What a glorious week! I felt the Spirit a lot this week and feel like I felt specific things for me to work on and improve on, while also feeling encouraged that I'm on the right path and doing much good. I am so grateful for all the positive feedback I received on my song and am glad I was able to touch a lot of people. I think it ended up getting just over 2,000 views, so that is miraculous!
So on Monday, some guys came by to put in new bathroom flooring, because apparently the toilet had been leaking... only we all didn't know it was actually as bad as it was. So change of plans. They left and we had to get some guys to replace the entire flooring. Then the flooring people came. But then the door wouldn't close shut because the flooring was too high, so we had to get a guy to come in and fix that. All in all, the four of us shared one bathroom for the majority of the week! But it wasn't too bad :)
On Tuesday, I watched the Nixon kiddos and did a lot of driving to get them to where they needed to go. Piano, tennis practice, etc. Also, I got kind of fed up with my current jobs because I'm not working the hours I want, so I also applied to about six jobs today!
Wednesday, I had a presidency meeting in afternoon, and then I asked if I could film Joclyn (the new second counselor) for my channel. She speaks Tagalog from serving in the Philippines! So now I have a total of 15 languages for my video, and it's going to post next week, and it's gonna be SO good!
Thursday, after work, I went to babysit at the Nixon's again, and it was actually pretty chill. That was good! Kate wanted me to draw a picture of her, so she had me take a couple of different pictures of her. This was my favorite (though not the one I'm going to draw). I had a bunch of work to do that afternoon as an online TA and research assistant, but there was no way I was going to do it stuck inside my little room, so I decided to trek up to campus. I located a spot inside the library next to an outlet and had some one-on-one meetings. It was fun getting to meet new people and chat with them! Then... I went outside and called a couple of people to participate in the research survey, and I saw Savannah Hunter (from my mission) walk by, and then Hannah Oliekan (from my home town), so I figure if I need human interaction, just chill outside the library and you're bound to run into people you know! So that was super awesome!
On Friday, I babysat six 8-year-old boys at the rec center water park for 4 hours!! They were all going strong, even at the end. Wowza. Unfortunately I didn't bring much to do, but I guess I just got to spend a lot of time reading Skyward by Brandon Sanderson, which I am actually really enjoying! It was recommended to me by my religion research professor! Honestly though, by the end of the week, I realized I had a lot of work I still needed to get done, especially for my research position. The real struggle is having to make my own hours. It'd be nice to have steady hours and actually get to interact with people!
Saturday morning, I finished up reviewing tests for my TA job (while folding laundry. Multi-tasking is a wonderful thing) and then I got to go ice skating! The ice rink is open again!! It's been about three months since I last skated. I was the first one on the ice, which was super nice, and after a few rocky moments, I fell right back into it. But not literally, because I didn't fall at all! But I did get two blisters, one on the inside of each foot. And I got to skate around with a 10 year old towards the end, and it was funny how she was trying to offer me tips to be a better skater, even though I was already better than her (but I couldn't crush her hopes and dreams, ya know?). That afternoon, I did some filming for my channel as well as video edits, then Whitney called me, so I went on a walk to the duck pond with her and her two youngest siblings. It was cool to meet them!
Sunday was awesome because the RS taught and everything fell together so well! A thought came to me earlier in the week and I ran with it. It was about what makes up the "pure" in "pure love of Christ." It was super insightful, and someone even talked about how ash is the purest substance on earth because all impurities are burned out and all that is left is... ash. Pure ash. Water, gold, etc. all can get contaminated. So ash has now become a symbol of purity to me. It was cool to ask what makes the Savior's love so pure, and to tie that back to His Atonement. When we sacrifice and give selflessly, we are able to love more purely, like going through the refiner's fire. It's not easy, but so beautiful in the end. I also took some time to paint. I started on one for Ben, my custodial boss, and I'm almost done. So far it looks pretty great! Can't wait to show you it next week (or whenever I decide to finish it).
Much love,
Emily Burnham
No comments:
Post a Comment