Brighton Beehive Camp

Not sure where I've been but it hasn't been in the present. As I become more aware of people around me and their struggles, I find myself with less time at home as I reach out to help.

The Saturday before my Praxis test (I tested on a Monday) I wanted to really push and review hard all day so as to not study on the Sabbath. However, I had a baptism to attend and then I got a text from a friend asking a routine question about borrowing some magazines. I felt I needed to hand deliver them and ended up spending several valuable hours visiting. Valuable study time is how I saw it. The Lord saw it as valuable relationship time, ministering as He would minister.

"If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear." (D&C 38:30) I had no reason to stress about how my time got spent on that Saturday. I had put in a lot of study hours. I had prepared myself so that when the Lord called me on an errand I was prepared to do his bidding.

Kiersten has been working as a counselor as Brighton Beehive Camp this summer. She leaves Sunday night and gets home Friday afternoon. I haven't seen a lot of her and miss having her around. We take her to college in 3 1/2 weeks and that's going to be hard.

Up there she is known as Queen Bee, a name that was coined by her grandpa. When Ash went up and the other counselors learned she was Queen Bee's baby sister, she was dubbed Baby Bee. And because my name Melissa means honeybee, I guess it's fitting that we are from the same hive.

I got to drop her off one Sunday evening on our way home and she gave me the tour of her "office." I didn't envy the mosquitoes but I sure loved the woodsy smell.

And then this last Thursday we were invited to their mutual night and got to go up again. Ash could not contain herself at the thought of seeing her counselor "Boots" again. Doesn't she just ooze excitement!

These older young women have such an influence on the younger girls that can be such a powerful force for good. Every woman, old and young, needs a mentor, someone they can look to for a guide, for an example, for advice and these young beehives have such mentors in their counselors.

The week Ash went up, I got to go pick up our ward Beehives and bring them home. And because it was Kiersten's off week (no girls for her) she would be riding the bus down the canyon with them and I'd get to see her briefly. Watching for those buses brought back remembrances and feelings of waiting for the Trek buses. Oh, how I love these girls of mine of their goodness to the bone. They are going to leave their mark of joy upon this world.

Praxis

This little book and me have been friends for quite a while. It has consistently been by my side. But freedom came yesterday and we have parted ways. I'm not too heartbroken.

My liberation came yesterday at 2pm when I walked out of the Tooele USU campus having just taken my 4-hour plus Praxis test. Anybody and everybody who goes into the teaching profession has to take some form of it. Even school counselors are required.

I've only been studying since last October off and on and really hit it 2 months ago. I had no idea what to expect so I studied way more stuff than I needed to. I relearned stuff I had learned eons ago, and I learned stuff that was all new. My kids were fabulous tutors as I asked questions about math and science. They know things! 

The test was 4 parts: Language arts which was 90 minutes and 65 questions; Math was 50 questions in 60 minutes; Social studies was 50 questions in 50 minutes; and Science was the same. There was no break as I went from one to the other. Overall it was easier than I imagined. I had no-brainer questions, questions that made me think, and then stuff I absolutely had no idea about.

The best part was no waiting for scores. The scoring is based on a scale of 100 to 200. Utah requires that I get a 157 in both language arts and math to pass; social studies I needed a 155 and science a 159. My unofficial scores were 183 in language arts, 182 in math, 181 in social studies, and a high score of 187 in science. That one surprised me since science is my least favorite.

Not only did I pass, but I rocked it! I think those scores are resume worthy.

This was probably one of the biggest tests I've taken since the ACT and I feel like my time is my own again.

I wasn't the only one with good scores. The AP scores came out a few days ago and Kiersten and Erik both received 4s on their exams. That will give them both some college credit.

More thoughts from above

So my last post was about the hymn "How Firm a Foundation" and President Hinckley's "Things will work out" quote . . . well, guess what came around the last two weeks . . . again!

I think the Lord wants me to know a few things :)