In Utah With Gratitude

I am here in Utah. This is really happening!!! :D

I flew out of Alaska on Monday night around 10:30 pm Alaska time. I arrived in Denver about 5:45 local time. And my final flight into Salt Lake City landed about 9:30 am local time. My aunt picked me up and I got to be with her family in Draper for a few days.

On Thursday afternoon I checked into my apartment. It's actually in a hotel! My room mate is great; we have a lot in common and get along very well. The best part about my apartment, aside from the cheap rent, is that.. Temple Square is super close! There's just JB's Restaurant and a street separating the hotel and Temple Square. How cool is that?!

I walked around Temple Square on Thursday after unpacking most of my belongings. When I returned I was able to meet my room mate.

Friday was orientation. All the new students, and their parents if they came along, met in the amphitheater outside. It was like an assembly. Then we broke into smaller groups and played getting-to-know-you games. There was lots of information and getting-to-know-you games. Lots of fun. And free food!

Today was more of a spiritual day. The president of the college talked to us, a few returning students bore their testimonies about how they have grown while attending LDS Business College. We had some group unity games. And we had classes about life and school, how to balance it, and embrace the fact that we will be able to talk about the Gospel in class!

Tonight we hiked to Ensign Peak. It was pretty. But I could see so many houses and buildings. It started getting dark as we descended and all the city lights turned on. When you see city lights from afar they are pretty. It was great knowing that some of the Pioneers and Church leaders have walked that same place as me. The view was pretty, but my small-town-girl-heart was bursting at the seams. I long to see open spaces again. Yes, climbing up the hill helped a bit. But the actual top part of the hill is the only part that is uninhabited. Seeing as how there are signs and ropes throughout the entire trail though, I guess it's not quite open space. It was the closest I'll be to 'open spaces' for a while though, so I enjoyed it.

On the drive back we were able to see the State Capitol lit up. What a sight. I'll never see that in Alaska. That's the only thing I've seen that can even compare to what the White House looks like.

The coolest part of the evening was not the hike itself or the view, it was something that happened on the hike.  Two of the mentors to all of the new students have to use wheelchairs if they want to be mobile at all. Imagine taking a wheelchair up a hill. It was not flat ground, the majority of the hike was going uphill. Imagine having to   push the wheels of the wheelchair all by yourself. Would you make it to the top by yourself?
Those two mentors didn't even have to ask. One of the mentors had several men help him push his wheelchair up the hill so that he could see the view at the top. Right before getting to actual Ensign Peak there is an area of rocks that is hard to maneuver just when walking, I do not know how those men were able to help the man in the wheelchair across those rocks. But when that man was able to see the view he was radiant. Gratitude could be seen in his face. And the men who helped him up were exhausted but you could see in their eyes a love for the Savior and for the new friend that they made as they provided him a service.
The other mentor had help with her wheelchair as well. However, her wheelchair was harder to maneuver. After some time, the woman was taken out of the wheelchair and several men let her ride on their backs as they made their way up to Ensign Peak. That woman was also radiant when she got to the top. She was only able to see a little bit of the view since she sat for most of her time at Ensign Peak. But her face showed the gratitude that was in her heart and the joy that she got from that experience. The men that helped her were exhausted, but they all assisted her back down safely.

I'm so grateful that I have the opportunity to be here at LDS Business College. I know I'm here because the Lord has a plan for me. I've only glimpsed a speck of that plan but I hope and pray that I will stay strong, learn all that the Lord would have me learn, and that I can fulfill my Heavenly Father's plan for me while I attend LDS Business College.

I have not yet been able to attend the temple, but I hope I will be able to very, very soon.