Goliaths

Above all else, may we ever remember that we do not go forth alone to battle the Goliaths of our lives. As David declared to Israel, so might we echo the knowledge, "The battle is the Lord's, and he will give [Goliath] into our hands" (1 Samuel 17:47).

But the battle must be fought. Victory cannot come by default. So it is in the battles of life. Life will never spread itself in an unobstructed view before us. We must anticipate the approaching forks and turnings in the road. We cannot hope to reach our desired journey's end if we think aimlessly about whether to go east or west. We must make our decisions purposefully. Our most significant opportunities will be found in times of greatest difficulty.

President Thomas S. Monson, "Meeting Your Goliath," New Era, June 2008

Sister Smyth

Yesterday marked my 10 year Anniversary of the beginning of my full-time mission in Phoenix, Arizona for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It's weird to think that whole thing was 10 years ago. It feels really surreal sometimes. Here's the little description I put in my professional resume:

"February 2000 to July 2001 Full-time representative for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: Assisted with humanitarian aid in northern Arizona, developed speaking and presentation skills, and communication and people skills. Trained small groups in communication skills. Learned to organize and prioritize time and resources."

That doesn't even begin to describe all of the people I met, stories I shared and heard, facets of myself I discovered, rollercoaster of emotions I felt, or the relationship I developed with God. Even now, I read through my missionary journals and I can't explain what the whole experience meant to me. I know that it was something I had to do, I know there were specific people I had to meet, and I know that I am who I am today because of all that I learned. (How's that for vague?)

I can't find a photo of myself from the actual day I went into the MTC (my scanner isn't cooperating anyway), but here are a few others.

A photo of my roommates from the semester before my mission. We all sang "I'm Ready Lord" at church the Sunday before I left, and since I left right after Valentine's Day, I talked about God's love for us.

A photo of me at the Jordan River Temple, after having completed my first endowment session. I went through about 10 days before I entered the MTC. (I have been back to this and other temples many, many times since then.)

This is the family photo I carried around for my entire mission (notice how dirty it became). This photo was taken December 1999. By the time I came home, we had welcomed my new sister-in-law into the family, too, rendering this photo out of date :) How I wish I had the patience to let my hair grow this long again!

With Sister C at a 7-Eleven on Bell Road in Phoenix. A few days before I left, I asked my mom if we could stop by 7-Eleven and get a slurpee. She said, "Do you think they won't have slurpees in Arizona?" Sure enough, for the first 15 months of my mission I served in towns small enough they didn't even have a 7-Eleven! When I mentioned this to one of the member families in one of those towns, they offered to drive my companion and I to Phoenix for the next transfer meeting there. The family made sure to stop at this 7-Eleven so I could get my slurpee. The crazy thing? A few months later this 7-Eleven ended up being a part of my last assigned area.

This is at the Salt Lake airport on the day I came home July 2001. Phoenix to Salt Lake -- not very far away, but it was a whole other world and a whole other life for me!

Possible Career Path?

...Perhaps not, but I love this song and the way these kids dance it!

My Valentines

Hope your Valentines Day was as happy as mine, and that your companions were as cute, too!

Another Op'nin, Another Show!

It's here! It's finally here! Opening night of Kiss Me Kate at Rodgers Memorial Theatre! It's been a rough couple of weeks, what with the tech rehearsals, set changes, and new costumes, but we're finally ready to present our product to the world! I hope it's successful. It certainly has been fun!

If you're interested in coming to the show, let me know and I'll send you the dates I am performing. Please visit the Rodgers Memorial website for theatre location and prices (you get a discount if you say you're coming to see me!).

I will say that based on your sensibilities the show probably isn't suitable for kids under 13. It's no naughtier than, say, your average Doris Day movie, but it may be disconcerting that most of the ensemble is dancing in (modest) underwear for most of the second act. We are fully covered and have multiple layers on, but it's still underwear. You have been warned :)

I am so excited to open this show! I am very proud of it and the work that I and all of my cast members have done. It's going to be a good one!

2nd Half of the Western Caribbean Trip

Continued from Ist Half of the Western Caribbean Trip

Our fifth day was probably my favorite one. Shonni and I went ziplining in Isla Roatan (off the coast of Honduras) and it was the COOLEST THING EVER! I had been repelling, but never ziplining before. We talked the lady at the Pirates of the Caribbean Canopy Extreme tour down to $40 from $80, including the transportation to and from the zipline (Shonni asked my permission to play the "my friend just lost her job card" and it worked). We weren't sure at first what the helmets were for; if we fell from the zipline we didn't believe the helmets would help. We decided they were for the jeep ride to the first zipline, because it was crazy bumpy and we hit our heads on the top of the jeep a lot! That first line was intimidating. It was the highest up (328 feet) and also the longest, so jumping off that platform was freaky. What a rush!! I loved it! The rest of the lines were a snap, barring a few where I wasn't heavy enough to make it to the end and had to be rescued. I would recommend ziplining to anyone who asked. It was so fun!

