Thanksgivingggg!!!

 
Family that I love so much!!

How are you?!

I am seriously overjoyed that you guys got to meet Hermana Jameson. She is definitely someone who is more than special. And Hermana Bott's family to top it all off! What a crazy thought. I look up to Hermana Jameson and Hermana Bott so much it is crazy. They are amazing missionaries and even more amazing women :)

I also can't believe you got to talk to Elder Perry and such! I heard that the conference was amazing. I bet it was a super special experience :)

Well, seeing as this week is Thanksgiving, I thought I would make this my email of gratitude and outline just a few things I am grateful for. There are so many things that I just am going to hit the highlights. I am so incredibly blessed in my life, and so very unworthy of those same blessings, but I love my Heavenly Father so much for the tender mercies that He gives to me.

I am thankful for my body. I sometimes claim that I hate it and there are more than a thousand things I want to change about it, but when it all comes down to it, I am just incredibly thankful for a body. For hands that feel and can touch and hug. For feet that carry me to help other people, to run, to go where I am needed to go. For fingers to type to my family :) For eyes that can see all of the amazing creations of my Heavenly Father. For ears that can listen to voices and music and the people that I love and the thoughts of those around me. For a nose and a tongue and all that allows me to enjoy this time in mortality to the maximum.

I am thankful for the little miracles, for plants that grow and produce flowers. For beauty that exists in the middle of terror. For people who love and live and laugh. For blue skies and white clouds. For busy days and highlighted scriptures. For mission leaders and singing birds :)

I am thankful for the earth that God created for us. Deserts, jungles, rivers, rain, snow, forests, leaves that change, fields, all that there is from good old West Weber to Lima to Ayacucho to Ica. It is a gorgeous, diverse, beautiful world.

I am thankful for technology. For family history and email Mondays, for sharing the Gospel and combating the evil by sharing the good. Spreading the goodness :)

I am thankful for education. For the opportunity to learn and to grow, to educate yourself and be a force for good. I am thankful for how much easier it is to get an education now, even if it is a sacrifice. It is vital.

I am thankful for a house. Even though my HOME is in Utah far from me, I am thankful for 4 sturdy walls and freezing water and a bathroom and a desk and a bed.

I am thankful for the US of A. It is .... the promised land. I am so proud to be an American. I am thankful for my country :) GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!!

I am thankful for the temple. All that we do depends on the temple and the covenants and ordinances that it includes and how well we work and sacrifice to honor them. We are a covenant people. The things we learn and feel there shape our life decisions and the way we live. It is our final goal and the symbol of all we do.

I am thankful for the Gospel. It is my life, my love, my map and rock. The only constant thing that exists and the driving force behind who I am and who I want to become. 

I am thankful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I don't even have words sufficient to express it, but it is what gives meaning to any word I will ever say.

I am thankful for love, the emotion so rich and deep in sentiment and import that it can change the very nature of a person.

I am thankful for Repentance. For the opportunity to, with humility, immediately beg forgiveness and correction and have a clean slate all over again. It is a beautiful, beautiful gift.

I am thankful for prayer, for the power and gift to be able to communicate with Heavenly Father. I am just now relearning that relationship and the beautiful effect it can have on our lives.

I am thankful for my mission. For Peru. For President Douglas. For every single missionary with whom I have served. I am thankful for the eternal perspective that I am gaining and for the faith I am learning to have.

I am thankful for my parents. My mom is my very best friend in the whole world. She is my rock and my counselor and my voice of reason. My dad is the perfect example of a good man, possibly the best man in the world. I am more than grateful for my parents, and I only hope to be half what they are. If it weren't for them, I wouldn't be here. I wouldn't be who I am. I wouldn't be anything. I will be ever and eternally grateful for all that they are to me.

I am thankful for my brothers. For Judd Wyatt and Will. I miss them and their crazy schemes dearly. I love them and cherish their examples and funny memories. They are so much stronger and better than I was, and I can't wait to hang out with them for the rest of their lives (hehehe).

I am thankful for Grandma Judy and her weekly letters (and emails!!). I am thankful for Tonya and her weekly updates. I am thankful for Derek and his constant support. I am thankful for Jenessa and our friendship. I am thankful for Shay and for Parker, for Tyler and Kenzie and Maisie. I am thankful for ward members of West Weber 2nd! I am thankful for amazing family members and friends. I am thankful for Hermana Jameson :) I am thankful for Hermana Bott, for Hermana Rush, for Hermana Bond and for every companion and sister in this mission. I am so beyond blessed :)

Remember how very thankful I am for each and every one of you. Remember how thankful I am for the Gospel :) Look up Thanksgiving in the Topical Guide! Remember that I love you more than words can say.

I love you!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Lauren