Nan Hana Nim Wee Jah Nyuh

Deajeon.
I found out I pronounced it wrong.
It's actually "Teah-jeon"

But anyway you say it, it means Missionary to me. :)

I've been called to serve the people of the Deajeon, South Korean area, and I'm reporting to the Missionary Training Center June 27th. You guys, I am beyond happy, and beyond excited!

No one but the Lord could have told me I was going to Korea. By all that I love, my impressions were telling me Stateside. California would be an adventure, Washington-beautiful, and why not Florida? Even a church history mission in DC ran through my mind. For two months before my call came, I thought I knew I was going stateside.

I guess the Lord really knows how to surprise us :)

But I've noticed there's something different about the thoughts and motivation you have before you get your call, and after.

I was excited before, telling everyone I knew about the status, recieving praise and hearing about other missionaries/experiences from various missions, including guesses for my own. My brother now had his call, and I bragged about him. I had an awesome feeling about serving, but I still had slight questions in my mind for if another path was placed near my feet.
I asked close friends what they thought about some of the questions I was facing as well as prayed about them. I couldn't forget the distinct impressions I'd had about serving as much as two years ago. Nor could I deny that I'd been given a specific opportunity to serve at this time. Still, there persisted some doubts.

The drive to the post office last Wednesday night-The atmosphere for me was both excited and peaceful. After picking up the call, pulling into the driveway, I had to express immense gratitude that I felt for my parents. I knew that it was because of their examples, testimonies, and teaching me that I was now able to pick up a mission call. It was a sweet moment.


"Just Dance II" was playing as we opened the door, and I laughed again (they ALWAYS make me laugh) when I saw all of the bodies moving fixing random poses in time to the music. A couple of good friends were there (including my new roomate at Snow, Jen :) and all of my family, including my maternal grandparents.

I showed them the call, and they cheered! Then we played more "Just Dance II" and everyone got to initial their 5 guesses out of all the possible LDS missions. Joseph spoke in Tagolag for us, and Elizabeth and Jen put the kids through thier paces dancing. Finally, everyone was finished guessing, and it was time to open the call. (Gosh, my heart statrts beating thinking about even now just typing about it!)
One of my parents let me borrow their army knife (for faster slittage), and the room went silent.
My heart felt as though it was beating out of my chest. My face felt very warm as I slide the knife across the envelope.
I fumbled with the first document-the missionary packet, murmering about how I couldn't see the call letter. I was new to this, and I didn't want to accidentally see the letter before I read it. Finding it, I put the words to my chest, holding it with both arms for just a moment.

Breathe, Haley.
It's gonna be alright.

"Dear Sister Brooksby,"
I read aloud, already feeling my throat constrict.
"You have been called to serve as a missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ, (here I began to choke up) of Latter-day Saints in the Korea, Deajeon Mission."
A great burst of happiness swelled up inside of me. My hand flew to my mouth and I rocked forward, holding my call. The noise in the room was electrifying-I heard a sob from my friend. "Korea..." I thought, "Korea!!"
I hugged my mom, explaining I was going to Korea! She nodded and smiled. Sabrina, Grandma King, everyone. I looked at them and all they could do was shake their heads. The bubble inside me was bursting.
"I'M GOING TO KOREA!"

If I was happy before my mission call came, through the roof wouldn't even describe how I felt after. That night and each day after, I would think about the people in Deajeon.
I imagined meeting them, speaking with them, serving them. I pictured sharing with them that they are children of God, who has a plan for them. Every time I thought of a Gospel principle, I imagined sharing it with them. Families there, who are waiting, and I get to meet them. I get to teach them about Jesus Christ, who loved them enough to die for them. I get to tell them how much He loves them and wants them to come back to Him. I get to tell them how there is a plan for their life, that their prayers are important to Him, how their family can be sealed together for eternity.
The love that I feel for them is already here, and it amazes me. How can I love someone so much that I haven't even met? This must be a tiny bit of how much the Savior and Heavenly Father love them.

