Wow, today was really cool! Yesterday I was asked to sing in church today with a young lady in my ward. Yesterday we met for the first time and she wanted to sing "Come Thou Fount"; but she wanted to do an improv alto part. I don't have a lot of experience doing improv on the voice, but I told her I'd try it anyway. It was a very difficult rehearsal; in the end she decided that I would do better on the piano. I felt bad because I had come to the rehearsal with the intent to bare my testimony and accompany her testimony with mine. She asked me to write an arrangement before tomorrow. I was so bummed that she didn't feel that I was good enough to sing with her and that she thought I could write an arrangement in less than 24 hours. (Writing the arrangement in less than 24 hours, I was actually a little more flattered; but I was still panicked.)
Sunday morning came and I couldn't write the arrangement. I asked her if it would be alright if I tried singing with her again. I had figured out an alto part in case I couldn't write an arrangement and ended up singing with her. We tried it again, and right as we started I forgot the alto part I had written! I was devastated! I knew that if I didn't sing this well, she wouldn't let me sing with her and would put me back on the piano. We finished singing through it the first time and she replied "It was okay; I'll see what I can do with it." I felt a slight sigh of relief, but I was still bummed that she wasn't encouraging me to share my testimony. Anyway, we ended up practicing for a little bit and she told me at the end that if I "just thought up I would sound good." My testimony wasn't ever good enough for her no matter how hard I tried! It hurt me more and more that she was critiquing my testimony when my intent was to share it with the congregation. After we actually sang I looked at her and told her that she did a great job. She kind of rolled her eyes at me and moved on.
I called home, both Saturday and Sunday night, and cried to my parents about what had happened. Sunday night, I sat on the kitchen floor with a few of my roommates and my friend Devin and cried for about an hour. Monday was when I realized how wrong she was. Monday morning, when I woke up, I was thinking about not going to classes (especially my music classes). But, I knew my conscience would eat at my heart forever if I didn't. So, I went and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The class I really didn't want to go to was Collegiate; but I did go, and I am grateful I did. We're singing a song called "How Will They Know" from the children's songbook (arranged by Brother Kempton). As I sang, I felt the spirit so strongly that I couldn't help but cry. There was on particular section that truly touched me. The words go like this: "And with the Savior as our guide, I'll share the light I feel inside. And you will feel His love for you . . . And when I do not understand the Lord's command, I'll take your hand. And He will lead us safely home. I need your love, I need your light to show me how to be like Jesus. The Savior's love will light the path; and lead us safely home." It was so powerful!
I came out of that class feeling slightly foolish, but so much better about why I am studying music. My testimony has grown so much over this past week! I know that the Lord loves us and that He will lead us safely home. I know that some people will try to get you to hold your testimony inside and not share it. But I will never do that again! I regretted holding it in when we sang in sacrament meeting; NEVER again! I love the Lord with all of my heart, might, mind, and strength! I'm grateful for my trials that test my testimony. I come out a stronger person when that happens! I love BYU Idaho! The spirit and experiences I have here are wonderful! Hard sometimes, but wonderful!
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Tender Mercies
Oh my goodness, this week has been full of tender mercies! My job in the office has gotten a little stressful sometimes because people aren't scheduling things when they should. It should be at least 2 weeks in advance, but they continue to bring it to me the day before. It frustrates me and puts me behind my own schedule. So, I was a little stressed this past week. I felt like I was failing my job because I couldn't get everything that I wanted to get done, done. Well, the other day I was working and one of the managers (Nathan) asked me how I was. I told him I was doing well and he replied, "Good. By the way, I don't know if I've told you this, but you're doing a great job!" Tender mercy!!!! I was feeling so bad about my job and yet I'm doing a great job.
