Brazil Postal Strike

This is the kinda of news you don't want to hear when your only communication with the guy you love is in the hands of the postal service. We all know Brazil has one of the worst mailing systems ever, but as of yesterday, 23 regions equaling 85% of postal workers decided to go on strike, demanding higher wages and more employees to eleveate workplace load. This could last up to 3 months!!!! Today they accomplished nothing in the courtroom. AH! Can't a girl just send her missionary a letter or a package? Mackenzie is also leaving the CTM this coming week and heading to Goiania, so I can no longer take advantage of MissionTies walking my letters to him across the street. I could still use MissionTies, but they would mail the letter to his area, which normally would be faster and more convienient, but when they stop all mailing systems, this doesn't help much. Thanks to my new best friend, Gloria, fellow missionary girlfriend (with boyfriend serving in Brazil as well) I understand everything happens for a reason and I need to pray for comfort instead of being upset at the Brazil postage system employees. Haha. 

I hope any other families or missionary girlfriends with boys in Brazil pray for this comfort and yes, everything does happen for a reason. Let's all just hope this strike ends soon so we can send our letters and packages. 

WE LOVE YOU BRAZIL, please continuing mailing our precious letters & get back to work!

Last P-Day at the CTM

Today was Mackenzie's last P-Day at the MTC in Brazil. Next week he will be headed to Goiania. I thought I'd order some cookies for him to enjoy his last P-Day in Sao Paulo. Apparently his parents had the same idea and ordered him some cookies too. This is him with the millions of Mr. Cheney's cookies he recieved. He is getting so tan! I need to catch up and get back on track with my tanning! I am going to send him a package for our 3 year anniversary soon. Any good ideas? 

Also, my finals are now over and it feels so good to get to relax and be back at home for a week or so. Two more quarter's left of school until I have to figure out the next road I'm going to take. 

"Our willingness to wait reveals the value we place on the object we're waiting for"

Mackenzie is more than worth the wait. One thing I love about him is how I've always seen forever in his eyes. Im so excited for the day I get to look into those eyes again. <333

The Best Advice

So I found this fireside talk by general authority, Vaughn Featherstone a couple months before Mackenzie left on his mission. It was the best advice I've seen from any church leader. This is for all the girls waiting for a missionary, planning to wait or any guys who are planning to serve a mission with a girl back home. :)

Missionaries and Girlfriends 

Taken from a fireside by Vaughn Featherstone 

Question: Is it good for a fellow to leave a girl behind? 

Answer: Is it good for the sun to shine? 

Have you ever heard of mission calls telling all missionaries to get rid of all girlfriends? Do you think that you could be a better missionary if she were there to help you? I think you could. Most of my best missionaries during the three years that I served left a girl behind. You notice that I said "girl" and not "girls." There isn't time for more than one.Of course the first duty is to the Lord's work, which you have been called to do; second is to your family, and third is to the girlfriend. This you should always remember. 

I always interviewed all missionaries as they entered the field and one of the questions I asked was, "Do you have a girlfriend at home?" If the answer was yes, I would say, "Can I have her name and address, and would it be all right if I wrote her a letter?" Of course this would scare the poor fellow to death--then I would bring the color back to his face by telling him I only wanted to write her a letter and tell her how lucky she was to have the opportunity to share this mission for the next 24 months with one of the Lord's chosen servants. If she is faithful, her testimony would become stronger in the gospel because of it... along with a little more advice that I will touch on later.Young men, do not ask a returned missionary for advice on this subject. For if he has been "jilted," should we say, he's giving out poor advice. Pray about this together, and if you feel that you can do a better job, then go ahead. There's nothing wrong with it. It is better to have support than to go out there wishing that you had it. This is more frustrating than worrying about a "Dear John," and believe me, there won't be one of those right in the beginning. The Lord always answers prayers to those who honor Him. 

Have an understanding with your parents so they can encourage her and make your girl happy by showing they have faith in her and love her. Let her parents know your plans, and in most cases they will stand by her when she gets lonely. If you show them respect, as well as the girl, they will be behind you all the way.Write her once a week or more. You can almost always write two letters a week on P-Days. There is plenty of time if they're not books. Tell her about your mission and experiences, let her live your mission with you through your letters, and send her a snapshot once in a while. Yes, you could let her make a scrapbook for you. Mom is not going to have time and both of them would love that. 

Remember that behind every successful man, there is a good woman. So why shouldn't it be good to leave a girlfriend behind if you feel that she is special? Forget that old story of "24 months is a long time." I have known girls to wait two or three years. Also forget the story that you will change a lot. You will only if you make yourself scarce in letters, etc. You will only change in the fact that you will be more mature and have a greater testimony and mind. 

