3 Important Things I've Found at BYU-Hawaii

I've said this many times... Brigham Young University-Hawaii is a place where you can find three important things:
1. eternal truths
2. eternal friends
3. eternal companion (this is true for me)

WHY ETERNAL TRUTHS?

Here at BYU-Hawaii, I’ve come to understand more eternal truths not only with secular knowledge, but with eternal principles of the gospel. I have learned to embrace learning through the classes I’ve attended, the activities I've joined, the trainings I’ve had at work, etc. In this university, I have come to know myself better. I have learned to develop leadership skills that I wasn’t aware of until I stood up & asked, “how could I help?” I’ve come to discover & develop the talents and skills necessary in building the kingdom of God. BYUH is definitely a place where one can learn eternal truths.

ETERNAL FRIENDS ---

Being away from home, without family, is not an easy thing. During my first few months here, I was homesick; but because of wonderful friends who cheered me up, church leaders who expressed their genuine concern, and teachers who showed extra care, I was able to find my “ohana,” my family. I gained many friends from all over the world. I've had teachers that were very helpful and supportive. They were so kind, but not kind enough to give us the answers to our exams… I am truly grateful to them, to all my eternal friends, for teaching me real lessons in life...

To:

*Joanah - for teaching me to always be cheerful no matter what your circumstances may be. She also taught me how to make maja blanca and tapsilog.

*Ann - for teaching me to see all things in positive ways. She has taught me how to write better essays and business plans. Talk about wedding decorations...she's the best at it...This girl is just amazingly smart and talented!!!

*Aissa - my childhood friend who took our engagement photos.

*Hannah - for helping me when I was learning to breastfeed my first baby. I remember how frustrated I was! ;-(

*JV (the cooking wizard), Amabel (my gym partner,clown, and make-up artist), Liezel (my seamstress when I won't fit into my wedding gown), Becky (my accountant who files my tax returns), Janet (katukayo) - my ahjummas for life!!!

*Sheila, Gny- for sharing with me how to bake the best banana bread! Yum yum!

*Lois - for sharing with me her scrapbooking and baby feeding techniques. We got babies close to age...

*Apple- for teaching me how to stand and fight for your own principles. She fought many wars for me.

*Ckaz, Joann, and Sheena - for teaching me practicality, showing me I didn't have to buy everything. Thanks to my freebie queens!

*April - for showing a great example of honesty and integrity. By the way, she can massage!!!

*Ate Maidy, Ate Bel, Ate Dha, and Ate May- for being mentors and wonderful examples of supermoms.

*Tinky, Jo ann, Aketa, Esther, and Anita- The best roommates ever...

*Larry, Emong, Zing, Aprilon, George, Tom, and all the hale boys - my gay, I mean guy friends...

*Sam - for going to the beach with me, taking the kids out, and most importantly, teaching me how to BLOG!

*To all my other friends who has been a part of my experience at BYUH, I thank you.

ETERNAL COMPANION

Lastly, this is the most exciting part and my favorite part…It is true for me that BYU-Hawaii is a place where you can find your eternal companion. After breaking up a long distance relationship, I meet this wonderful man...a man of integrity as what his bishop describes him. He is very kind, loving, hardworking, smart, and of course...good looking. Now I am convinced with the statement that more hardworking you are on your mission, the more talented and good-looking your spouse will be. I suspect that my husband must have worked 24 hours during his mission.*Wink*

You may never know how much grateful I am to have the opportunity to study here at BYU-Hawaii. I am grateful for the truths that I have learned, the friends that I've gained, and the eternal companion that I've found here. I know it is not by accident that we are here at BYU-Hawaii, and that there is a purpose why God sent us here to this institution of higher learning. As David O. Mckay promised, "From this school, will go men and women whose influence will be felt for good towards the establishment of peace internationally." It is my testimony that as we strive to value and apply the things that we have learned from this university, the Lord will bless us, blessings beyond comprehension, and even eternal blessings...

(Adapted from my Graduation Speech, BYU-Hawaii, Dec 2008)

Kalea at the Hospital

At some point in our lives, we as parents will experience having a sick child. I want to share with you some of my thoughts and an analogy that helped me gain a deeper understanding of the gospel.

This happened on October 2010. My daughter Kalea got gastroenteritis (a viral infection causing her vomiting and really bad diarrhea), then she got dehydrated and had high fevers. We've been back & forth to the ER and on Sunday, she was confined. They put her on IV so she can have enough fluids in her body and some medicine so she can fight the infection.

When I was at the hospital, I couldn't bear the pain seeing Kalea suffer. They have to inject IV on her hand, draw blood from her tiny fingers everyday, swab her butt, and wake her up when she just fell asleep just to check her blood pressure and temperature. She was a 16-month old toddler! It was very very difficult for me to see her suffering this way. But through this experience, I've learned a great lesson about the atonement of Christ. I realized that what I was feeling was probably what Heavenly Father felt when his only son Jesus Christ was nailed to the cross and suffered death. In the scriptures, it said "God hid his face in the clouds" so he couldn't see the excruciating pain his son was suffering. That's how lonely, hurt, and pained He was. As a parent, I have felt the same for my daughter. Now, I have a greater understanding and appreciation of the atonement of Jesus Christ and the great love of our Heavenly Father for his son, and for all of us...His spirit children.

I just watched the conference today and I felt the need to write in my blog. Elder Utchdorf counseled that we should use technology to share the gospel. I realized that I have a blog, but I'm not really writing much on it. So today, I decided that I will use this blog to share my joys and my sorrows, and how the gospel of Christ has blessed my life. ;-)