Later that day, I was in my office (well, the place where I typically work) doing some inventory stuff. Fran (another one of the people I work with) came in and complimented how clean the room was. He said that it was one of the hardest rooms to keep clean because it was where all the inventory was--he had that position before I got there. He told me I was doing a great job and to keep it up! Another tender mercy! Goodness, it made me feel so incredible to know that I was doing better than I thought I was. And even now, as I type this, I realize that "I'm doing better than I think I'm doing, but I could do better." Neat! But I did get a lot done with the inventory this week! The entire food storage in my office is done! I had to count everything. One of the things in there was mayo packets . . . 4, 139 packets!!! Fortunately, most of them were already in boxes of about 200 so I didn't have to count those. But I spent several days counting mayo, ketchup, and mustard packets. It was a lot of fun though! I listened to Schubert, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, etc. as I worked. It helped me to stay focused and enjoy counting all of those packets!
I just got a new computer, MacBook, and that was a huge tender mercy. My other computer is practically dead. The battery thing is broken, the plug is a little iffy, it always kicks me off the internet, and I was really frustrated with it. This computer came at just the right time! Tender mercy, my parents helping me get it (in fact, they paid for it!). I'm realizing more and more the great things in my life, even amidst all of the turmoil in the world I'm recognizing my blessings even more. Something this past week that has made me think a lot about tender mercies is my roommates. Last semester we were all, for the most part, so positive. This semester is almost completely different. There's a lot of negativity in the apartment, and I do it sometimes too, in fact just the other day I was recalling something that had happened to me that day. I was a little bothered by it, and when I realized how negative I was being, I immediately stated something I could learn from it. But it really effects the mood of the apartment. The spirit isn't as strong as it use to be, and it makes me sad. So, my roommates and I, after we have prayer in the evenings, are going to start doing tender mercies. We each go around and say something that happened that day that was a tender mercy. Showing that the Lord's hand is in our life and that good things do happen to us in the day. It's something we do in the office all the time and I absolutely love it! It brings such a powerful spirit.
Speaking of being positive about something though, yesterday I had to do something in my Choral Practicum class. I only have that class twice a week (Wednesday and Friday), and my teacher missed last Friday. So, he sent out an e-mail saying the things that we needed to do for this coming Friday (he mentioned he wouldn't be here on Wednesday). We were to type up a lesson plan on how we would teach an "obscure" hymn to the class in three minutes. So, I picked my hymn and then went to work. My lesson plan wasn't very good and I was extremely nervous. Well, I got to go first (thanks for having the last name Anderson Dad!). I got up there and had them open to the hymn "Brightly Beams our Father's Mercy". I was only going to focus on the chorus only the melody; the first thing I had them do was "ta" the rhythm. After we did that I told them "Good job!" Brother Brower stopped me and said "What was good?" We went back and forth for a minute and I realized that I made a mistake . . . I didn't ask them specifically to do the melody's rhythm. This happened several times, and yet it was a truly "deep" and humbling experience. I went into a realm of deeper learning and had to be truly humbled. Brother Brower, after those couple of minutes (which we didn't make it through what I wanted to do by the way) commended me for my humility. I wasn't cowering away from his suggestions or anything; I stood there and accepted it and applied it yesterday. He also commented on my speaking voice . . . apparently I have that "conductors voice" that you need. I may or may not have been extremely excited about that.
Later that day, I was in my office (well, the place where I typically work) doing some inventory stuff. Fran (another one of the people I work with) came in and complimented how clean the room was. He said that it was one of the hardest rooms to keep clean because it was where all the inventory was--he had that position before I got there. He told me I was doing a great job and to keep it up! Another tender mercy! Goodness, it made me feel so incredible to know that I was doing better than I thought I was. And even now, as I type this, I realize that "I'm doing better than I think I'm doing, but I could do better." Neat! But I did get a lot done with the inventory this week! The entire food storage in my office is done! I had to count everything. One of the things in there was mayo packets . . . 4, 139 packets!!! Fortunately, most of them were already in boxes of about 200 so I didn't have to count those. But I spent several days counting mayo, ketchup, and mustard packets. It was a lot of fun though! I listened to Schubert, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, etc. as I worked. It helped me to stay focused and enjoy counting all of those packets!
