Stud of the Month - October 2008; A Tribute to President

I had only been in Nice about two weeks when I attended my first Zone Conference under the direction of our mission president, President Wilcox. Each mission has a defined geographic area, and they are divided into smaller geographic areas called zones. In our mission, the zones were made up of a large city or two and all of the surrounding towns. Those portions of the mission meet together once a month in a meeting called a Zone Conference. In our mission, President was always in attendance. My trainer and I were stationed in Nice and the zone conference was in a nearby town. On the train ride to the zone conference in the wee hours of the morning, I wrote a letter to my friend Jake (prior SOTM) about how frustrated I was that I the language wasn't coming more quickly.

So there I was, as new as could be, sitting at my first zone conference, with my notebook dutifully opened. As I listened to the speakers, I took notes from the words of the speakers and made personal notes in the margins of my impressions. When President (as we called him) got up to speak, at one point he addressed me directly and said, 'Sister Methot, do you ever feel frustrated about the language?' I was shocked. How, amid all of the missionaries did he think to ask me? It was as if he could read my mind. As he went on to speak, I became even more shocked as he quoted several of the notes I had written in the margins of my notebook. I knew that he had no idea what I'd written in the margins, nor what I'd written Jake in my letter earlier that morning. That was when I came to realize what an inspired man under whose direction I would be serving for the next eighteen months.

This past weekend a friend from my mission came to visit. We talked well into the night about what an amazing person President Wilcox is. Story after story revealed his patience and love for us missionaries. He was so kind, so patient, so understanding, so forgiving time and time again. On the flip side, we were so young, so selfish, so immature, yet he saw the better side of us. He believed in us...I don't know how. I will say that both he and Sister Wilcox were amazing. Really, they taught by example how to be Christlike.

In a way, he was like the Bishop of Digne (reference to Les Miserables). His actions were in line with what he taught. In his younger years he had served a three-year mission in France, so he was ever compassionate and aware of what we were going through. He really sought to understand, and always reacted with compassion.

Even after the mission, he volunteered to write a recommendation for me for law school. Never mind the fact that he was insanely busy, traveling between Paris, New York, and Colorado at the time. He was also humble. Rumor has it that he is beyond brilliant, but you'd never even get a hint of it from him. His demeanor is unassuming and quiet.

I wish there were a way to express how lucky I was to have him as my mission president and how much appreciation I feel for the quality of person that he is. Even seven years after the fact, I still have an ever growing sense of respect for the quality of person that he is. And gossip never hurts his case. The hidden stories only further reveal what a great job he did as our mission president.

Swearing In Ceremony

P.S. - This means I passed the bar!

A Snapshot of New Hampshire

Fall 2008 in NH. Enough said.

High School Tag

Your High School's Name-Manchester High School West (i.e. West High)

High School Colors- Blue and White

High School Mascot- a knight

Did you date anyone from your school? Sure did, although I NEVER expected I would. My freshman and sophomore years guys didn't even know I existed, and if they did they weren't kind to me. Then, Fred started calling. He was my first date. The spring of junior year, Chris and I began to go out and were an item throughout the rest of high school.

What kind of car did you drive? I didn't have a car. But, the priceless days with Kristi and the blue flame made up for any memories of my own car I could have wanted.

It's Friday night where are you? Freshman and sophomore year I was at home with the fam. Junior and Senior year I was at parties, church dances, or hangin' out with Chris, Kristi, Ethan, and other friends.

Were you a party animal? Hardly. But really, the parties (of the non-drinking sort) we did have I loved. We had a great group of friends and there was a party every other weekend junior and senior year.

Were you considered a flirt? Definitely not. I was way too shy and way too loyal to be a flirt of the real kind. But, I did flirt with Chris since he was a huge flirt.

Were you in band, orchestra, choir, or any other group? I ran track, sort of. Ethan, my brother, and I were on the cross country ski team our senior year.

Were you in any clubs? Yeah, but I don't remember all of them. National Honor Society...etc.

