It All Starts with a Dream January 10

Dreams are meant to be lived and songs to be sung. Without action even the simplest of dreams go unrealized and the best of songs unsung.

"Do not worry if you have built your castles in the air.  They are where they should be.  Now put the foundation under them."                         

  - Henry David Thoreau

It was always a dream of mine to return to Brazil one day ever since I stepped off that airplane from Salvador, Brazil one year ago.  Like every return missionary who dreams about returning and never does, I thought I would be just the same and dream for a while until reality dragged me down to earth. Luckily, that wasn't the case.  

In October of 2012, Anders heard from a friend about an internship opportunity in Brazil that was offered through BYU.  When I first heard of it I thought it was an interesting idea and then brushed it off like any other.  I mean I was already super behind in school so why take another semester off?  But then with the passing of a couple of days the idea grew on me and then took hold.  And just like that I was committed. 

In the upcoming weeks Anders and I prepared for our trip and eventually heard that we would be working with the LDS Employment Service in São Paulo, Brazil.  We were ecstatic!  Our real training began the week before leaving in Salt Lake, Utah.  During the 5 days we were there, we were fed like crazy, nearly froze to death, and received some great training  in the Church History Library on the bottom floor for teaching the Career Workshop (and yes we got to use the underground tunnels!)  Our time in Salt Lake with the snow and great food ended with our graduation dinner, where we heard the experiences of past students who did the internship.  And then we were off to Brazil!

Our plane left for New York 8:30  in the morning on Friday.  When we arrived in New York we realized that we had a 4 hour lay over in New York.  Since we were in the world's most famous city and since Anders 'had' to go buy a gift for a friend in Brazil, we decided to venture out and have a small adventure on the crowded streets of New York.  We got back with only a couple of minutes to spare!  We were actually buying a burger at Wendeys when we heard our names being announced really loudly on the intercom. Well I'm glad to be able to say that we made it!
I remember that as I packed the night before and as I boarded the plane I started to have this feeling, was it anxiety, nervousness?  I'm not sure, but it was the same feeling that I had going to Brazil the first time when I left for my mission.  It was a sense of adventure, an electrifying feeling that comes when you know you are living your dream.