After the zipline, we had 20 minutes to play at a beach before we had to get back to the ship. Below is my favorite photo of myself from the trip. Pretty much sums up the whole experience for me.

That night on the ship, we had a midnight party on the Lido (top) deck. We danced under the stars, ate a mexican buffet, and cheered for our team when we won the "attendance" competition. (Did I mention that the ship was split into teams based on our room number? We received points for the various games we played during the cruise. I have no doubt my Red Team won, but I don't know what the prize was...)

[below: me, cruise director Ryan, and Shonni at the deck party]

Day six, Aaron, Shonni and I joined a group for some snorking and swimming with stingrays in Grand Cayman. Our tour guides took us out to a sandbar off the coast where there were a plethora of stingrays swimming around. It was a little freaky at first to be standing around and then realize three stingrays where swimming past me. I made good use of my snorkle mask. Stingrays are so elegant and smooth (I shied away from the tales). Our guides even caught one, and took photos as we all held it, kissed it, and let it rest on our backs. I was terrible at holding that thing -- too nervous. I dropped it four times so they had to chase it down. Finally they said, "Why don't we have your brother hold it and we'll take a picture of the two of you?" That worked! After the stingrays, regular snorkeling was a letdown, but at least we got it in!


That night was the second formal night. I love this dress and the purple shoes, but I was genuinely surprised at all of the compliments I received!

I also took the opportunity to get my Dolly Parton on during my last foray into karaoke. I sang "9 to 5" which I thought was deliciously ironic because not only were we on vacation, but I had just lost my job. Ah, irony! It went well and felt good, even though I kept my eyes glued to the screen to make sure I had the words right. A couple strangers even asked when I would be singing again (sadly, I did not have another chance).

Below is a photo of a group singing jazz songs. Jared is an amazing pianist and brought a book of songs with him. We found a piano and sang songs like "Stormy Weather", "Someone to Watch Over Me", and "I Got Rhythm." How I love to sing! And singing at midnight with a great pianist rocks!


Aaron and I, the last day of the cruise. I miss sitting out in the sporadic sun and constant wind of the moving ship! Michelle and I even slid down the water slide several times -- hooray for warm weather! I had run out of sunscreen by that point. Luckily, I only got a mild tan rather than a nasty sunburn. I freely acknowledge that I deserved worse. I was still the whitest person on the ship, but at least I could show off a tan line!

[below: Michelle and me]

There was a Canadian country singer named Brett Kissel on the ship. He was there for a "cruise tour" and had quite the fan following. Michelle and I watched his last concert on board, and I must say, I'm a fan. (Yes, I don't hate country music.) He is quite good!

After dinner, pretty much everyone on the ship piled into the cabaret to watch the Legends karaoke show, starring our fellow cruise guests. It was hilarious! Nothing better than watching regular people like you and me impersonate such music legends as Madonna, Aretha Franklin, Elton John, and Frank Sinatra. The Frank Sinatra singer was probably the highlight. He had been left in Cozumel (day 3) and had to take a series of buses to meet us in Belize! (I am so, so glad it wasn't me. At least he spoke Spanish!) He altered the second verse of "My Way" to tell his tale; the rest of us cheered and applauded wildly. Doesn't hurt he was a good singer, too!

I danced in the disco and hung out with newfound friends until about 3 am. It was hard getting up at 6:30 to get off the ship. I should have just slept in since my flight wasn't until 2:35pm, but when I got to the airport at 9:30, one of the check-in people took pity on me and bumped me to an earlier flight. Not only did I get to leave at 11:30, but it was a direct flight to Houston. Before I had two layovers (in Minneapolis and Houston) before getting home, now I only had one! I didn't, however, get bumped to an earlier flight to Salt Lake, so I had an 8 hour layover in Houston. I spent the time sleeping, reading Outlander, and watching CNBC on the big screen by my terminal. It was a long day, but not a bad one :^D I got home at 11:30pm, and was glad that my luggage was there to greet me! I was even more glad to hug my mom when she picked me up.

Like I said in the previous post. It was a great trip and I'm glad I got to go! I'm glad I paid for it all three months ago so I could just go and enjoy. It's always hard coming home, but at least I have new friends and fabulous memories! Can't wait for my next trip, whatever it may be!