Conference Favorites

Miles and I spent the weekend enjoying General Conference for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. What an uplifting and inspiring conference it was!

My favorite talk was probably given by Elder M. Russel Ballard, who spoke about how to share the practical facts about the Church. Though it is important to share one's testimony (in word and deed), quite often it is appropriate to just introduce the Church by giving the facts.

I was also touched by Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin's address. Midway through his address, Elder Wirthlin started shaking and breathing heavily to the point that it looked like he might not finish his talk. Elder Nelson walked up up behind Elder Wirthlin and gave him a steadying hand. Elder Wirthlin, barely able to stand, finished his message, and his remarks meant that much more. I was impressed with the love and concern Elder Nelson showed as he remained at Elder Wirthlin's side, stablizing him.

I'm curious--What did you enjoy about conference, and why?

Home

What is it about routine that makes life so much more comfortable? Our life is finally settling down. Irvine is starting to feel like home. The last couple weeks have been really good just because I've found my pace. Call me boring but I love the fact that I know everyday I will wake up at the same time, go to work, meet Miles for lunch, walk home, go to the gym, shower, make dinner and enjoy the rest evening with my husband. Ah, it's just peaceful you know? It doesn't give me much to blog about, but I feel very content.

Our life isn't without it's thrills though. Miles and I were just given a new calling in our ward--we're now Nursery Leaders in one of the FOUR nurseries. This calling is going to be a real stretch for both of us. Neither one of us has served in this capacity before, we're a bit nervous. Our last married ward didn't even have a Nursery. But I know we'll learn so much by interacting with these children together, and hopefully learn to be less judgmental and better parents. Last week was our first week with the little ones, and we had a blast! You can't beat eating goldfish and blowing bubbles during church! In the lesson we learned all about the importance of the home. We discovered that birds live in trees, turtles live in the water, and giraffes live on land. It's amazing how much you can learn from such a simple lesson. Being comfortable in my own home is more essential to me now more than ever. Our apartment is nothing fancy, but it is our sanctuary. The picture included in this post is one of my favorites entitled "Walking with God" by Morgan Weistling. A print of it hangs in our home. It shows Joseph teaching his young son, our Savior, to walk. I love how it illustrates the importance of rearing children.

A Tribute to President James E. Faust

I'm sure most of you have heard by now that President James E. Faust, 2nd counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, passed away last night of "causes incident to age".

The news had a bigger impact on me than I expected. Though I have never met President Faust in person he has always touched my heart through his many addresses and by his great example. He was such a sweet man of God. I'd like to share a couple of my personal favorite stories about President Faust.

While attending the Seminar for New Mission Presidents held annually at the Missionary Training Center in Provo, President Faust was being wheeled down a hallway being cleared by security. President Faust told the young man pushing him to stop so he could "say hello to his fellow servants." He was such a humble servant of the Lord.

Another story about Pres. Faust was shared by Elder Eyring, again at the New Mission President Seminar. Elder Eyring told of the time when he and his wife found out that his mother-in-law had passed away. Before mentioning it to anyone, Elder and Sister Eyring received a phone call from President Faust offering his condolences. He had been prompted to call and offer his support. What a remarkable example of spiritual sensitivity!

Stand as a Witness

For the first time in my life I am feeling "different" than everyone else. I now see that growing up in Utah and attending BYU was like living in somewhat of a "cookie cutter world." Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of amazing people who I admire and look up to in these Latter-Day Saint dense communities. I knew that moving to California would be a major culture shock and thought I was pretty prepared for the utterly different world I was about to enter. It's a bit harder to adjust than I expected. You might call it a minor identity crisis--the vastly different environment has forced me to think about who I really am and rethink my priorities. Most importantly I've been able to analyze my faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I have realized that I do have my own testimony of the Plan of Salvation and that every aspect of my life reflects my devotion to Christ--the importance I place on my husband and family, how I spend my free time, how I dress, my language, how I carry myself, and how I treat other people. I look around and see so many people who do not have the gift of the gospel in their lives. I often wonder why I have been so blessed. I'm beginning to understand both the difficulty and importance of missionary work. Now more than ever I feel I need to stand as a witness of God (Mosiah 18:9).

Farewell to Graduate Studies

Well now that we made it to California and have our computer set up I can finally post about a memoir that I wrote up about working at BYU's Graduate Studies office. I started there in December 2004 as a Special Projects intern (pretty much a glorified front desk back-up). When we got married, April 2005, they promoted me to Data Analyst. As Data Analyst I grabbed statistics from the University database and made up reports for BYU's administration. It was a great job and really pushed my limits. I loved working at Graduate Studies.