The title of this post is "Nan hana nim wee jah nyuh," or "I am a Child of God" in romanized Hangul. A friend once told me that once her missionary brother was able to teach about, and help them feel the Spirit about, how the Japanese were also literal spirit children of God and that He loves them, they accepted every aspect of the Gospel and were baptized. I'm not sure if the people of Korea will be the same, but I do know that this is one of the most important, if not the most important, principles I will get to teach. Knowing that for me has helped me over some hills in my own life. how will it be to tell someone who has never had that knowlege, they are a literal child of God? That there is a God, and that He loves and cares about them!

While I knew there will be some of the lowest lows, I also know this is going to be one of the most joyful expereinces of my life. What an awesome opportunity...

Go Missionaries!

PS For all you future missionaries or those considering a mission- pray about it and if you feel good- Go! It will be one of the best decisions of your life. It's already been one for mine :)

The Craziness of Home

Monday, February 20, 2012
Presidents Day!

Home. There’s really no place like it.

Where my sweet, manly brother (he wants me to tell you that his name is Denver Chase Brooksby), snuggles up next to you and before you’re even aware, he’s got you rubbing his back. I don’t even know how he does it-you could be innocently sharing a story with the other family member and suddenly, you’re a massage service. Truly, he is master of this home. He’s just so cute, we let him.

Where my grandmother can come out of their room to me, running on our treadmill and sweating bullets as I try to smile past the liquid dripping off my face. She cheers me on, giving the extra umph to keep running.

And Takoda, who plays tic-tac-toe with me. Little kids have the best ways of having fun. That run felt shorter than any other because we got to play. J

Trey recently showed me a game that I used to sneak out at midnight to play on the computer. It’s called “Tron”, and it rocks. You’re a little dude on a motorcycle-type machine, one of four colors. As you drive, you leave an indestructible wall of your color behind you. There are three other players, and the goal is avoid your own trail as well as others. I watched as Trey maneuvered his way around and crashed the other players, feeling confident that I could do pretty well. Then he handed me his phone.

CRASH! “Oh, wait,” I sputtered. “Give me another go.”

SPLAT!. “Trey, I got this, I got this.” BANG! “Hmm.. I’ma try again.” BOOM! Finally, “TREY HOW DO YOU RUN THIS THING!?!”

I found out very soon that I was content to watch Trey and Tanner try their hands at it. The animal game Savannah and Denver were playing sounded easier… ;)

And I was asked to share this story:

The Gum

“Elias got gum because he asked something that doesn’t even make any sense because asking to use the bathroom doesn’t even make any sense because it’s not fair. PS Savannah got some gum from Elias for no apparent reason. And Haley got some gum which is the person writing this stuff. The End.”

More soon :)

Valentines-Thanks for All You 4th Nephites :)

Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Valentines Day!

Hey!
So…you ever have one of those moments when you receive a special gift from someone, one that makes you super happy, and they didn’t leave their name? I had one.
Just last night.
I had come home from bowling with some friends about 10:00 to my relatively quiet apartment. My roommate, Jen, was sitting peacefully on her bed, probably working on more summaries. (She’s got 20 to do, one for each of the books/articles she’s reading for her 20 page paper. Yeah, she’s that awesome.)
As I’m putting my things away, I’m chatting about the events of the evening and my conversation with Elizabeth, who has the most awkward moments happen in her life- I don’t even know how it happens, but she leaves me laughing so hard tears are coming out. The strangest things…

Anyhow, I notice a cute little valentine on my bed with chocolate attached. I pounce. There’s no escaping. I’m so excited to eat this piece of chocolate-until I notice there’s only my name on it. I turned it over and over a few times, searching for the name of my benefactor, to no avail.

Who would do such a thing, then wish to remain anonymous?

Immediately, Jen is pelted with a million questions at once. I knew she’d been in our apartment and must have seen the intruder. She shrugged, and denied knowing about any part of the event. Then I noticed the handwriting-it had to be a girl’s. For the life of me I couldn’t recall the
different writing styles of my roommates, and threw myself into a fit trying to question the unforgiving Jen. I dragged the unsuspecting (and now I know innocent) Nicole into our room.

