i know.

 A three year old child is a being who gets almost as much fun out of a fifty-six dollar set of swings as it does out of finding a small green worm.  

~Bill Vaughan

Today I found that the fun came from a simple ball. it was the kind you usually play with in water, for the life of me i cant remember the name.


For the last 6 weeks I have been going to church at the Stratford ward. We leave at 7 30 in the morning and sometimes dont get back until after 3. it has made for some long days. would i change it for the world? no. it has been such a lesson to me on sacrifice. i thought my life was hard with a 15 minute car ride to church at 8 45. To see the sacrifice but forth by others, it makes me feel silly for ever complaining. Most sundays included lots of laughter and frustration as something always went wrong trying to get to church. however, that was not the case. trains were running from liverpool street. we didnt miss the train. we got off at the right stop. and the doors opened when we wanted them to. it was a miracle. this meant we got to church 20 minutes early. it was so nice to not feel frazzled. to be able to sit and think before church started. we were able to talk to the sister missionaries which was amazing. they are the cutest. and one knows a girl i work with. small small world.


i started the day off with the amazing little guys pictured above in primary. they are the cutest, most amazing kids i have ever seen. it is amazing how even though a half a world away the church is still true. their ward is a lot different then your stereotypical american ward. you dont have 15 different people who can play the piano. 3 people have to do the job of 10, because the wards are so small, but they do it.


i got to send the middle part of my day with these guys (minus the one of the far right) in nursery.

daniel, daniel, me, kevin, and kevin's brother

back home the nursery kids are separated the whole time. but not here. these little guys were such troopers and sat through the whole first part of primary before we split off for nursery. the time before it had just been me and daniel (far left) and we had had a great time- but it was fun to have more kids. it was a ball- literally. daniel, daniel, and i played with this little ball for probably a good 20 minutes. they were the cutest. trying to catch, throw, and kick. all in this tiny tiny room. i was impressed with how amazing daniel (far left) was. no worries kevin was having a ball playing with trucks with the choir director who came in to play too. i was amazed at the love i felt for these little guys. we stopped playing and read some bible stories before going back into primary to help them settle down, and they just sat there cuddled right next to me as i read. i never wanted to leave, but eventually the knock came. let me brag a little bit more about these guys. we went out and it wasnt quite time to go in so they had to wait outside. they were as reverent as could be. they would only wisper and stood in line. i had them tell me how old they were and then they guessed how old i was. daniel guessed 10. so cute. but to make them even more impressive when the junior primary came out to wait they were way noisy. i was so proud of my little guys for being so wonderful. except it made it being the last sunday so much more difficult. we ended primary with them saying thank you and giving us cards to say goodbye- and getting some pictures of course.

sacrament meeting was wonderful. the faith they have is amazing and most of them have only been members of the church for a few years. "the BYU students" as they called us sang the spirit of god before testimony meeting. it was so simple but watching everyone i was so touched by there faith and spirit. the rest of church was wonderful, and i was able to help someone learn how to apply to byu after the meeting. thank you BYU student services.

the group of us with some members. ellen, meisha, preston, casmin, choir director dude, dezi, members i dont know, holly, and me

the train ride home and tube ride seemed to fly. Ellen and I talked a lot about efy which is always fun. She is hoping to be a counselor next year so we talked about what it was like to apply, and what you do. and i talked through all my anxieties with her. she is wonderful. and small world, is from the chicagoland area too.

then it was home. i felt like i was wasting a ton of time- so i decided to stop. sounds simple, but it was so invigorating. i started packing, put lots and lots of pictures on facebook, and looked through old notes from conference. i talked with people. watched part of the royal wedding online with lauren. and then we had a roommate dinner. elly is the most amazing person ever and made the most delicious dinner ever. we are on eat all food mode, so she made us yummy pasta with chicken and cheese. ah so great!

after that we had our last devotional. crazy how time flies. the last devotional was a testimony meeting and it was amazing. absolutely amazing. i wish i had my notebook with me so i could have written everything i was feeling down- oh the importance of being prepared.

some of my thoughts: i have been so blessed. i was born into a family with loving parents and sibiling. i have been able to do a lot of things that i many people arent able to do. i am healthy. i had the opportunity to come to london. my "perfect" summer fell into place. it is amazing how blessed i have been, there are times i am scared that i will reach my limit. that you can only have so many blessing. there are times i feel like i dont deserve everything i have been given. it amazes me how much my heavenly father loves me, and knows me personally. he knows the people i need to meet, the experiences i need to have, and while it doesnt always make sense to me, he knows. he knows me perfectly, he knows me better than i know myself. and i love him dearly. another thing on my mind is how crazy everyday has been. it has been chalked full. at times this is overwhelming, i feel like i need a day off, but i dont want to miss anything in london, and we only have a limited amount of time here. 6 weeks, while a long time goes by so fast. as cali put it- we are living the life of a tourist, but we always should. we are accountable for our time here. we have a limited time here on the earth. we should make the most of everyday we are given. why look back with regrets. but also the importance of filling our time with the right things. today as i was reading through my notes from conference it felt wonderful because i felt like i was doing something worth while. while seeing sites and shows and exploring london is amazing- i miss having a purpose. i miss making a difference on the world. and for that reason i am so excited for efy to start. im excited to get outside myself and focus on other people. these last 6 weeks have felt very self centered. what do i want to do. what do i want to see. what am i going to get out of this experience. and i cant wait to have a new focus. and to have that focus be on others and my savior. 

to end. one of my favorite songs from efy years past.

funny moment of the night: skyping with my parents. elly brought me a corner (yogurt deliciousness) what do my parents do? my dad goes and gets yogurt for the both of them so we can have family "dinner" or yogurt time over the computer. i LOVE my parents.