Celebration Tootsie Rolls!

Hooray!

A short e-mail this week. But a good one I hope.

Lots going on this week. The Royal Wedding for starters!! First one to e-mail me pictures of that blessed event wins a big "cyber air-five". It's our mission president's (President Holmes) birthday today! Yep. He's wonderful. So grateful for him. He deserves the absolute best. To celebrate, he gave us all gifts. Donuts, Tootsie Rolls, pizza, laughs, songs and MEMORIES! I am SO grateful for all of the time, energy and effort he volunteers for this special work. I'm grateful for his example, patience, sincerity and diligence.

This week, Sister Douglas and I have had the privilege of talking with a 19 year old, Florida native: Kyle. His friend came to Temple Square and asked us to call Kyle. After calling him, Kyle told us about how he knows how important faith is to him. His family come from a mix of Christian faiths. He is just trying to muddle through the different doctrines. With so many flavors of Christianity, it's hard to know what Christ Himself taught. Enter--LDS missionaries. We've been listening and helping answer questions he has all week. He's praying. Studying the Bible. Studying the Book of Mormon. Sunday will be his first day at church. He's a little nervous, but really confident that Heavenly Father will help answer his concerns. But he knows that there is no learning in a comfort zone; no comfort in a learning zone. Yep. That was, in fact, his Facebook status update this week.

Got to talk to HM in Uganda this week. Long story about how HM came into the picture....but hey. He's awesome. Go figure...the chapel closest to him is on the same street where he lives. And FYI, that is a miracle. Uganda is no Utah. There are not chapels on every corner. Heavenly Father knows him and loves him. And he wanted Sister Douglas and I to call him in the meantime to help him learn more. Don't worry though, he reassured us that he's single, so there are no women in his life that would be concerned if we called him to talk about Jesus. My life is so bizarro right now.

THANK YOU SO MUCH for all of the Easter love this week!!
-Mom and Dad--the Easter egg hunt was fabulous. In plastic and paper form. :) Thank you so much!!
-Nicole, Brett and Big Mac--LOVED the stationary. Who are we kidding? And I feel like I am so updated on the Pleasant Grove cir cit.
-Grandma & Grandpa Davis--Thank you so much for ALL the wonderful updates, letters, encouraging words, testimony and LOVE. I love you so much. Thank you for all of your support! When I come home, I must spend a Livermore weekend catching you up about all of these amazing experiences. Perhaps a fishing trip? Or an Easter egg hunt...with the Golden egg? We'll need Judy Valentine for some help....
-Grandma & Grandpa Harmer--thank you so much for the updates on your trip! It sounds like you had an AMAZING time!!! WOW!! I can only imagine!! Thank you so much for all of your love and support! It's wonderful to have such loving grandparents--who have such strong testimonies.
-Kjestine!!! YAY!! Du er saaa sode!! I loved all the sweet stickers. It's great to hear from you. I have all my fingers crossed for din skole!! Jeg haaber at du vil get in! Seriously! I am rooting for you! Cobbler! Pulp!! Yay! I miss those days of Norrobronx. Whenever I meet people from Denmark, I tell them that I lived there with a big grin...and a badge of honor. :) Jeg elsker dig!!



THANKS FOR EVERYTHING!! I love my new hair cut!
Sister Amy

Hoppy Easter

Happy Easter!!

I was reflecting on Easters past today...and I couldn't help but remember when I brought in a whole bunch of marshmallow Peeps to Willow Street with stickers on them that said, "Hoppy Easter. To my Willow Street Peeps". Love the Willow Street.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NICOLIOLIO!! I don't think I actually wrote Happy Birthday on the cupcake card. After I send it, I was re-thinking and not too sure. Oops. Implied. Eh, but cupcakes are really a year-round delight. You got the idea. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