“Nicole," I said. "You know Jen better than anyone here. You can tell me if she’s lying.” Nicole looked just as lost as a random pedestrian asked if they would take the wheel of a Monster Truck. I felt I was getting nowhere until Jen threw her hands into the air. “I plead the 5th!” she said vehemently.
Then I had an idea.
I released Nicole to escape back to her getting-ready-for-bed activites, and settled down long enough to read a chapter of “Fishers of Men,” being the voice of chapter 1 for Jen and myself. This book is awesome, and we're only on chapter 2. I highly reccomend reading together at night also-there's nothing quite like having someone read to you or getting to read to them. You learn to say really big or confusing words faster. :)

The fires inside me were no longer bon-worthy, but the subdued embers were still piping hot. Finally, as we were commenting on the chapter and climbing under our covers for the night, I threw out my last line:
“Anyway, Jen, thanks for the Valentine.”
I listened, ears pricked for her response. When I heard an affirmative answer (something like a mumble), my soul was ecstatic. I’d done it. Confirmed!

Sherlock Haley strikes again.

I came home from an eventfuly awesome day thinking a lot of things. This is the thought that stuck out to me most:

Whether it be in muddy boots, old worn tennis shoes, or a pair of new sneakers, we feel beautiful when we reach out to serve others. I love this verse from the Doctrine and Covenants.

“Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness.”
–Doctrine and Covenants 58:27

In the Temple, each of us put away our street clothes and replace them with pure, white ones. There's no distinction-nothing to make us seem more or less important in the eyes of those around us. The old, worn out Sunday shoes lay just next to the shiny ones, and the humble man sits with the proud. We all become equal in our Heavenly Father's home.

I love people watching on campus. The different styles, the different ways of walking, those walking alone, and those walking with friends. The quiet ones, the boisterous ones, and the ones in the middle. It's amazing to me to see our differences, and yet know we all have hopes and dreams, we all have Someone watching over and wishing the best for us. We all have different shoes, but we find out how special it feels to be His child no matter what we wear.

Go everyone! :)

Hidden Snowflakes

Wednesday, February 08,
2012

One of my most favorite activities to help relax and settle my mind is walking. I really enjoy keeping my feet moving as I think about whatever happens to come to me at the time.

Have you ever had an epiphany? They’re awesome moments in your life when you realize something important to you. You may have notice that important thing before, but not quite the same as when you have an epiphany.

Let me share with you mine. As I was wandering about under the beautiful stars, first I pondered how it might have been better to take two jackets with me due to the temperature of the evening. I thought it was snowman cold. But then, I think I may have become a softy for the cold since moving to Utah.
That thought led me to another-one of my old Snow friends
and roommates that who swore she didn’t ever need a jacket, whom I swore
would get walking pneumonia and never recover if I didn’t force her into warm
clothing on occasion.
Since the train continued along memories of my friend, it soon found cars that added faces and memories. More and more people came to mind, and suddenly I was filled with an immediate happiness; I realized how much Heavenly Father knew me to have placed me in the certain places with certain people I’d had the opportunity to meet and learn from even now. The gratitude rushed into me, like someone pouring a bucket of warm water on my head. At this
point, an old, familiar song began to form in my head.

“My life goes on, in endless song
My life goes on in endless song
Since God is Lord of Heaven and Earth
…How can I keep from singing?”

As I walked, almost to my apartment again, I looked to the pavement, frozen because of the snow. When the light caught it in just the right way, I saw millions of tiny sparkles. The black tar still surrounded it, but the snowflakes were there and vividly beautiful.

Sometimes I miss the truly beautiful people around me. Maybe
it’s because I have a picture in my head so prominent that I neglect to look
for all of the millions outside of it. Maybe I just have my music up too loud.
Or maybe I’m just distracted (which is often the case-be careful when you drive
with me :).
But I’m super super thankful for these moments of epiphany like tonight that teach me so much more than I could teach myself.

