Easter

It was Easter Yesterday! 1st, we need to remember that Easter is not about bunnies and candy! It's about Jesus Christ! He is no longer in the tomb, he is alive! He lives!!! :) It's amazing. So for your Easter Homework, click on this link helives.mormon.org It's about a 2 minute video! And it's about Jesus Christ! Ye shall watch it! :() We share this video with everyone we meet! And it's amazing! Everyone of all different cultures and backgrounds and religions all love this video and it brings them to tears and it brings them motivation and purpose and happiness to their life! My favorite part is when it says "There are no lost causes" And Emilie Ann Poirier!!! my darling sister, If you are reading this, WATCH IT. It reminded me of your love for people and for serving others, and how you ALWAYS try and REACH OUT. :) This was made for everyone to watch! It's beautiful and wonderful, so don't take my word for it, learn of it yourselves! We also had general conference. General Conference is when the Prophet of our church and his 12 apostles speak to the world twice a year! When Jesus was on the Earth he called 12 apostles! And so this church is established as the church in Jesus's time, with twelve apostles! Who speak to us and help to guide us along this challenging journey. One challenge I went through this week was being away from my Family during Easter! Easter is my favorite holiday. We have this Easter tradition to dress up and I always wear purple, my favorite color and the color of Easter. Then! We would Go to the Catholic church ( always crowded with tons of people, that we call the C and E people (Christmas and Easter people) so we would sit in the back, and try and be quiet, but in all honestly, I'm a non-stop talker, so it was always hard not to talk. When the songs would come, I would sing my heart out. Then after church, we would go home and have brunch with all of our family. So missing this Easter was super super super hard for me. One time i remember walking in church and immediately a man got up so that I could have a spot to sit by all my family. He was dressed in really rudgedy clothes, and didn't look super clean, but he was at church, and that was pretty cool. I remember the whole time feeling like I should invite this man to our Easter Brunch. But analyzing it over and over again in my head, I just couldn't get the courage to ask him, because I didn't want to make my family uncomfortable. As soon as church ended, I think I was like 9 or 10 years old, so my 10 year old self, immediately told my parents about my ideas. We were in the car by that time, and my parents said, OF COURSE HE IS WELCOME, so we drove around for 15 minutes searching for where he could have gone. We couldn't find him. And I vividly remember how sad I was. So sad that perhaps I should have asked him to come and I didn't, and how maybe he was hungry and was going to have a bad Easter. I think about that experience all the time, and it's probably one of the saddest things to think about. But my parents spoke with me and assured me that if we didn't find him on the street that he MUST be with someone else and that he would have food with them, and he probably has his own family, and we don't want to take him away from that. That experience is so clear in my mind, his face so clear, I someday want to meet him, and make sure he is okay. I wrote a poem about him too. The poem is at home, in one of my many piles and boxes of poems. I don't have it with me, or else I would write it in this email. Easter has always been a special day to me and my family, and it's been hard to not be with my family during that day. I told my companion of our traditions. How we would hide our baskets from the Easter bunny, and he would rehide them with candy in it. I cried during my prayer during that night before Easter, because I didn't have a basket to hide, the Bunny wouldn't rehide it, and I wouldn't be frantically searching in the morning to try and beat my sister's to it. And I wouldn't be going to church with my family, and have our brunch afterward. So I just cried. I was laying in bed and crying, and another Sister missionary in the room asked if I was okay. I said yes. 10 minutes passed and I asked her for a hug, I felt I needed one. Sister Salcido is her name, she gave me the best hug, a hug that I really really needed, and her hug alone assured me that everything would be okay. Then we turned the conversation into jokes about the 6 foot tall Easter bunny and if we should leave our doors unlocked so he could come in. It was really funny, so I went to sleep on a happy note. In the morning, our alarms sounded. And I heard my companion Sister Sullivan shout "THE EASTER BUNNY CAME, HAPPY EASTER!!!" And all over our floor was grass and candy and "becausehe lives" cards about Jesus Christ, and a bunny. And one single basket. And the basket was for me. I'll send pictures of what it was like. I wasn't with my family, but I was with another family, a family of sisters, and Sister Salcido told me "that's why we're here, to be your family" So that Easter day, was a very good day. A day of happiness, a day of family, a hard, but good day, a day of love. I hope all of you enjoyed your Easter just as much as I enjoyed mine. And I hope all of you remember why we celebrate Easter, because of Him, because of Jesus Christ, we can return to live with Heavenly father, and our families can be,, TOGETHER FOREVER:) In Jesus Name, Amen!