Finally, here are some Ukraine updates!

I finally have a minute to sit down and update people at home as to how things are going over here in the Ukraine. It's quite the experience over here. I don't even know where to begin with all that's happened since last time that I wrote on here. I will start by just posting some pictures and telling some experiences.

When I was in Chernivtsi I ran into 2 of the 4 elders who are serving in the city. For anyone who is interested, ask me to tell you about this experience because it wasn't by coincidence. This picture is meaningful because the Elder on the right is a Utah fan and he's holding one of his tickets to the football season last year and the one on my left goes to BYU. GO UTES!!! They might be going to do some service with us tomorrow.

So there was this random restaurant called Utah. I couldn't resist getting a picture with my Utah flag and representing. I didn't have this flag in all my pictures. Just a few, but randomly they're all the ones I'm putting on my blog.


So the place I'm at (Chernivtsi) and Salt Lake City are sister cities. So they have a little thing in their town center representing all the sister cities. I had to represent with the Utah flag by the Salt Lake City one. GO UTES!!!

The Sunday we got there, we went to a Ukranian Orthodox church. All the women have to put a shawl over their heads. I didn't have to. :) It was an interesting experience. I put my hands in my pocket during the service and one of the Ukranian men came and chastised me and yanked my hands out of my pocket. Apparently it was bad. I wasn't told that. I learned my lesson.

This is my sad face during the 16 hour train ride we had to take from Kiev to Chernivtsi. They packed us in there like cattle. I felt like I was on a train going to some concentration camp. I have pictures of the nasty bathroom and the rest of the living conditions. It was quite the experience to say the least. I'm not looking forward to having to do it again in a couple days to go back to Kiev.

So at one of the places we went, they offered us some of Ukraine's finest liquor. As a custom, the man is supposed to open the liquor and pour it for everyone. Well, with my luck, I've NEVER opened one of these and didn't know how much to give everyone. They laughed and laughed and laughed and tried their darndest to get me to drink it with them, but I didn't give in. They understood it was because of personal and religious reasons and the old grandma (who was a kick in the pants) kept making fun of me for it.

Little Oksana. She was a cutie. She has cerebral palsy and we visited her twice. We gave her that ball and was showing her mom some exercises she could do with her to stretch out some of that EXTREMELY high muscle tone she has going on through her body. She had a little crush on me and would smile at me and start to giggle. She is 5 years old I believe.



Nicolas (Cola). He too had cerebral palsy and was way fun. We did similar stuff with all our cerebral palsy kids cause they have very high tone in their arms and particularly their legs. His mom was incredible! We visited him twice too and between visits her already had improved a TON. It made me excited to see that within a few days he was already starting to loosen up a little bit.

Olga. She has Spinal Muscle Atrophy. She was 100% cognitively there but her spine was wrapped all around her back and had a lot of pain. But that did not stop her having all the sass in the world. She was so cute and her grin was to die for. I fell in love with this little girl. She stole my heart. She is 11. Since their health care isn't the greatest over here, I realized that she wouldn't receive great treatment even though she had such a serious condition. It made me grateful for what great health care we have.

Olga #2. This fireball of a girl was a cutie. She had a traumatic brain injury about 3 years ago and she's 12 now. She got hit by a car. We saw her twice. She had a little crush on me and told me that the second time that we came that she'd get dressed up and do her makeup for me. So I decided that if she was going to get dressed up like a princess that I would treat her like one and so I bought her a rose. I have a video of her reaction when I gave it to her. Let me know if you want to see it. It's pretty cute. She was fun to work with. We did some good stuff with her.

This is me on top of the town hall. Isn't Chernivtsi beatiful?

We got to meet with the Mayor of Chernivtsi. We talked about what we were doing there. It was pretty cool.

Well, I will be home on Monday and would love to tell anyone stories about my trip. I am loving it here but I think I will be ready to come home on Monday.

Ukraine Pics

Here are some Ukraine pics. I promise that stories and experiences are on the way, but this is all I have time for right now. I am here and safe and loving it. Today we are taking our 14 hour train ride to Chernivtsi where we will be working with the clients and kids at the orphanage. I'm pretty dang excited. It's been amazing so far. Enjoy the pics and keep checking back for more adventures.

This was at the World War II museum. The nickname of this statue is "tin tits." I thought it was pretty funny but I was pretty confused cause I thought they called her "ten tits." Anyway, we had a pretty good laugh. She is very tall and can be seen throughout Ukraine.
The girls in our group wearing their shawls before we went into these taverns to look at some dead monks and war heroes in the bottom of this church. I, being a guy, didn't have to wear a shawl and it reaffirmed to me why it was so great being a guy!