Thank you for all you've done in my life. You're one of those people who help me feel so happy. I can't say it any other way. :)
I want to be captivated by hidden snowflakes.

I think I confused my Shower this morning...

Hey I'm back! With a story.

I live in building #1, apartment #1, and I think our apartment is really awesome (like #1). My belief is that our structure and it's non-living contents have been around for eternity, and that may be why our appliances are somewhat....tempramental.
We all just know that if we smell smoke, the apartment may catch fire and we know where the hydrant is should we need it. That's whenever we cook.
Below the stove is our oven, and I think in the future I'll start setting it a few degrees below the required ferinheight to bake something-My pumpin pies were a bit deliciously toasty last time :)
And the microwave-he's a very faithful fellow. Kadin told me to put a Sunchips bag in it for 5 seconds and see what happens. After clarifiying that nothing caught fire, my friend Mary and I attempted this feat (we were the only ones home). I won't tell you what happened, but I WILL tell you that we both screamed and I jumped back. Then again, I am a jumpy person after all.
But I didn't expect this from my shower.
We all know the water in the tub would eventually drain. It was just the way things were. I guess I really confused it this morning, because it couldn't decided between a shower or a bath. I felt like that story in the Bible, where the man is wading deeper and deeper into the river, soon to be swept away....

Has this ever happened to you?

White Impressions

As I walked out of the tunnel from my apartment this morning, I was met with white. It honestly shocked me enough that I froze in my tracks.
The fences, the bushes, the two huge pines just over the way-Everything was covered in white.
I laughed as I whipped out my phone camera and started taking pictures. Winter really did come!
The title of this post is for the path I walked on my way out. The sidewalk was covered in snow, of course, but also a lot of prints. Dog prints, people prints, and maybe even a bunny print. Watching these prints makes me think; Snow is the perfect thing for freezing memories.

Who walked there? What were they imagining as they walked? Were they hurried in their step, or slow? Who owned the dog, or was it a stray?
Many were tennis shoe prints, so perhaps many of them were on their way to run, lift weights or something like that.
I just really loved imagining.

A Healthy Confession

Someone once told me that laughter is good for the soul. I've been reading back on many
of my journal entries and blog posts and I have to say, I've confirmed that.
Good for the soul, the cheekbones, the eyes, the people around you as you laugh
heartily to yourself, and good for the life.
Firstly, thank you again miss Sierra, for getting me writing again. Secondly, thanks to
miss Elizabeth for commenting on my lack of blog posts. I've really missed it :)

I have to tell you, my family's the same, just two years older since I last wrote. We only have one new addition.
Takoda
still finds ways to secretly clean something and surprise me with it,
Savannah
still has a list of things for us to do and play when I get home,
Elias
continues to grace the world with his exciting stories and and even bigger heart,
Denver's
the manliest man in our family because he has to be (all of these females MUST
be stopped ;)
Tyson
still gets up in the earlier hours of the morning to make everyone waffles, (and
fajitas, and chicken salad-he's going to make his future wife pass out someday)
Sabrina
She's our cousin from Las Vegas, spunky and on top of the word! If you know the Color Code, she's an orange. :)
Trey
is still growing like a weed and teaching me tons by just being Trey,
Tanner's
my Tanner, a teenager in his own right and constantly helping the person he sees needs it.
I'm so proud of him.
Sierra
has turned into an even more proficient chef, making me look great when I make
her recopies for my roommates ;) I'm amazed at how she looks after each girl
her age-she really reaches out to make a new friend.
Kadin
continues in his comidianship of the family, now holding the Priesthood, only
increasing the bright glimmer of cheekiness in his eyes,
My parents are constant foundations to me. I wonder where they get all of that
wisdom? :)

OH! How could I forget!
Safara
is still Safara (our local Keeshond), but she's taken to a new look. We call it
"The Skunk".
Shaved
all around her body, including her curly tail, she's inspired not to go
wandering outside into the road or visiting neighbor cows. I'm still not quite
sure why, but Dad left one stripe, just down her back, of long, grey fur.
"The Skunk."

My happiest wishes be with you. It’s great to be back. :)