I just got a new computer, MacBook, and that was a huge tender mercy. My other computer is practically dead. The battery thing is broken, the plug is a little iffy, it always kicks me off the internet, and I was really frustrated with it. This computer came at just the right time! Tender mercy, my parents helping me get it (in fact, they paid for it!). I'm realizing more and more the great things in my life, even amidst all of the turmoil in the world I'm recognizing my blessings even more. Something this past week that has made me think a lot about tender mercies is my roommates. Last semester we were all, for the most part, so positive. This semester is almost completely different. There's a lot of negativity in the apartment, and I do it sometimes too, in fact just the other day I was recalling something that had happened to me that day. I was a little bothered by it, and when I realized how negative I was being, I immediately stated something I could learn from it. But it really effects the mood of the apartment. The spirit isn't as strong as it use to be, and it makes me sad. So, my roommates and I, after we have prayer in the evenings, are going to start doing tender mercies. We each go around and say something that happened that day that was a tender mercy. Showing that the Lord's hand is in our life and that good things do happen to us in the day. It's something we do in the office all the time and I absolutely love it! It brings such a powerful spirit.
Speaking of being positive about something though, yesterday I had to do something in my Choral Practicum class. I only have that class twice a week (Wednesday and Friday), and my teacher missed last Friday. So, he sent out an e-mail saying the things that we needed to do for this coming Friday (he mentioned he wouldn't be here on Wednesday). We were to type up a lesson plan on how we would teach an "obscure" hymn to the class in three minutes. So, I picked my hymn and then went to work. My lesson plan wasn't very good and I was extremely nervous. Well, I got to go first (thanks for having the last name Anderson Dad!). I got up there and had them open to the hymn "Brightly Beams our Father's Mercy". I was only going to focus on the chorus only the melody; the first thing I had them do was "ta" the rhythm. After we did that I told them "Good job!" Brother Brower stopped me and said "What was good?" We went back and forth for a minute and I realized that I made a mistake . . . I didn't ask them specifically to do the melody's rhythm. This happened several times, and yet it was a truly "deep" and humbling experience. I went into a realm of deeper learning and had to be truly humbled. Brother Brower, after those couple of minutes (which we didn't make it through what I wanted to do by the way) commended me for my humility. I wasn't cowering away from his suggestions or anything; I stood there and accepted it and applied it yesterday. He also commented on my speaking voice . . . apparently I have that "conductors voice" that you need. I may or may not have been extremely excited about that.
Friday, May 6, 2011
Collegiate Singers, a new kind of "family"
I haven't been going around telling a lot of people this, but I made Collegiate this semester! At the beginning of the semester, I felt very "black sheep-ish" in that choir. I was holding back, I was neverous, and just all around shy. Last night, we had a "Collegiate retreat". We enjoyed dinner and then played getting to know you games, we did some blending things, and then we had a sectional "heart-to-heart". We, the altos, played getting to know you games first with the basses and then with the tenors. With the basses, we played the Name Game. It's when you have a piece of paper rolled up and a person in the middle. Somebody calls somebodys name; the person in the middle then runs toward the person whose name has been said. That person wants to say someone else's name before the person in the middle hits them with the paper. With a big group like that, it was a little hard but it was fun!
With the tenors, we played "Who, What, Where?", it's like "Clue". Three people from the group went out into the hall and the rest of the group decides on a murderer/who, a weapon/what, and where the murder took place. So, for example, our first one was Abraham Lincoln, with a toaster, in the swimming pool. One of the three people who went out come back in and call on three more people, each of them takes one of the subjects and acts it out for the person from outside. The person who was outside then acts all three out for the next person who comes in and so on. By the end, you typically get really weird answers! Like for our second one, we picked the Teletubies to be the who, nunchucks as the weapon, and on the moon as the where. We ended up with a Lamanite as the who, nunchucks as the weapon, and I can't really remember the where. Either way, it was hilarious!
After that, we went to Brother Kempton. This, for me, was the highlight of the entire evening! We went in, as an alto section, and he put us into places where we could balance each other out. After he did that, he gave us a message. He told us that we were part of a family; when we are absent we are missed, not just vocally, but our personality and spirit. He told us that we were put into this choir because we each had traits that he admired and wanted in the choir. Whether they were vocal or a part of our personality it didn't matter. "The Collegiate Singers motto," he said, "is 'Never hold back!'." and it relaxed me a great deal. I had been so scared to sing infront of all of these amazing people that I was holding back. But I am valued as a member of this choir and it excited me a lot!
