Helen

A letter to someone you barely know who has impacted you in some way.

This is so difficult. Writing everyday. I have really enjoyed this challenge but there have been moments where I just don't want to think about it or I get too tired to bust it out. Anyway, I racked my brain for more than an hour with this one, but I know who I want to write to. The thing is, I know her more than "barely". However, I haven't see her since I went to London to walk with my graduating class.

Dear Helen,

You were an answer to my prayers. I felt very alone and scared when I first lived in London and when I first went to the Hyde Park ward. I didn't know anyone. I really wanted to feel accepted and needed but it just seemed like no one really knew anyone since the ward was so transient.

It's been five years since we met and I felt an instant connection with you. You were like this instant friend to me. You understood me. You opened up your home to me and made me feel okay about the flaws that I have. When I moved back to the U.S., I was heart broken. I was heart broken over leaving London and I was heart broken leaving such a great friend like you.

Being around you a Tim made me feel hopeful. The love and respect that you two have for each other is so evident. I hope that I find someone who looks at me, the way Tim looks at you. I'm so happy for the both of you and your cute, growing family. I don't think I can fully express how grateful I am to have met you. I often think of the next time we will see each other in person. No matter where you live in the world, I will visit you. I don't want the last time that I saw you, to be the last time that I ever see you again.

I miss you terribly,

Susan

Susan "From The Other Side Of THe Pond" B.

Friends For Life

I made a lot of friends while living in London, but there are only a few that I know I will be friends with for years to come. Two of those friends are Helen and Tim. I first met Helen on my first day in the Hyde Park Ward (least favorite ward ever). She asked if she could sit next to me and we have been friends since that day. She and Tim are from New Zealand and Australia respectively. They moved to London to find work and experience living in another country. Helen and I became friends at a crucial time in my life. I had been struggling with my beliefs and I was having trouble fitting in at church. If Helen hadn't been there in my ward, I'm afraid I would have stopped going altogether. I am really lucky to know both of them. They opened up their home to me, invited me for dinner, sat with me at church and taught me about their lives. 

I loved hanging out with Helen one on one, but I really liked being around the two of them together. They have such an honest and healthy relationship as far as I could tell. You can tell that they respect each other and are very much in love, but not in an over-the-top annoying way. What I liked the most was the expression on Tim's face when he looked at Helen. It seem to reveal what his heart was feeling. I could just see that he knew he had found the one and only girl that would make him happy. And she did. Every time I saw that I would think, I hope I find a man that looks at me, the same way Tim looks at Helen.

I miss them both terribly. But I know that I will see them again. Hopefully next year when they are in New York I can meet up with them. I regret not getting more pictures of us together. Helen had birthday breakfast with me and trimmed my hair. She met up with me for hot chocolate on one of my last nights in London to say good-bye which is where the above picture is from. I guess I will have to go to New York, if not to just get pictures of us together!

Susan "I get by with a little help from my friends" B.