Happy 4/9ths to Me!

Happily we didn't have to wait an extra 5 hours for Melissa's email like we did for Andrew's!  Thanks to all of you for helping her to have a great missionary birthday last week!

Well hello there. 

Today is my 8 month mark! That is remarkable. I say this at every month mark, but time perception on a mission is super weird. I love the way Andrew puts it - definitely the longest/shortest 8 months of my life. 

I had a really nice week. It is hard to not be discouraged, but I am trying to work through things. I feel like I've suffered long enough in the "it doesn't matter why you're not seeing success, just keep working and it will all work out" realm. Uh - helLO! It's been 8 months of this! That's long enough! I tell myself, angrily. But then I remember that it's not my call. Clearly, it has NOT been long enough, and God wants me to still be learning things. I hope I am. 

I'd like to send out a big thank you to everyone who remembered my birthday! I got cards from Aunt Eleanore (and family) and Grandma Millward. I got a package from Lizzy and Kelsey with adorable handmade cards, a dinosaur coloring book, an actual dinosaur (well, an actual dinosaur figurine, at least), birthday celebratory paraphernalia and the ingredients to make worms in dirt! I made the treats to share with my Elders at District meeting (because clearly I'm a fourth grader) and it was a huge success. I also got a package from Gretch, Britt, and Amy! They sent a ton of treats, a cute belt and bangle, letters, cards, and coral nail polish which is already bespeckling (<-- is that a word?) my toe nails :) I also got a package from Jen my dear birthday twin with a horrifically mormon Sister missionary card and -- get this --- STAR TREK STATIONARY! Needless to say, my birthday was very much enjoyed and I felt super loved! 

Thanks to YOU, dear family, for the package that YOU sent! I'm not going to thank you for the birthday card that you sent because it actually made me pretty angry. I could have come up with WAY better fairy puns. It wasn't fairy nice of you to send me such a lame card. See? Easy as a pancake on a hot summer's day. [Editor's note:  We sent her a Tinkerbell card because she truly hates Tinkerbell and it was probably the corniest card I've ever seen in my life, so I couldn't resist!  Obviously it had the desired effect!  :-) ] 

On my actual birthday, Sister Edwards did indeed wake me up by singing me Happy Birthday. Unfortunately it was guitarless and Huck-my-dogless, but it was still really nice. I opened my packages on my bed and then looked around and there were little pieces of paper taped up around the apartment with INSIDE JOKES WRITTEN ON THEM! It was so cute! I rushed around the house frantically and found all twelve in record time. It was really really sweet of her. Then sitting on my desk was a birthday card from her and JUSTIN BEIBER PERFUME SAMPLES. They were a great gift that I can enjoy twofold because they make me smell lovely (seriously - when I get home I'm buying the full bottle and wearing it every day) AND I taped one to the inside of my planner so now I get to look at JBeibs any time I want - day or night! We made biscuits and gravy for breakfast (because what other day can you justify eating meat floating in fat served on top of carbs and fat?) and studied and headed out to district meeting where we had a BOMB Book of Mormon pow wow (or should I say, a "b.o.m." Book of Mormon pow wow?) and some great trainings and, of course, worms in dirt. It was so cute! I made all the Elders wear party hats and blow kazoos and take pictures with me. Here is a picture of my cute district (well... most of my district and some other elders who chose to participate.)

After district meeting we had a correlation meeting for LP2. Those are always entertaining because Jordan, our ward mission leader, is hilarious. Then we studied for a bit and headed to a member's house for dinner! It was super fun. 

At home, we had some birthday cake (even though we were both stuffed - we simply HAD to keep with tradition). It was a Carrot Cake from Trader Joe's and I think it was like 800 calories a slice. But it was most likely worth it. All in all a great day! 

Now I will proceed to tell you of the things I've learned in the Book of Mormon lately: 

* Alma 34:15-17 the phrase "faith unto repentance" is repeated 4 times. I had never thought about this phrase before but the institute manual I'm reading along with my studies this go 'round pointed out that lots of times we ask, how much faith is required for salvation? Apparently the answer is not that we need the faith to move mountains, or the faith to perform miracles or any loud, dramatic expression of faith. We just need to have enough faith to move us to repent - that's all we NEED. 

