miss emma.

last night, we tried to go see the lady in black, but we were a tad late and they only had three seats available, and there were five of us, so we decided we'd see it another night and instead went to this restaurant called wagamamas that we had heard great things about. i got chicken curry, which was easily the best curry i have ever tasted in my life. it was so yummy. panko bread crumb crusted chicken and the stickiest white rice and this delicious curry with just the right amount of spice. after dinner we tried to get ben's cookies, but ben's closes at 8, which was initially disappointing but then we decided we'd try this waffle house we heard about. it is right around the corner from our house, so it was super convenient. anyway, i cannot even express to you how glad i am that we went to the waffle house because it was the best thing i have ever eaten. fresh, warm waffle with tons of nutella and fresh strawberries on top. warm, gooey, chocolately euphoria in my mouth. basically, the whole night revolved around food. after we licked the chocolate off our plates, we all just sat at the table for a while and talked about our lives and how grateful we all are to be here, in london, living our dream and experiencing the world. i am such a believer in fate, and i know that all of these girls are here to teach me something. and i am so grateful for that; that i can learn and grow and progress from the examples of these amazing people i now call my friends. they are great people, and i am glad Heavenly Father brought them into my life.
today it only took us an hour to get to church, which was a nice improvement, and i'm sure that next week will an improvement from that. i started my morning off in my favorite way, a little skype sesh with my main squeeze. he was just coming back home from a night out, and i was awake getting ready for church. the time change is bizarre, i feel like we are in two different worlds. which we kind of are. but the distance doesn't matter much. oh how i love him and oh how i need him in my life. after i hung up with him, i chowed down half a nutella sandwich (can't get enough of that stuff) and a bit of apple juice and we were out the door.
we got to church in the middle of relief society, which is the first hour, and they were discussing the conference talk more diligent and concerned at home by elder bednar, which i did a presentation on in my living prophets class last semester. i love that talk and i love that man, and i love that he is heard throughout the world. i am grateful for this true gospel, and that it is universal and consistent everywhere. anyway, after relief society, i received my calling! i have been called to teach the young single adult sunday school class. no, i have never taught a class before in my life, but i really think i'm going to be good at it. good news: there are only about 5 young single adults that i have to teach. bad news: since there are so few, i really have to be engaging, because they really will listen to what i'm saying. but it is bound to be a good experience, and i am excited.

since i'm in a family ward, there are babies everywhere. i don't know if putting me there is the best idea, because all church long i just held babies (they seem to really love us american girls) and i really wanted one of my own. sorry, i'm admitting it, i am baby hungry. no, that doesn't mean that i'm going to get myself pregnant anytime in the near future, don't worry, it just means that i am excited for the day when it's right and it happens to me. i am excited to have my own family. i have always felt that is my calling in life, as cliche as that sounds, and hate on it all you want, but i know that my divine nature is to be a mother. and i'm proud of that, actually.
the people of my ward are incredibly receptive and warm of us. as we were sitting on the couch, waiting to be set apart with the bishop, every single member who walked by stopped to say hello and shake our hands. no one pretended not to see us and no one thought it was too inconvenient to be kind. and isn't that what it's about? i love the simplicity and devotion of the members here. even though they probably don't understand the fundamentals or the traditions of the church, they understand the principles of the gospel, and that is refreshing to me. they are true christians. they make me want to be better, and i am glad i get to associate myself in their ward for these next three months.

my grandma always corrects me when i refer to myself as being "lucky". she says, "no, you are not lucky, you are blessed." i just did a little dictionary.com comparison of those two words, and i will forever agree with my sweet grandma. i refuse to believe that my life is beautiful due to random luck and chance.
i am very much blessed, which means divinely or supremely favored, because all i have has been given to me through my God and my Savior.
divinely and supremely favored, indeed.