Well, hello there!

Hi! I almost forgot I had a blog. Although, it's only been two weeks, but that's a long time in the blogging world. November is over and to tell you the truth, it's kind of a blur. I did remember a few things. I am not going to include everything, but there is a couple of stuff to share.

While learning of Thanksgiving, Joey bravely raised his hand, and informed his teacher that he was Native American. After school that day, his teacher asked what tribe we were. She was very surprised that I was full blooded Navajo and Joey was half. She then asked if I could do a short presentation for the class. I agreed and I now plan to go to his class some time in December. We have been practicing our Navajo. I must admit, I don't know how to speak our language, except for a few basic sentences and words. However, Joey is so eager to learn, we have been practicing together. We use this website, gomyson.com to learn basic pronunciation. Check it out, it's a good website.
He has also shown interest in learning to read and write Chinese. His grandparents speak Cantonese. He can understand what his grandparents say to him, but he is still learning to speak the language. Pronunciation is the key and that is what we are currently working on. I am proud that he is eager to learn and has embraced his multicultural background. Joey is doing very well in school and continues to learn new things every day. I am so proud of him. 

I love this kid.

For the past few weeks, I have been involved with helping families who were affected by hurricane Sandy. Church members from all over the city and the surrounding area, have been volunteering with the clean up. They have worked tirelessly, every weekend for the past month. They have helped hundreds of families. It's pretty amazing to see people from all over, give their time and effort to help those in need. Right now, our ward is helping out a neighborhood in Brooklyn, called Gerritsen Beach. They were hit pretty bad and were somewhat forgotten. Or rather, they didn't quite get the media coverage, therefore, no one really knew how bad their neighborhood was hit. I live about a mile away from this neighborhood. I know the area and I really wanted to help, but I didn't know how. Soon, the opportunity to help arose and one Saturday, I spent the day removing sheet rock. I worked with awesome people and between the four of us, we managed to help four families. It was tiring and hard work, but I will always remember the people's faces, before and after we helped. Before, they seemed overwhelmed. Where does one begin? When we finished, they were so shocked we were able to do, what at that time, seemed almost impossible. Even I was shocked at what we accomplished. They were so grateful. Their faces, I will always remember. I had so much energy that day. I didn't even realize how tired I was until I got home. I have been helping every weekend since. This will be my fourth weekend. I didn't realize how much time, energy, and effort went into organizing volunteers and work orders. There has been hundreds of volunteers just in Gerritsen Beach alone. That is just within our ward. Imagine the number of volunteers in the tri-state area. We have a couple of people organizing and I saw first hand how chaotic it can get, when there are hundreds of volunteers in our small chapel. I also saw how messy it can get. I spent last weekend helping to organize and clean our chapel for Sunday service. We may not all be out there cleaning basements, but everyone in our ward has served and helped out in some way with the hurricane recovery. With that, I am thankful to be a part of such a wonderful ward and I am blessed to know such awesome people.

 

What our volunteers have been doing all around the tri-state area.

Speaking of awesome people, shout out to Tony, who has allowed me to serve every weekend. He has graciously kept his Saturdays open, so he could be with Joey, while I am helping. He has turned down the extra weekend shifts at work and has been holding the fort down at home. After everything winds down, I think a date night is in order. I love him so much.

November is the month we think of all that we are thankful for. I am so thankful for my loving family and the wonderful people in my life. I am grateful for the many blessings I have received this year. I am thankful to have a testimony of Jesus Christ and his Atonement. I am thankful for the gospel. Without it, I would not be the person I am today.

Okay, so maybe November was not such a blur after all. Bring on December!