* Chapter 36 in Alma is one giant chiasmus (thank you, Mrs. Woolsey for teaching me that lit term)! In this form, the most important doctrine, the crux, is placed in the center. In this chapter that is verses 17 and 18 where he mentions twice that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and that He atoned for the world. 

* I love the phrasing in Alma 38:5. "As much as ye shall put your trust in God even so much ye shall be delivered out of your trials and your troubles, and your afflictions," [emphasis added, obviously]. I love that it is a directly proportional relationship. God will deliver me from my troubles to the extent that I put my trust in Him! I need that reminder through this spiritual desert, void of outward success. 

At church yesterday, after feeling down from having to report a kajillion big fat ZEROES in our ward correlation meeting, I walked out of the room and was greeted by none other than RP! It was so so nice to see her! She seriously made my otherwise rough day a good one. I'm so glad she is back in Boston for the summer :) 

Whelp - thanks again. I am feeling better today overall about the discouragement business than I have been for the past couple of weeks, so that is definitely heading in the right direction! My goal for this week is to be deliberate in everything that I do. When I take the sacrament next Sunday, as I reflect on my past week, I want to have specific instances of doing things deliberately FOR Christ. I want to wake up exactly on time for Him. I want to start studies exactly on time for Him. I want to talk to people even thought it's super scary - FOR HIM. That's my goal! I'll report back next week! 

I love you all and hope you're enjoying the end of school and the change in weather. 

Love,
Sister "22 does not feel significantly older than 21 - thank goodness" Broekhuijsen

Week 1 - Again!

I had to be patient again today - but the email from Melissa did eventually arrive!  Here it is for all to enjoy!

Wow. Another week 1. It is such a weird thing that I am still here! But I love the members and they love me and things are great in Brighton. The weather has been very... wet. And windy. And it is very misty so that even with an umbrella, I still get soaked. I am just embracing the frizzy hair. It is nice to be inside and looking out, though! I love it! The green green trees look spectacular against a flat grey sky. And BOY are there trees here. It's just fantastic and I feel so lucky to be in such a beautiful place! it's amazing what some leaves can do to spruce a place up! (haha - SPRUCE trees don't even HAVE leaves - they are coniferous! Botany joke!) 

Well, I feel like I don't have a lot of news since last Wednesday. Things are going well. Not in the sense that we have people to teach, but in the sense that we are recognizing blessings and pushing forward. What people often don't realize is that even though we're not in Europe, it's basically like we're in Europe! ha! Hardness of hearts and aversion to actual religion/change, the whole shebang. So I am just trying to accept the fact that Boston basically equals Paris (minus the whole "having to speak French" business).
Last Pday was great! After e-mailing we headed into the Pru, like I mentioned last time. There is a skywalk/observation deck on the 50th floor (which costs $15/person) and there is a big fancy restaurant called, Top of the Hub on the 52nd floor (with lots of windows overlooking the beautiful city) and the only requirement is that you order something. Also you should know that there is a plate of cookies available on the dessert menu for $13. Guess which option we selected? Yes. Spending way less AND getting cookies. It was a great time. See? Look:

Then we went to Trader Joe's. It was my first time going to actually SHOP, instead of stopping off with a member as she drove us home. We went crazy. I bought some carrot ginger soup and some butternut squash soup and although I haven't yet tried them, I expect they shall both be delish. Also, I got some TJ's brand pop chips. Totally cheaper than name brand. Also we got hummus and pretzel thins and ice cream ("What kind?" you ask? Well, only the BEST kind, my dear child. TJ's Lemon Triple Gingersnap. Thanks for asking). What healthy purchases!
Here's a cute picture of me in front of cute Trader Joe's. 

Well, since this e-mail so far is mostly about food and shopping and being a tourist, I suppose I should include something a bit spiritual and uplifting.  

