Devonotional

For how busy I have been recently, I feel as though nothing has been accomplished. It is dead week right now, and then finals are next week. I can see exhausted students returning to their apartments after studying in the library all day. I'm realizing that someday I am going to have to change my study habits. Currently I can get by with an A in a class from doing the bare minimum amount of work. Rarely have I felt the need to study for a final. There has been the occasional class that throws me for a loop, like my business calculus class last term, but even then I only asked for outside help once or twice the entire term. Someday I will be in 300 and 400 level classes and THEN I will be in real trouble, and I will look like one of those exhausted students wandering around campus. 

I do have some big news, although it's in the early stages of planning and nothing is for sure yet. My supervisor just returned from nearly a month and a half in India visiting the hostels and orphanages that we sponsor. He too over 800 pictures and we sat down with him while he told us about his trip from start to finish. So many stories! He even wrote a song listing all the villages he went to and sung it to the tune of the Johnny Cash song "I've Been Everywhere." Later that day I was talking with mom about my desire to visit different places around the world. I've been volunteering for WCI since August and still feel very unemotional about the kids there. I see their pictures and hear stories about how they came to the orphanage, yet at the same time it all seems surreal. I guess because I am so unfamiliar with poverty and it is not as prevalent here as it is in India. So I am making steps to change that. I think that if I see it more, it will be easier for me to comprehend it Many of you are familiar with the Touch Project. Mom and dad sponsor a 17 year old boy there. Well, I worked with Alice Rampton on the recent Stake Women's Conference and she is also in charge of the Touch Project. Mom suggested that I send her an email asking when the next trip to Uzhhorod, Ukraine is. So I did. I asked her about cost, duration of the trip and so forth. Alice emailed me the next day giving me  the details of the trip: mid-September for about 10 days, and fairly low expenses. She asked if she should put me on the "interested list," and I said YES!  I don't know how many people are wanting to go.  So far I know that Alice and Mark Rampton, and Sabra Killen are going.  It would be awesome if I could go. I would get to meet the boy that mom and dad sponsor, take the kids on their yearly shopping trip, see some sights, and the biggie for me: I wont be traveling ALONE! The main reason I want to go it for humanitarian purposes though, although visiting Prague for a day sounds amazing. I really want to open my eyes to what is going on in the world. Fingers crossed that this whole thing works out. 

Let's see, what else is going on? I'm moving back into mom and dad's house after finals next week. Then traveling down to Fort Bragg to visit the Richardson's! (p.s. Kelly, I plan on kick starting my running with you and Josh. I still haven't even begun to prepare for the 5k.) When I get back to Corvallis, it's back to work, 3 Institute classes, and volunteering for WCI. That should keep me busy, right? I hope so. 

Other than that, not much is going on. I am still a religious Office and 30 Rock watcher and need to catch up on Lost. Jessie and Erik were discussing Lost in front of me last night and I was so confused! So much can happen in just a few episodes.