We then moved onto our "alti" sectional/bonding time. We went around and told each other a strength we have, a weakness we have, and what we hope to gain from the choir. As it came to my turn, I stated my weakness: I hold back. I told them that I was nervous because I was in with all of these amazing singers and I said something along the lines of "I walk in and think, oh my goodness it's Collegiate! I'm so scared to sing!" One of the altos looks at me and whispered "Hey Sarah, you're in Collegiate now too!" Ha ha, it made me laugh! But it is true! I feel so much better about my choir family! I feel like I have a place and a purpose and, despite the fact that I don't necessarily know what it is, I am to do my best to make Daddy Kempton proud and to share my tesitmony with him and the other choir members daily in that class!
With the tenors, we played "Who, What, Where?", it's like "Clue". Three people from the group went out into the hall and the rest of the group decides on a murderer/who, a weapon/what, and where the murder took place. So, for example, our first one was Abraham Lincoln, with a toaster, in the swimming pool. One of the three people who went out come back in and call on three more people, each of them takes one of the subjects and acts it out for the person from outside. The person who was outside then acts all three out for the next person who comes in and so on. By the end, you typically get really weird answers! Like for our second one, we picked the Teletubies to be the who, nunchucks as the weapon, and on the moon as the where. We ended up with a Lamanite as the who, nunchucks as the weapon, and I can't really remember the where. Either way, it was hilarious!
After that, we went to Brother Kempton. This, for me, was the highlight of the entire evening! We went in, as an alto section, and he put us into places where we could balance each other out. After he did that, he gave us a message. He told us that we were part of a family; when we are absent we are missed, not just vocally, but our personality and spirit. He told us that we were put into this choir because we each had traits that he admired and wanted in the choir. Whether they were vocal or a part of our personality it didn't matter. "The Collegiate Singers motto," he said, "is 'Never hold back!'." and it relaxed me a great deal. I had been so scared to sing infront of all of these amazing people that I was holding back. But I am valued as a member of this choir and it excited me a lot!
We then moved onto our "alti" sectional/bonding time. We went around and told each other a strength we have, a weakness we have, and what we hope to gain from the choir. As it came to my turn, I stated my weakness: I hold back. I told them that I was nervous because I was in with all of these amazing singers and I said something along the lines of "I walk in and think, oh my goodness it's Collegiate! I'm so scared to sing!" One of the altos looks at me and whispered "Hey Sarah, you're in Collegiate now too!" Ha ha, it made me laugh! But it is true! I feel so much better about my choir family! I feel like I have a place and a purpose and, despite the fact that I don't necessarily know what it is, I am to do my best to make Daddy Kempton proud and to share my tesitmony with him and the other choir members daily in that class!
Sunday, May 1, 2011
C.C.'s and hospital trips
Bah, this week has been absolutely insane! I can't even tell you everything I did. I'll start on Monday though, I had Collegiate singers call backs! I was absolutely terrified! I noticed the people that were in there and immediately felt very intimidated. It changed very quickly when Bro. Kempton started to speak and do warm-ups. He was very "light" and showed that he loved all of us. It was incredible! For our call back, we worked on a song that we will be singing in devotional this up coming Tuesday (May 3rd). It's called "Jesus, Thine All Victorious Love". Elder K. Newell Dayley (my old conducting teacher and also the man who wrote the music to "Lord I Would Follow Thee") wrote it for us. It's an absolutely gorgeous song, and the message is just as powerful! After call backs we were told to check back around 3:30 to see if we made it or not. Right after that, I went up to work and was being trained on a few things. I got a text from my friend Lizzy. She told me the list was up for Collegiate. I asked her if she would tell me, so if I had to change my work schedule I could do it right then. She text me back saying: "You made COLLEGIATE!!!!!!!!!" I screamed, I was so excited! One of my friends ran in and yelled "What's wrong? Are you okay?" I beamed and replied that I made Collegiate! He said, in a very dull manner, "Oh . . . does that mean we have to change your schedule again?" Ha ha, fortunately we didn't have to change my schedule again, but it was incredibly funny!