During transfer meeting on Wednesday, Sister Evans gave a great analogy. I will summarize it and name it. 

The Analogy of the Light and the Cleaning Supplies and the House:
We were all given a house, which, through sin (and probably some earthquakes and stuff), we have defiled and made dirty. In this house there is no electricity (I don't know why - just roll with me here. I'm embellishing some of the details to try to make it into more of a story form) so when we try to clean it up on our own, we can only get the big things that we can immediately see: the couch is turned over, the book shelf is tipped, etc. So we do what we can, and when we open the door, Christ is standing there. He says, "That was good, now here's some more light - go try again." So we take the light He has given us and we go back and we can see a little bit more. The lampshade is crooked, we see that we put some of the books back in the bookshelf upside down, so we fix that. There's a pile of dirty clothes in the corner that we couldn't see before, so we take care of that. When it's clean according to what we can see, we open the door again and Christ is there. Again he says, "Good, that was good. Now here's some more light - go try again." So with increased light we can see even more. There are smudges on the mirror, dust all over the framed Michael Jackson poster (<-- I added that bit in), your taxidermied velociraptor needs to be wiped down (<-- and that!), and the carpet desperately needs to be vacuumed. Obviously we know that even after we have fixed these things, Christ is always there to congratulate us on how well we're doing, and give us the ability to improve even more! I loved this analogy. It really makes the line from Hymn 136 mean even more for me, "He lives my mansion to prepare." But he is not preparing it FOR us (because we wouldn't even know how to appreciate it if we didn't have to work for it), He is helping us to perfect our own houses and turning them into Celestial mansions. 

It reminds me of the saying, "the more I learn, the more I realize I don't know anything" (or a much more eloquent version of that). I can see my teenage self being really frustrated by this analogy. "Why can't it be good enough?" I'm sure I would think, "Will He never just let me rest? I'm sick of always finding more that I've done wrong and needing to fix it!" but NOW I love it. I am not discouraged by the thought that I can always do better, I am empowered by it. In Sunday School a couple weeks ago someone made the comment that we should not be frustrated or overwhelmed by the command to be perfect. That if we look at it in a school setting, we can see it in a different way. Imagine being in a freshman seminar class and the professor tells you, "I command you to graduate - that is what I want you to do." If you are trudging along taking your undergrad classes, you wouldn't be discouraged that you haven't yet graduated - you would recognize that everything you're doing is HELPING you and PREPARING you to graduate. If you got frustrated that you were not YET graduated and threw in the towel, it would be rather foolish. It is the same with perfection. We are not expected to be perfect here in this life, just like a freshman or a sophomore or even a junior or senior is not expected to BE graduated as an undergrad. We have to recognize that this is a preparatory time and that all that's expected of us NOW is progress. 

I also loved a couple mind-stickers that President Evans mentioned in his talk, "This process that we are engaged in - of leading souls back to their Father in Heaven - is the only real thing left in this universe. Everything else is just decoration. Nothing else will last." and "We have nothing to fear, we just have to go DO!" 

As far as personal and companionship goals go, Sister Edwards and I are both working at being better at contacting. It is stinkin' hard. I hate it, but I want to be bold. We have made several lists of things we want to do and things we don't want to do for this transfer. One of the biggest potential challenges that we see is that we are such good friends. We don't want to become complacent or be cliquish or be too focused on having fun/being friends that we miss missionary opportunities. I'm so thankful to have her to work with because we both have similar desires to be exactly obedient and just work as hard as we can.
Thanks for sending the pictures from your trip! I loved seeing you all. The boys look so old, and Zion is SO beautiful that way! I love snow on red rock. :)

I love you, family! Thank you for everything - it is such a relief to know that I have people at home who are supporting me.

Love,

Sister "windy days and full skirts are not a good combination" Broekhuijsen

Explanation

We waited patiently (or not-so-patiently) for our weekly email from Melissa.  It didn't come!  But then we received the following (from Sister Edwards, Melissa's companion and a bit from Melissa.)

