Christmas Update
Note: This is an adaptation of a message I sent to many of my friends and family to update them on my status.
Merry Christmas!
Roughly seven months ago, I lost my job as a system administrator
for a company in Gilbert. That shook up my life quite a bit. About a
month after losing my job, I decided to move back to Utah to look for
work. During my first four months in Utah, I didn’t have much success
finding a job, but I did get a lot of time to think. That period was
one of the best periods of my life, not because it was easy, because it
wasn’t, or because I had a lot of free time, which gets boring pretty
quickly. No, it was because I came closer to God than I had in any
other period since my mission. I don’t say this to boast, but to thank
the Lord for the blessings hidden in my trials. He has been very good
to me.
During that period, I made a major life decision - I joined the US
Navy. The decision to enlist was not an easy one, nor was it one that I
took lightly. I spent many weeks researching and many hours on my knees
as I contemplated what was to me almost a foreign concept. In the end,
I knew and know that it was a good way for me to go and signed up. I
enlisted (yes, enlisted - going officer didn’t feel quite right) for
six years and will report for basic training in April, 2006. I’ll be
working with either electronics or advanced weapons systems for my job
- I won’t know which until later in my training.
As the time for boot camp approaches, many aspects of the life I
have lived are becoming more dear to me. The lifestyle I will live
during my period in the Navy is unlike any I have experienced, and I
approach it with a nervous, yet excited anticipation. The time leading
up to basic training will be busy, however, as I work to get in shape
and pay the bills. I am currently working a contract job for Zions Bank
doing data entry and reports that I expect will last until close to my
report date.
My family is also experiencing a lot of growth. In January, my
sister Anna and her husband John had their first child - Adam John
Brooksby. I saw him when I visited for Thanksgiving and he is a
healthy, happy kid. Anna and John are planning to move to Rexburg,
Idaho in April of 2006 so John can continue his schooling at BYU Idaho.
Also, in May of this year, my brother Carl graduated from high school
and my father received a masters degree from ASU. A short time later,
my brother Jacob returned to Iraq for his second tour in the Army. He
is as well as can be expected for his circumstances. We expect and hope
he will return safely to the United States in the first part of next
year. More recently, Carl began college at MCC this fall where he hopes
to study computers and electronics. And, of course, I joined the Navy.
I cannot fully express the thanks I feel for the blessings my family
and I have received this year. I am grateful for friends and family and
hope they are well this Christmas season. I may not call or write
often, but I do think of them. I am where I am because of the love they
have shown me. I owe them my eternal gratitude.