Did you ever get suspended or expelled? Rrrriiiiiiggggghhhhtttt. I probably missed three days of high school total, if even that.

Can you still sing the fight song? I am pretty sure we didn't have one. If we did, I didn't know about it and would have been too cool in my own mind to learn it if we did have one.

Who were your favorite teachers? Hummm...Mr. Labore [English]. He was so funny and incredibly easy. I was very lazy in high school and strategically picked my teachers for how easily I could get the grades I wanted with as little work as possible. Mr. Tripotsis [Chemistry], however, didn't go along with this plan. He was my most challenging teacher. I enjoyed his intelligence, but hated how hard I had to work in his class. I loved making fun of Mr. Snapple [Math], (no, that wasn't his real name, that was just what I called him.)

Where did you sit during lunch? Depends on the year. Freshman and sophomore years I sat with whoever was kind enough to let me sit with them. I was hopelessly shy. I had a couple of years sitting with Mike, Trisha, Dan, Jamie and the ROTC crew. Mike, Trisha, Jamie, Dan, they were all brilliant and incredibly funny. They recently found me on facebook. They haven't changed a bit. Junior and senior year I sat with Genevieve and Alyssa and other friends.

Who did you go to Homecoming with? We didn't have homecoming. I did go to the harvest dance with Fred my junior year.

Who did you go to Prom with? Chris and Chris.

If you could go back and re-do high school would you? I echo Sandy. No way!!

What do you remember about Graduation? My favorite picture is the one of Ethan, Holly, Me, Chris, Kristi, and Alyssa. I can see the picture from where I am sitting to write this blog entry. We are all smiles with our caps and gowns on. Someone gave us flowers. I still had a sunburn from a day on the beach. It was a great time.

Do you plan on going to your 10 year reunion, or if you already went what was it like? I didn't go. I was in the middle of law school when it happened. It was in NH and I was in MO finishing up school. Besides, I didn't have many friends in high school and I still keep in contact with most of the people who mattered to me.

I tag Kristi for sure and anyone else who wants to do this.

Hello Blogging Community

Well, the response of the blogging community for the Nielsons has been so amazing that it has been covered by the news. Hopefully they will be able to make it through. Certainly the prayers, donations, and supportive comments the family has gotten have been a great support. Don't we all wish for that in our rough times? Crazy how small the world can be sometimes. A guy in my ward happens to be related to Christian Nielson (cousins). He mentioned it a few Sundays ago and my roommate and I were like - hey, we follow that blog...

There is another tragedy that happened to a young family recently. This mother gave birth to her third child and her body had an unexpectedly miserable reaction. Because of it she went blind and doctors had to amputate one of her arms and a leg above the knee. Insurance is not covering many of the expenses. The costs are in the millions. If you want to read about it or help them out here are the links:

http://sccsdecker.blogspot.com/

http://sccsdecker.blogspot.com/2008/06/update-to-account-information.html

I think the weird thing about blogging is that it can be funny, whimsical, and also personal. But people somehow get to know you in the process, and they do care. Stephanie Nielson, for example had many people who had found her blog and were so affected by her accident that they took action and in a way set a precedence for what blogs can do. It really will make a difference. It just amazes me.

Studette of the Month - September 2008

I know what you are thinking...which of these is September's Studette of the Month. It was a tough pick, but I decided to go for the one in the middle. First of all, she is my roommate, so I get to observe her a little more closely than the other two. So, what makes Karen so great you wonder. Last time I was posed with this question, the poor guy got a 1/2 hour answer.

When Karen and I decided to be roommates, it was more out of convenience than friendship. She needed a roommate, I needed a new place to live...perfect. I knew she had a good sense of humor from a brief interaction at Family Home Evening, and that was about all I really knew about her.

When I moved in, she was out of town. As I unpacked, I observed her book collection (which includes the classics of Anne of Green Gables and Les Miserables) and her marathon medals, I was sure we'd get along well. My friend Dustin wondered how I could be so sure.

"The clues" I responded.