This has been a week of miracles. Maybe it's God's way of celebrating Easter with us missionaries. Here are a few of the miracles Sister Douglas and I got to meet:
•We met a guy on the Square a few weeks ago from Texas. When we told him we could call any of his friends and share a free gift with them, he thought of a good friend of his from high school. Well, I haven't really been able to get in touch with her. But hey-she answered this week. I wish she hadn't. She was on her honeymoon. Oops! Sorry! Try back in two weeks.
•We met a group of 4 people from Bejing, China. They were so hilarious. Wonderful. They were taking lots of pictures and laughing a lot. Sister Douglas and I struck up a conversation. They are studying in the U.S. for a while. As you can never assume, I asked them what their faith background was. One of them replied, "Well, we are not religious. But we read the Bible, because we want to know who God is". We told them about the Book of Mormon. Oh my gosh...you should have seen their faces when they saw the Book of Mormon in Chinese!! They were so excited. Wu cracked it open and started reading random sentences. All the others started praising his Chinese annunciation. (Mind you, this is all in Chinese. So Sister Douglas and I are just smiling and nodding. With the occasional chuckle). I loved the opportunity we had to promise them that any question they had about who God and Jesus Christ were could be answered in the Book of Mormon.
•We met a wonderful family from Spain. Parents and their college-aged daughter. The three were visiting. Seriously--loved them. So sweet. Catholic. Really respectful. We walked around with them for about an hour. They felt so much love here at Temple Square and really knew that we cared about them. We invited them to learn more about the Book of Mormon or a living prophet back home, which they respectfully declined. Our last spot was the statue of Jesus Christ. They loved when played the narration in Spanish for them. Warmly, they went on their way. But before they left, they mentioned their other daughter....yep. The one living in Layton, Utah. She is a high school exchange student. Apparently, she has mentioned to her family that there are missionaries in her area in Spain. We left, and I couldn't help but think about how much Heavenly Father loves that family.
•My haircut looks fabulous. And the girl who cut it=AWESOME. Not mormon. But has crushes on all the single returned missionaries in her town. Loved her. She was a mix between Nicole, Tiffany, Lauren and Lisa.
•MISS YOU
•Ddddddddaaaaaainiiiisshh!!! Hoooorray!! Oh my gosh. Seriously, I don't know when the allure of Denmark will dim. I don't think it ever will. Sister Douglas and I were in the South Visitor's Center when two very Danish travelers just walked in. Trina og Laura. Well--when they said Denmark, I said, "Hold op!Er det rigtig?". From Copenhagen too. Of course they knew about Raadhusplasen. Of course they knew about Netto. Of course they knew it was the Queen's birthday this week. :) Loved them. We very naturally walked around Temple Square together. When we got to a painting from Carl Bloch, they smiled.
•Me: Carl Bloch var ikke Mormon.
•Trina og Laura: Nej. Han var ikke. Det er rigtig.
•Me: Jeg, men han at vil at Jesus var special. Han var vos frelser.
•Trina og Laura: Ja. Det er saa rigtig.
•I loved what Laura said---she said that even though she doesn't go to church other than Easter and Christmas usually, she knows how special the Savior is. She told us that even though He doesn't play a big role in her life, she'd knows that no matter what, He's always there. She left Temple Square wanting to learn more. We told her that missionaries, like us, could share more with her and help her explore. She loved that idea. Trina and Laura are traveling for a few weeks, so if the missionaries went to her house in the meantime, she simply asked that they water the garden. :)
China, Spain, Denmark oh my. And I didn't even start with the random Polish people from New York. Or the Taiwanese family from Australian. Temple Square.

My biggest hope is that through it all, people know what and who we represent:
"A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." John 13:34-35

Thank you all so much for everything!!!!!!

LOVE LOVE LOVE!!
Sister Amerilla

Good morning Salt Lake City! It's a beautiful sunny day, with a breeze that feels like San Francisco in the fall. I love it.

Yep. Transfer day was on Wednesday. I am officially half way through serving my mission. We now begin transfer 7/12. Time is so weird here. Whatever.

CONGRATS BIG MAC. Saw the pictures and read the blessing. So sweet. I love you all so much.

Sister KEMSLEY is back from serving in Georgia!! OH my lucky stars alive!! I love her!! And, her companion is from Jordan!! So I'm sure they'll get Arabic speaking miracle moments all the time over the next 6 weeks. So glad she's back. This is her 11th transfer. She goes home in July. :( I'll definitely miss her.

THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!

• Angie!! Got din sode hygge hygge postcard!! I love it!! E-mail me your address and I'll send you one from here!! LOVE YOU!! Thank you for being such an amazing friend. I am so proud of you for living the dream!!


• T-Call!! Thank you for the DARLING slice of Sonoma. Loved it. Just what I needed for that moment. Seriously. Man. I miss the cows.


• Mandi Burtoni. You are a love. 100% blonde love. Thank you so much for the manila filled with goodness. Man, you're in to dinosaurs. Love it. Hey, and I am so grateful for you. De ja vu? It took an army to help me realize how special serving a mission would be. Thank you Captain.

Dad! I saw your Penrod cousins! (The cousin who has a son named John).

So, the miracle for the week----I love Polynesians. They are awesome. I called a Samoan guy named Junior this week. Wonderful. He's a college student. So nice. He moved to Kerns, UT (which is like 15 minutes from SLC) about 10 years ago from California. Even though he's been here for 10 years, he said he didn't really know too much about our beliefs. Lots about the culture. But doctrinally, not much. Our unique belief is that God loves us enough to restore the teachings of Jesus Christ through a living prophet. He didn't know much about The Book of Mormon or Joseph Smith. Really, it's through studying The Book of Mormon and praying about it that anyone can know if our bold claim is really true or not. That's what I had to do. And that's what Junior wants to find out for himself too. Because if that's true, than that definitely gives me a lot of hope.

