[William] John Davis [I]

I've been tryin' to track this guy down for YEARS! I got on a hot trail right before I left for Russia. Then I had an 18 month pause. Now the trail is blazin' and I'll have to break for 3 months! How lame!

Either way, here's the run down: William John Davis, I, supposedly came over from Wales at the age of 12 as a stowaway. He ended up marryin' a southern belle, Melitha Plummer. When Melitha died, he remarried three years later to Minerva Harvey (?). According to an online rootsweb family pedigree, Minerva was from Jackson, Missouri. But according to John's record in the Salt Lake Temple (he was sealed to both of his deceased wives when he was living), Minerva was from Jackson, Mississippi...which makes more sense since Louisiana and Mississippi are neighbor states.

Well, I don't know how Minerva died. But somehow, John met the Church and ended up getting baptized and moving to Utah. He was born on 13 December 1839. Died in 1918. Baptized in 1899. Endowed in the Salt Lake Temple in 1911. Buried in Huntington, Emery County, Utah.
I desparately want to know how he joined the Church? How he met the Church? What's his story?

I found his death certificate and sealing card. Now I need to find his obituary! A consultant at the BYU Family History Center said that I can contact the Huntington Ward to find out who baptized John. Man! This stuff is SO interesting!

ประเทศไทย -- Thailand

At the end of December, Ralph Brown came back from Thailand to visit his family for the holidays. He told me about the Internship in Southeast Asia. I really wanted to go, but decided that I couldn't afford the $3,700.00 fees excluding the $1,036.60 airfare to get there and back.
Well, one day I woke up with the strong urge to go. So I completed my internship application on the Kennedy Center website and was accepted into the program. I was awarded half tuition scholarships (Total: $1,020) for spring and summer, a program fee reduction (Total: $300), and an FHSS internship grant (Total: $1,600). So I only had to pay for my airfare and another $780.00. The airfare was my entire savings before income tax returns. The almost eight hundred dollars drained my generous income tax return from the feds.

Despite the fact that I'm broke, I will be able to finish my last nine credits of my undergraduate degree over in Thailand. Ralph also hooked me up with a job planning and organizing next year's SSA (Student Sociology Association) calendar of events. So hopefully I can make some pocket change while I'm there. If I can find the time!

I just need to do some last minute shopping and packing before I depart on the night of the 06th of May. If you have any wealthy friends or family members who would like to contribute to my study abroad, please have them e-mail me at sondra.r.fitzgerald@gmail.com.

P.S. You can check out Dhamma Park at http://www.dhammapark.com/

Internship with NGO: Venetia's Dhamma Park

I will be interning in Lamphun, Thailand from 10 May until 10 August 2009g. I will be working under the direction of Venetia Walkey from Britain. She's lived in Thailand for over thirty years. She and her parnter, Khun Inson Wongsam (who is a famous Thai artist) have established this park to conserve spirituality through recreation and art. I will learn more about NGO's and try to help them manage and run their's! :)


This is the atmosphere that I will spend the next three months of my life. Personal photographs are pending my arrival in Thailand.

I will also teach English to children in rural schools. Good thing I got all that practice in Russia! :)

Spring: Temporarily Snowed-In

I think Utah is probably a girl seein' as most girls can't make up their minds. The same holds true with Utah and her weather decisions. At one moment spring is beginning to actually spring: the sun is shining, tulips are bloomin', love is in the air, ducks are quackin', turtles soakin' in the warmth, etc, etc.

Then suddenly...out of NO WHERE! A snow storm comes to town. This is not a one time occurrence either. This has happened about three or four times now. Those of us who enjoy hot weather *cou-me-gh* are ready for Utah to get a move on it!

Moment of Awe

I haven't experienced much culture shock outside of coming to Utah. As far as being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I always feel comfortable in the Gospel and the traditions of the Church.

On Sunday, 22nd March 2009g. I attended my first ever temple dedication. I expected the dedication to proceed a lot differently than it did. I was concerned on the onset when the second councilor in the Bishopric announced that everyone needed to bring a white handkerchief. Maybe that just means all of the boys? Nope...EVERYONE.

So, with all doctrinal questions...I asked Michael what is the handkerchief for? He and Kelli explained to me about the Hosanna Shout and the Biblical history supporting the tradition.

Nevertheless, at the dedication I guess I still have my Pentacostal tendencies or viewpoints. After the dedicatory prayer ended, the second councilor in the First Presidency explained the tradition, its Biblical significance, and the procedures. What proceeded was a mass waving of the handkerchief just like the palm leaves when Christ entered Jerusalem on a donkey. (John 12:13; etc.) While waving the handkerchief everyone cries "Hosanna" to God.

The ritual is actually very spiritual and significant. I just couldn't help but wonder why it wasn't performed extemporaneously as people felt moved by the Spirit. I am grateful for the companionship of the Spirit. I know that the fulness of the Gospel of Jesus was restored upon the earth by a prophet called of God. I love the temple and the ordinances which are performed therein by the power and authority of the Holy Priesthood.