Me in front of one of the churches we went to. Notice me representing my Utes!! GO UTES!!!

This is me putting out the vibe in Ukaine in front of this cool green car.

Tender Mercies - Answers to Prayers - You never know whose life you are touching.

I LOVE EFY!!! For those of you who know me, I have loved my experiences of being an EFY counselor for the past 4 summers. Altogether, I've done 25 sessions, and I learned and enjoyed different things from each session. I don't even know how many boys that I worked with throughout those 4 years, but there have been a lot. This past Thursday, I was sitting in institute and I was wondering if I've made a difference in somebody's life with the thing's I've been involved in. I said a short little prayer in my heart that at some point in my life I'd be able to know that. Well Heavenly Father being the amazing person He is didn't even wait 24 hours to let me know that. I received a letter from one of the boys from my first year of EFY who is currently serving his mission in Brazil. It was very surprising to me to get a letter from this particular boy because he was one of those guys that kind of was quieter and more reserved. Regardless, I tried to get to know him and involve him with the things we did. I didn't know that I'd have a big impact on his life. In his letter he sent he said, "How are you doing Shane? I am from EFY 2005. I just wanted to thank you for your testimony and example. You helped me make the decision to serve a mission. I am serving in the Brazil Londrina mission." He then went on to share his testimony. I couldn't believe that I got an answer to my prayer so quickly! I was so surprised and happy that I went to my room and got on my knees and just cried. I needed that letter a lot! I am thankful to Elder Westover for following the prompting to send the letter when he did. It wasn't a coincidence that it came the day that it did. I am grateful for young men like him who go out into the world and selflessly serve the Lord for 2 years. I'm thankful to Heavenly Father that I was given the opportunity to work for EFY for those 25 sessions and to associate with the boys that I did. I'm grateful for the truthfulness of our church. I am thankful for answers I've received that have helped my testimony. Also, I am grateful to Heavenly Father for answering Tyler's prayers as well so that he is able to boldly serve as a missionary. It was an awesome day for me and something I will be forever grateful for.

What am I willing to do to see Him?

So I have been thinking a lot about a man in the scriptures in Luke 19 whose name is Zacchaeus. He is the man who tried to see Christ in the crowd but couldn't because he was too short. Therefore, he decided to climb a tree so that he could have a better view of Christ. After he did that, Christ saw him up in the tree and tells Zacchaeus to come down and that He will abide in his house. As I have been reading that lately, I've been asking myself, "What am I willing to do to see Christ more constantly in my life?" I, like some of you, sometimes find myself in my life making small surges of effort to jump up above the crowd to see Christ in my life. Those efforts get exhausting and unfortunately come to an end because of the energy required to sustain that effort. Or can I be more like Zacchaeus and go upward and find myself in a tree where I can have a better constant image of Christ rather than short spurts of effort. It's not to say that making small short efforts is a bad thing, but I want to have it more constant in my life. It's when Christ sees our effort to see Him that He invites Himself to abide in our homes and our lives because He knows that we made the effort to move upward to see Him. So I find myself asking myself, "How can I change the position of where I am to better see Christ?" Or I ask myself, "Where would my position be right now if it were to be likened to this scripture? Would I be making those small exhausting efforts on the ground or have I made changes in my life so that I can see Christ constantly rather than little bits at a time?" It's my hope that you and I can change where we are and put ourselves in a position where we can be focused on Christ at all times. Thanks you guys!

Book of Mormon vs. Our Cell Phones

I just saw this online and thought it was very thought provoking. It's definately something to think about.

I wonder what would happen if we treated our Book of Mormon like our cell phone. What if we carried it around in our pockets everywhere we went? What if we turned back to our house to get it if we forgot it? What if we flipped through it several times a day? What if we spent an hour or more using it every day? What if we used it to receive messages? What if we treated it like we couldn’t live without it? What if we used it as we travel? What if we gave it to our kids as a present and they asked for one for their birthday? What if we used it in case of an emergency? Unlike our cell phones, in regards to the Book of Mormon, one plan fits all, unlimited usage, no roaming charges, you always have reception, no weak signals, we won't be charged if we use it too much, and we don’t have to ever worry about our Book of Mormon being disconnected.

Skouching

Here is a video of me enjoying the snow this past winter.

Roommate Weddings

Devin and Kati Barlow - January 3, 2009

Steve and Tamara Smith - January 3, 2009

Daniel and LeaDawn Grant - December 20, 2008

Tis the Season to be getting married if you have been one of my past roommates. It was awesome being able to go to my friend's wedding receptions. They all were so very happy and picked amazing girls to marry. It's kind of sad to know that all the good times we had as roommates in the bachelor pad are just memories now. But I couldn't be happier for these guys. Congratulations Steve, Devin, and Daniel.

