CONGRATS to Jen, Keith & Mason!!! SO HAPPY!!! Hooray for a happy happy Christmas!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Brittney!!! My Christina cousin!! I love you SO SO MUCH!!! Get ready for the best bike ride ever in a few months. Or, we could just wait for the sun and go to the beach.....:) Love you!!!!

Grandma Harmer! Sounds like apple season was wonderful! Happy happy birthday!!
Thank you!!

Brett for your letter!! I liked the artistic red tape. And I really appreciated the updates on life. It sounds like we have a lot of catching up to do. So much has been happening. Please know that you're in my thoughts all the time!

Paige! Sounds like you're doing great too. Sorry I won't make the Turkey Trot this year. I think I'll need a solid year to condition up to running more than 15 minutes. Thank you for the encouragement and support. I really means a lot!!

The Bryan family!! Thank you for the mind puzzles, the beautiful art, letters, encouragement and support and of course, the treats. You are such an incredible family to me. Thank you so much!!

Familia!! I love you all so much. Thank you for the make up and the goodies!! I really appreciated the note Mom. Seriously. And thank you Grandparents for ALL of your encouragement and thoughtful letters. They mean SO much to me. You have no idea. I treasure each one. Grandma Davis--can you draw a picture on the next one?

Margaret. I love you. You are an eternal friend. Thank you so much for EVERYTHING.

Tamarra (mi amiga) has updated her mormon.org profile!! I appreciate the tagline.

We got to talk to Michael in Ghana again this week. He's wonderful. When we called, he was eating fufu. From how he describes it, it sounds delicious. Very ghanan dish apparently. Someday. He shared with us how grateful he is for the plan of happiness that our Heavenly Father has for us. Although we're a world apart, it's beautiful to me to know that God is mindful of each of us. He knows when we're eating fufu, watching Oprah, crying, laughing, stressing out and everything in between. I am so grateful to know that He cares about us no matter what.

We met a man named Jeff. He was refreshingly genuine. His story hurt my heart. He was in Salt Lake to talk to his attorney. He's getting a divorce. He has 3 kids. Really nice guy. Kind of like talking to a chocolate bunny from See's. Really nice, but a little empty. He told us about how he used to believe that God was his father, that the Book of Mormon was true, that families were central to life. I asked him how his perspective changed over the years. What had happened? He shared with us how it was the smallest things. Stopped praying. Stopped studying the scriptures. Stopped attending church. And eventually, stopped nurturing his testimony. He stopped caring. And he said he was happy. But he just kind of shrugged it off, like, "well, I guess I'm happy". Who am I to judge and break out my happy thermometer, but I'll tell you one thing-- the pioneers are teaching me a lot about true happiness. Amidst death, heartache, illness and poverty, they still managed to find the type of happiness that lasts more than a minute. The type that lasts for eternity. I shared with Jeff how much Heavenly Father STILL loves him. No matter what. And how He wants us to enjoy eternal happiness. No need to wait for blessings. We can start improving the quality of our lives now.
Thank you so much for everything.
I love you all so much!!!!!
See you soon,
Sister Amy

Pink Mumu, sandals and zip-up El Caminio hoodie

Hello.


Well. I am tired. My body is akin to a 134 year old tortoise. Wrinkly, slow, old and often likes to be cozy inside the home.
Happy Birthday Dad!!! Hope you liked the cake I sent.....in 2012, we shall go on an adventure for your birthday celebration.
Happy Birthday Sweeney!!!!!!!! I hope you see this, but Sweens, we must eat some more gelatto when I come back. And I want to hear ALL the high school drama that I have missed for over a year!! I hope you are doing SO well!! I think of you all the time. Especially when I see guests on the square wearing Pumas.
It's been an exciting week....to say the least. On Friday, President Holmes, the mission president here, felt like we should have a mission-wide meeting. (Which, by the way, takes a little coordination and is tricky to coordinate. Matching up 150-200 people's schedules in a moment's notice--a task). Anywho....we did. Friday night we had a sit down serious talk about safety. President Holmes re-addressed a lot of the policies and procedures we have here at Temple Square, but really reemphasized the importance of why we have them.
Well...that very night--Friday--my apartment's carbon monoxide meter went off at 2am. Annoying. But we knew exactly what to do. And no one complained. Fortunately, it just needed a battery change (such is life). But...it was excellent prep for Saturday night.
Saturday night, our neighbors decided to have a bit of a fiesta. (For the record, I love listening to them...these are my favorite people. They play acoustic guitar and have Christmas lights adorning their patios. They put me to sleep, pleasantly reminded of my college years.

Things got a little out of hand I guess, because a fire started. It's SO close to our apartment complex (the shrubbery and trees joining the two buildings doesn't help...) that we evacuated our apartment too. And it was a pretty big fire too. Like a movie. Maybe I just thought that as I tried to peel my eyes open at 3am standing in my Pink Mumu, sandals and zip-up El Caminio hoodie.