Tuesday was my first day being a mentor! Oh my goodness, it's so exhilirating!!! I can't even handle it! I am helping others love and understand music! Goodness, it's so exciting! I got to help another girl outside of class named Brenzel (spelling?). As I helped her, I could see the excitement in her face as she started understanding things that she didn't before. I am so proud of her, and excited for her! She's starting off in a very similar situation that I was in. She came here not knowing much about music theory (if any) and yet she's determined to learn, progress, and do her best in it. It's cool to see! The rest of this week was just full of school, work, and homework.
Friday, however, I got to go on a retreat with the Student Support council. It was a blast! (*Note: Student Support includes: Get Connected Council, SRC Council, Student Associations Council, Student Ambassadors Council, and Recruitment Council). We went up to cabins in the Victor/Driggs area; there was about 2-3 feet of snow up there! It was pretty cold too! We had to be really careful with the vans we brought because we didn't want to get them stuck in the mud. The first night up there, Get Connected Council made dinner. One of the girls, Heather, cut her finger while chopping onions. We told her that we should probably grab some ice to put on it. One of the young men standing by, Will, grabbed snow and had her put her finger in the snow whilst he held it. At one point she commented on how cold her finger was getting, so Will blew into his hands! Ha ha, it was so funny! She was taken to the hospital and the doctor thought she should get stitches. She ended up not getting stitches because it was so expensive! So, they ended up using strips to make it stick together. Heather was a very good sport about it! Late that night, most of us stayed up late talking about our C.C's (Council/Conference Crushes). The guys decided they were going to come over and prank us, but we wanted to beat them to it. So, we waited outside when they came and we were going to pelt them with snowballs. Unfortunately all of our pranks (the boys and girls) blew up because we caught each other. It was lame . . . but it's okay, I guess.
The next morning, we tried to get the 12 passenger van up to where the girls cabin was. Well, it had snowed all night and the van got stuck and ran into a tree. It took off the rear view mirror on the drivers side. I came out before I went down to breakfast and tried to help the 8 young men, that were there, out. We tried pushing while Tyson pushed on the gas, we tried reversing, nothing was working! We all decided that we needed to say a prayer. My friend, Ben, then said: "Alright then, let's say a prayer! Who has a lot of faith? Sarah!" I may or may not have flushed at that comment. It was funny! In the end, we couldn't get the van out. The front axel broke, so we had to get it towed out by a tractor. The worse part of all of this . . . it was a univeristy vehicle! And yet, we were still able to get everything down to where it needed to be! All but the van, it's still up at the cabin as far as I know. All of our trainings were great as well! The Spirit was so powerful up there and my testimony has grown so much! I'm so grateful for the opportunity I have to work with these amazing people! It's such a blessing in my life; a tender mercy of sorts! =)
Tuesday was my first day being a mentor! Oh my goodness, it's so exhilirating!!! I can't even handle it! I am helping others love and understand music! Goodness, it's so exciting! I got to help another girl outside of class named Brenzel (spelling?). As I helped her, I could see the excitement in her face as she started understanding things that she didn't before. I am so proud of her, and excited for her! She's starting off in a very similar situation that I was in. She came here not knowing much about music theory (if any) and yet she's determined to learn, progress, and do her best in it. It's cool to see! The rest of this week was just full of school, work, and homework.
