~Jersey Shore~:)

MMmmm.... it's a good day. I am sitting here at the computer all cozy-like. My stomach has a wonderful Lion House sweet roll resting nicely in it. Delish. Gotta love warm homemade rolls with honey butter. Welcome to Utah. :)

Some SHOUT OUTS are down below!! :)

This week has been really interesting. I have met so many people from all over the world (again...I am learning that this is the norm). My favorite bunch of people were a group of people from New Jersey. Two couples were out in Salt Lake on a road trip. They were fabulous. One of the couples was actually celebrating their 43 wedding anniversary! Who-ah!! (Al Pacino). I asked them what they thought of Jersey Shore (from MTV). These wonderful Catholics were unamused at the depiction of their lovely New Jersey. :) They were sassy. Loved them. They wanted to know more about some of the buildings at Temple Square and some of the basic beliefs of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

One of the things that we talked about was the construction of the temple. People--let me tell you. Since I have been here, I have learned SO much!! Early pioneers arrived here in Salt Lake City in 1847 from the East Coast of the United States. When these early members of the church arrived in the Salt Lake valley, they got to work. The construction of the Salt Lake Temple began in 1853 and wasn't finished until 40 years later in 1893. 40 YEARS. That's 40 years of hauling huge granite from about 20-25 miles away. That's 40 years of sacrifice. 40 years of dedication to something tied to purpose. And there are SO many more stories associated with the construction of the temple. Ed, one of my New Jersey friends got the picture. He made a really great point. He said that "when we have a WHY in our lives, the HOW will always eventually follow". That is what it was like for these early pioneers. They were building a temple. They knew what they wanted, but more importantly, they figured out why they cared so much. And I presume that learning HOW they would build the temple took all 40 years.

I figure that's what my life is like. I know that I want to be happy. I love learning. I miss my pet tortise Tonka. I am excited that my sister is prego! I know that I want to be my very best self, every day. HOW all of this will play out, I'm not sure. But I know that everything will work out.

After dedicating 40 years of their lives to something, these people that helped build the temple left behind such a wonderful legacy of living a life driven by PURPOSE. When we infuse our life with purpose, it helps make every minute meaningful...and worth all of the blisters.

I know that's true. Thanks New Jersey friend, Ed.

AND---I met MORE Danish people!! HOORORRRAAAYYY!!!! I loved them. AND they also gave me their e-mail address so that when I go back to Denmark, after my mission, I can go visit them.

And I met a few sour people. Here's one now.....
Me: "Hi! Welcome to Temple Square. Would you like me to share a little bit more about this beautiful building?"
The husband: "Sure. That sounds great. Let's go talk with my wife over there"
The wife: "Oh great......Sigh...Ugh...(laments)
Me: "Is everything alright Mam?"
The wife: "Just tell me about the building!!!"
But hey, after a 15 minute conversation, she was able to ease up a bit. They lady was having a bit of a bad day. It reminded me of when I was restaurant hosting at Willow Street. Sometimes, we meet people in the middle of their bad day. I am just glad that Sister Montano (my companion) and I were able to help them relax, even just a little.

And there are regulars here at Temple Square!! WAHOO!! I love the regulars. Many of them have some issues--but hey don't we all. (Thank you SSU psychology department). I love talking to them!! This one guy, Abdullh, has gold teeth. He loves to watch the movies here at Temple Square and always carries a Bible with him. One day he told Sister Montano and I a little about us. He looked deep into my eyes and said, "You...you're strong. I can tell. Hmm...." Thanks Abdullh. Temple Square is fabulous.

SOME SHOUT OUTS!!!!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY INEZ!!!!! NESSI!!!! :) JEG ELSKER DIG!! TILLLYYYKKKEEE!!!!! JUBBIIII!!! HURRA!!!
--Mom, Dad, Brett and Nicole-- THANK YOU for the letters, notes, LOVE and support!! I will be responding to you all today hopefully. You have no idea how fortunate I feel that you are all there for me. DOT the Dove. Classic. Loved it. Keep Dot Alive!! :)
--Maire!!!! WOMAN!!! Thank you SO much for your fantastic "love on stationary". Yep. Stationary. You're fancy. I love you. You'll be getting a letter from me back real soon. Sorry it has taken me YEARS to get in touch with you....the dust in my life is quasi-settling.
--LAUREN MARLEY QUINN.... You've really outdone yourself. I laughed. I cried. I took notes. (If that isn't a book title, I don't know what is). THANK YOU. I miss you. Response will be coming sooooonn...Boyfriend pillow= priceless. Thank you for not cutting off the order phone number.
--David--You're wonderful. Thanks for the e-mail. It was just what I needed. Keep shaking things up in the casinos. You never know who you were meant to meet. :) Thank you!!!
--Tiff...I'm going to write you a letter. Check your mail. Hahah!!!
--Grandma and Grandpa--Thanks for the letters! You're so sweet. I love hearing from you. LOVE YOU!