Hello to the Best Broekhuijsen Family in the United States of America! 

      This is Sister Edwards (your daughter's crazy companion). We are emailing you to let you know her email crashed on her and she won't be able to send an email to you today. We will be back at the library tomorrow and she will send it then!  

I hope all of you are having a fabulous week!  

"I was trying to send some giant pictures but it took too long so I signed out and when I signed back in it said I was temporarily locked out due to unusual usage. So that is why I cannot send it today. It is mega racist and I'm awfully sorry." ~Sister B

Just to let you know.... your daughter is AMAZING!!  

Love,
Sister Edwards

Staying!

We've been waiting with bated breath (Melissa hates that expression!) to see where Melissa would email us from today!  Well, looks like she'll stay in Brighton for her birthday!

Well hey there. 

Here is some exciting news: I am STAYING in the LP wards. For the 6th transfer. At the end of this transfer is my 9 month mark! That is half my mission in one apartment, one area, the same two wards. I love these wards, but I feel like there will probably be a change soon. Plus, in about 3 weeks people will start a mass exodus away for the summer, so the wards will change a lot just on their own. So it is good news that I am staying (especially because I have accumulated SO much stuff that I am really really dreading the day I have to pack it all up into one big suitcase and one small suitcase *shudder*). Sister Edwards is staying with me - which I am really thankful about! Sister Connell is being transfered to a family ward in Oxford, Massachusetts. She loves little kids so I think it will be a nice change and a good fit for her. 

Speaking of little kids, I don't think I told you, but about a week ago, on Saturday the 7th, we got to go up to the Belmont chapel and see S*'s baptism! She's the little girl we taught when I was with Sister Meier. She's super super cute and their family is just amazing. We taught her the four lessons you get BEFORE baptism, and then this past Monday, we taught her the fifth and final lesson, meant for after baptism, about the laws and ordinances. It was great to be able to see her. She is a sweetheard and very cute (even though she's *gasp* blonde!). Speaking of families - the Belmont wards LOVE us so we are teaching two OTHER little girls! We met with E* a couple weeks ago and she is darling as well. Her family is just incredible too! After we met with them, we found out that her mom is FAMOUS! Not JUST in the Mormon world, either. Her mormon.org profile (especially video) is awesome: http://mormon.org/jane/ . I've been to that house! I met those two adorable little kids! I saw the Boston skyline from their amazing backyard! They are a really really cool family. I love Boston :) 

We had a breakfast appointment last week with a member named C*. She is straight up German and has all kinds of amazing connections. Her dad is BFFs with President Uchtdorf, and her mom was Sister Uchtdorf's visiting teacher! They all 3 flew out to Utah for General Conference. Pretty cool! Anyway, the point of this story is that we had a very European breakfast, and I thought as I ate it at 10:00 in the northeast corner of the United States that you were probably eating a very similar breakfast at 7:00 in the Southwest corner. I had eggs, bread and jam, and MOST importantly, thinly sliced pumpernickel with butter and GOUDA! Yes, the Germans, even, can love Gouda. It was not even just normal gouda, it was young, CREAMY gouda and it was a delight. The Dutch girl within me rejoiced. It was so funny because, reading the accounts from parents and brothers, it sounds like you indeed DID eat with Oma and Opa that morning! Anyway, I know it's stupid that I've spent like 15 minutes describing a breakfast that revolved around cheese, but it was cute of God to let things work out that way. I felt very close to my Broekhuijsen blood in California.  

I have learned a LOT lately. Prepare yourself because it's going to be a spiritually heavy next few paragraphs. We had Stake Conference this weekend which was a treat. I also got to go to the temple on Monday. I love when I receive revelation from what I am hearing/reading, but ALSO love when the revelation I receive is not necessarily even related to the surroundings! Anyway, here are some bullet points of some of my favorite new little truths I've discovered slash been reminded of. 

*Just like lighting new candles from a single flame, love within a family doesn't get stretched thin when more people are added - the light just GROWS! 

*When we serve in the temple, we get to understand God better. What a privilege! 

