Week in Review

Whoo! This week has been busy and wonderful! Let's see if I can remember Monday... Oh wait, I don't even have to! *opens up planner*

Monday
On Monday I did a crazy crackdown on Latin. I had planned to do a lot of other things too, but some of those things (such as guitar practice and Engineering MB work) had to be moved to a later date. Sis. Sleagol taught us in seminary; she is the Stake substitute seminary teacher. She started us off by trying to get the class to sing a hymn before starting, a ritual that Bro. Beckstead does not do. I was the only one that sang. I love Sis. Sleagol; she has a very sweet spirit.

Today I got to talk to Ceana on the phone, yay!

Tuesday
On Tuesday I ALMOST got done with Latin. I slayed it for the semester on Thursday. Other than that, this day really flew by. I missed a Government LL, unfortunately. I missed a lot of things today. Where on earth was I?? Hm... Oh wait, I remember! Today I took down TWO Latin portfolio assignments.

Later this evening I got to talk with one of the coolest old guys in the ward about the Engineering Merit Badge: Bro. Fryer. He was our old scoutmaster, but now young-and-busy Dr. Johnson holds that position. Bro. Fryer has this really cool style of teaching; he's a middle school teacher by trade. Being very smart and clever, he was able to make the discussed realm of work simply fascinating. It was a lot of fun getting started on that MB with him.

Wednesday
Sis. Sleagol (she is still substituting) brought donuts to seminary!

Worked on Latin... continued to get behind in everything else today. Today I was privileged to go and start my tutoring career over at Ana Chapman's house. I "child-sat" (he doesn't like the other term) Issac for the afternoon, and we had a pretty good time! He's a very smart boy; he just needs to learn to focus just a bit better!

After doing that, I got to go to the Medford temple to do baptisms for the dead with the youth in my ward. I had a wonderful time; I always learn or am reminded of something there, even though I'm not doing initiatories or endowments. The spirit is so strong in the temple, and the veil is thin. I didn't see anything metaphysical, but I believe that I would if I needed to. It has happened to others many times before.

We walked over to the nearby Stake Center after doing the service for the departed to congratulate Josh Hancock for receiving his Eagle Scout award. I hope to be next; this coming July is the deadline for me!

Thursday
Today the dragon of Latin II A was decapitated by the sword of ridiculously working ahead! Phew, I'm glad to have it over with. Honors Government is next, mwahaha!

I called the Employment Missionaries earlier this week to ask when they held the LDS Employment Seminar. They said that it was coming up this week and would go on Thursday and Friday! The old couple doing the Seminar were Brother and Sister Ross; two amazing people I have come to dearly love. Today  I got to go to the first half of the seminar. I enjoyed it, even though it was the very first time the Rosses were doing it! Only 4 other people were there: (ug, I don't remember their names, isn't that terrible? There's another goal of mine: to remember names.) A nice old lady that brought cake, had 9 children, and was into real estate and herb-selling, a middle aged man who had a good public speaking voice and a very smart, computer-savvy brain, a veteran who was there just to learn about the program so he could teach it, and a newlywed lady who had experience in childcare and veterinary help. It was great learning more about the job market with this group!

Brother Ross and Sister Ross are two enthusiastic, hyper old people who are madly in love. Bro. Ross was a cop and Sis. Ross was a business manager. Brother Ross is blind in one eye and deaf in one ear, but I didn't even know that until Sister Ross blurted it out. I learned something new about people with brown eyes: We go blind in old age if we try to read in the dark when we're young. "Oh no---, I'm going to be BLIND! Ah well; it'll probably be the Millennium by the time I'm as old as you!"

Afterwards the two kind missionaries helped me setup my account on ldsjobs.com: a site full of amazing information for employees, self-employed people, and business owners! I'm so excited to explore that site, once my plate has less stuff on it. I recommend going to the LDS Employment seminar to anyone interested in doing well in the future.

Friday
Today I got close to wrapping up Honors Government, but didn't make it. Just one Unit Test and the Exam left!

We finished the Seminar today. I learned a lot more wonderful information, but now there's a lot of "homework" to do for it. I loved the experience; it was definitely worth my time.

At 5, our scout troop got on our snow clothes, brought our big hiking backpacks, and drove to the snowy, heavenly hills sprinkled with black evergreen trees which resembled ants from a distance. The location was Esther Applegate, near Lake of the Woods. The spot was a girl's camp during the summer, and was covered in 6 ft deep snow during the winter. We even played around on the frozen lake while we were there!

What made the trip ten times better was that the Redwood ward's youth was coming along too! And what made it ten times more fantastic was the fact that the young women from the Redwood ward came! The other ward stayed in the cabins there, while my scout troop stayed in tents. AND I LIKED THE GRITTIN' EXPERIENCE TOO! (roll the "r"s for this sentence).

Saturday
The morning after our blissful slumber we had a fun time in the snow! After helping out the troop with the biscuits and gravy, and getting all packed up, I entered one of the cabins for a second breakfast and to spend some time with my Jarvis cousins! They had French toast and orange juice, yum. The rest of the day was filled with snowball fights and sled riding. I got to meet or see a lot of new people from the Redwood ward as well: Miranda, Richard, Samantha, William, Stephanie, Farren, Brittani, and Chloe, as well as a bunch of enthusiastic leaders.

We had a big snowball fight on the icy lake! Both Anthony and Jefferson (each weighing 250+ pounds) were reluctant to go out too far. At times when Miranda was pelting me to death with snowballs I would shout "Alliance!" to which she would reply in rhyme, "Defiance!" Calvin would get up on the lifeguard seat and throw snowballs from up there, while others returned the favor. It reminded me of Samuel the Lamanite, or King Benjamin.

When we all got home, I was very tired. After helping the family and practicing piano, I decided to take a facebook break, a decision I regret. I had other priorities to work on, but I decided to spend the end of the week with something trivial. I need to learn to focus on what matters most even when I feel weak, and also to be moderate in all things. Get some balance, Keenan!

Sunday
Today I went to church, did home teaching and had some good time studying Moroni 7 (my current most favorite chapter in the Book of Mormon), Think Independently, He Did Deliver Me From Bondage, and The Bonds That Make us Free.

It was our ward conference today, and President Lathan gave a talk in sacrament meeting. His talk emphasized building our personal relationships with Christ. I loved his talk, and realize that doing what he pleaded us to do is more important than any of these things that I am doing to prepare for the future. I am so excited for my mission! In Sunday School our teacher never showed up, so the class members all caught up with each other instead. I read a bit of Carmen's journal, which was in Spanish, and I can honestly say that I understood it a bit. I feel like after studying Latin, the Romantic languages will be very easy to learn. The young men's presidency was there for Priesthood, and gave some wonderful talks to our ward's young men. The most memorable talk that was given was by the First counselor. It was called "Be True to What You Know". The steps we discussed were 1. Make Decisions in Advance, 2. Make A Commitment to do What is Right, 3. Stay as Far Away From Temptation as Possible, 4. Do what is Right and be Blessed.

This next week is going to be busy as well; go forward in faith!