NTA Exam and New York Explorations with Dad

As many of you know, I've been studying with the Nutritional Therapist Association to become a Certified Nutritional Therapist, and I took the final exams on June 12th, and 13th.

Thursday (the day before my test) I was feeling overwhelmed with home work folders to finish, and flash cards of test material that still had to be memorized. I had studied while Grandma and Daniel were visiting but with all the trips we took, and different house hold chores to finish, I didn't feel that I had done enough to get 100%. I knew that I could pass the exams but was worried sick that I would only get a 90%/ B+ (which to me feels the same as if it were an F. I actually shed quite a few tears over the thought!) Stephen andPriscilla both saw my distress and came to my aid.

Priscilla told me that she would cook all of the meals and run the house for the rest of the day so that I could study, and Stephen came upstairs and spent hours giving me quizzes on everything that I'd highlighted and then some. By the time we were finished I knew I'd studied enough, but wondered if I could remember it all. Before I went to bed I said my prayers and told the Lord that I would give all my worries about the test to him, and that I couldn't pass it without his help. I told him that I would be grateful for whatever score I got and would thank him no matter what.

The next morning, Dad and I got up at 4:00, left at 5:30 and started on our journey to New York. I was still feeling a little uneasy so studied the book of Phillipians for an hour, and came across this verse: "Be careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplecation let your requests be made known unto God. And the Peace of God which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." This verse spoke so loudly to me and was such a comfort! It reminded me that when we give our requests, cares, and concerns to God, he takes care of everything so that we have nothing to worry about, and our minds can be at peace. He gives us a peace that"passes all understanding" or doesn't make sense to anyone else. I studied for the last hour of our trip and we made it to the hotel where my final Nutrition Exam was being held about 45 minutes before

it started.

When I went in there I felt more ready than I ever had before,and I had such a peace that no matter what happened, God would be there with me the entire time, and that I had something none of my other classmates had: the peace of God to help me through. The teacher passed out the tests, started the timer, and we all got to work. It was an all Essay test (no mulitiple choice) and most questions required 3 answers. Every time I came across a question that I knew the answer to but could remember just what it was, I would pray and ask God to bring it to mind, move on to another question, and by the time I came back to the other question, He gave me the answer and I was able to write it down.

The test started at 9:30 and was supposed to last until 11:30, but I was able to finish 45 minutes early.Since my test was being graded and I wasn't taking the practical exam until the next morning, Dad and I were free to do some New York sight seeing together.

While I was in the exam room testing, he got information about the best way to get around and when I finished we rode the hotel shuttle bus to the airport, bought an all day bus and Subway pass, rode the bus to the subway, and rode the subway to downtown Manhatten.

The first thing we came across when we came up the stairs from the Subway, was Central Park. I've heard and read about it, but never seen it before and the sight was absolutely beautiful! Dad and I walked around the entire park, taking pictures, and just enjoying all of the beauty.

We then walked up and down 5th Avenue, and spent the next 2 1/2 hours window shopping, souvenier shopping, and having fun together. We went inside 3 amazing cathedrals with the most extraordinary craftmanship I'd ever seen, they all had orna

te wood carvings, huge arched ceilings, and beautiful pipe organs. We stopped and had lunch at a salad and Pizzaria place, then continued our exploration of 5th Ave.

We went inside the Trump Tower which was filled with marble, and had clocks everywhere showing the times of the major cities in other countries, and walked past a lot of fancy restaurants.

On our way back to the subway station we looked at our map and Dad saw that Times Square wasn't too far away. We've heard the name Times Square before but had no clue what it was all about so we ventured that way. From the map it looked about 4 or 5 blocks away but we ended up walking 15 blocks before we were even halfway there. We walked over to 7th avenue and while we were waiting to cross the street a red flag on a building caught my eye so I glanced over at the building, lazily read the name, and then realized with excitment that it was Carnegie Hall!

I told dad what it was so we stopped to go inside and took a few pictures, then continued to Times Square, and after another 15 blocks we finally made it there.

The first thing we noticed was rows and rows of people sitting in Pink, blue, and green lawn chairs.

We turned and looked around trying to figure out what they were all waiting for, but couldn't see anything but buildings, billboards, hoards of people, and Toys R Us. Confused we asked a nearby police officer what they were all doing and he said: "doing? nothing. Their chilling out for free. This is called the Pedestrian mall." hearing this we took the next seats that became available and sat there for the next 1/2 an hour, relaxing, making phone calls to mom, and sending pictures to Daniel.

After resting, we decided to make our way back before it got dark, and on the way to the Subway Station we stopped and had dinner at a restaraunt that caught our eye from across the street: the "Redeye Grill" Dad ordered Clam chowder, and I had their Cob Salad and the food, service, and atmosphere was incredibly wonderful!

Whenn we were completely full, we continued our journey back to the subway station and passed Steinway Hall on the way there. We popped in to take a tour but it was closed for a 7 year old little boys concert.

We made it back to the station but I swiped my card too many times so the gate locked and wouldn't let me through, then a gentleman came up and let us know that if you swipe it too many times it thinks you're trying to share your ticket with other people so we had to wait 15 minutes before we could use it again and get through, we spent the time in Central Park watching the sun set over the water.

About half an hour later, we caught the next train, hailed a bus, and walked the last part of the way back to our hotel, then went straight to bed so I could prepare for the Practical exam in the morning.

Practical Exam and Test Scores:

Dad and I got into the exam room a little early and when the teacher came in, we and the other two students ended up having a long conversation about church, faith, family integrated church services, and of course the military, then moved on to test time. The practical exam had to be completed in 50 minutes, and I was graded on: having my station set up correctly, locating the right point on the body, performing the correct palpation, writing down the correct conclusion, asking the client (my dad) the right questions before performing each test, and then doing a Lingual Neuro Test with a supplement.

When I finished I hesitatingly looked up at my teacher, and she told me that I'd finished in 36 minutes, had passed with flying colors, and had gotten a 96.5% on the written exam I'd taken the day before! I was So excited I felt like squealing (but of course I didn't) andI was rejoicing in the Lords goodness for the rest of the week!

We made our way home the next day after class, and I am still rejoicing!!!! :)

~Thank-you for all of the prayers for me during my test!