*We are surrounded by people everywhere we are, every day. God loves THEM just as much as he loves ME! 

*I should have no "throw-away" prayers. If I ask God with a sincere heart and real-intent, then my communication with Him really can be divine! 

*The ever-present question for me is, "Is this the Holy Ghost or is it just me?" Well, because I have been given the gift of the Holy Ghost, if I have no "stupor of thought" about a decision, I can assume it's a good one. The only voice that would force me to overthink or question my decision is the whispering of Lucifer. 

*Sometimes you don't know you're headed in the right direction until you take that first step! That's why it's called a leap of faith. VERBS are always associated with faith and the discovering of more faith. 

Now, I've also been LOVING my scripture study lately. I'm in the story section of Alma and i must say it is one of my favorite sections in the whole darn book. Let's take a little journey together Ammonihah, Middoni, , shall we? I'll share what principles I've learned for myself, and where/how I learned them. 

*Alma 17:33, Ammon says he's going to go "contend" with the stupid guys that like to scatter the King's flock. I literally laughed out loud. Considering the awesomely, righteously violent things that happen within the next few verses, "contend" seems like a bit of an understatement. 

*In Alma 21:12 we see that "few believed" their missionary message, but then in verse 17, the lord begins to "bless them insomuch that they brought many to the knowledge of the truth". I was VERY INTERESTED in learning how they bridged this giant gap that is also in front of ME, so I re-read the verses in between and found a lot of action words! They "went forth" and "went forth again" and "were led by the Spirit...preaching". That was a good reminder that I need to continue to WORK WORK WORK. 

*Alma 23:6 - what an amazing statistic that as many of them that "believed in their preaching, and were converted," NEVER FELL AWAY. That means that my ultimate goal is much more than just baptisms, I want people who are truly converted to the Lord and his gospel. 

*Alma 24:26 - It's a good reminder that on this relatively small, localized scale here, but also on a much larger, global level, "the people of God were joined that day by more than the number who had been slain." 

*Alma 25:6 - we learn that Aaron planted seeds! As much as I hate that phrase, it's nice to see that even this missionary who saw a lot of immediate success, did not see ALL the fruits of his labors. How many of the people that I talk to will be "converted in [their own] wilderness[es] later"? 

*Alma 25:15-16, these people really understood the law of Moses! They weren't looking for salvation in following the letter of the law, but they new that it could strengthen their personal disciplines and strengthen their faith in Christ so that if/when they were asked to focus more on the spirit of the law, they could do so. 

*Alma 26 - I love this whole chapter. I think I've already raved enough about how much I love it, but I found something new this time around, even though I've often turned to this chapter for comfort when I'm feeling down. In verse 9, Ammon realizes on behalf of himself and his missionary companions, "if we had not come... they would have been strangers to God." I realized for myself that that is, at least in a small way, applicable to my situation as well. Yes, some people that we teach have let us down, and they can't seem to get their priorities straight, and their certainly not willing to commit to baptism, but HEY! They are no longer strangers to God! P* didn't know about God, before we taught her! H* didn't know that God is actually her FATHER in Heaven! They may not be ready for covenants yet, but at least they know how to pray, and they have felt God's presence and love for them. That it is an accomplishment. 

Ahh I have so many more spiritual insights that I want to share but I don't have time.
Well, thanks for the e-mails this week! I am looking forward to seeing more pictures from you trip and getting more details.  

This afternoon we are going to hit up the Prudential Center (the biggest and most recognizable landmark in the Boston skyline - affectionately called the "Pru" by cool people like me) and Trader Joe's and the mall. Should be a great pday! 

Love you all,
Sister "Thank goodness it doesn't get up to 120 degrees in Boston" Broekhuijsen

Springity Spring Spring!

We had to wait very patiently while driving all the way from St.  George to So. California to pick up Melissa's email!  Happily, it was worth the wait.  She has transfers coming up this week, so please keep her in your prayers - that she'll be happy with wherever (and with whomever) she ends up!

