Staying Focused

It is interesting that even though I have the most difficult semester I have ever had at BYU, I am still afloat in all my classes and have spent so much time with my Aussie and helping her in transferring to BYU. She is an animation major which may be part of the total explanation why we have so much in common... goofy, creative, kid-at-heart, etc. Anyways, I never realized how hard it is for international students to study here in America. The hoops they have to jump through are a mile long and then some. But so far, I feel like we have been able to navigate them with a lot of helped from loved ones and I have a feeling that she will be able to pull off the miracle of getting accepted. The original plan was for her to finish her Bachelor's degree over in Australia and then get accepted into a Master's program here at BYU. The catch is there is no Master's program and so we have been rushing to get everything together before the February 1st deadline. It feels like sometimes that there is one hill after another but we have been faithful and miracle after miracle has kept us on track. Nevertheless, any prayers would be appreciated.

Back to how things have been going... in a word, amazing. I feel like we have been able to stay moving forward at a good pace and though I still dread her leaving February to go back home to Australia, I know that we will be able to make it through. We have done so many fun things together. I had no idea that black light mini-golfing was so hilarious and so much fun! We also spent some time up at Park City, have been traveling around Utah doing baptisms for the dead weekly if at all possible, and this weekend we are going to head to Idaho Falls to just recover and relax from the classes and the stress generated from the transfer process. She has been a real trooper through all of it and I can't even begin to say how grateful I have been for the support of my parents in helping us through all of it, the support of her family back in Australia in getting things together in such short notice, and of course God for His hand in all of this.

If there is one thing that has come to my attention it is the fact that it is we really support one another. She tries to make sure I get done the things I need to do for my classes and I am trying to be there for her through everything she has had to last few weeks: figure out how to get paperwork sorted from across the globe, conference calling her parents, talking and setting up appointments with church and school officials and professors, and trying to get her credits transferred. All the time we have been strong on the outside even though I am sure we are both exhausted on the inside. We have handled the pressure and stress of it all with faith and maturity and of course a lot of outside help. But I guess what I am trying to say is that we lean on each other, we trust each other, and by working together, these situations we are navigating are helping our feelings for one another deepen and grow.

I try to plan little trips or activities that we can do that are unique to America and we have done some of those things but we still have so much we want to do. She has gone bungee jumping off the Sky Jump on her trip to Las Vegas, had a blast at Disneyland in California, and we still need to go skiing at Sundance and snowshoeing up at Aspen Grove. I swear that there is never enough time in the day to do everything that you want and need to do. Still we make do with the time we have and enjoy the little things we get to do together. Anyways, I don't think I have ever been happier, confident, and more focused. So I ask everyone to do me this little favor and pray for us. Pray that she can be admitted to BYU and their animation program. It is not every day that we get the opportunity to follow our dreams.