Tag Archives: service

Turning Point - a great new BYU TV series

Hooked on Turning Point

Just Life, Other, , , , , , ,

Turning Point - a great new BYU TV series Josh and I have a new favorite TV show (even though we don’t really have TV). No, it’s not Psych—even though we like that, too—it’s an even better show called Turning Point on BYU TV. One Sunday night we flipped on BYU TV and this show came on. It was talking about these really depressing stories of kids in foster homes with no hope, and people who had no healthcare, and we said to ourselves, “What is this depressing show?” But over the next hour as we watched, we were amazed as the stories unfolded and we learned about amazing, creative, selfless things that people were doing to help those around them.

The show features inspiring stories of people who see social problems around them and do something about it, often in innovative or big ways. It’s incredibly inspiring, and both of us have shed a few tears (well, more than a few, in my case) as we’ve watched the episodes. It’s so great to see people doing things for others, and also a great refreshing take on television: something that’s uplifting and real, and also high quality and very well done.

Want to watch for yourself? All of the episodes are online and you can watch them any time. Here are a few of our favorites. We really hope you check it out.

  • Josh’s Favorite: Echo Clinic and San Pasqual Academy Echo Clinic and San Pasqual Academy - Play Episode– This is the first episode we watched, and talks about an incredible new take on foster children care and education, as well as an incredible model of community-provided healthcare. So great!
  • Paige’s Favorite: Or really, one of many! It’s so hard to choose. But I love the story of Whitney Elementary Whitney Elementary - Play Episode– prepare to have your heartstrings tugged! An elementary school with a large population of homeless/underprivileged children finds donors to provide food, clothing, and more to its students.

Service and Rejection

Just Life, Other,

“Do a good turn daily!”

That’s what all good Boy Scouts memorize. And yet, sometimes it just doesn’t work out. Such was the case when we went to donate blood at the Red Cross Blood Drive the other day.

Josh had not given blood in a long time, because after having lived in Belgium for several years, there was always that crazy mad-cow disease problem. However, having recently checked with a Red Cross worker, I learned that everything should be okay.

We marched forth confidently at our scheduled time of 4:30 to give blood, only to read about a rule in the pre-donation manual stating that if you have lived in Europe for a cumulative total of more than 5 years, then you are out of luck! I asked a worker about this, and the first answer was that I would be fine, that it was just a malaria issue, and my countries (Belgium for four years, France for two) were not on the list.

However, after speaking with the second worker that verified my responses, the news came out: five years in any European country excludes you from ever giving blood! Noooo! (For the curious, the reason being that mad-cow disease, which was an issue back in the 90’s, is a neurological disease, transferred in blood, that can only be tested by taking a slice of your brain. bummer.)

This is the official indefinite deferral letter from the Red Cross. In other words, Josh is never allowed to give blood, EVAR!

So instead of giving blood, I was given a affidavit stating the reasons I could not ever give blood, and had to sign it to show my understanding. I also got a nice “Indefinite Deferral Letter,” shown here, also stating the same. By this time, Paige had already given blood. The plus side? I still got to eat the snacks… :)