Glance at Fall Semester 2008

I am half way done with my grad program! 4 semesters down, 4 to go! I'm still very excited about becoming an occupational therapist. I know that it's a job that's just right for me. This was our pediatric semester so we got to learn about how to be occupational therapists for kids. It was a very fun semester. This next semester is going to be our adult semester, so we will learn how to do therapy on people from 18 and older. There's something energizing about starting new classes. I will still be with the same 26 people. I really enjoy the people that I'm in the program with. They're my second family. Anyway, some of the videos on here include: a party we had at my house in Salt Lake, Crazy Lady dancing, Oregon State winning fieldgoal, rushing field #1, TCU touchdown, Katie and Rachelle (girls from my program) after TCU game, rushing the field at the BYU game, singing "Utah Man" at Battle of the Chapters, juggling handkerchiefs for one of our pediatric skills labs, Rachelle and Jason singing "Finger Pushups", our rap we made to present our chapter info to our class, standing in front of the building before Wicked, the cool toilet in Chicago airport, Me, Tony, and Tyson (some friends) doing the dizzy challenge thing at temple square, Michelle dancing during my program's end of semester lunch at the Pie, and me making kids cry as Santa at our program's Christmas party.

My Tribute to Joseph Smith on his birthday.

Here is a tribute to Joseph Smith on his birthday. I made this slideshow to commemorate the life of the prophet Joseph Smith. As I looked through the pictures and video of him, my gratitude for what he did for the church increased greatly. I can't imagine where I would be without the gospel in my life. I thank him for never giving up on what he saw and for him remaining faithful and true to those things in everything he did. I am thankful that he translated the Book of Mormon. It truly is the word of God. I KNOW that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ appeared to him in the Sacred Grove. There are few experiences in my life that I have had that I can never doubt. However, the answers I received when praying about the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon and the First Vision are experiences that I can never deny. That knowledge has saved me on so many occasions. Please watch this tribute and enjoy and leave your thoughts on Joseph Smith in the comments if you'd like. You might want to pause the blog music at the bottom of the page before you watch this. Praise to the man!

Broken Things to Mend

In Nazareth, the narrow road,
That tires the feet and steals the breath,
Passes the place where once abode
The Carpenter of Nazareth
And up and down the dusty way
The village folk would often wend;
And on the bench, beside Him, lay
Their broken things for Him to mend.
The maiden with the doll she broke,
The woman with the broken chair,
The man with broken plough, or yoke,
Said, "Can you mend it, Carpenter?"
And each received the thing he sought,
In yoke, or plough, or chair, or doll;
The broken thing which each had brought
Returned again a perfect whole.
So, up the hill the long years through,
With heavy step and wistful eye,
The burdened souls their way pursue,
Uttering each the plaintive cry:
"O Carpenter of Nazareth,
This heart, that's broken past repair,
This life, that's shattered nigh to death,
Oh, can You mend them, Carpenter?"
And by His kind and ready hand,
His own sweet life is woven through
Our broken lives, until they stand
A New Creation-"all things new."
"The shattered [substance] of [the] heart,
Desire, ambition, hope, and faith,
Mould Thou into the perfect part,
O, Carpenter of Nazareth!"
- George Blair

I've been reading Elder Holland's book, "Broken Things to Mend," and it's amazing. I would highly recommend it to anyone who's looking for an awesome book to read. I think we've all felt like that broken thing to mend at times and the Master Carpenter has entered our lives and like it says in the poem, his life is woven through our broken lives and then we stand a new creation.

HOW ABOUT THEM UTES?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

Utah Utes 13-0 (Only Perfect Season in College Football)!!!

Michigan (25-23)

UNLV (42-21) #22

Utah State (58-10) #22

Air Force (30-23) #20

Weber State (37-21) #17

Oregon State (31-28) #15

Wyoming (40-7) #14

Colorado State (49-16) #14

New Mexico (13-10) #10

TCU (13-10) #8

San Diego State (63-14) #7

BYU (48-24) #7

Alabama (SUGAR BCS BOWL) (31-17) #6

FINAL STANDING - #2 in the nation!

Excellent Season!

Occupational Therapy conclave in Chicago

Spoiled/Smart pigeons in downtown Chicago. They made me laugh huddling around the fire on this cold night.
All the people in our program that went to the Occupational Therapy Conclave in Chicago. 6 of us got our trips paid for. Free trips are always great! I really enjoyed it. I was able to have my resume critiqued by some people there on how to make it catch a clinic's eye. It was awesome being able to talk to some people in the American Occupational Therapy Association and network with some of them. It was just an awesome experience.