I hope everyone has a wonderful week! Let's not pre-judge people. Especially people from New Jersey.

.....Keep it real......

~Love~
Sister Amy

Did you just put butter on......

Howdy personas!! :)

What a wonderful week!! I am beginning to understand the life here at Temple Square. And let's be frank--I love it. There are people that come here from all over the world, sister missionaries from all over the world, and crazy people all over. :) There is this fabulous man who stands at the entrance to Temple Square every once in a while. He is super tan, has long white hair and wears jeans topped off with a white tank. S-a-s-s-y. He usually stands really prominently on the sidewalk and stares at traffic. Love him.

One of the things that I do, is every once in a while, I answer phones for people who call and want to learn more about the church, Jesus Christ or the Book of Mormon. Well....let me tell you...I have gotten a few doooozies of phone calls from people.
Here's a few of my favorites this week:
1) William--84 years old. William calls and says, in a wonderfully old, southern accent, "Now. I am calling because I want to get one of them FREE, and I'm gonna repeat myself, F-RrrEEee DVDs about Jesus". My response, "You bet William". William was fabulous. We chatted for a good 5-10 more minutes. Really interesting person.
2) John--one too many drinks. John called in, we chatted for a few minutes, and when I asked him for his zip code, I got a "K-9-J-4er.....". Good ol' John. :)
3) Christina--pregnant!! :) So, I was actually calling her to talk with Christina's mom (who some friends asked some missionaries to call). I ended up talking to her for a little bit, and she said, "Oh! You're with the Mormon church!"
Me: Yes, yes I am.
Christina: That's funny, because we have a sign on our door that says "No soliciting"
>>> a nice awkward pause <<<
Me: Oh, ok.
Christina: Yeah... and my mom wrote underneath, "Except for Latter Day Saints". All of the missionaries think it's so hilarious! They always take pictures with the sign. :)
Me: :)

I met DANISH PEOPLE!!! HOORAY!!! They were fabulous!! I used my best Danglish that I could muster. They were so sweet! And in true Danish form, they were very knowledgable and loved learning about all of the buildings and history. At the end of our short visit around Temple Square, they weren't interested in learning more about the church, but they were so sweet. They told me that because I love Denmark so much, I should come back when I was done with my mission and meet up with them. They gave me their e-mail and everything. I LOVE Danes!! :)

I was at Welfare Square twice this week. So great. Did you know that at Welfare Square, we have huge wheat elevators (or wheat silos) and in them, there is 14 MILLION pounds of wheat?!?! I had no idea!! That's so much wheat. And every 4-5 years, the wheat is taken out and either donated or sold to different places and then replaced with new wheat. So amazing. The purpose behind this is all about being prepared. We use the wheat for any sort of natural disaster (not just for members of the church, but anyone, anywhere in the world). And the huge wheat elevators are a wonderful symbol of being prepared, personally, for anything. Physically, emotionally, spiritually, educationally...what have you. I love these giant reminders of how we can all be mindful about our personal preparation. So great.

And here is the BEST STORY OF THE WEEK:
--So, a couple came into one of the Visitor's Centers here. I welcomed them and commented on the woman's fabulous purse. Another sister missionary nearby (from India) overheard me. The couple went into the bathroom. Sister Vuppada comes up to me and asks, "Did you just put butter on them?".
Me: "Did I what?"
Sis. V: Did you just put butter on them?
Me: No! Was I supposed to?
Sis. V: No...you know...you complimented them a lot.
Me: Oh!! Did I butter them up?

Hahaha!! We shared a good laugh!!!

AND--Check this out!! I have seen so many friendly, familiar faces this week!! Dom, The McAdams and Julee-- all from the Redwoods!! It was so fun to see you all!! It was so refreshing to get a bit of Santa Rosa sunshine here! (And Bishop McAdam--Thanks for the letter!! :) It was a wonderful boost!)