Hello! This is my last full week of this transfer. We get our t-texts this Saturday night! Talk about stressful. I would love to stay, but also I would hate for anything I say to affect where I go, so I'm just keeping my mouth shut, my head down, and working as hard as I can. That also means that I will likely not get to e-mail again until next Wednesday. 

This week was pretty good! We still have basically no progressing investigators, but we are still working with members. I feel like I say that a lot. It's always a challenge trying to figure out whether the reason we aren't being blessed with people to teach is because we aren't doing enough, or God wants us to learn patience, or maybe both. I just tend to stress myself out thinking that I'm not doing enough because I don't ever want to become apathetic. 

Easter was a nice treat. I love getting to go to two different church blocks! Such a treat. I learned a lot this week. As usual, I learned a lot from the words that were said, but I was also instructed by the Spirit - not necessarily directly related to what was said. I love that! yay for learning. I'll share some of my new insights: 

* Hymn 198: Because Christ conquered pain and death, we can (if we "give our love and pledge our all" to Christ) conquer FEAR! 

*In Luke we read that on the road to Emmaus, the disciples were so focused on the hype of the news of the Resurrection that they didn't recognize Christ! Am I sometimes so focused on the day-to-day (scheduling lessons, filling out progress records, daily planning sessions, etc.) that I miss the bigger picture or WHY I am here? 

*It's true that Christ's suffering was so severe, so complete and infinite that our mortal minds cannot even comprehend it - but we can understand it a little bit more, and increase our faith in this somewhat nebulous concept every time we experience the peace that comes from repenting. 

*When I recognize the immortal nature of our soul, I gain an eternal perspective which helps me never settle for mediocrity (if you're not going to grad school, you might be okay with just passing a class in your undergrad, rather than trying to keep it up or focusing on true learning…) 

Anyway I thought that was neat. I always love learning more and Easter was a great time to recommit myself to focusing on the important things. Isn't it interesting that even when I'm out here doing the most important work I can be, I sometimes lose the big picture? I really want to always remember what's most important. I should focus on the "why" of the situation, like President Uchtdorf teaches, and then the "how" and the "what" fall into place naturally. 

This coming Monday, the 16th, we get a special treat. Because it's Patriot's Day (who knew? I always thought September 11th was called Patriot's Day!) get to go to a historical reenactment of “the shot heard ‘round the world” that began the Revolutionary War. Because, you know, Lexington and Concord are just north of us. Pretty awesome to be in such a historical place! I'd love to be here in the city for the 4th of July, too! I love Patriotism and Patriots and history and America. We get to arrive at 4:30 am, which will be maybe not the most fun part about this, but THEN we get to go to the temple!! And because it's transfer week, we still have normal pday on Wednesday! It is so nice of President Evans to let us go to the temple. I feel so lucky to be so close to a temple. Every time we get a ride up to Belmont, we get to take Route 2 and see pretty little Boston temple. The 100th dedicated. I have some definite Boston pride. :) 

This pday should be fun. Most of our Zone (including all my roommates) are going to a tour of Fenway Park. I decided that, although I love Jimmy Fallon and Fever Pitch, it is not worth my time or money to see/support something that I hate so much: professional sports. SO  - I found a babysitter to babysit me! I am going to write letters while she does homework, and then we are going to the apple store and buying her a macbook pro. Yep. I'm going to play on an iPad 3 and go buckwild in the AppleStore. Lucky me! 

 
I hope that when you get this you are happily settled in in the beautiful city of Cypress. It's a lovely place. Some mornings when it's foggy/smoggy I like to pretend that it's a "marine layer" (we are next to an ocean, yeah?) and that I'm in socal and the reason I have to get up at 5:30 is not to go running, but actually to get in line at Disneyland  because we get to be there early because of our 3-day pass. *sigh* thank goodness you are not going to Disneyland this trip :) I'm way way WAY looking forward to going on trips with the family when Andrew and I get back. I'm curious, are you packing up the Suburb? Or trekking down in a Subaru? You COULD fit in a Subaru, but if I know my father like I think I do, you probably have approximately 2 cubic yards of camera equipment that you're carrying so the Suburban may be necessary. :) That is so fun that you're going to be spending time in Springdale/Zion as well! I love that place! Please take and send not only pictures of the beautiful scenery, but also of you humans ENJOYING the scenery. This means you, pa! You can't just take the pictures, I expect you to be IN some of them.  

