GRATITUDE

OBVIOUSLY the theme of this blog needs to be all about GRATITUDE. THERE ARE SO MANY THINGS TO BE GRATEFUL FOR!!!

I AM GRATEFUL FOR...

• "the Spirit of Thanksgiving!". (such a great clip)


• BRETT!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! You're wonderful!! I hope you take lots of good pictures for your birthday. I told a friend of mine about you today. I am grateful that you are such a genuine friend.


• 4 weeks. Pretty soon we are switching around the schedules to morning P-days, 20 minute dinners and Christmas jubilation. Here is a glimpse of how Temple Square lights up with the special feelings of Christmas. There is JOY here. Here is a list of all the new events at Temple Square for 2011.


• Mom's pie kit! Well, if you didn't notice, we made pumpkin pie this week. Thank you Mother for the fixin's!!! It was a wonderful way to celebrate such a special season!


• Sunny. He's recovering from an addiction to meth. He's been sober about 6 months. Just found out that his girlfriend Karma is pregnant. He's pretty excited. For the first time in a long time, he is happy about the path he's on. We asked him why he chose to quit. He shared with us that he hasn't felt the Spirit, or any emotion for that matter, in a long time. About 6 months ago he felt the smallest little scratch of the Spirit. That was it. Just a super small feeling that he needed to make some changes. Since then--nothing. But if that's all he has is that little scratch, than that's enough. That taught me SO MUCH. I have so much respect for Sunny. Then, he asked Sister Mettra why she chose to serve a mission. She shared with him how she had left everything back home, even an opportunity to sing Opera in Austria. But, she chose to come here. Then he looked at her and said, "Isn't this a better journey than Austria?" Absolutely yes.


• Danish. Of course I love Denmark. I got to announce in Danish again! Happy happy!!


• http://www.lds.org/. My favorite clip of the week: Men's Hearts Shall Fail Them. I love what he says at the end. "I'm grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ that offers me that kind of strength in these tumultuous times" (Elder Russell M. Nelson)


• I am grateful for.... All of the following things

The restored gospel
My family...all of them
Quality friendships
Hygge
Bike riding
The beach
Willow Street!
California
Denmark (+ Finland of course)
Music
Adventures
Forgiveness
Mountains
Fresh pineapple drinks from Restaurante Loiteria
Listening
Temples
Repentance
Chocolate milkshakes
Art
People who like to do taxes
Respect
Grandparents. Mine and otherwise.
Hope
Old movies...+ new ones
Love
Authenticity
Vegans
google.com/maps
Africa....+ fufu + Joachim
Don Quixote
Danish royalty
Oprah Winfrey
Asian markets
Leaves
Pedicures

So much love for all of you!!!!! Love you!! Thanks for everything!! Enjoy Thanksgiving!!

"cute"

Sweet Hallelujah!!!!

You may or may not be sad....but only 5 more of these precious e-mails.

And there is MUCH to be discussed about this week!!

• HOORAY FOR THANKSGIVING SEASON!!!! I like this clip about being grateful!!




• Autumn package--Thanks Mom and Dad for the Thanksgiving treats. I love that you labeled all the bags and made it so simple to make. Pumpkin pie will hopefully make it! :) Thank you for the Sees and the matching PJs! We are obsessed with them already. So soft!!! RAWR. And thank you for supplying the survival fund too.




• Paige-- Thanks for the updates!! It sounds like you are doing so well!! My mom e-mailed me about the new Stake Presidency. Pretty exciting. Pretty inspired if you ask me. So exciting to hear about the new comings and goings of life...it keeps building doesn't it?


• Jen & Eric!----THANK YOU for the "Save the Date!!!" I am so excited for you both!!! Such a cute invite! Seriously. I am so excited. Hooray for love. And hooray for Seawolf love at that. I adore you both!!!


• Kjestine!---Thank you so much for the darling package ALL THE WAY FROM DENMARK!!! I loved the story about your grandma. I was CRACKING up. Seriously. Wonderful. And I shared the candy with our dear Sister Andersen. So much love.


• Vicky--I love you so much!! Thank you for the wonderful letter. It was like I got a letter from Mom. Seriously. That really meant a lot to me. Thanks for that. I am looking forward to seeing what you have knitted over the past year. :)


• Niina!!!


