Come What May and Love it!

Hola Everyone!
It was so good to talk to all those that i could on Thanksgiving! it made me a little less homesick just to hear all those that i love on the other end of the phone. despite the crazy connections i was able to talk to so many people! and it was great! Thanksgiving day here was great! i am not going to lie it was dang hard to be so far away from everyone on such a special day, but my mom reminded me "em you´ll have many holidays here with us, but you only have one in Ecuador..." so with that thought in my mind, i put on my strong Ecuador smile...i can honestly say i had a great thanksgiving!
we had a big party at Xplorer with all the exchange students, and our families. We ate a makeshift thanksgiving dinner, the students put on a short silly play, and Zoe and Gabi sang a song from Wicked. The best part however was when sofy surprised me with a pumpkin pie!! i know...it was totally a miracle! i guess she had a friend coming in from the states...and when she knew i would be missing pumpkin pie so much...well she had her bring some from the states, and i actually had pumpkin pie! in Ecuador! also...we all had a dessert contest...well i know this may come as a big surprise to all of you, but i made the winning dessert! i made a Skor cake, and it actually turned out really awesome! i was just as shocked as i am sure most of you are right now...haha.
Today is December first, and the beginning of my fourth month here! i can´t believe how fast time is flying! when i think back to my first weeks here...i can´t imagine how fast time has flown! it´s incredible. December will come and go...and then January...and before we know it we´ll be half way through!
i´ve just added a new gadget to my blog, so make sure that your speakers are on when you open up my blog...because i added some songs...including Defying Gravity! it´s so awesome...(Haley Nelson let me in on that little secret...)
Life is going along as normal now...it´s so weird to me, as i look out over the city, that this is really where i live. That i live in Quito Ecuador! I’ve never lived in a big city before but i am getting used to it.
Today was a good day, i always judge my days by the beginnings. Starting with if i get a seat on the bus. Well let me describe the busses here...they are PACKED...we´re talking sometimes when i get on i am standing on the last stair of the bus and my backpack is flying out in the wind as i hang on for dear life, knowing that if i fell out the driver wouldn´t even stop. well today was formal uniform day, so i was in my heels and i got a seat on the bus! i don´t know how it happened...but i decided right there that today was going to be a great day! And it was...haha!
My day´s come and go...and before i know it weeks have gone by. I had a great experience this last week helping in the hospital. I helped take care of a little Baby named Johnothan. His mom brought him in and then just left him. well for one beautiful week i got to be his mommy, i held him, walked with him, sang to him, loved him, and gave him what he didn´t have. well this Friday when i went into take care of him he was gone. his mom had come back for him. i was devastated...i had really grown to love that little baby, and then his mom just came and took him! how dare she! especially when she had a tendency to just leave him places...but i learned a lot of lessons from Johnothan. I started to think maybe i wanted to go into the medical field when i get home, and maybe be a nurse...but i don´t know if that career would be for me either...but mostly from Johnothan i learned the power of innocent love. As i looked into his eyes, i could see not only the innocence of a child but also a child who was so wise. i know those two things contradict each other but it´s true. I so wanted to know at times what he was thinking…and ask him questions…because at times I felt like he knew all the answers that I needed to know. But all I could do was love him, and I hope that my week of love gave him just a small taste of what he needed.
Institute is going good. My first week there I won a Triple Combination, because of my amazing scripture mastery skills…(ha there brother winward! Haha) I love having a place to go like that. Where I can practice my Spanish, and also be with people with the same values and beliefs as me. It feels nice. They kinda get a kick out of me, because I have my English scriptures, my Spanish set, my dictionary, and then a notebook to take notes…sometimes it´s a little overwhelming…and I just sit there and let the spirit teach me.
Today being the first day of December marks the beginning of the Festivities of Quito. Originally these festivities are because of the founding of the city of Quito. But they just so happen to be so close to Christmas the celebrations kinda get thrown together. The whole city is all lit up, it´s beautiful. The huge Cathedral is all lit up, and so is the statue of Mary and baby Jesus. The city is covered in lights…and the old town is absolutely magical. I know I will miss my family so much this holiday season, but I am really excited to celebrate here! I am getting in the spirit of Christmas, and getting excited! However I am truly dreaming of a white Christmas…maybe i´ll cut out some snow flakes or something…haha
I´ve recently been reading some of the Conference talks from this past conference and one of my favorite ones is Elder Wirthlin´s. It´s titled “Come What May and Love it!¨ There are many parts that I love about this talk, but one in particular I would like to share, he says, “...every life has peaks and shadows and times it seems like the birds don´t sing and bells don´t ring. Yet in spite of discouragement and adversity, those who are happiest seem to have a way of learning from difficult times, becoming stronger, wiser, and happier as a result.” He also reminds us to learn how to laugh. When I ended high school, I thought I had seen it all, dealt with it all and that anything else that came my way would be a piece of chocolate cake, well…coming here has taught me that I was wrong. This has been a very hard thing in my life, I left everything familiar behind me, I left those that I love, and the comfort of the home i´ve known my whole life. And it´s been scary…but I also know the power of smiling, and laughing. And when I make a mistake, or a feel like I can´t go on…I find those things that make me happy…and even though this is tough, and scary by finding the silver lining through all this has brought out the good in every situation…(I still haven´t found the good in the three times I got robbed….but i´m over it so I guess that´s good…haha)
I love you all! And Once again thank you for your love, support, and encouragement…and as Elder Wirthlin says, “as we look for humor, seek for the eternal perspective,…., and draw near to our Heavenly Father, we can endure hardship and trial…we can say…come what may, and love it!”
Chau Chau! Love Emmy Ann