Bite me doggie

So just a little while ago, I was walking along the streets here by Liahona and I saw someone I knew from school. I had the evening all to myself so I talked for a bit. Let me just tell you, dating in Tonga is a different animal.

I asked her about dating, more specifically dating for fun, and she said that dating for fun is like being a player. That is not cool. I believe in dating for fun as well as dating seriously. In fact, I think too many people date seriously too often. I asked because I wanted to go on a couple of dates while I was here. I am not sure if I am going to now. We shall see.

In any event, we finished talking and I was going to finish my stroll then go home. I started walking up the road so I could loop around to the main road. She told me not to go that way. "The dogs will bite you", she skeptically explained. "Well, if you see me come back this way, you know I got scared", I casually replied.

I was not too worried at first because when I had come that way earlier there really weren't many dogs. However, not a hundred meters up the street sat half a dozen rowdy dogs.

This is the point in the story where the end is basically decided. Now I have been working on increasing my faith lately by a helpful recommendation of a close friend, and I figured that this would be a good time to trust in the Lord. So I silently asked that if I went down this simple road, would I be safe. I felt the spirit and I went. I did pick up a stick though.

I calmly walked up the street and got closer to the dogs to find that there were more than I thought there would be. I did feel a bit nervous but I held on to that trust I had in the Lord. This worry proved to be useless as I passed the dogs.

While thinking back upon the experience, I realized that I did not ask for a miracle. I simple asked if I would be safe. I got my answer and push forth with trust. This my no means was anything bigger than a man walking by a bunch of dogs unharmed. However, I do believe that the Lord should be present in our lives more than he is and asking him for small things like this and listening for the spirit to confirm it is just fine. In fact, it is good because it builds gratitude and teaches one to lean upon the Lord more, which is not a bad thing.

I forget what virtue I need to work on next week, but perhaps I will share it. Only time will tell.

The island style

A few days ago I was madly running around trying to complete numerous tasks on my "To Do List" and the only thing that stopped me from finishing everything was my appointment to fly.

That is right, I flew to New Zealand and it sucked. Well, actually just the weather was bad - I did not realize that it was winter. The place was so dang cold and all I had to wear was thin shorts and a t-shirt. I had to borrow a blanket from the airlines to say alive. Also, we came on the only day that week that was rainy and windy. Everything else was fantastic though. In fact, I really fell in love with the place, even after only a couple of hours. It is easy to see why the New Zealanders are so patriotic.

With so little said, that was only a fraction of my first New Zealand visit. So much more went on. I am at Tonga right now with not enough time to expound. I will write again.

Words don't hurt

Self discovery is fantastically important. I just get sick of it sometimes. The hunger always comes back though.

Given a seemingly simple decision, I made it more complicated yet finally reached a verdict. I will be going to Tonga this summer for an internship and I am going to love it! I will find out the details tomorrow, but those don't worry me. Too often do I miss the details but still cut it.

What is to be done? I know not.