puerto ricoooo

I've been home nearly 5 months now from my mission. It seems it was a dream! I wanted to pay homage to that wonderful time I spent. I was in some of the most beautiful places in this world. soooo here's some pictures to prove it

Shete Boka in Curacao

Curacao

El Morro in San Juan, PR

The view from our investigator's house in PR

The Ponce Plaza

ARUBA

Dona Juana in Villalba, PR

Even though my time has past here in these beautiful islands and among wonderful people...I'll always be puerto rican/aruban/curacilanian at heart.

getting married

These past few days have been hectic. I've spent most of my time preparing wedding announcements. I never knew there was so much involved! You've got stamps, envelopes, the announcement, pictures, addresses etc etc. It's quite a chore, now I see why mom left it to me to do. =) But it has gotten me all excited for june 20th! We've officially been together for 5 years...more if you include how long we've been friends. I know him better than anyone else and he definitely knows me. We may be young in the world's eyes but we know exactly what we're doing.

Being married is very important to us. It's not just for now but for forever. It dawned on me today how big a deal this is. As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints we hold family relationships very dear, they are essential to God's eternal plan. I wanted to explain a little of why being married in a temple is different from a civil ceremony.

In the temple, priesthood ordinances for the living and the dead are preformed, and sacred covenants are made. The primary purpose of the temple is to “seal” or unite families together for eternity. For this reason, Church members search out information about their ancestors. (http://www.mormon.org/) In a temple marriage, a couple is sealed "for time and all eternity" as opposed to "til death do you part."

visit this link to see a great video on temples. =)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-x_-TQivCx8

What is the difference between a temple and a meetinghouse?
Regular Sunday worship, instruction and other social and recreational activities occur in Latter-day Saint meetinghouses, or chapels where visitors are always welcome. In temples, on the other hand, faithful members receive specific instruction about the purpose of life and their relationship to God. There they take part in family-oriented ordinances, both for themselves and in behalf of deceased ancestors. Sacred ordinances available only in temples make it possible for individuals to return to the presence of God and for families to be united eternally. Unlike meetinghouses, temples are closed on Sundays.

Visitors are welcome to visit the temple grounds at any temple and attend open houses prior to dedication, thereafter only baptized members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who are qualified and prepared are allowed to enter a temple after it is dedicated.

Families!
Families are ordained of God and are the most important social unit in time and eternity. Our Heavenly Father’s divine plan of happiness allows family relationships to endure beyond the grave. I cannot imagine heaven without being with those I love. That is why I am so grateful to know that after centuries of being lost, Jesus Christ's church is on the earth today in it's fulness. My current and future families are the greatest blessings I could ask for.

eh

I think I've caught a little of spring stuffy nose. These days I'm generally bored...most of my friends and family AND my fiance have all moved away. I am going to try and give plasma today for some extra cash and something to do. But it's kind of freaking me out getting stuck with a fat needle. Not really my idea of fun. I'd rather be in Texas with David or doing THIS:

engagement photos

engagements4/5/09

Festival of Stains..I mean colors

So this past weekend David and I braved the "Festival of Colors." It was at the hare krishna temple (probably the only one in utah) a little south of here. THOUSANDS of college students were there...we had to walk at least a mile to GET to the temple because of parking. Most of the people were not even listening to the announcer who was explaining the religious significance. We yelled with him "hare krishna! rama bama.." something like that...then everybody throws colored chalk into the air and this is what happens (see pictures...now). It was good one time experience...it was an atomic bomb of chalk and you can't breathe for a few minutes...then you blow pink and purple snot and everything turns the color of the chalk.

I even had to spend MONEY to get my hair fixed because it was dyed...pink.

see exhibit A...B...C etc

I'm picking up mom from the airport today! hooray!! And today is kristi's birthday! So to kristi...I LOVE YOU! you are the best, I'm so glad you're part of our family. Happy birthday old lady!

So i didn't ACTUALLY get to fly the plane...but David and i were fortunate enough to stumble in this awesome flight musuem as they were closing. The man there was happy to stay after and give us a tour. He had all kinds of stories from WWI and II etc about the planes. All very fascinating and cool to sit in them. We had a GREAT time as always. The fun never stops when we're together. He compliments me perfectly.

So...I am now an MTC teacher. Woohoo! I'll be teaching spanish and I get my first district of missionaries next week. I was so excited when they called to offer me the job, but after I accepted I realized what a huge responsibility. AND I realized that there is A LOT to this than just teaching spanish and preach my gospel. I'm in training trying to get my feet wet before I'm thrown in the shark tank. =) apparently teachers have a little bit more mentoring time before they get their first district but I have to do this fast. It's way better than working at storesonline taking phone calls. I am doing something meaningful. I can't wait, even though I'm nervous as heck.

I can't wait for conference so mom can come!!!!

More wedding...

this weekend David and I went dress shopping. That's not bad luck is it? Well...I only tried on 4 dresses but at least now I know I don't want a train. How am I supposed to dance with that?!! We also went to the draper temple open house. It is beautiful! There were protesters outside with signs like josephlied.com and other silly things. We also attended stake conference with Elder Ronald A. Stone and Elder M. Russell Ballard. It was wonderful! And now I've been watching a harry potter marathon. oh my.