The first night in Chicago I was able to go and see Wicked. It was incredible! If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend that you go. It will be worth the money!

Game Winning Touchdown against TCU

Amongst the pressence of giants

Jace, Daniel, Devin, Dax, Me, Dave

This weekend I was able to go up to Rexburg and see some friends from BYU-Idaho. It was an awesome trip! It was good to see how awesome Jace is after his mission. I could tell he was a powerful missionary. It was fun seeing Daniel again and staying up till the wee hours of the morning getting caught up with him and his life. It was also fun to get to know his fiancee a little better as well. It was fun to see Dax's little boy Hayden and to see what great parents Dax and Jen are. And Devin and Dave....well, I get to see them every day in Salt Lake. It was so awesome to be with my friends and old roommates that have been HUGE examples to me in my life. They are my heroes. As I sat there and spent time with them, I thought of an entry I put in my journal lately. It said, "I'm so blessed to be associated with some of the strongest people alive. I am dwelling amongst the presence of giants." I truly believe that. The people in this picture and other people who are not have been lifesavers to me. I am sure that you who is reading this right now is also someone that I respect a ton and have learned a lot from. It was so awesome though to spend time with the guys again. I don't know if all of us will ever be in a room like that again anytime soon, but the time was highly enjoyed and valued. What an awesome weekend!

He knows, if you just need your hair brushed.

So this post might be kind of long. I just heard this story tonight at a fireside that Kenneth Cope gave. I"m going to try to paraphrase some of it so that it isn't so long, but here it is. Enjoy it. If any of you care to share, it would be awesome if you left a comment of a time that God sent someone to "comb your hair." So here is the story..... There was a Catholic lady that was waiting to board an airplane and was reading the Bible in an airport. She saw a strange man humped over in a wheelchair, he was skin and bones, dressed in clothes that obviously fit when he was at least twenty pounds heavier. His knees protruded from his trousers, and his shoulders looked like the coat hanger was still in his shirt. His hands looked like tangled masses of veins and bones. The strangest part of him was his hair and nails. Stringy gray hair hung well over his shoulders and down part of his back. His fingernails were long. Clean, but strangely out of place on an old man. As she saw the man, she tried to ignore him and pretend like she didn't see him. But she had a feeling that she should interact with him. She says, "And it may be embarrassing. I immediately began to resist because I could feel God working on my spirit and I started arguing with God in my mind. "Oh no, God please no." I looked up at the ceiling as if I could stare straight through it into heaven and said, "Don't make me witness to this man. Not right here and now. Please. I'll do anything. Put me on the same plane, but don't make me get up here and witness to this man in front of this gawking audience. Please, Lord." Then I heard it..."I don't want you to witness to him. I want you to brush his hair." I looked up at God and quipped, "I don't have a hairbrush. It's in my suitcase on the plane, How am I supposed to brush his hair withouta hairbrush?" So she goes up to him and asks him for if she could comb his hair. He responded by saying, "If you really want to." Are you kidding? Of course I didn't want to. But God didn't seem interested in my personal preference right about then. He pressed on my heart until I could utter the words, "Yes, sir, I would be pleased. But I have one little problem. I don't have a hairbrush." "I have one in my bag," he responded. So she went and got a brush out of his bag and started brushing his hair. She continues...... A miraculous thing happened to me as I started brushing that old man's hair. Everybody else in the room disappeared. There was no one alive for those moments except that old man and me. I brushed and I brushed and I brushed until every tangle was out of that hair. I know this sounds so strange but I've never felt that kind of love for another soul in my entire life. I believe with all my heart, I for that few minutes felt a portion of the very love of God. That He had overtaken my heart for a little while like someone renting a room and making Himself at home for a short while. The emotions were so strong and so pure that I knew they had to be God's. His hair was finally as soft and smooth as an infant's. I slipped the brush back in the bag, went around the chair to face him. I got back down on my knees, put my hands on his knees, and said,"Sir, do you know my Jesus?" He said, "Yes, I do." Well, that figures, I thought. He explained, "I've known Him since I married my bride." "She wouldn't marry me until I got to know the Savior." He said,"You see, the problem is, I haven't seen my bride in months. I've had open-heart surgery, and she's been too ill to come see me. I was sitting here thinking to myself. What a mess I must be for my bride." Only God knows how often He allows us to be part of a divine moment when we're completely unaware of the significance. This, on the other hand, was one of those rare encounters when I knew God had intervened in details only He could have known. It was a God moment, and I'll never forget it. He knows if you're exhausted because you're hungry, you're serving in the wrong place or it is time to move on but you feel too responsible to budge. He knows if you're hurting or feeling rejected. He knows if you're sick or drowning under a wave of temptation. Or He knows if you just need your hair brushed.