he is conscious?  Or does ok also include significant brain damage?  And at the front of my mind, I needed to find out if I would be able to go and see him and give him the priesthood blessing, which I was.

In an effort to keep ourselves focused on serving the Lord, correspondence with our family is usually limited.  Although this is not the first time I have seen my brother, (as you can read here, Teaching Experiences with Cassia) I was blessed to go and see him in the hospital and I was able to give him a priesthood blessing.   He is recovering well, and many of the worries I had have been alleviated.  While the real purpose of going to see my brother was to bless and help him, I feel I was the one who was blessed the most.

The Perfect World I Live In

It seems recently that I have ended up talking with a lot of people whose first questions are something like “If God is perfect then why do people suffer, or why is there so much pain for those who try to be good?”  I know for many people it can seem hard to accept an all loving God allowing us to struggle, or allowing us to have trials.  It is hard to understand God’s love and His eternal purposes as we look at the world; both as we look at the suffering with a broad scope around the world, and also as we look at the lives of individuals who seem particularly picked on.  Although I do not know the reasons that other people suffer, I do know we can find understanding from God from each of the individual trials we have in our lives.

Finding the missing links in my life through leukemia

It is no exaggeration to say that many of the people who we interact with on the chat are very antagonistic to the message we have. I come across many of those who feel they have been picked on or deserted by God in their lives. I think people seldom worry about the cliché starving children in Africa, or those we read about in the news with the suffering all around the world. Many times we give those suffering a pause of thought, or a brief remark to the person next to us about how sad it is. But I feel it is a rare and precious soul who actually acts on those things. I have found in my own life things never really concern me until they hit home.


For me, my experience with leukemia has been something in which I feel has hit home. I feel it helps me to relate to those who feel picked on by life. I have always understood that with every trial we have we are supposed to learn something. People can tell us a stove is hot, but we can’t really know it is hot until we touch it ourselves. I feel leukemia has done the same thing to me, metaphorically touching the stove to know how trials can help me learn. I find it difficult to express the things I have learned in words. I have found there are things like sympathy for others, patience, and dedication; but I think the real thing has been the missing links which have given greater purpose and meaning in my life.

How Cancer has Blessed my Life.

I am so blessed with the many changes which have happened to me in my life. I have always enjoyed a good adventure, whether in a book or movie. I enjoy the different twists and turns, and the unexpected. I enjoy comparing myself to the heroes of the stories I read. Every good hero always grows from the experience they have. They make the best of every situation.

I feel I have had my own adventure in my life as I have battled cancer. I was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) in February 2006. I initially went through 8 months of chemo therapy. I then had a relapse of cancer in July 2007. I then had a subsequent 3 months of chemo, and a bone marrow transplant in December of 2007.  At the time it seemed the transplant would be the "end" of the trial I was having, but with the transplant also came something called Graft vs. Host disease. It is where the bone marrow I received begins to attack my own body. I have had numerous complications from this, and it has helped to continue to learn and grow.