Bowie

I may have mentioned this before, but I think that the theme song for these 18 months of my life HAS to come from Bowie. David sings it best when he says, "chh-chh-changes!!" Yep. By Wednesday morning @ 8am, I had a new teaching companion, a new apartment, a new assignment and a new perspective to take on. It's only Friday, but I can already tell that this is going to be an amazing 6 weeks, FULL of miracles and memories.

Well, to cure your curiosity, I'm still in Salt Lake City!! At Temple Square!! :) I am a District Leader this transfer with my companionship and 2 other companionships. Not a big change, but a few more meetings and more prayers and care for other people. :)

Here are a few highlights of the week:

Sister Hirata
She finished her mission!! Not going to lie, it was really hard to say adios to her. I asked I could visit her in Sendai. We agreed on a nice pool party in her backyard. :) I love her so much. She is really a special person in my life. You know how you just meet people and you know they are special? That's Sister Hirata. Such a gift. I love her. The best thing about her, is that we got to work really hard together everyday, felt the Spirit everyday, and laughed every day too.

Sister Chen
My new teaching companion is a GOD-SEND. Pun intended for missionary purposes. SHE IS AMAZING!!! She is from Taiwan. Best attitude ever. AMAZING. Her parents grew up Buddhist, then started learning about the gospel in their 20s. She's so sweet. Humble. And HILARIOUS too. The people in the apartment were making noise (normal, feet walking around noise) and she goes, "What's going on? They need to diet. Shorter lunch time for them". So, I think these next 6 weeks will be refreshing to say the least. :)

Motor coach Marvels
With the summer here, we get to highlight Temple Square for SO many visitors from all over the world. A motor coach tour is usually scheduled and has about 30-50 people. Thursday, Sister Chen and I took 3 yesterday. Two were planned. When we finished the first one, we were returning the microphone and little felt tour flag (yep, we have those), when we saw a group of 20 people huddled together at the West gate entrance. They were speaking a funny European language. Well, you know me...what did I say?

Me: "Hvor kommer du fra?"
Them: "Vi kommer fra Danmark"
Me: "HOLD OP!!"

Yep. Amazing. We started talking and they asked us to walk around with them and explain more about Temple Square. The spirit was so strong. It was a miracle the amount of Danish I was able to speak. About 90% of the tour was Danish. Seriously. The best moment was when I was able to share with them how grateful I was for Denmark. Something that I know is that God is our loving Heavenly Father. Because He loves us, He wants to give us the opportunity to enjoy hygge forever, even after we die. That's exactly what Jesus Christ taught. People over think it way too much. But it's just that simple. One of the best 50 minutes of my week.

Room mates.
In my new apartment, there are 6 of us. (Hello Sauvignon? 3111 for life. Miss those days). Here's the difference--1 bathroom. But hey, here's a roll call for where we're from:
1. San Jose, California (Go Sharks!!) (that's me...)
2. Taiwan
3. Russia
4. Columbia
5. Ukraine
6. Mexico
I'm excited. :) Hooray!!!

LANGUAGE
Between Sister Chen and I, we speak Mandarin, Taiwanese, Danish, Spanish and English. WOW. Watch out world. Here we come.


THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING!!!!!
Sister Amy

Summer!!! :)

Hello everybody!!!

Hooray for SUMMMMMMMER!!!!

Where are my flippy-floppies? Hello tulip season! Hello motor coaches from all over the world!!

Yep, big highlight of the week: 20 Danish people. Amazing. Loved them. They are the best. The tabernacle here at Temple Squareis fairly well-known. 12th largest organ in the world. And the acoustics are remarkable. You can hear a pin drop from anywhere in the room. The Danes were so impressed. They loved it. So hilarious. My Danish wasn't perfect, but I'd say about 70% of our conversation was Danish. Definitely simple vocabulary. But I think simple is best when talking about faith.

I LOVED meeting a wonderful Jewish family this week from Chicago. The dad, Skip, kept asking so many good questions. It was a pretty funny conversation. We were in the North Visitor's center where we have an interactive map of Jerusalem. Next door to us, the Tabernacle (derived from the Hebrew term for "gathering place"), and the temple. We told Skip...hey, all this stuff is pretty familiar to you, huh? Yep. I love that. God really is our Heavenly Father. He really does love us enough to fill us in on the plan He has for us. He taught the gospel to Adam anciently. It's simply our belief that those teachings have been restored through a living prophet of God.

On Monday I will learn about the following 6 weeks of my life. Who knows....Temple Square...maybe another state in the US. New companion maybe. New assignment maybe. Entering Transfer #8 of 12! Crazy loco.

Love you all so much!!

Thanks for EVERYTHING!!!

Soster Amerilllllla!!!

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Green Socks

Sweet Sassy Molassy,

I have the best family and friends in the whole world. Man. Well, for starters, it was a treat to speak with the family on Mother's Day. Ridiculous. Party line for sure. Mom. Dad. Nicole. Brett. Big Mac gurgles and Lauren Quinnmeister to top it off. That was a pretty fabulous chunk of my life. Thanks. (I love that you took notes Mom. You're so funny)

Truth be told, I am exhausted every day. The constant tiredness doesn't come alone. Lessons and miracles are usually attached.

