America.

I'm HOME.

The term bittersweet has a new meaning that I never understood before.
I was so depressed when I left 27 Palace Court.
SO depressed.
Then, I pulled into New York,
And saw that Manhattan skyline that will be my new city in 10 days,
And I got so happy.
That Wendy's in Terminal 2 while I waited for my next flight really helped also.

But then I woke up today.
And a part of me is missing.
It's in London.
WIth my other family of 37.
And I miss my friends.
SO much.

I promise I'll make a wrap up blog post next time.
But for now,
Enjoy some of the last snapshots of the trip.

Pyramid outside of Buckingham? Check. Oh how I miss these ladies.

Meet the crew. I love these 20 with all my heart.

Donuts with the ladies at Camden.

Last dinner! 

..chelle..

Temple.

Monday,
Alexis and Anna find me and say, "Let's go to the temple this week."
Done.
Brooklinn puts her planning skills to work,
And we make an appointment for Thursday.

After a tube ride to Victoria,
Waiting a half hour for the train,
Riding the train for almost an hour,
Trying to get taxis from the train station,
And being 40 minutes late for our appointment,
We all did baptisms at the London England Temple.
It was AMAZING.
The people of England are so faithful.
They believe the temple is a great blessing and travel hours and hours just to come to the temple.

We met Esther and her mom while we were waiting to go in and do baptisms.
They had traveled 4 and a half hours to do baptisms.
It was incredible that these people gave up their weekend to come to the temple.
It inspired me, and made me realize how much I take living 5 minutes away from one fore granted.

It was such a blast to go to the temple with all these people.
I love the group.
Everyone has such a sweet spirit,
And I'm going to miss them so much when it's over.

So.
Less than a week left....
To hell with finals,
LONDON IS CALLING OUR NAMES.

Eleven.

And so the countdown begins....
11 days left with these wonderful women and more.

..chelle..

UK.

I have now conquered the entire United Kingdom.
From Dublin for St. Patrick's Day (such a crazy experience)....

We also went out to the coast and the country. Wicklow was AMAZING.

Utter madness.

To Scotland and the lake district in Northern England.

 Fountains Abbey. Some ruins for ya.

Beautiful hike in the lake district.

Holyrood House...aka Scotland's palace.

So.

No more travels shall be had.

Crazy huh?

15 days and it's hello to the good ol' US of A.

Portuguese.

2 months ago,
Lex and I were called as Young Womens teachers to the South Kensington Branch.
A Portuguese speaking ward.
We knew no Portuguese whatsoever.
We had been residents of London for less than 48 hours,
And we were overwhelmed.

Now,
We can bear our testimonies and sing a song (Firme na Fe, check it out) in Portuguese.
We've given a couple lessons,
And we've met some of the most humble and faithful people this world has to offer.
The Portuguese people loved us from the instant we walked in the door.
They opened their arms and welcomed us into the unfamiliar city of London.
We began to love them like they loved us.

These people are so amazing.
They have so much faith and a light that I've yet to see in anyone else.
I'm so grateful for my experience in the ward,
And for how much they helped my testimony grow.

Last Sunday was our last time in the ward.
I miss those girls so very much.
And I'm so grateful for all I've learned.
So,
On being Portuguese,
It's not bad at all.

3 of our 6 Young Women with the Presidency.

Our 2nd Counselor (Bruna), our President (Karla), and our 1st Counselor (Divina).

..chelle..

Family.

Nothing,
Nothing,
NOTHING in this world,
Can beat your family.
In anything.
I learned that this week when my family came to visit me here in London.
My brothers and Morgan had never been here before.
And it was fun to have my entire family in my new home for a couple days,
Going to the main touristy areas,
Eating some good meals (finally),
Seeing some good shows,
And just being able to talk to them in person again.
It truly was the best thing that I could've asked for.
I loved every second of it.
They've grown up so much.
My siblings are just flyin' right by my eyes.
And they're one of the only things I'm looking forward to going home to.

I've missed her. And she came to Charles Dickens' house with me. Major plus.

The 4 teenagers. Crazy huh?? 

The whole family in one of my favorite spots: Tower Bridge.

He loved the battleship. He's getting SO big.

He's joining me at BYU this year. So excited.

Matilda is one of the best plays I've seen here. 

26 more days....
..chelle..

Double.

Double Major???
??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????


We'll see.
..chelle..