22 Things I've Learned as a Missionary

 
1. When I miss the bus, that is a clue to start talking to even more people.  There is someone to find.
 
2. Heavenly Father will go any distance for one person.
 
3. If I want something to happen - do it. Don't wait for my companion,... the Bishop, ...the District Leader,... just get it done!
 
4. Missionaries do Nothing. They are just the vessel for the Lord. He does everything, the Spirit does everything.
 
5. The way my testimony grows is through study. Some people, it is prayer, others learn from discussion or listening. For me, it is the scriptures. It is the scriptures and a pencil and paper.
 
6. Bus schedules... Who'd have thought I'd come and learn how to master bus schedules?
 
7. Dittos for maps. I'm a pro at reading a map now.
 
8. Sometimes you have to act before you can receive promptings.
 
9. Allowing people to change is the greatest kind of love you can give them.
 
10. Write things down. I used planners before, but never have so valued "To Do" lists.
 
11. Big goals must be accomplished by little goals.
 
12. Speak with shorter sentences. Use one descriptive word, not ten (I am infamous for the latter)
 
13. Teaching requires Listening.
 
14. If I don't say it, no one else will know what I'm thinking, no one else will understand what the heck I'm doing.
 
15. The value of sincerity incredibly high.
 
16. People cannot be dealt with collectively, they must be met one by one.
 
17. If you know a little about where a person comes from, they wll trust you a lot more.
 
18. No effort is wasted.
 
19. Some people have such sincerity and purity, you cannot be around them without feeling uplifted. I have seen their faces, "lit up with the gospel".
 
20. A favorite Holland quote, " Surely the thing God enjoys most about being God is the thrill of being merciful, especially to those who don’t expect it and often feel they don’t deserve it."

21. The gospel brings me peace.
 
22. If nothing else, I know that my Redeemer Lives.

One Good Turn....

22  Ways I'm Turning into My Parents

(Hi Mom.  Amylah?)

1.  I carry a water bottle with me everywhere.

2. I can't function unless I've had a drink from said water bottle.

3.  I adore the earrings my Mom sent me.  She'd totally wear them.

4.  Tissue  packets can always be found in my purse.

5.  Children suddenly seem to like me?

6.  The even weirder part... I ... actually like them too?  I like children? 

7.  I'll spend a day in an art museum, no problem.

8.  Our hair is getting to be about the same length - my Mother and mine, that is. 

9.  If I were home and it was allowed to listen to the radio, I'd probably be listening to BYU Radio.

10. I love MoTab.

11.  Whenever food is nicely arranged on a plate i fight the urge to say, "Oh that's beautiful."

12.  I've stopped telling people when my birthday is (or it's getting less at least).

13.  Occasionally I get joked up about scripture study

14.  I'm fascinated to hear where people are from, and their entire life story.

15.  Early bed time sounds so good. 

16.  I'm physically unable to take naps.

17.  "Walks" are becoming enjoyable, not boring.

18.  I love to stop into little towns just to "poke around".

19.  Sometimes I stop talking halfway through a sentence and just drift...

20.  The beauty of nature stuns me.

21.  I look for everything on sale first

22.  I scorn Hershey's chocolate. Pass the *Lindt please.  

(*I did not understand that Mom.  I thought you were SUCH a killjoy.  Now I understand.)

The Queen's English

This month is going to have a theme.  And unless you've read, "Because of Winn-Dixie) you won't understand it when I tell you, "No, the theme is not pink."

Nope, this month the theme is 22.  Any guesses why?

So for this week, since this is a common question I hear, the theme is:

22 English Words/Things You Didn't know about England

1. Proper.  I'm proper hungry.  You're proper ugly.  She's proper tall.

2. Garbage cans don't exist.  They're called rubbish bins.

3. Rubbish bins also don't exist.  At least not publicly.  I rarely see    them on the streets and as a result carry all sorts of odd things in my bag

4.  Rubbish is now a descriptive word.  At home I never had a trash  day, but here, a rubbish day is a completely normal thing to say.

5.  Cheers.  Also means thanks, but not allowed by President   Preston

6.  Ta.  Thanks.  (again.)  or just a general acknowledgement of one's existence.  Hey I like your bag. "Ta"  As brief and to the point as possible.  Just like the British.

7.  Swimsuits are now swimming costumes.  (I picture Halloween every time)

8.  No one even celebrates Halloween.  When I ask if they do, people seem to think I'm accusing them of a pagan ritual or devil worship.

9. Candy = Sweets.

10. Cookies = Biscuits

11.  Chips = Fries

12.  Yogurt = Yoghurt

13.  If it were a race, England's yoghurt would be Usain Bolting it to the finish line and the U.S. would be wandering around somewhere like a backwards child trying to tie their shoes 

14.  Ditto for chocolate but you all knew that already.

15.  "Bless her socks".  (This may be just a Bishop Diamond phrase, not an all around English phrase.)

16.  Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are a novelty here.  The only thing they do with pumpkins is carve them.

17.  College here is high school back home.  (School is for little children.  Imagine how impressed people are when I tell them I'm still in school.)

18.  If you ask people, "So where are you heading today?" They'll respond with "what?" every time.

19.  More than one person has told me they actually admire American accents. 

20.  No one uses dryers. washing is draped on the line (beats me how that works with all the rain) or on the heaters inside the home.

21.  All of the yards have little two foot wooden fences around them.  While aesthetically pleasing to the eye, the purpose is lost on me.  Has many a robber been undone by these tricky obstacles?  "Drat, I was going to break into this house but this confounding wooden fence has undone me!"  Unless the purpose is to make missionaries feel 1.000 times more like a creeper when they have to open the gate to knock the front door, in which case they're succeeding.

22.  They all drive better than you.  Even the ones without licenses.