I'm glad that you liked your package with my pictures :) It was fun to put it together. There were some good, good laughs in there. : )

Have fun on your trippy-poo and I'm especially excited to hear how you like Trader Joe's and your miracle ice-cream. 

Love you! 

Sister "somehow I have Karma Chameleon stuck in my head even though I haven't listened to it in 7 and a half months" Broekhuijsen

Hooray for SD Cards!

We received a package this week from Sister Broekhuijsen.  Along with all the other fun stuff was our favorite - a memory card full of pictures!  Here are some of our favorites!

The above three photos were taken at Marblehead - where Melissa "a little bit fell in the ocean."  

This was taken when they went to Haymarket in the old north end.  Melissa says it is much more "city-like" than even downtown Boston.

This is the old State House.  

One day while working at the food pantry they found these "cute little baby apples the size of their eyeballs" and had to get a picture.

We just loved the feel of this one!  What a beautiful place she gets to work - no wonder she loves it!

Sister Connell (accent on the last syllable, by the way - we found that out from the audio annotations) Sister Broekhuijsen, and Sister Edwards.

"I love Boston.  I love spring.  I love Boston in the spring!"

Magnolia trees in bloom.  Aren't they gorgeous?   Those flowers are huge!  About the size of a hand!

General Conference = Christmas Morning

Hooray for big long emails!  Melissa sounds great!

Was not conference great? I love it. It's so weird that I only have one more of those left! It was a bit weird to be watching it again - since the last conference was just a couple weeks after I arrived in Boston! I've learned a lot of really good things since then. And I hope to just grow more and more until NEXT time (and of course all throughout my mission until I come home). 

I was a bit bummed that they didn't announce any new temples. I was ready with my predictions, there. I was also surprised that they released the whole Presiding Bishopric AND the whole General RS Presidency! I feel like Julie B. Beck hadn't even been in for very long! Was that a shock to anyone else? 

We watched both Saturday sessions and the Sunday morning session at the LP Chapel. It was GREAT! I want to always watch at a church building. Do they even broadcast them to the churches in Utah? I hope so. It was just lovely to sit there and absorb. Every time I watch conference I am more and more thankful for modern revelation, and my testimony of living prophets increases.  H*, who had basically dropped us, CAME TO THE SATURDAY MORNING SESSION! Isn't that great? Elder Winegar, who is the person who originally invited her to start meeting with us, called her up and invited her to come. She was very sweet and excited to see us. Hopefully we can work back up to the point of her meeting with us regularly again. 

For the Sunday afternoon session (although all sessions are technically in the afternoon because of the time difference) we went to L*'s house. That was great for many reasons, not the least of which was her hideously/awesomely fluffy cat Luna. She is so sheddy and playful and I just squeezed her to bits (ooh - I think that Scottish guy - E. Baxter, I think? - is getting to me). It was great. Also, L* is just amazing so I love spending time with her. She made us dinner, afterward, and for dessert - TRADER JOE'S LEMON TRIPLE GINGERSNAP ICE CREAM. Oh my lands (<---who AM I?) it is the greatest flavor of ice cream that I have ever come across in my 263 months of life. Anyone within the sound/sight of my words who lives near a Trader Joe's --- you simply MUST try it. You shant regret it.  

I had a lot of insights, and, as always, was so grateful to feel things specifically directed toward me! I won't share everything I learned (because I'm only alloted so much time here at the library) but I'll share some.  

*The love of God is like a gravitational pull. If we can open our hearts we can feel a Celestial force drawing us nearer to Him and His Son. (What a shocker that I loved the physics analogy- haha) 

*Henry B. Erying is one of my favorite people in this whole world. He always cries, and that always makes me cry. Also he a little bit looks like a turtle. 