And thank you all for those sweet letters! (And I am working on writing you ALL back...from last week too. Sorry I am such a slow poke!)
--Chels--YOU are HILARIOUS!! I love you so much!!! Haha!! I was so grateful for the Rohnert Park update (I am so happy you are cookin' with the rooms! :) Sounds like the good old days!) And I really appriciated your Pandora Coldplay shoutout/ Celeb update. What the?!?! MADEIRA!?! VACANT? How can this be? The legacy must be preserved I suppose. :) Keep on being sassy!!
--T-Mahafffff!! Eagle eye!! You're a doll!! Thanks for the love decorated with those darling butterfly stickers too! :)
--NICOLIOLIO!!!-- APPLE?!?!?!?!? You have no idea how creepy I am with babies here at Temple Square. I "coo" a lot more than usual. Babies love me. Adults inch away slowly. I am so excited for you four!! :)
--Grandma and Grandpa Davis-- Thanks for the incredible letter about service!! You shared some really sweet stories. Thank you so much!
--Jennifer--Hiking, the zoo and treats-- oh my! Sounds like the Bryan bunch is really having a fun summer!! :) Thank you for keeping me in the loop Jennifer! Happy birthday to Emily!! I can't believe she's already 3!! WOW!! Time flies!!
--T-Call....you will be getting a letter from me. I love you. :) DOLL FACE!! You kill me!

Well, thanks for everything everyone!! I'll be talking to you next week!! :) Love you!
-Sister Amerilia

Amy Update via Mom

Hello to Amy's friends and family,
Today I received a letter and CD from Amy and thought I would share some of her latest news with you.
First of all, she's arrived at Temple Square, this picture is of her in front of the Salt Lake Temple. Amy says "The Salt Lake Temple is GORGEOUS!!!"



Her current companion from Argentina Sister Montano


The following is some of the writings in Amy letter I received today in the mail.

MIRACLES! We meet so many people from all over the world. The Lord really puts people in our paths for special reasons. I honestly can't tell you how many people I talk to everyday from the Bay Area. My Argentinian companion, (who has been here for 17 months)(she's awesome)she said, "that she's never talked to SO many people from the Bay Area". Between the two of us we mainly talk to people who speak spanish, from the Bay Area and lots of really amazing people from all over the world.

Here's a miracle for today (only time for one today.....sorry)

Just tonight, we met a person T__, with a BYU shirt on (typical around here). We talked to him and found out that (go figure) he just graduated from BYU and is moving to San Jose to work for a company. Well--we took him to the Christus, then to a clip of Thomas S. Monson (President of the Church) bearing testimony of Christ then we felt like we should take him to the room with the Humanitarian stuff. Generally, we usually stick to Tabernacle, Christus, Temple Model Display and the Assembly Hall, so these other places are generally where we take members or just anyone who we feel would feel the spirit best at these places.
Well, Good ol T___ felt the spirit. For sure, we played a clip for him about Hurricane Mitch and the church's response (temporally & spiritually). Tears, Tears, My friend. Spirit + Tears. He didn't need Sister Montano & Sister Harmer. He needed that spirit (via us :)) But the spirit told his heart things we didn't (I love that). So then, (I love what happens next) We bore testimony that this gospel is about what we apply in our lives. He said, it made him think about what Christ did for us and what we can do for others.
I stopped him and said "Exactly, this gospel is about DOing.
What will we DO?
What will we DO with what we know?
What will we DO with the experiences the Lord blesses us with?
What will we DO when we have been through trials and can then relate to others in new ways?
T__ had a lot to think about, so did I.

This is hard out here. No lie.
My feet hate me. But they are proud of me for wearing the Danskos :).
My back wants to collapse most of the time, and
My neck wants to disconnect from my body.
My eyelids burn.
My toes smell funky~all the time
BUT my heart is FULL!
Love,

Amy (Sister Harmer)

Week One! :)

Week One. Over and out. It has been a CRAZY week!! Welcome to Temple Sqaure!!!

First of all, a few MAJOR shout outs are in order:

1) Happy anniversary Mom & Dad!! I hope Nicole gets you a really nice gift on behalf of me, Brett and Nicole. :) I hope you get to have a really delicious dinner and celebrate!!
1.5) Nicole, please follow up on #1. :)
2) Happy Birthday to you Lisa Elizondo!! Gorgeous friend!!! (A little somethin' somethin' will be coming your way!! It's in the works...) I hope you have an incredible birthday!! :) (And I loved your letter too! I was cracking up when I was reading it. I just totally imagined you talking to me. Hahaha!! I love our friendship so much!!)

So...this week at Temple Square has been really amazing. I can't even begin to tell you how many people I have met from the Bay Area. (I had the special treat of seeing Doug and Kathy Pulley this week!! Yay! And Spencer Nance, Sheena Arnold and Calle's Mom!!) But there are lots of people here from all over the world that come to visit Temple Square. Lots of summer tourists driving through on their way to Yellowstone, cross country trips, the works. My companion from Argentina is amazing. She has been here for 17 months--so she's almost finished. And she said, that she hasn't met this many people from the Bay Area in such a short period of time. I really think that every person I've met has not been a coincidence. I am learning so much about the world! Go figure. In Salt Lake City.

