Hello 2016!

It's been another crazy, crazy week. New Year's Eve, driving to St George, my cousin's wedding, setting up and taking down for the reception, and then driving back home. Man, I am exhausted! One more week of winter break and then it's back up to school for another semester and spring season of soccer. Well, not really soccer for me, but fitness for sure haha. I remember this time last year and how long ago it feels but how not so long ago it really was. I remember thinking that I only had one more semester left with Mikel. He would be getting his mission call in a few months and then after that goodbyes would start. I remember thinking how time was just going way too fast and that I wanted it all to just slow down so I would never have to say goodbye to him, my friends, my home. I would never have to move out and live my own life, go to college and have to make new friends. But there's so much that I've learned in this last year that I wouldn't change. Mikel and I have both grown and learned so much and we couldn't have gotten those experiences any other way. We both still have a lot of learning to do in the next year and a half and I know we're going to grow into who we need to become, with the help and guidance of the Lord. I'm excited for what's ahead and for new adventures!

We didn't get any pictures from him this week unfortunately, and his emails were short, but he said his Christmas was great! "so because of the festivities all around this week not much happened in the sense of being able to teach people or get into homes. something the was great but also not great was when we went to check up on an old gogo named angel who is a new investigator. last time we met with her which was a couple of days or a week previous we were told that her husband who was in hospital died. So the day we went to visit which was Wednesday we came up to a huge funeral tent across the yard, so we put two and two together and realized that the funeral was today, we decided to leave our bags in the car and go and try an help all we could, we spent 10:00 to 2:00 there just helping set up, cook and anything they needed sharing short gospel thoughts along the way. It was a great experience to be able to just serve and bring gospel into that service, we hope that some of the people we contacted will call us and visit more with us to hear the rest of the lessons and our messages but it was a great day and we were so tired at the end of the day I almost slept in my white shirt and tie.

Christmas day was power, we spent the day at a members house where we played board games and other games like such. we got to spend time with a family which made being away from our own family not so bad. I got to skype my family as well and while doing so had a special surprise! (Hey, that surprise was me!) It was so good to talk to my family face to face for a short while, we spent and hour that felt like 5 min, I wish we could have had longer but, I guess I have to wait till next year! :) It was good to see everyone doing so well and happy and such a beautiful morning to celebrate and commemorate the birth of the savior!"

Last week in our email we talked a little more about his focus on his mission and his reply to me was so reassuring and comforting. He is focused and knows he needs to be there! "the most challenging thing for me I think was letting go of home and letting go of you, not just the leaving you at home physically but also just to be more focused on the work. I struggled not thinking of you everyday and even in lessons, we would be teaching about say the Joseph smith and my mind would wonder off either to thought of you or to thought of my family wondering what they or you were doing at that point and time and just not really focused on the lesson. I am a lot better now and I feel like I really am focused on my mission and not home life, of course I think of you everyday but my mind isnt constantly obsessing over you are my family and longing to be there like it was, of course Ill always have that want to be back in your arms by the next day but I think I have just come to grasp that I am here and not there and I have things here that I need to do. It still is hard and scares me that I sort of had to in a way distance myself from my family and especially from you and that I now dont think of you as often, it really does suck because honestly you are all I want to think about and it takes a conscious effort to tell myself that I need to stay focused. No I am not saying I am completely letting go of you or anything near that, I dream to one day be with you forever and nothing will ever change about the fact that I am in love with you so dont get me wrong its just distancing my mind heart and thoughts from home was really hard I guess, I think that is what I would say hardest thing was.  I have also really learned that I am usually the problem haha hopefully not anymore but I dont usually stay around people that annoy me but on mission you dont always have a choice and you need to be the one that helps the situation not makes it worse so I definitely had a humble lesson I had to learn and I am still learning. I have learned about balance in everything in life. I have learned how much the gospel really does bless families and how much I need it. I have learned that God loves me. I guess those are the biggest things I have learned and also that I can go through hard things with the savior by my side."

I'm thankful for his example to me and that every day brings me one more day closer to being with him again. Happy New Year!

A picture of us one year ago, at a basketball game at the U :)

and a picture of us two years ago, just before we started dating, with a few of our friends. Kyle, just above me, is serving in Pennsylvania, Mikel is in South Africa, Mckay is in Taiwan, and Hollis is in Thailand. I'm so thankful for the awesome friends I had in high school and their examples to me! They are all incredible missionaries.