*Jeffrey R. Holland is wonderfully scary. I love it. Can you imagine how intimidating it would be to be interviewed by him when asking for his daughter's hand in marriage? hahhaha so glad I don't have to deal with that. 

*What we do today determines how/how much we will be able to serve in the future.  

*The difference between those in tune with the spirit and hose who are tone-deaf or off-key is the regular study of the scriptures (also loved the musical analogy :) ) 

*I loved the closing prayer of the Saturday afternoon session when the speaker said, "We are thankful for what we have heard - the music and the spoken word - but we REJOICE in what we have felt. 

*Our degree of gratitude is a measure of our Love for Him 

*Without rudders, motors, etc. (let's remember from my farewell talk that I am not well versed in nautical terminology) our destination is inevitably just downstream - but God didn't launch us as toy boats - we've been giving power and the ability/right to direct ourselves!! 

*There can be no genuine happiness apart from the family 

*Discipleship is not a sprint or even a lengthy marathon - it is a MIGRATION!

Funny little side-note about Conference: After the Saturday morning session, we all stood up and started stretching and a man in front of me and to the side stood up and turned around, so I smiled at him, and then realized that it was RANDY PAUL! [Editor's note -  Randy is a friend of ours that lives here in our Highland ward!]  HA! He recognized me and tried to hug me (I held out my hand to be shaken like a good Sister missionary) and we chatted for a bit. It was a cute little miracle that God gave me, because it's always easy to get homesick around General Conference time! I have very fond memories of laying on the couch (which I suppose is now at the D.I.), listening to conference on the radio and watching Mom clean. Man, I was such a good daughter. 

Here's a funny story for you.  Last week sometime we were waiting for a bus and a big black man started up a conversation with me! We started talking and he found out I was from Utah and asked some questions. I was real eager and answered his questions with the Book of Mormon, but he quickly told me, "Naw, naw  - I don't want no pamphlets." haha. He was very nice and talked to us for a long while. Could be because he thought Sister Edwards was very pretty (a point he made very clear by repeating himself several times). We ended just getting off the bus before him with nothing more (since he wouldn't take no pamphlets). Then two days later we got a text from Britta (a member) that said, "Do you remember meeting a guy on the train named O*.?" we told her yes and she said, "I just invited him to dinner on Friday" hahahaha!  Britta said that when he found out that she was from Utah, he said, "I just met three girls from Utah. They called themselves 'Sistahs'!" haha. Britta asked if they were wearing black nametags - he said yes and she told him, "I bet I know them!" He couldn't believe that she knew us! That does very little for eradicating the perception that everyone in Utah knows each other, but oh well. He told her like 8 times that he would come, but didn't actually show up. So it was a bit of a bummer. We were so excited all week to see him and teach him. But at least he had two positive interactions with a total of 4 pretty mormon girls. :) 

M* bought me a bag for an early birthday present! I was complaining about my dumb ol' purse that was falling apart while we were at Target last week (because she drove us there because we had to buy a vaccuum and didn't think we could get it home on the bus). That was a dangerous thing. It was so nice of her! It's an over the shoulder, satchel-type bag which is WAY nicer than a purse because it's easier to get into. And it's better than a backpack because it's easy to pull in front of my body for when I'm on the T! M*, if you read this, I will find a way to get you back. When you least expect it.....  

Whelp - that's all, folks! I hope you have a LOVELY time in California! Boys, don't fight. Dad, don't make everyone listen to Genesis the whole way there, and Ma - I expect at least 20 dozen hotpads to be crocheted over the trip. Andrew - stay in Russia (or Ukraine, if you insist). I love you and I'm so grateful to be part of our family! I won the spiritual lottery approximately 700 times, apparently because I feel so lucky to be born at this time, to this family, and to have the privileged life I've lived so far - with hope for a future of continued learning and happiness. 

Love you,
Sister "How many weeks until the May Ensign comes out?" Broekhuijsen