And, since I've been here, I am learning so much about how to be the best missionary. It isn't to just tell people things or facts about buildings, but really, the best thing to do, is to create a space where people can feel safe to explore for themselves. Silence is golden (Mandy! Maria Hess! :) Love it) As a missionary, I am happiest when I can create an environment where people can LET their hearts be moved in a positive way. So basically my thought of the week is that SILENCE has really helped me listen to what I am feeling. I've heard a lot when I don't say words.

Thank you all so much for all of the love, support and thoughts. I feel so fortunate to meet all of the people I have met since I've been here.

And some other shout outs (If you sent me a letter, I will be writing you all back in a longer note by letter *hopefully* today)
~Lashelle!!--Thank you for your letter!! I love you cousin!! I am sorry that I haven't gotten back to you sooner (it has been a really crazy month!). You really gave me a boost! Thank you. I hope you are doing well!
~Kjestine!!-- I got your darling card and letter!! Thank you so much!! I will take your advice about the pigeons. :) I'm glad to hear that you are back in the lovely Denmark!!
~Calle og Inez!-- I saw Calle's Mom at Temple Sqaure!! I started talking to her in Danglish!! :) I think I freaked her out at first. "Uhhh...excuse me, where are you from? What's your last name? Are you Swedish?" Haha! But it was so so refreshing to see her! I love her so much! We had a really sweet conversation...full of hygge. Loved it.
~Paige- you are such a doll!! Thanks for the picture!! Sassy thing!! I'm so glad you got to go to the country concert! I was cracking up when I read that. I can just imagine you and Andie with your matching belts and bandanas. Perfect. :) Your letter seriously gave me an emotional and spiritual boost. Thank you friend! I love you!
~Aunt Debbie-- WOW! Kyle sounds like he is having some really incredible experiences! I love the pictures. Thank you. And the stories behind them are even better. I think about him all the time!
~Aunt Lisa---I am so proud of Mr. Craigski! He is so amazing! I am so glad we got to spend so much time together at his eternal mission district.

Love you all!!
~Amy~

I'm a Square on the Square... :)

Buenos Dias people!!

Yup....it's Friday. Fridays will be the day I send e-mails for the next 6 weeks (at least). Let me just tell you all: WOW. It just got really real. On Wednesday I moved up to Salt Lake City, Utah. After I chose to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, I could have been called anywhere in the entire world, but I was called to serve here in Salt Lake City. Although Salt Lake City may sound a little bit "commercial" or "typical", I have met so many people from all around the world. While at Temple Square, most of the visitors that I have met are not members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS). I have met people from France, Korea, Switzerland, Florida, Washington, England and Guatemala (to name a few). Not to mention, the female missionaries (called sister missionaries) that also serve here are from all over the world too. There are sisters from Japan, Germany, Kenya, Nepal, India, Cambodia, Uganda, Canada, Hong Kong and so everywhere else you could imagine. There are tons of sisters from California too. I have a new companion, Sister Montana, from Buenos Aires, Argentina. She is a spit fire! I love her! She has a really positive attitude and really has a wonderful way of connecting with people. She is showing me the ropes and helping me so so so so much as I keep trying to figure out what I am doing. I feel a bit dazed most of the time as I do my best to figure out where everything is. I really don't know much yet, but I have a pager, so I feel pretty official. :)

My first assignment here is in Welfare Square!! :) I only spend a few days a week there, while the rest of the week, I am in the general area of Temple Square. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Welfare Square!! It is incredible. I have only spent one full day there and I have already learned so much more than I ever knew. Most of the people that come to Welfare Square particularly are already members of the church. Thursday, my companion and I took 60 people on tours of Welfare Square. But many people (members or otherwise) aren't very familiar with the really amazing things that Welfare Square does. I, for one, have learned SO SO much!! I've learned about how the giant white grain silos store 16 MILLION pounds of wheat!! Wowza!! (On one of the tours, there was a lot of kiddos. I initially told them that the big white silos were where we produce the marshmallows in the entire world....ba dum ching. Don't worry, I told them about the wheat too)

I've learned about the church's LDS Employment Center too. Basically, people can utilize the LDS Employment Center to improve their job skills and learn more about how to get (and keep) jobs to support themselves.

There is so much more about Welfare Square for me to share (you'll learn more over the weeks!). I love the 3 main goals of the Square. Essentially, the purposes of providing these programs for people are to:
1) Help take care of the needs of others
2) Help empower others to take care of themselves
3) Help others learn how to care for others.

I love it!! HELPING!! I am so grateful for the chance that I have to learn about different pieces of the church that so many are unfamiliar with. I know that Welfare Square serves as an example of the gospel: the teachings of Jesus Christ in ACTION. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is a church of SERVICE and action. I am reminded of that everyday. I keep learning new things everyday! :)

Thank you all for your love and support!! I love you!

Love,
Sister Harmer