Now girls, make sure that you do things that will help you grow along with the missionary. Study the gospel; stay active in the church, pray often--morning, noon, and night. Watch out for those lonely returned jilted missionaries. You're not in a hurry to get married.

Write happy letters every week. Let him know that you still care. He will be looking for those letters if he is really busy during the week and on P-Days. Yes, you could send him a snapshot of yourself. He would love that. So what if you don't take good pictures--anything will look good to him. You will be busy getting the education you need, perhaps working in and out of the church, maybe learning to sew and all those lovely things, or learning to cook fancy things, but most of all, just learning the basics of life.

If the occasion arises, and you feel as if you want to accept a date now and then, it's okay, but again... Beware of those jilted returned missionaries. They are dynamite. Stay close to your parents.

Oh yes, there isn't any harm in leaving a girlfriend at home, if you're both determined to fulfill the mission together. It will not be the big job you think, but a happy 24 months in both of your lives. When you are both back together again, it won't be long before you are sure of each other because of your pure maturity. I can say these things because it happened to me, and I know of many others who have experienced the same great thing.

Love others

This week was Suicide Awareness Day and it's been 11 years since the tragic 9/11 attacks. I think we sometimes go about our days so worried about our own lives, we forget the charity and love we need to show for others. You never know when tragedy will strike, when it could be someones last day or when a mean word could push someone's last button. Showing love for others gets harder as we get older. We are betrayed, people wrong us, people annoy us or our feelings are hurt. But we cannot let these things become the reason we treat others wrongly. I am reminded of one of my favorite primary church songs, Im Trying to Be Like Jesus. "Love one another as Jesus loves you, try to show kindness in all that you do. Be gentle and loving in deed and in thought, for these are the things Jesus taught" We can all try to be more loving to people we encounter everyday.

Here's a version of the song, performed by David Archuleta who's currently serving a mission in Chile.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=kQVKJnZbAwk

Brazil Independence Day

Celebrating Brazil Independence Day here in San Francisco!!! My heart truly is in Brazil! I felt pretty cool being able to tell everyone what flag it is and why it's up today! Hope Mackenzie's having a good day in Brazil, I sure had a great day being able to see this all day while at work! :)

Time

In one of Elder Sant's last emails home he wrote, "What is this thing called time..." Time goes so slowly while we're starring at the clock, but when we are busy enjoying life or have a few too many things on our schedule, the hours seem to fly by like seconds. Tomorrow, Mackenzie will have been out 6 weeks. Tomorrow is also the day he was originally called to leave. These past 6 weeks, I've grown so much and have really started to understand my role as a daughter of God. I know Mackenzie had the opportunity to leave early for a reason. He's grown tremendously during this time and I can't imagine if he had to have waited until tomorrow to leave. Just to put things into perspective, two years ago I was starting my senior year of high school. So much has changed since then but it also feels like that was just yesterday. To everyone else, two years might be a long time. Although we get new opportunities to grown and learn everyday, we might do a lot of changing within the course of two years. But in an eternal perspective, two years is a blink of an eye. I've read a lot of blogs, videos, etc, of missionary girlfriends struggling or having a really hard time being sad and missing their missionaries. Of course I miss Mackenzie, but I don't miss him in a sad, sloppy, depressed way. This does not have to be a sad time. This two years will truly be the best two years for Mackenzie. So why not make this the best two years for ourselves? When we fill our time doing wholesome activities like working, going to school, studying the scriptures, fulfilling our callings, practicing our talents, these are the things that will make the time fly. For me, I've been really working on becoming closer to Heavenly Father and learning more about the gospel. Although I've been a member my whole life and I've gone to all 4 years of seminary, I feel like I still have so much left to learn. and I definitely want to be on the same spiritual level as Mackenzie when he comes home, So I have plenty to keep me busy! Time will pass us by if we let it. We need to make the most out of what time we have. Weather that is spent with loved ones, with ourselves or being productive. My parents recently got this new beautiful grandfather clock and it chimes every 15 minutes. Sometimes I can't believe it's been 15 minutes since the last chime. I know it's made me realize how fast time goes and how before we know it, Mackenzie will be home. So it's important to fill my time with things that will make me grow as a person as well, not just sitting on the couch, crying, waiting for two years to pass by. Most important thing is to do what makes us happy, keep smiling and to have the best two years of your life. :)

This is a picture of me and Mackenzie exactly two years ago. At school, at the start of senior year, enjoying lunch in our usual spot in high school. Two years can pass by so quickly and if my love hasn't changed for Mackenzie in the past almost 3 years, another 2 will only make me love him that much more. <333