Some thank yous to Tiffany, Mandi, Brett!!!, Paige, Kjestine, Stephanie, Sean, Jennie, Grandma & Grandpas, Margaret, Lauren.....SO many of you. Seriously. THANK YOU!! I can't tell you enough how grateful I am to hear from you. I will do my very best to get back to you sooner than later. I am so proud of all of you and all the things you're doing in life!! I feel so grateful to even be associated with you. Truth.

Steph--tell me where Michael will go!! Hooray!! And ask your mom--but I saw Jonathan!! Hagerman's!! Yeee!!! You're a babe. Seriously. Thanks for the pictures. And yes, being friends with your VB players is more important than coaching them. "Limited Too anyone? Who's with me!?! My treat!!"

Brett!!! I am so sorry for not writing you more!! Seriously!! UGH!! I am a terrible friend!! But hey, no one is holding me against my will. You're hilarious.

HEY! And is my internal clock correct in saying that its NCYLS time??? Ugh. I love NCYLS. A giant slice of my heart is in San Leandro right now.

Well. Let's just get to some of the high lights of this week.
•Jim from Alabama!! This guy is hilarious. He came onto Temple Square with a jolly laugh, baseball cap and a camera. Can we say Craig Harmer much? It gets better. Her was a former boy scout!! Oh my gosh. Enter my shameless plug for those green socks. Yep. I told him that we gave Dad a hard time about the socks. But hey, we were impressed when he could rattle off the 14 or 15 things a boy scout is. Prepared, loyal and helpful, amongst others. Man, he was great. (I say "man" a lot, don't I? You'd think I was Holden Caufield....). He told us about how he LOVES Jesus Christ. But hey. He does not want to be Mormon-Christian, Baptist-Christian, Lutheran-Christian, Presbyterian-Christian, Methodist-Christian, or even Jewish-Christian (I know, I had a question-mark floating over my head too). He just wants to be Christian. Christ-Christian. He thinks there is way too much "people" in the way of the doctrines of Jesus Christ. Well folks, I agree with Mr. Jim on that. What a beautiful thing personal revelation is! I love it. There are pieces of truth in all religions--not just within the realm of Christianity. I am convinced that its through personal revelation that anyone can sift through and figure out what's true and what's not. Tough. But possible.
•We met a couple from Denmark! Psych. Norway!! But close enough.... Hey. They were AMAZING. 30s. Known each other for about 7 years. Just gems. Scandinavian sense of humor. I'll tell you what...refreshing. We walked up to the statue of Christ in the North Visitor's Center together. Here, we have a 1-minute narration (of things Christ said from scriptures). Yep tons of different languages. Norwegian anyone? Seriously, the feeling in that room was pretty special. Hearing things like, "Learn of me, and listen to my words; walk in the meekness of my Spirit, and you shall have peace in me" (Doctrine & Covenants 19:23). Really special. Brought me back to Scandinavia. Spiritual boost.
•Here is my favorite new video from LDS.org. The First Step.
I love you all more than I can cyberly express. Mucho.

Love love love.

Thanks for everything!!
Sistah Harmerilski

Happy Mother's Day!

A special post for all the women I love!! You are amazing!

THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING!!

First of all, I just want everyone to know how awesome Cindy Harmer is. She's so fabulous. If you haven't gotten a chance to know her yet, you're missing out. She's amazing. I'm not really sure how she does it. Besides being a full time nurse, she knows how to boogie. Aerobics match? You're on. She set the standard for Nicole and I. She taught us:
•no matter what age you are, learning, and yep, an education, is so important.
•Family is everything.
•Prayer is powerful
•Anything can become special
•Singing can brighten a room. Even if you don't know all the words.
•Food means fun!!!
•ADVENTURE!!!!!!!
•People are people--and everyone deserves love, respect and our WHOLE hearts
•No matter how much or how little we have, GIVE
•Listening can make a difference.
•You don't need to be a man, or an adult, or rich, or ..... to make a positive impact in your community
•Girl power.
•Music is fabulous!
•We can always learn from our experiences
•God really is our loving Heavenly Father
•People are more important than agendas
•Time is of the essence.
•Drop your sword.
A very happy mother's day to all of you!!!

I LOVE MOTHER'S DAY! Girl power! Hooray for the wonderful mothers that have raised me!! I have so much respect for the amazing women in my life who have helped me.

AMONGST OTHERS...a giant THANK YOU to all of you incredible role models in my life...who I consider dear friends:
•Nicole
•Grandma Davis & Grandma Harmer
•All my aunties!!!
•Margaret
•Sue
•Bobbi
•Heather
•Mo
•Sweens
•Claire
•Mara
•Kerri
•Nancy
•Sherri (oh my gosh...forgive my spelling)
•Mama Elizondo
•Kathryn
•Vicki
•Lois
•Min mange mange dansk mors (jeg elsker jere!!!)
•Min dansk Mormor!
•Mama Holmes!!
I love you all so much!!! Thank you for helping me learn what being a strong, confident woman of integrity is all about. I respect and admire you all so much! You are all my angels!

I have really
Hooray for MOTHERS & DAUGHTERS...of all kinds. I LOVE YOU!!!

Thanks for everything!

Next week I'll write more about the Temple Square life...but for now, just mega gratitude for all the rock star women in my life!

Love love love
Amy