And hope makes life worth living.

LOVE YOU ALL!! Thanks for everything!!! CHEERS to Spring!!! Let me get at that lemonade!!

What a wonderful week!! I'm physically and emotionally exhausted. But in the best ways possible. Sun, snow, rain, a living prophet, apostles and 100,000 people later, I had quite a weekend to say the least.

• THANK YOU Nicole for the 50 things I should know. You do have such a charismatic way of helping me through life, huh? Man alive...I thought I would die. It seems like poop is a really big focus in your life. "Eat, Sleep, Poop....I mean..Hoop. Sorry. Freudian slip. I change diapers a lot...." And I told Sister Hirata about your front yard tribute. She was cracking up. Ha!! Love you. So proud of you.


• LAUREN MARLEY AUGUSTINE PEABODY QUINN!! I got your tape Magoo!! Hooray!! CONGRATS JENNIFER!! I was so giddy when I heard that!! We'll have to get our new niece/nephew a nice subscription to Spot books on Kinder or a nice new Nerf gun. Either one... :) CONGRATS!!! I am so so so excited for all of you!! And can't wait to meet that amazing kiddo!! And thank you so much the tape. Loved it. You're amazing. I am so proud of you. You're so fabuloso. Seriously. I tell people all the time about you. Gosh. You can totally handle a 1 year relationship with Brennan. This is our 2nd round of long distance with you and I. You're used to it. But seriously, I don't know how much more long distance I can handle permanently. It's getting kind of old. Obviously, I have a purpose here, but after 9 months away in Denmark, plus 18 more months away from home...Yep. That's about 3 years totally away from the Fam Bam + Amigos. I know, get the buckets for my sorrows. I know, it's not that drastic. But my body feels like it's 90 years old. Haha! Love love love you. Get the hot tub warmed up for December. And yes. You will be Practical Auntie Lauren. And I will be Crazy Aunt Amy. :) LOVE IT!!!


• Arbor Day is coming up!! Hooray!! I miss you Emily Meredith. I wear my Global Environmental Activism Club Shirt at least 3 times a week. I love it. It always reminds me of you!! Love you!! Hope Chile is wonderful!!!


• Laurel!! Welcome back from Poland!! I didn't even recognize you!! I stared for a solid 2 minutes trying to figure out who you were! HAHA!! You looked like you're doing so well!! So happy!! Sorry we didn't really get a chance to talk!! I'm glad you're home! :)


• We met a girl named (coincidental) Amy on the square this week. She has an amazing story. She was just here reading and relaxing. We started talking to her. She's not far from our age. About to graduate. She told us that she was engaged, for the second time. A few years ago, her first fiance (of 8 months) got really sick and died from Lukemia. He was diagnosed, then 3 weeks later, passed away. SO hard! I couldn't imagine what that must have been like for her. But she had a really amazing outlook. She wasn't bitter. She obviously was sad. But she had a really amazing way of keeping everything in perspective. This life is all about learning. I was so impressed with her and hope to apply that type of strength and perspective with anything I am faced with. It was really her astonishing faith in the plan that God has for us that helped her she said. Knowing that through Christ, all of the unfair things in this world will be made up really blessed her life.


• Two of my favorite links this week are:


• YAY! New mormon.org clip. Honestly, I think I would hang out with this girl. Sheryl is an urban school teacher. She reminds me of most of my friends back home. Saving the world. One student at a time. This is a short clip (about 2 minutes) of one of the talks I got to see at general conference. Elder Richard G. Scott, an apostle, talked about Simple Expressions of Love. When he talked about the hole punches, I couldn't help but think about my crazy loco family. That's something we would do. I'm so grateful for all my friends and family who don't just say they love, but show it too. I remember when I was really sick in college, Grandpa came and scooped me up and brought me to Livermore for isolated recovery at The Grandparent Recovery Center. But that, of course, was only after stopping to get some soft serve medicine covered in chocolate. :)


• Love the family. Or last week, Mandy sent a coloring book with some crayons to bring us back to the artistic moments of Transcendental Psychology Lectures. :) Love the amigas!! Miss you all!!


• Love you all so so so much.

I am so grateful for the opportunities I have been blessed with. I am learning so much. I've really come to know, through lots of personal prayer and study, that God really is our Heavenly Father. That He loves us. And that He really does share His will with us, through a living prophet. Although it's not always my will, I know that God has a big picture plan for us that has blessed my life.

Thanks for everything!! Love you all!! Seester Amamagooski