When I was getting ready to leave, Bonnie asked if I would be willing to write up something on my experience working as a student at Graduate Studies. It turned into a memoir…of sorts.

Working @ GS
A tongue-in-cheek memoir by Miles Pomeroy
My experience working with Graduate Studies has turned me into a nerd. At least this is the way that my wife likes to phrase it. I see it more as enriching my understanding of various algorithmic protocols designed to cultivate the extensibility of aggregate collaboration orchestration; with a few parties to spice it up.

If I were to ask myself, “Self, what is the best thing about working at Graduate Studies?” I would most enthusiastically respond, “The parties, most definitely.” The parties have brought us together as an office. They have introduced the lowly intern in the backroom to the perky secretary at the front desk. In a phrase, forgive me if I am being too cliché, we work hard but we also play hard.

The atmosphere of the office has greatly benefited from an abundant diversity. We have straight arrow, spartan types like Janice, Sarah, Meg, and Cathi; who are balanced out by easy-going, loquacious types like James, JeNeal, Jared, and Terilee. We also have quiet, benevolent types like Claire, Breann, Derence, and Christijan; who are balanced out by loud, vivacious types like Amy, Kevin, Bonnie, and Jolene.

Seriously though, I have been very impressed by the amount of trust I have been given as a student employee. Both James and Bonnie have let me take the reins on all of my projects. They have not micromanaged, but have given me a vision and then allowed me the opportunity to create the reality as I see it.

I have had the opportunity in this position to learn many skills that I previously did not have. My supervisors gave me time to increase my depth in Access, but also to explore mysql, html, php, and css. I believe that I have been able to use these new skills to improve my value to this office.

I have felt an equal with the full-time staff. I have been treated as such and believe that I have tried to perform as such.

MTC Farewell

Lately I've been feeling really nostalgic and reflective about the 4 years I've spent working at the Missionary Training Center. I was hired as a secretary in the Media (Audio/Visual) department before I had taken one college class. Honestly I have no idea why they hired a young 18 year old girl with absolutely no secretary experience, but it's a good thing they took a chance on me. Working at the MTC, both as a secretary and office manager, gave me ample opportunities to learn, grow, and gain more self-confidence. I know the Lord's hand was involved. I even met Miles indirectly by working at the MTC (which has been the greatest blessing of them all). While working at the MTC, I have felt the fire of missionary work. I look forward to serving a mission with Miles some day.

Just a little explanation for the picture above. This huge map of the world is a very common backdrop for missionary pictures. Most missionaries will get a picture taken of them pointing to where they will be serving. So as you can see, I'm pointing to Provo, UT. I guess you might say I served a 4 year mission at the MTC (however, I was paid).

The collage of pictures probably won't mean too much to you, but they are images I encountered EVERYDAY at work. Some of the pictures include: the skirt I wore just about everyday for 4 yrs, the chair I was often glued to, the name tag I wore, the decorating kits I checked out to teachers, and the missionaries I interacted with. It's strange to think Wednesday is my last day. I will miss it.

Green Thumb

Well, I know this is a silly post, but I had to show off my beautiful flower pot! Never in my life have I been able to cultivate and care for a plant of any kind, and this one is flourishing! My brother, Rick, gave the plant to Miles and I for our graduation present (notice BYU blue and white flowers). Rick is now working in a greenhouse in St. George and is planning to be married in September to beautiful Danelle. We were able to hang our flower pot right outside our front door, thanks to our manager jerry-rigging a wire hanger for us.

At our new place in California, there is a community garden. Miles and I have been craving the opportunity to work outside and get our hands dirty in our own little garden. But, because neither of us have had much success in gardening, we think we'll start easy and plant things like tomatoes and peppers--we could at least make homemade salsa!

Deana's Card

I've now worked at the Missionary Training Center in Provo for 4 years! Two years ago, Deana, a new sister missionary, was assigned to work as a secretary in my office. Her story is truly heartbreaking. Her tale includes living through breast cancer, struggling through chemotherapy, while at the same time divorcing her husband who left her for a younger woman. Through all this, Deana has been a shining example of endurance and strength. Over the past couple years, Deana and I have become really close. Today was her farewell party. To tell her thank you, the people in my office and I made her a card. The design was inspired by the Brady Bunch. I took pictures of everyone in the office looking toward the center of the card at Deana's picture. All the employees in my office signed the inside of the giant card. She loved it to say the least!