Friday, however, I got to go on a retreat with the Student Support council. It was a blast! (*Note: Student Support includes: Get Connected Council, SRC Council, Student Associations Council, Student Ambassadors Council, and Recruitment Council). We went up to cabins in the Victor/Driggs area; there was about 2-3 feet of snow up there! It was pretty cold too! We had to be really careful with the vans we brought because we didn't want to get them stuck in the mud. The first night up there, Get Connected Council made dinner. One of the girls, Heather, cut her finger while chopping onions. We told her that we should probably grab some ice to put on it. One of the young men standing by, Will, grabbed snow and had her put her finger in the snow whilst he held it. At one point she commented on how cold her finger was getting, so Will blew into his hands! Ha ha, it was so funny! She was taken to the hospital and the doctor thought she should get stitches. She ended up not getting stitches because it was so expensive! So, they ended up using strips to make it stick together. Heather was a very good sport about it! Late that night, most of us stayed up late talking about our C.C's (Council/Conference Crushes). The guys decided they were going to come over and prank us, but we wanted to beat them to it. So, we waited outside when they came and we were going to pelt them with snowballs. Unfortunately all of our pranks (the boys and girls) blew up because we caught each other. It was lame . . . but it's okay, I guess.
The next morning, we tried to get the 12 passenger van up to where the girls cabin was. Well, it had snowed all night and the van got stuck and ran into a tree. It took off the rear view mirror on the drivers side. I came out before I went down to breakfast and tried to help the 8 young men, that were there, out. We tried pushing while Tyson pushed on the gas, we tried reversing, nothing was working! We all decided that we needed to say a prayer. My friend, Ben, then said: "Alright then, let's say a prayer! Who has a lot of faith? Sarah!" I may or may not have flushed at that comment. It was funny! In the end, we couldn't get the van out. The front axel broke, so we had to get it towed out by a tractor. The worse part of all of this . . . it was a univeristy vehicle! And yet, we were still able to get everything down to where it needed to be! All but the van, it's still up at the cabin as far as I know. All of our trainings were great as well! The Spirit was so powerful up there and my testimony has grown so much! I'm so grateful for the opportunity I have to work with these amazing people! It's such a blessing in my life; a tender mercy of sorts! =)
Week one of Spring semester . . . CHECK!
Well, the first week is officially over! What a week it has been too! My days have consisted of working, going to class, doing homework, going to women's choir auditions and call backs, and fun things like that! It was a hard first week, but I have the feeling that it'll get better as I go along and adjust to this new schedule. On Tuesday, I started my first day at work (and also my first day of classes). I am working as an office assistant with the Student Associations (Chinese association, Canadian Association, etc.) and I also am over scheduling and inventory for all of Student Support! It's crazy! We had a dinner as directors and staff on Wednesday night, it was incredible! We met at Bro. Jones house and ate fajitas and chocolate (white and milk) fondue. It was delicious! We got to know each other better and become closer as staff and directors.
On Thursday I went to classes again and also went to the Get Connected Appreciation dinner--Student Support feeds me incredibly well, ha. Nothing really exciting happened other than that on Thursday and Friday. Saturday was where the real fun began! I went to the temple with my roommates, Kelsey and Jenny, and it was AWESOME! I felt so incredibly good afterward and it was just great! I then went to Bro. Peck's (my voice teacher's) recital. He was phenominal! I mean, he blew me away! I couldn't help but continually think "That's right, I'm taking voice lessons from him!" Ha, yes that is a little prideful; but he did very well! Sunday I had the amazing opportunity to accompany my friend, Chelsea's, testimony in church. She sang "My Lord, My Redeemer" and it was powerful! The spirit that filled the room was extraordinary! As she sang, you could picture Mary weeping, but realizing it was her Savior that had come to the garden. Absolutely beautiful!
On Thursday I went to classes again and also went to the Get Connected Appreciation dinner--Student Support feeds me incredibly well, ha. Nothing really exciting happened other than that on Thursday and Friday. Saturday was where the real fun began! I went to the temple with my roommates, Kelsey and Jenny, and it was AWESOME! I felt so incredibly good afterward and it was just great! I then went to Bro. Peck's (my voice teacher's) recital. He was phenominal! I mean, he blew me away! I couldn't help but continually think "That's right, I'm taking voice lessons from him!" Ha, yes that is a little prideful; but he did very well! Sunday I had the amazing opportunity to accompany my friend, Chelsea's, testimony in church. She sang "My Lord, My Redeemer" and it was powerful! The spirit that filled the room was extraordinary! As she sang, you could picture Mary weeping, but realizing it was her Savior that had come to the garden. Absolutely beautiful!
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