• Amy--We shared a scripture with a lady named Amy. She's from Colorado. After we shared the scripture, we paused, leaving room for the Spirit. Amy broke the silence with an unexpected......"cute". Not to mention her response in a later lesson about Joseph's first vision....."awwwww". Thanks Amy.


• Brian--South Africa. We called him up. Incredible. So funny. He tells us mid conversation, very boldly, "Jenna. Amy. I've GOT TO GO".
  Us: "Oh. Ok. We guess we'll talk later"
  Brian: "No no. To church! I've got to go to church!!!"


• Cell phones--Watch out world...so long pagers!! Hello CELL PHONES!!! Just before we got too far into the 2000s, we upgraded beyond the pagers. Although, I love the pager. 143 never meant so much as it does not.


• Joe--the coon hunter in Kentucky is wonderful. Yep. That means racoons.


• Orange Street--this week Sister Mettra and I got to go to a half-way house to speak at their LDS worship service. It was such an incredible experience. I spoke about the atonement. Sister Mettra spoke about love and she also sang, "Did You Think to Pray?". I sat next to Karma after and ate lunch. She taught me a good lesson.
  Me: What are you like most about Orange Street Karma?
  Karma: Toilet seats & controlable water in the shower.


• Dad & Grandma---T'was LOVELY. Seriously. What a beautiful moment. Thank
  you for the frame! And thank you for the 120% support. A moment I'll NEVER
  forget.


• Blessings of the Preisthood
  After dad was in the car accident, I told President Holmes about it. I just shared with him that I'm grateful that Dad's alive and well. Inspired President Holmes invited me into his office. "Sister Harmer, it seems like your dad's a miracle, huh?" I pretty much broke down. I don't know why. I think I'm just feeling like all 18 months are rushing to a stop. Like at the end of a roller coaster. You know? When it speeds up, then stops with a hault? That's what it's feeling like. It's a funny feeling. But I just was so grateful for a caring mission President in that moment. I suppose I'm anxious a little bit about the next undetermined chapter. I know everything will work out and will be exactly what I need. But hey, the unknown is an adventure. He calmed most of my nerves and then was able to offer me a blessing. Basically, when someone who holds the preisthood offers a blessing, it kind of like a reverse prayer. It's from Heavenly Father, but through someone holding the proper preisthood authority. That blessing provided comfort and answers that only me and God knew about. I am so grateful for worthy presithood holders who do everything they can to bless and strengthen the lives of others. Honestly, that restored authority is what makes The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints unique. It's the authority of Jesus Christ. And that is what FUELS this gospel. If it weren't true, it would have ended with the martyrdom of that courageous boy who said He saw God the Father and His Son in a grove of trees.

Thank you all for everything!! I am so grateful for everything you all do for me!!! I love you so much!!!

Mucho amor,
Sister Amaaayyyyy face.

HELLOOOOOoOOOooooOOOOOO!

Nicole Marie and Lauren Marley. You both have really outdone yourselves. Thank you so much. I will be responding to you both personally. But honestly...one of the most memorable moments. Thank you so much for being the best people in my life that I could ever ask for. Both of you.

• My new life: my new companion is Sister Mettra from Orange County, California. She's incredible. For both of us, it's our final 6 weeks as full time missionaries. We get to serve together as Zone Leaders here at Temple Square. We will be serving with sister missionaries from all over the world. Mexico, Angola, Russia, Korea, Australia, Samoa and Jordan...to name a few. On Monday, when I learned about our new assignments, I actually went into the bathroom and cried a little bit. I am just SO grateful. Seriously. This is the last 6 weeks that I get to serve full time as a volunteer missionary. I choose to be here. God chooses the rest. I am so grateful that I get the privilege of serving with someone who cares about what we're doing here. And is 100% real. She gave a talk a few weeks ago. I really liked what she shared: "Is there evidence without my tag that I am a disciple of Jesus Christ?" and "We can't come closer to Christ until we move our feet". She's wonderful. And refreshing to be with. I'm really looking forward to serving with her. AND...she has a wonderful singing voice...AKA she appreciates music. AND she is hilarious. Get out of town!


