I Have a Great Love for the People of [Insert Name of Country Here]

Yesterday in church, I heard a very good, tear-inducing testimony. The girl started talking about her mission in Brazil and how she loved the people of Brazil. "Aww, that's nice," I initially thought. "I sometimes wish I had that kind of missionary memory."

But as I was listening to her testimony, it occurred to me that returned LDS missionaries often say things like that. The guy who served in Russia will say he has such a great love for the people of Russia. Or the guy who went to Mexico has a great love for the people there. And I get it. I understand what they are trying to convey -- that when we faithfully and generously serve a people, we develop an outstanding amount of love for them.

I also noticed, however, that this sentiment is probably more pronounced in missionaries who served outside of the U.S. So I just wanted to say for the record that even though I haven't served a "full-time mission," I make my own little missionary efforts here on the homefront, and I have a great love for Americans. In fact, I want to say that I think we should all extend that love to people all over the world. I know we all have special fond memories of places we've actually lived, but I think maybe Heavenly Father wants us to develop a love for anybody and everybody, even if -- and probably especially if -- we haven't been able to immerse ourselves into their cultures.

So. I have a great love for the people of the world! Go world!

Thing I'm thankful for: my fun purple Anthropologie dress.