last night we had our first guests over to our abode. two full time lds missionaries from our ward. i have never hosted missionaries all on my own. i was so excited to cook for representatives of Jesus Christ, to have representatives of Jesus Christ in my home, and to listen to the Lord's tool of carrying forth the gospel in the latter-days. i wasn't so excited to realize that i am older than a missionary... oh well. we called their families afterward and told them they were doing well. we then called our families afterward and told them we were doing well, doing well but i'm pooped. sorry for the lack of post yesterday. happy weekend.

cherished kpack fam photo july 2010 by him

as my nana used to say...

don't you think people have sayings that you remember them by? it is not something necessarily they've said, but something you just remember them by.

-my sister's is, "i never regret being a little too kind."

-nephi's was, "i will go and do the things which the lord hath commanded."

-my dance teacher's was, "excuses...stink." with a little in between there.

-devin's dad saying is "stick til the task til it sticks to you, beginners are many, enders are few."

-my favorite professor's was, "widest to the world."

-grandpa killpack's is, "if" by rudyard kipling.

-and tonight nana, my mother's grandmother, has a phrase that has been motivating me.

simple: don't go to bed with dirty dishes in the sink.

i'm trying nana, i really am. i was never good at this before belgium. but having not too many dishes to use the next day, washing dishes by hand and thinking of you doing the same, and wanting to follow better in your footsteps leaves a wet, but nevertheless empty, sink overnight all in your behalf. hope you are smiling up there. i love you. i miss you. thanks for leaving a limitless effect on me.

patchwork quilt

when i showed my dad the google earth view of where we live he said, "can you say patchwork quilt?" yes i can daddy, patchwork quilt.

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we love that we get the chance to live in such open fields and wavy landscape. we're practically farmers:)

college town

we were tipped off that a good shopping port here in belgique was in a college town north of us. if we subconsciously missed provo, here was our shot to get a feel of the college vibe again. plus it was close, and we weren't up to making a big rendezvous this weekend. the shopping was -just a wee bit- more pricey than ptown, and nothing to write home about. but it was enlivening to be around young hip-happenin' people again, even if it meant watching a few too many people make out in the park(definitely not in provo any more) . AHH the park-this was the best part of the weekend. It was 24 degrees celsius(i'm trying to fully absorb the culture-in case you can't do math like me, thats 75 fahrenheit) clear skies, and the warmest it's been in four weeks. we napped in the park, listened to bells chime each hour, ate lunch, read books, practiced french, and oozed up every last drop of daylight. with a little bit of coconut and speculoos ice cream to top it off, i don't think we had any a single regret from the weekend...

while on our sunday walk this week...

...we found the first dance studio i've seen in belgium. wow is about all i can spit out.

it comes complete with any class imaginable. (except of course the most important form. hello?)

on to the rest of the walk and city square. nothing like a walk on sundays.

i believe in living prophets

Let this story illustrate.

In 1986, one month after being called to serve as an apostle, Elder Ballard was in Bolivia and Peru for conferences. He went to visit Lake Titicaca which is the largest lake in South America. That year the lake rose 10-12 feet in a few short months destroying surrounding farm land. Over 200 LDS members had property destroyed and 40 members lost their homes as a result from the flooding. Elder Ballard and other visiting authorities stood on the shore of the lake to survey the damage. When the other authorities left Elder Ballard had a feeling to bless the land. It wasn't a vision or a voice, just a feeling. Nevertheless he followed it, and called the other authorities telling them to come back to the ground. There, near the lake, Elder Ballard offered a prayer to God and said, "By the authority of the priesthood, I command the water to recede." He returned to his hotel room that night and thought about the prayer. As a new apostle he began to be frightened because there was no where for the water to go. Experts said it would take a couple years for the water level to return to normal. He prayed again and said, "Heavenly Father, maybe i have overstepped my boundaries, but I felt prompted. Grant it to be true." In less than two months he received newspaper clippings in the mail saying, "Lake Titicaca drops an unexplanable 10 feet. It's a miracle."

And one more story about how an ordinary man is purified to be a living prophet.

At the age of 30, Elder Ballard was serving as a bishop over a congregation. One woman in his area was a widow living with her daughter. She and Elder Ballard were close and he even called her his, "Grandma Friend." Late one night after meetings in the chapel Elder Ballard got in his car to drive home. He thought of his grandma friend and felt like he should go visit her. He looked at his watch. It was ten o'clock. "It's too late," he thought, "I'll see her tomorrow." He drove home and attempted to sleep but couldn't stop thinking about her. First thing in the morning he knocked on the door of his grandma friend's home. Her daughter answered, "Oh Bishop. Thank you for coming. Mother passed away two hours ago." He said he stood on the porch and wept. He got back into his car after consoling the family and uttered a humble prayer, "Heavenly father, I will never do that again. I will not argue with you. If you ask me to do something I will do my very best to do it."

