Ya'll ready for a quick li'l update from week?
Okay:
1. I seriously love you guys. Without you, I would be nothing. I love you all so much.
2. Dad- your leg is broken. (Editor's Note: Dad did not tell her.) I do believe you win an award with that one. World's Highest Pain Tolerance Level goes to Roger Mann! And World's Biggest Hug and lots of love and apple sauce is being sent from Tahiti straight to you, Pappa! Except not really the apple sauce. I'm going to just keep the apple sauce and eat it. There is deeeelicious apple sauce here with mangoes in it. But I am sending you the hug and love. What a trooper. What a CHAMP.
3. Here is picture of me holding a banana tree I chopped down with a rusty saw! We had a li'l service project across the street and it was oh, so good. Man, I miss yard work. Not a joke. It felt so good to be dirty and sweaty and muddy. And I licked the inside of the banana tree 'cuz it was all gooey- doesn't taste like bananas. Tastes like dandelions. If you haven't tasted a dandelion yet, go taste one. You'll see what I'm talking about. Bring some Mentos with you.
4. A moment I will never forget- teaching Tamahere, a sweetheart 16 skateboarder boy, the Plan of Salvation. We lay it all out and teach everything, and when we finish I ask, "So what do you think?" And all he says, quietly and sincerely, is, "It's amazing." Yes, it is amazing. It's wonderful.
5. Sometimes people criticize the church for small things. You know, if someone were to dig around in my past and find every single bad thing I'd done, they would hate me. If they looked for it, they would find all kinds of dirty, ugly, mud. If they only looked at that, no one would be my friend. But the thing is, we are not just our mistakes. We are much more than that. The church has a lot of mud on it, but if you really want to know what we are about, read this month's Ensign from cover to cover. Read about prayer and forgiveness and happiness in our families, taking care of our bodies and worshiping Jesus Christ. Then you can start thinking about whether the church is a good thing.
I truly, truly love you! I love the Lord and I love life. Sometimes it is rough, but that's alright. It's beautiful. Please send pictures of the family - I miss you all! Also, Jamie Felix - CONGRATS! Your announcement and letter sent me into a lovey dovey cloud of bliss for about four hours - whoops. I can't wait to meet your sweet husband! Okay, all my love to all of you!
-Soeur Mann