• Yep. I had the privilege of meeting the wonderfully Hungarian author of the Thesaurus of English Idioms. Great person. From New York. We got to share more with him and his wife about the Beehive House. They met jogging. While she was praying. And he claims to be an answer to that prayer. :)


• We're working with Chloe. A freshman at BYU. Not a member. She is doing everything she can to find out if this is all true or not. She's attending church. Praying. Studying the scriptures. On Sunday she was part of my fast. She hasn't ever prayed on the phone with us before because she's afraid. We always invite her, try to resolve her concerns, but she still holds back. On Monday, we shared with Chloe that we want her to receive answers so badly, that we included her in our fast. Needless to say, she understood how important this is. She decided to put aside her fears and pray. It was beautiful. I wish you could have heard it. This wonderful 18-year-old girl. Trying to know if her Heavenly Father can really hear her or not. I know He does.


• Last week my dad was in a car accident. He was hit by someone running a red light @ 55 MPH. The car flipped 2.5 times, landing on the roof. He crawled out alive. He's doing ok. Recovering emotionally-but no major injuries. THAT is a miracle to me. I am so grateful that EVERY prayer is heard and answered by our Father.


• THIS IS one of the BEST clips from LDS.org I've seen in a long while.

THANK YOU ALL FOR EVERYTHING. 5 more letters and then BAM. I'm back in your lives. Or at least San Jose...for now.

Love love love,

Sister Amy

• Happy Halloween! .....Just kidding. Halloween's over. As the Christmas tree completely decorated in the front lobby of the Beehive House now indicates.




• Welp. First of all....Hooray Lashele!! So exciting! Hooray for Canada!! I'm
  so happy to hear about that!!!!


• AND...SO fun to see Will and Rebecca!! Seriously--all the Sister missionaries in the Beehive House were laughing. They thought you were family. "Yep" was my response. And I wouldn't have it any other way.


• Halloween celebrations were delightful! As a zone, we went to the Haunted Village in Salt Lake. HILARIOUS. We had a really fun time actually. I was pretty much laughing the whole time at the sisters from all over the world squealing. Then on Halloween night, we ate mucho candy, pizza and watched "Despicable Me" and "The Best Two Years". I really
  like the theme song to Despicable Me. It's catchy.


• For Sister Moisio: We went to Music and the Spoken Word last week. Andrew Undsworth was playing the Tabernacle organ. Then, not until the final song, did I realize that our dear friend, Clay Christiansen was mingling amidst the clarinets and violins with a piano. He just keeps sneaking up on us! On a beautiful note, we sat behind an incredible family. 3 kids. Tweens. Mom and Dad. The dad was baptized 3 years ago. And they were sealed as a family 2 years ago. "Sister missionaries" they said. Beautiful. Pretty sure I stared at them with a warm, probably creepy, smile, for the majority of the performance.


• Met a psychologist from Marin county this week. Made me very happy. Him and a friend were in town to visit with his grand kids. Lovely people. To the core. Bob and Bryce.


• At one of the District Meetings this week, I had a miniature break down. I just looked at these incredible women who I get to serve with. Together in the foxholes as Sister Kemsley would put it. I am so grateful for them. For the sacrifices they've made to honor the pioneers and their faith in the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. It's impressive really. And at the same time, for whatever reason, we feel inadequate. Not good enough. I shared with them that the times I regret the most here are the moments when I was scared. It's a waste of time. And the message isn't about anything but hope. Took me long enough to figure it out. And I'm still learning. But honestly, if it's about Jesus Christ, than it's a beautiful thing. That will bless and strengthen.


• Word of the week: efficacious. Great word. And proliferate. Also a wonderful word.


• Hooray for artists on Mormon.org!!: Rose. Brian.


• And I really like this photographer's work on create.lds.org: Nick. I'm actually a big fan of the Desktop Wallpaper options.


• I am grateful for the family and friends I have. I love you ALL so much. I love my Sonoma friends. Willow friends. Westmont friends. Family friends. NCYLS friends. YMCA friends. El Camino friends. And everyone in between. Thank you for being 110% authentic.
  
  I love you all so much.
  Thank you for everything!!!!
  -The Amy
  
  P.S. Today's agenda: Asian Market. Hawai'ian BBQ. Groceries. It's going to be a good day.