Navi's Greats
- moments that is
This video was an attempt to catch her "dancing" to Dora. Instead, she decided to show off her walking skills.
So here's the proof:
Well, after looking through all the videos we took, I realized we did get an ok one of her dancing. This is mild compared to some of her great moments, but at least we got something.
Earthquakes
A few years from now we will all be able to look back and say, remember 2010 and all its earthquakes? Well, assuming we even live a few more years cause after all, 2012 is just around the corner. Who doesn't believe the Mayans? No but seriously, it is kinda scary.
Almost four years ago, I received the worst early morning phone call I have ever received. The one when my dad called me and Nate to tell us we needed to get to the hospital immediately. The one we got when we found out my mom wasn't going to be living much longer.
I will never forget the awful, gut-wrenching, too-horrible-for-words feeling I had when I heard the phone ring at 4:30 AM on April 17, 2006. I knew what the purpose of the call was before Nate even answered the phone. I can also remember the only words I could string together after he hung up. "So this is how it goes then, huh?"
Obviously the memory of that day isn't easy to talk about, and the only reason I mention it is because on the morning of February 27, 2010, I had a very similar experience. (for the feeling anyway)
I had 5 minutes left on the treadmill (another reason this morning was unique - it's probably the only time I've EVER been on the treadmill that early) and in the middle of my workout playlist (some sped up techno version of "Big Girls Don't Cry" - irony in its own right) my phone ditched Fergie and started playing Michael Buble's "Home". Aka, my family's ringtone. I hesitated to answer, thinking, I've only got five more minutes...I'll call them back when I'm done and not so out of breath...but something (more like someone - I think the Holy Ghost) told me I needed to answer.
Panting and breathing heavy, I answered the phone expecting to hear one of my little sisters with another one of their odd requests. So when I heard my dad's voice I was taken back, and his question took away any breath I had left. "Have you been watching the news this morning?"
I didn't know what was on the news or who it was about, but all of the sudden I felt like I was sitting up in bed at 4:30 AM, four years ago in the first apartment Nate and I lived in, just a month after our wedding.
Back in reality, my dad continued to tell me there had been an earthquake in Chile. One that measured 500 times stronger than the one Haiti experienced. (and we all know how bad Haiti's was) The phone call might seem odd considering Chile is a far away South American country I've never been to, but when you take into account that it's the country where my 20 year old brother is serving a mission, its significance isn't questioned.
I immediately turned on the first news channel I could find. Which was infact harder than normal because it was a Saturday morning. My shaking fingers finally found CNN and some of the first images I saw resembled this:
My dad asked me to check my email to see if by some chance Cade had been able to write us and when he hadn't, my dad said he was going to try and call the Church Office Building in Salt Lake to attempt to get some answers.
After waking Nate, we sat paralyzed in front of the TV while images of more crumpled buildings cluttered the screen. When one taken in Vina del Mar (the main city of Cade's mission) flashed on, it's fair to say I didn't take Fergie's advice.
The next 2 hours felt like 6 as we tried to contact someone who could give us an answer. Finally around 9:30 I was able to reach a woman at the Church Office Building. She asked what mission my brother was in and when I told her, there was a short pause as she replied, "All the missionaries in Vina del Mar are safe and accounted for."
After relaying the message to my family, I was able to breath normally again and we spent the rest of the day hoping for an email or call from my brother.
Later that afternoon we recieved this:
Hey People,
President called and told everyone to write their families to tell them that we are ok. We felt the earthquake at about 3:30 last night. It was pretty strong. It woke everybody up, and it lasted for about 30 seconds. It felt like I was on some kind of kids ride or something. But after it ended we just went back to sleep. We didnt even get out of bed. Nothing at all happened here. The power was off in the morning. Hey the zone leaders just called me, and said we could call you guys. I bet everybody and their dogs, are calling the mission office. Glad I`m not there. Talk to you in a few.
You have to know my brother in order to fully appreciate this email, but I'm sure you can gather that he is one of the most chilled-out, low-key, relaxed people you will ever meet. But seriously, "We just went back to sleep. We didn't even get out of bed." It's good thing there are thousands of miles between us or I might have slapped him.