After last night, after encouragement, after counsel, after answered prayers, my testimony was fortified that after all I believe in living prophets.

blogging on lunch break

after i declared all that inspiration to about hard work, here i am blogging on lunch break. alas, here is a minute from a momentous night at the killpack home. we needed something fantastic to eat on our new flea market plate so luckily had just the thing.

we tried our first belgian waffles!

pardon the gross pics.

regretfully the weren't from a street vendor(bound to try that soon) but the price=1.20 euro for ten waffles at the local bakery was much more tempting than the street vendor's 3 euro per sweet. don't let the bargain decieve-we were not prepared for how incredible they were. can't wait to get home to a belgain waffle maker and try my hand at mimicking them. in the meantime you'll have to make waffles for me and i'll just eat the storebought sweets:)

ps. i'm blogging on lunch break because tonight you'll remember we are going to listen to a prophets voice to hear the word of god. i'm practically bursting with anticipation.

power of work.

completely irrelevant image from the embassy street in downtown bruxelles

in most recent years i've gone to school and taught dance. school, though a form of work, is not employment and dance can barely count as work cause i love it so. in essence then, this is my first job job. sometimes when i'm counting down the hours til i am off, i am gently reminded of this quote,

“There is not a single condition of life [or] one hour’s experience but what is beneficial to all those who make it their study, and aim to improve upon the experience they gain” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young[1997], 179).

...repeat...NOT A SINGLE HOUR but what is beneficial to those who make it their aim to improve upon the experience they gain! really? after recycling this quote through my mind, counting down the hours does not seem like i'm aiming to improve. work can be sometimes dull, but i've grown to love the time it gives me to think. this quote whips me into shape, turns on my ambition, and focuses my at times flighty brain to improve every SINGLE HOUR. and for the meantime that means going to bed! au revoir.

braderie

translated: rummage sale, clearance sale, discount sale, car boot sale... you get the picture.

the biggest flea market in europe was this weekend in Lille, France. the drive only took ten minutes more than the drive i would make from my utah home to my parents house. i wish i could explain adequately through words or these pics how big this was=6o miles of stalls, selling for 33 hours straight, 100,000 stalls, shoulder to shoulder traffic jams, etc. our non stop walking for seven hours, never on the same street nor touching the tip of the iceburg, was just right for us. out of it all we rummaged: one plate for our collection, sore walking legs, a kebab with calories to last a week, and loads of inspiration. mercy beaucoup!

europe thus far: one month

before i forget all the changes (read-hopefully growth) that have happened i must write them down.

thus far in europe we still can't believe that we really live here, live.

thus far in europe we've gotten lost three times.

thus far in europe i've worn the same four pairs of shoes.

thus far in europe we haven't eaten fast food, and only eaten out on someone else's tab.

thus far in europe i have to listen to hymns or i am too anxious to sleep.

thus far in europe i really love the village feel, with big open spaces like this one

thus far in europe we line dry all our clothes, and hand wash all our dishes.

thus far in europe devin has converted to sparkling water. i'm still not sold.

thus far in europe i've half-way converted to dark chocolate, devin is still not sold.

thus far in europe i've only missed three days of talking to my mom.

thus far in europe we can't get christmas of our mind.

thus far in europe devin has done 100% of the driving and purchasing.

thus far in europe we've become better friends, written higher goals, and gone to bed too late.

thus far in europe i miss the mountains, and the temple.

thus far in europe we finally feel like we've found the budget system that works for us.

thus far in europe we haven't sent or received a single text message.

thus far in europe i have loved seeing devin work, and have enjoyed working.

thus far in europe we filled up our tank of gas once (it was a 94-dollar-ouch)

thus far in europe i have read more conference talks in concentration than ever before.

thus far in europe we've worked too much.

thus far in europe i've been too scared to speak french or go anywhere without devin.

thus far in europe we feel like this is the hardest thing we've ever done.

thus far in europe we've needed the Lord more than ever before.

thus far in europe we've never seen more blessings.

i'm bummed to be missing labor day weekend, particularly for the day off work, lucky! enjoy it for me. we're making a break for the southern border and are hitting up a flea market in france tomorrow with about two million other people. until monday...here's to a bon weekend.