a true friend

on feb. 1 2007 i read 2 nephi 1:30 "and now, zoram, i speak unto you : behold thou art the servant of laban; nevertheless, thou hast been brought out of the land of jerusalem, and i know that thou art a TRUE FRIEND unto my son, nephi, forever."

transfers happened one week earlier. i met her january 23 when i picked her up from the bus station in sao jose dos campos. she was my second companion. thus it began...

here's my nephi:and this weekend she was sealed in the spokane temple to one lucky guy! alexsandra de freitas silva- or as i like to call her, minha tia, minha metade melhor, bixinha, freitinhas, e nefi- knows me. she knows the raw, stripped, real, vulnerable me. she knows my weaknesses, and she still thinks i'm great. she shares my sorrows, and takes part in my joys. she prays for my family more than i do. whenever i REALLY need a prayer answered, i just ask her to offer it. i'll never forget our nights on our knees in caraguatatuba, brasil, when i would open my eyes as she prayed just to see what heavenly messengers were in the room... her conversations were that intimate. she is one of the angels to which Elder Holland referred to in his general conference address. tonight, as i was talking to my friend about her, i said she changed my eternities... "wait, what? how?" well- she changed my mission, which transformed my life, which will determine my eternity- ergo, she changed my eternity!


i vividly remember a day during our magical transfer together... we were walking in a neighborhood called Barranco Alto and she threw her hands up in the air and said, "i don't need much in a husband, i just want you, but a guy version!" well, i don't know daniel garret trawick very well, but i know she loves him. i know he loves her. that is all i need to know.

i am forever grateful for nefi, my true friend, and all the other true friends that that Lord has blessed me with. they really color my world beautiful.

On this day

Today is not a day that you wonder if you remember, but, rather, how.

How did you remember? How do I remember? How should we remember?

new e-mail address

hello one and all

i opened a gmail account so it will now be the main e-mail used for everything... so write me here, not my yahoo account- please.

alison.jo.williams@gmail.com

loves

yay for LA- day 5

the trip had to end at some point... but before that day arrived we couldn't say goodbye until we had one very important pit stop.

we went down to malibu to go to the beach and take advantage of my last afternoon in sunny southern california. it was a beautifully windy day- much more reminiscent of oregon beach weather than socal... needless to say i loved it. the waves were white, the water was blue, the sand was light, the smile was permanent and the conversation the best.

while we were there just hanging out this man came around collecting recycling and he was followed by a HERD of seagulls. it was amazing to see how many birds trailed his every step and hovered in the air- seemingly motionless just waiting. the picture really doesn't do it any justice.

it was hard to leave LA. weird. i am so not a california girl- but i loved the company, the convos, the climate. i felt at home. i'm sure tyson was uber excited for me to go and get his wife back all to himself, he is quite the husband, but as i was leaving i couldn't help but think i felt more like i was leaving home than going home. that's what being around a person that makes you the best you will do i guess. for that i am grateful and forever will be. love you, right?

yay for LA- day 4

so monday was all about work- well as much as it can be when you are an intern for your best friend. here is the amazing product. i became a believer.

so we worked. a lot. got a lot done. really. i promise.

then after all that time of pitching and researching and staring at a computer screen it was time we looked at something a lil bit more attractive, and let's be honest, take a break from all that HARD work so we went to see...

such a fun movie... we laughed and got sentimental- some of the lines were a bit real and applicable to life. but the real winner?

jesse williams. can you say hot (maybe it's in the last name?). do it with me... hot! this man is attractive. way too attractive for his own good. yes- we were glad we went and saw the movie. so glad

yay for LA- day 3

i love sundays- visiting a ward in thousand oaks california- being invited by the bishop to move into the ward- seeing the look on tyson's face when the bishop asked me to move into the ward- hearing the primary leaders butcher heather's last name- hearing the 5-year-olds say her name just right on the first time- going to junior primary- teaching junior primary on...

obedience

playing sequence in heather's uber cute patio- beating heather while playing sequence in her dapper patio- watching the olympics (something new) - sleeping on an air mattress - having fun in southern california

yay for LA- day 2 in fotos

here are all the fotos from the day at universal- pay close attention to the early nineties logo... so great. and there are a bunch of pics from the sets at universal that have been used in pretty much ALL the movies EVER made- okay maybe that is a slight exaggeration but it is great. more details to come.