Three Farces by Chekhov

Mark Purves organized a Russian theater class this semester. We initially were going to do "The Gambler" but we didn't have enough actors. So we settled on three farces by Chekhov.

The first was "Predlojheniye" (The Proposal).
The second was "Noch Pered Sudom" (The Night before the Judgment) in which I participated as the split personality (very flirty) of Zinochka. I even got to make-out with a puppet! What awkward fun! :) haha.
The third was "Myedvyed" (the bear/brut).

The plays went well. Better pictures and a dvd are still pending. I'll keep ya posted. :)

PMS + B.O. = Smelly Trees

Why do they plant trees that produce flowers that generate an odor of girls' basketball locker room after a hard, sweaty practice (and PMS)? They are EVERYWHERE in Provo. Especially on campus. Ughhh!!! I hate them. They are terrible.
I'll be walkin' along on my way home or just chattin' while strollin' across campus with buddies...and WHAM! It hits me right smack dab in the face. I can't escape! Oh...but wait, I'm going to Thailand. Perhaps Thailand is more thoughtful than Provo. My hopes are up!

Not-So-Weird Mormon Traditions

My "mom" (trainer from the mission--Rachel Hill) got married on the 11th of April 2009 in the Denver Temple. The weekend before General Conference, my "grandma" (Rachel's trainer--Emily Wheeler) threw her a Bridal Shower.

I was a little nervous about the Shower simply because I figured that it would be something similar to "Mormon Girls Gone Wild." But Emily kept it pretty low-key, which I appreciated. We started with a prayer. Then we had Rachel and her twin, Rebecca entertain us with some songs. (They are superb singers!)

After all the singin' and story tellin', Rachel opened her gifts. Then we ate super yummy sandwiches and chocolate strawberries (off of which I peeled the chocolate and donated it to Chelsea Wrathall).
I had fun. I missed my "mom!" We had great times serving together for six months in Russia. Casey is a lucky man. I hope they have a happy eternity together. I know there will never be a dull moment with Rachel! haha.

PSA (Pacific Sociological Association): San Diego, California

Tuesday at 08:00 hours, the sociology department (primarily consisting of Real Victory Crew) loaded up three BYU vans and headed for PSA (Pacific Sociological Association) Conference in San Diego, California. The Conference convened from 08 until 11 April at the Westin.

We drove through southern Utah and Las Vegas on the way there and back. We ate at In 'N Out Burger...which never gets better regardless of how many times I've eaten there. I think the downfall is the lack of mayonnaise or barbeque sauce. That's why this is a western fast food joint. It will probably never be accepted in the south. :)

The first night I slept at the Sheraton in my own personal room. Nice view, nice bed, nice shower, nice square fixtures...all in all...nice place. Free internet. Free, delicious herbal chai (which came in handy because I was catching a cold!)

Wednesday I moved to the Westin where Kate and I shared a room. Not as nice. Free chai...but not free internet. Nevertheles, I discovered an internet cafè in the mall. I wrote a Philosophy paper on Immanuel Kant and the question of possibility of synthetic a priori judgments. That was fun. haha. No. Then I composed a powerpoint presentation for my Friday session of PSA.

All of the other Real Victory presenters were in sessions with other students. Most of the students from other colleges were graduate students. Most of the BYU students were the same age as those other students simply because most of us have served missions. But Celeste is a returned missionary, grad. student. Either way, my co-presenter, David Cherrington, had to attend another conference and was unable to help me present our book chapter on behaviorism and its correlation to Real Victory.

I wasn't too nervous until I walked into the session and realized that the other three presenters were old, Ph.D. holdin' professors and not humble, little undergraduates like me! Nevertheless, the presentation went smoothly. Steve Bahr loved the presentation. And some spectator wanted to learn more so that he could incorporate our ideas into a program he wants to start. That made me feel special.

All I really wanted to do was go to Sea World and swim with dolphins (cost: $170.00) and attend the temple which has a garden on the roof! But neither happened. Sad day! :(

Our drive home went significantly well. I had a great debate concerning contemporary social theory with Jeff (at professor at UVU), Bert (BYU), and Katie (BYU grad. student). We drove through Las Vegas again. Stopped at Carl's Jr. for lunch. Las Vegas has to be the most disgusting, hyperreal place I've ever experienced. Carl's Jr.'s barbeque sauce sucks to put it mildly. But I did see a Louisiana license plate and the Logan (?) Temple!

Throwin' Out the Lifeguard Suit

When I was in San Diego, we stated at the Westin which happened to be built into a mall. In between presentation sessions I had the opportunity to go over and check out new swim wear. I have been wearin' the same ol' smelly lifeguard suits since high school. I figured I needed an upgrade.

The only cute, modest suits I could find were at GapBody. I found this really cute one piece that was polk-a-dotted. I loved it!




And I definitely would have gotten a sweet tan on my back had I bought it. But it was a little bit uncomfortable for those of us with long torsos. Plus I felt kinda like my butt would fall out of the back... No, no, no! We couldn't have that.

I ended up going with the two piece as my Mom advised. It's cute, simple, and a lot more comfortable. What do ya think?