However, Nate did remind me that for missionaries, experiencess like these are completely different when compared to a normal person. Since they don't have any form of communication to the outside world like TV or internet (in their apartment), they don't know the severity of the situation. So when Cade was lucky enough to experience a mild version of the quake; he had no idea that 5 or 6 hours later in the U.S., we were all watching the devastation from hardest hit areas and freaking out.
In the end, I'm so grateful that my brother and all the other missionaries in Chile were protected. Not a coincidence by any means. He was in one of the Northern most areas of his mission and about as far away from epicenter as he could possibly be. Which I like to think is also not a coincidence. I'm grateful he's safe and I continue to pray for his safety. And I'm also grateful I was spared of another horrific morning to add to my list.
Here is the email he sent us on the Monday after the quake:
(and no, he's never been one for greetings or salutations. It falls under his low-key personality trait, and for him it's the fewer words the better)
Hey,
So yeah this week was a little different. I cant even remember what day it was, friday I guess, that the earthquake happened. So we were sleeping, then I woke up and everything was just rocking back and forth, It was pretty strong, but not enough to do any damage. It lasted for about 30 or 40 seconds, which is quite a while when you think about it. In the morning the power was off, and that day the water was out, I guess for some damage, but nothing much happened here in La Serena. In the morning we were laughing, because we got a text in the morning that told everybody to stay in their houses. We didnt know it was that strong even in Viña. But I guess there was some damage in Viña and Valparaiso, and everything from there on south just got hammered. A member in our ward was at the temple that day, and the trumpet of the angel Moroni fell off, but that was all that happened to the Temple. I have only seen on news of what its like down in the south. People tell us all about it, but every story is different. So we dont really know that well. I dont think any of our mission will be helping in any major clean up, but like i said I dont know how bad it is in Viña. It was funny though, because yesterday there were about 20 innactive people that all came to church. It makes me mad sometimes how people dont need God when everything is fine and dandy. So we just worked normally the rest of the week. We had a baptism on Saturday, another 9 year old girl. There are so many children around here, that their parents want baptized, but we are just going to find families, and men who can help in the church. That is what the ward needs. We put a fecha yesterday with a 17 year old girl, who is excited to get baptized. She told us how she felt the spirit so strong in the baptism on Saturday. She said she couldnt stop looking at us when, we were in the font, and how she felt such a strong feeling when I actually baptized the girl. I love the ward I am in right now, I hope I stay here for a while. I have so many great experiences each day, I cant count them. I am so glad I have the chance to be on a mission right now. In my district we had 4 baptisms this weekend, so we are really doing well. Our zone is putting up the best numbers in the mission, so its great to have so much success.
We were supposed to have changes today, but it looks like they will be postponed until next week, because the new missionaries cant land in Santiago, because the airport isnt working for a few days, is what I hear. So maybe next week, we will have changes. Well have a great week.
(love you little brother)
Things That Keep Me Awake(love you little brother)
Which could also be traded out for Yellow Cake and Tummy Aches
This section is mostly because I like to rhyme in 3s and I couldn't just leave they blog title with "Navi's Greats and Earthquakes". But also to remind myself of the things that have been keeping me up at night lately, in hopes that I won't let them happen again.
Note(s) to self:
- On days when you go to school on campus, try and at least eat a few HEALTHY snacks throughout the day. DO NOT by any means let yourself go from 11:00 AM to 11:00 PM with only a pack of Hostess crumb doughnuts and Diet Coke to sustain you. You might be tempted to pig out around midnight and shove yourself silly with chips and salsa, pasta with spaghetti sauce, and a big piece of yellow cake (with chocolate frosting) even though common sense tells you it isn't such a good idea. As a result you WILL be up all night with a horrendous tummy ache and at 6 AM you won't be able to sleep anymore. (Hence, the writing of this blog post)
- Also, during any semesters proceeding this one, when you get the urge to complain about homework or writing a paper, just try and place yourself back in the spring semester of 2010 when you had nightmares containing little beauties like these:
KE = 1/2mv^2 , kg m2/s2 = J , GPE = mass x g x height above zero
or
"How many Joules of GPE does a 5 kg cat have when it is sitting on a tree branch 5m above the surface of the Earth?"
Yeah...remember that when you want to complain.
Especially since you missed the day on KE (kinetic energy) due to a sick baby, only to find out that is one of the most important parts of your exam...NEXT WEEK. Remember.
In other words, if anyone reading this is a Physics scholar, I'd take any help I can get. Preferably by next Tuesday....please.