"Oh, so do you also have an obsession with honey?" Dustin asked. I had no idea what he was talking about. He pointed out an unopened box of honey on the dining room table. I was a little curious about the honey obsession, but otherwise she seemed like a great fit.

It shortly became evident that Karen is a people person. She is considerate to a depth that is exceptionally rare. She is always thoughtful of my situation and adapts accordingly. As my school schedule became more and more engrossing, Karen would come back from the social gatherings I could not attend and fill me in on how our friends were doing and pass on their hellos. I never felt left out or lonely even though I didn't do much of anything social for many, many months.

Karen is incredibly service oriented. If someone has done something kind for you and you can't figure out who it was...Karen is most likely top on your suspect list, if you have a clue. After she became my roommate, I kept getting thanked for things I never did. At one point a mutual friend was going on and on about how unusually kind it was for me to give him a birthday gift. It was so unlike me, blah, blah, blah. How right he was; I had nothing to do with the birthday gift. It was all Karen, with my name attached. I think she was cognizant of the fact that I wanted to be able to give, but I couldn't and thoughtfully attached my name even though I didn't deserve the credit.

Karen is honorable - through and through. I have a deep respect for her level of integrity. She always makes up lost time at work. She doesn't take discounts she isn't entitled to take. She has been more than fair in every interaction I've had with her. She gives more than she takes.

She is a leader in ways that she doesn't realize. It has been so interesting, as a roommate, to observe the ripple effect of her actions. I've watched her make dinners for many people when they were incredibly busy with school. Then I've watched those some of the same individuals offer to do the same for me when I was busy studying for the bar. I sat there wondering, where do people think to such fittingly kind things? Then it dawned on me, Karen. She set the example.

I had the same epiphany after a church mingle one Sunday. Before I went to her ward, she came home one Sunday and explained, somewhat frustrated, how everyone just up and left after they ate. So she stayed and cleaned until everything was done. When I joined her ward, inspired by her past comments, I followed Karen's example in the cleaning after, and so did a few of our friends. A month later, I realized that a great majority of the ward helped to clean up post-mingle. People just spontaneously joined in without even really noticing that a change had taken place.

It is not all that surprising to discover that at the root of Karen there is faith, deep, strong, vibrant faith. I have loved, LOVED living with a returned missionary. My mother is a returned missionary and have always loved the unique caliber of person found there. It is nice to be able to talk of miracles, the depth of love and faith that come with that level of service and sacrifice and meet comprehension.

You may wonder, does Karen have any flaws? Yes, she is most certainly human. But even her shortcomings are a reflection of how deeply she cares for people. It makes sense that she is well-loved by many.

In light of a year's worth of observation, our one person committee nominated Karen as September 2008 Studette of the Month.

Footnote 1 - She comes from a family of beekeepers...thus the box of honey on the table.

Take Time to Smell the Roses

I once mused to myself, do I want to live life like a science or an art? My parents live life like a science. Life is stable, secure, and predictable. I studied humanities in undergrad. It was a time in which I was passionate about art, literature, and architecture. I believed in following my passions. In my musings, I concluded I wanted to live life like an art...

I only signed up for 13 credit hours when I lived in Paris. This way I wasn't overwhelmed with school and I could focus on falling in love with Paris, which I did whole-heartedly. In the process, I discovered a new passion, exploring. In the evenings after class I found new parks to explore. On Sundays, I explored Cathedrals. I explored every museum, monument, cafe, concert, event there was to find. But mostly, I made it a goal to always smell the roses, which I did as I strolled home for dinner in the evenings. I savored every moment.

Today, I ran a new path and found some utterly beautiful landscape. Realizing that the fall is only weeks away, I realized that this too must be savored. These pictures really don't capture the moment, but I thought I'd share just the same. This is a scene from Tower Grove Park. Maybe tomorrow I'll get some pictures of tall, old, ivy-covered trees which line my running path and were probably planted by Mr. Shaw himself. In the mean time,

Enjoy...