Lessons learned: always be prepared. Keep sandals by the bed. This mission is run through inspiration.
And hey....here is Brandon Flowers from the band, The Killers. Who says you can't love the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and be a rock star? That's my plan as it were.
Carol, my homeless friend gave me her apple the other day. She doesn't have her two front teeth. So chewing is a little tough for her. She loves applesauce though. :)
Michael in Ghana is so lovely. He wants to be baptized there so that "his soul can feel cleansed"
Barbara in Texas talked to us too on the phone. She's in the hospital actually. They will be checking to see if there is fluid in her lungs. She loves talking to the missionaries. And said, "I'm not about floppin' religions or nothin', but I am about Christ". She is so funny. She also shared with us that she knows the country singer Clay Walker. Wonderful. We shared with her the last 2 paragraphs of the introduction to The Book of Mormon to which she responded, "Oh neat! I like the way that's worded". Neat-o.
Today, we ate Hawaiian snow cones!! Lovely.
This week, try something new. Maybe a new cafe, or a new book, or even a new friend. I promise you won't be disappointed. It's my favorite thing to do.
Love you all so much. I DREAM about you more and more.

Good luck this week Jen!!

Love you all!!
Sister Amy

Money can't buy me love...but it can buy me marshmallows, which are pretty much the same thing.

Ahhhhhh...People of the World!! (I love the Spice Girls....)

Kneader's is delicious. It's one of my Utah favorites. Seriously. I'd say it's been about 1 year prior to serving here that I realized how much I cared about Kneader's. It's a bakery. Utah. Wonderful. Cinnamon rolls that are simply divine. And the warm dinner rolls remind me of Grandma Davis. Anything that reminds me of Grandma Davis is going to be a hit.

We had a Zone Leader training this week @ President Holmes' home. It was incredible. I learned so much. Sister Holmes has a darling thing on her wall that says: "Money can't buy me love...but it can buy me marshmallows, which are pretty much the same thing."

Ghana!! Yep. We have had the delight and privilege of speaking with people in Ghana this week. Sister Maneha and I called Michael in Kumasi, Ghana. He's wonderful. I was calling on behalf of his friend, Corrine, who we met at Temple Square. She used to live there for school for a while. They had had some conversations about faith, The Book of Mormon and about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. But to her chagrin, hasn't really been in touch with him too much since she left in the summer time. WELL, I called Michael and he was wonderful. Go figure, I had just called him while he was reading The Book of Mormon and watching Oprah!! We are insta-friends! My two favorite things to do. He then told me that he wants to go and attend my church. Then he stopped. Corrected himself and said, "No no. This is not your church. This is not my church. This is The Church of Jesus Christ". Well said Michael. AND....they do have a temple in Accra, Ghana.

Last night= DANISH tour! 21 people. Torben wants a copy of the Book of Mormon in danish from missionaries.

I know this is a super short e-mail this week, but honestly, I feel so grateful for the privledge it is to serve here. I am learning so much about important things in life. People. Perspective. Priorities. Plans.

Watch THIS about a family that comes together when tradgedy strikes. I thought about 3 places: San Jose, Denmark and Rohnert Park. (Opportunities to Do Good)

Thank you all so much for supporting me through it.
I love you all!
The Amy

Hello Familia y Amigos!!!

JEN!! I am thinking about you, Keith and Baby Mason ALL the time!! I love you so much!!! Please let me know if there is anything I can do for you and your family!!! Other than prayers and dinner rolls, I'll need specifics... :) Love you so much!!!

This week has been incredible. I don't know how it can keep getting better every day after over one year, but it does. I love serving as a missionary--especially on such sacred ground. At the beginning of the week, I anticipated stress and havoc, but none came. Things were busy, but everything worked out--as it usually does. Coordinating schedules for the Cover Zone assignments (for the transfer as well as general conference weekend) took time, but was worth it in the end. Things seemed to flow. No hiccups. My favorite moment of the week was training on Thursday night. Sister Maneha and I met with all the sisters in the humble original church office room. As we walked through the home, we could feel the help of Brigham Young and all of the pioneers who sacrificed their lives to be in the valley. In the final room, I felt like I was wearing magic glasses. I could see about 20 sister missionaries, representatives of Jesus Christ, doing their very best. We all want to represent Him well. It was a special moment because Sister Maneha and I could testify to these sisters how we know Brigham Young, his family, and every person who ever steps foot in this home, tries their best. That's the beautiful hope of the gospel.

AND from conference, I LOVE the new youth family history site. Call me a nerd, but geneology is wonderfully exciting.

I really miss Sister Moisio. She's a forever friend for sure. She taught me so much about faith. Sincerity. Hope. And never giving up on people. The thing I love about Sister Moisio is that she's 100% real. She's not a phony. Authentic and sincere, but not weird.

Thank you Mama for the boots!! And the very special note. Guess what? Praise to the Man was sung at the Saturday Afternoon session I attended. Pretty sure I looked ridiculous. I was crying through it as I thought about you and what I'm doing here. Happy/joy tears of course. Grateful tears. Overwhelmingly humbled tears.

Thank you for everything everyone. I feel SO privileged to serve and know that this experience is preparing me for a lifetime dedicated to loving and serving other people.

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

Sister Amy