So, Question...

I

            “Tori! I can’t believe I just did that! I feel like an idiot!” I said as we walked into the apartment and just out of earshot of Tyrel.  He had walked Tori and I back from his apartment as any gentleman would. I was still in shock and couldn’t process what had happened quite yet. He didn’t seem too against it. I was trying to be positive without success. Spurts of negative thoughts saturated my mind keeping me from feeling any better about the situation. My worst fear had happened. He had seen right through me. “Had I not had a heads up I would have wondered what was wrong with her.” He said. This sentence terrified me. “I feel like he is dreading this!” I explained to Tori. “He isn’t the kind to just say ‘yes’ to girls. He has said ‘no’ before.” She replied back trying to soothe me. It wasn’t until the next morning that worry had really set it. I felt like even more of an idiot and totally regretted asking him.

II

            The night before Tori and I had been talking about how girls should not make the first move when Tori stated, “Tyrel has been really wanting someone to ask him out!” “oh dude, I would ask him out!” I said jokingly. Her face lit up like the back end of a lightning bug at night. “You totally should!” she shrieked. He yeah that is funny, “Tyrel do you want to go see brave with me?” I remarked with a heavy dose of sarcasm.  “He has been wanting to see it! I am serious!” She cried. I thought to myself for a second and realized that could actually be fun. And what would it hurt? He wanted a girl to ask him out!  What was I thinking? I couldn’t tell if Tori had just been saying this to get me to ask him out or if she actually meant it. We left it at that for the night.

III

            I was sitting in our kitchen talking to my roommates when Tori walked in. “Madi do you know what I keep thinking about?” She asked. “Tori I am not going to ask your cousin out! That is weird! Girls never make the first move!” I pointed put. She gave me a sly smile and said, “we could just do it now!” I egged her on and replied, “yeah sure! Go get your phone I will call him up right now!” Tori ran of squealing as I sat wondering what I had just done. “Tori I wasn’t serious” I told he as she handed me the phone ready to call Tyrel. “If I were going to ask a guy out I would do it in person. “We can go over there right now!” she shot back instantly.  Before I had time to argue, we were headed to his apartment. I didn’t get nervous until I took the first step into the parking lot. A cage of butterflies was let loose in my stomach as we got closer to his home.

IV

            We only hung out at his place for a few minutes because we had to get back home before family home evening started. As we sat and talked I worried about how this was going to work out. What the heck was I going to say? “Well I guess I will just see what spills out of my mouth when the time comes. Hope its ok!” I thought to myself. At that moment Tori explained to Tyrel that we had to leave and that he should walk us home. He agreed and left to get his shoes. Tori barely waited for him to walk out of the door when she sprinted off to the girl’s bathroom down the long hall yelling, “wait for me! Don’t leave me!” Shoot this was my chance. We had some casual small talk for a little bit and then it went quiet. “Crud, ready go!” I thought. Before I had time to think about what I was doing my mouth was moving and my voice turned on. “So question! Tori say’s you have been wanting to see Brave, I was wondering if you would want to go with me?” yikes. “Brace yourself” I warned. “yeah that would be great!” he replied. As he answered Tori came flying out of the bathroom. When she realized that I was still in the process she quickly ducked behind the staircase and waited for us to finish. I am surprised that he had not noticed her juvenile behavior yet. Just as we finished she came out and practically yelled, “Its ok you don’t have to come with us Tyrel.” That did not help with the awkward moment at all. “Wait, you don’t want me to walk you home anymore?” he questioned. “Well you can if you want but you don’t have to she explained. To my relief he decided to come along. I had hoped he would so I could talk to him and help the tension die down some. To my astonishment it worked. Things were completely normal all the way home. This brought high hopes for the coming Thursday.

Miranda Kay Sinclair

“Rough around the edges,” some would say. With bracelets scaling up her arm and numerous band t-shirts, some would say Miranda Kay Sinclair is a punk. There is colorful makeup splashed on her eyes, many times bright blue. Black eye liner starting from one corner of her eye extends past her eyebrow. Bright streaks shine in her hair, including a blonde one separating her bangs from her longer hair. She wears dark skinny jeans usually paired with a “Red Jumpsuit Apparatus” t-shirt. For shoes she wears bright toms or colorful converse. Especially in high school, many students would look down on her based on how she decided to dress. They saw her as harsh and too “out there.” Her car did not help the appearance either. It was a large metal, black, SUV with skull stickers and randomly colored bracelets and necklaces hanging from the rear view mirror.

Many high school students do not like “punks” because they are known to show their feelings and make brash decisions. They are also known for not being the happiest people around campus. Few would take the time to get to know Miranda. However if, and with the few who did, they would find that she is quite opposite from how she appears.

Friends of Miranda say she is one of the sweetest girls they know. She is always looking out for others and wanting everyone to be happy. If there is a friend who is not having a great day she will do everything she can to make their day better and let them know she cares about them.

Miranda also has this quality about her that makes those around her want to be better. She is a strong member of the church. Living in California though makes it difficult to find others with the same standards as her, so she does the next best thing. Set a good example. All of her non-member friends know her standards and that she sticks to them. They all know not to ask her to do something that is against her beliefs, and that asking will do nothing. Her mind is made up. She sets an amazing example of how to be in the world but not of it.

When with Miranda, there is no way to not be happy. She has a bubbly personality that sinks into the soul and pulls the muscles around your mouth into a smile when you are near her. She has a bright outlook on life and it is contagious.

Although her inside does not match her outside, it does not take long to see her bright personality shining through her seemingly dark appearance.

Elder Ferguson

              Always dressed in a white shirt and a suit, Nathan Ferguson wanders around Oregon finding those who are lost, not physically, but spiritually. Nate, as his friends and family call him, is a Mormon missionary serving in the Portland Oregon mission.

            Nate left his family 23 months ago to search out those who are looking for the truth. “My mission…it is amazing!” he exclaims. There is no place he would rather be. Growing up he always wanted to serve a mission. His parents never had to force the idea on him. Once he had “grown a foot or two” he would be off to serve.

            Throughout the mission Nate has seen many miracles. “One being the change within myself. I have loved having the spirit so strong in my life and I love how much better of a person I am still becoming.”

            While out, he noticed that there were many Spanish people who did not know English. Because of this, he decided he needed to learn how to speak Spanish so he could teach them as well. “I hate knocking on a door and having someone open and say they don’t know English. I want to talk to everyone!” It has been said that those who read the Book of Mormon in a different language would be able to grasp the language better. Nate has decided to test this for himself. He is thrilled to be able to read the Book of Mormon and comprehend it. “I understand all of it too, so I don’t miss any of the meaning. God is helping me a ton!”

            Being out in Oregon Nate sees many rainstorms, but he says that there are few with lightning and thunder. Those are the best parts of the storm to him. As he and his companion were out riding bikes he turned and said, “I wish we could see some lightning. Out of the nine months I have been out, I have only seen lightning once.” literally moments later he heard a “huge crack” and saw a “lightning bolt race across the sky…[God] knew it would put a smile on my face.”  Although it was just a simple thing Nate felt very blessed that day.

            Now that his time is almost up, Nate does not want to come home “I don’t want to stop being a fulltime missionary!” He declares. With mixed feelings Nate counts down the days until he has to leave his “second home.”