Letters To Grace: Food, Friends, And The Return Of The Missionary

Dear Grace,

I can’t believe it, but I’ve actually gotten worse about writing to you! I’ll try to quickly update you on the shenanigans and goings on of the past two months or so since I last wrote. I guess the reason I haven’t written in so long is because I’ve been so involved with school and my new friends that I just haven’t had the time.

So to start, I made two new friends since I last wrote, Jacquelyn and Sydney, and basically, they make my life! We all love Harry Potter, food, and all around being crazy hooligans, haha. We’re all in the same Spanish class, and we all met and got to know each other because we all sit and wait for Spanish class out in the foyer together. Sydney is LDS, but Jacquelyn is a southern Baptist. Don’t ask why the three of us are friends, we don’t know either haha. So anyway, the first time we all hung out together was when we decided to have a Potter-thon at my apartment. We watched the first three movies and ate pizza, my delicioso cinnamon rolls, and screamed out and laughed up our own commentary for all of the movies.

I guess you could say the rest is history. We’ve been three peas in a pod ever since! The next Saturday an old friend of mine came down to visit me and I cooked dinner for her. After dinner she, Diantha and I all decorated the stairwell of my apartment with chalk drawings while singing to Disney music haha, so that was fun. Right as we were finishing, Jacquelyn and Sydney randomly showed up at my door and demanded that I go to a rock concert with them over at the school, so we all took off to go to that and had a blast dancing in front of the stage and almost getting trampled to death by all of the people around us. It meant so much to me that Jac and Syd hunted me down to make sure I wasn’t left out of the fun! They’re just awesome like that, and they’re the best of friends I could ever ask for. I’m so grateful to have them in my life J .

Well while we were at the concert I told John to get his butt out of his dorm room and come join us, and when he finally found us we decided to go to Sydney’s apartment to watch the next Harry Potter movie in the series. It rained that night, so we interrupted our Potter-thon to run out to the parking lot and play in the rain, which was a blast. Especially when some random guy parked his car and cranked up his stereo so we would have some music to dance to haha.

Our next adventure was when we watched Sahara and had quaffles. Basically, a quaffle is a waffle made with chocolate cake batter. All you do is make a regular cake mix and cook it in the waffle iron; then you top it with ice cream and caramel and nuts. Basically, YUM! Try it sometime, I highly recommend it.

A couple of weekends ago we all went on a St. George adventure together. Funny coincidence! So I called Michelle up to see what she was up to that night and to see if she wanted to hang out after I did baptisms. Turns out she was doing baptisms that night with her young women’s group! So we ended up meeting her there at the temple and did baptisms together haha (Jacquelyn went for a walk in the park during this time), so that worked out. Then Jac, Syd and I went to Kneaders (oh, how I do love that store!) and then we went to Michelle’s house and watched a couple of movies together before heading back home (P.S. I don’t recommend trying to drive home from St. George at one in the morning. You’re lucky if you don’t fall asleep at the wheel haha).

So Brandon, Diantha and I all go hiking together every Saturday morning, since we live in hiking-haven. Have I told you about Brandon? Well, I met him through Diantha, and now we are friends. He’s majoring in music and he loves the outdoors, so I call him Granola Man. Anyway, he’s our upstairs-next-door neighbor, and he always comes over to visit us, so that’s nice to have another friend so close by.

So Kurt finally came home from his mission last week! I felt so blessed because I was able to fly out to pick him up with Mom and Dad. That day was pretty crazy. After classes I went home, finished packing, and sped over to the airport where I hopped on a prop-plane, traded planes in Salt Lake and just barely made my flight to Portland. Then, after getting off the plane, who should I run into past security but Kurt! It took a second to register in my brain that the tall, cute, skinny kid walking toward me was the brother I hadn't seen for two years, but as soon as it did register I threw my baggage-laden arms around him and screamed in delight, whilst also successfully smearing foundation all over the shoulder of his jacket :P

Then we hopped in the car with Mom and Dad and went to the Steer’s home (a family from Kurt’s ward in Sherwood) where we stayed for the night. The next day we went and visited some of the families Kurt had been teaching on his mission. They were all Hispanic, and they were the absolute sweetest, kindest, most loving and wonderful people you’ll ever meet. They were poor. They had nothing. But in having nothing, they had everything. The spirit in their homes was so pure and good in a way I’ve never felt in white people’s homes.

The first person I met was Sister Delong, the “Prophetess” as Kurt calls her. Her home was decorated with dozens of paintings she had painted herself, and she was just the sweetest, cutest little old woman you’ve ever seen. Kurt and I gave her a mini concert (he played the piano, I sang) and I was so impressed with how good Kurt has gotten on the piano! He’s almost as good as Mom now! It was such a cool experience because that was the first time Kurt and I had ever done that together. We had Mom, Dad, and Sister Delong all in tears, and Kurt and I were both pretty emotional as well. Music is a powerful thing, and it speaks to me especially.

That afternoon we went to downtown Portland where we ran into a protest march. I’ve never been more scared out in public in broad daylight than I was there. It was crazy! Well, after people-watching for a while we went to Voodoo Doughnuts, which was delicious, and then we went and visited Elder Lopez’s Mom (I know you have no clue who these people are, but please make my life easier and just humor me). I was so touched while we were there, because even though they had nothing, Elder Lopez’s wonderfully sweet little cousin brought us each a glass of water, and as we were leaving, sister Lopez gave Kurt a coffee mug. Even though it was plain to see that they had nothing, they still gave us something.

Later that evening we got to meet Lupe G. All I can say about her is WOW! That there was a truly remarkable woman. She is so beautiful, and such a cute little fireball! She has the most amazing testimony, and she is such a great missionary in branching out and finding people who are looking for the truth. After meeting her and feeling her spirit and hearing her testimony, I feel ashamed that I haven’t been a better member of the church. I’m filled with regret that I haven’t learned to share what I know with those around me. She made me want to live my life so that I would have that radiance of the light of Christ shining in my face they way it shinned in hers.

Kurt has done some amazing works out there on his mission, and he has left behind a legacy to continue the work of God. I’m so proud to call him my brother, and I am so grateful to have seen the light of Christ touch him and change his life. Right now he’s having a tough time with the post-mission blues, but I don’t think he’ll have to wait long before he receives his next calling. His mission may be over now, but his work is only just beginning.

Well I’m worn out and need to go to bed, but I’ve saved some stuff to write about, so my next letter will come sooner, I promise you that. I love you Grace, always remember that!

All my love,

P.S. I’ve got everyone calling me Jo now, just so you know.

This was after our little rain party in the parking lot. Left to right: Sydney's roommate, John, me, Sydney, and Jacquelyn