Gaerwen Week 12

What an incredible week! Our friend Moruf was baptized on Saturday! It is always so special to see someone be baptized. When we first met Moruf in November, he was skeptical about the church. But as he prayed to know if the Book of Mormon was true he felt the spirit testify to him that it is. It has been amazing to see his testimony grow. We asked him how he felt after his baptism and he said it in one word: happy. I've seen in my life and in the lives of others that living The Gospel of Jesus Christ can bring happiness. What a glad message!

This week is also my companion's last week as a missionary. On Friday, she had her deparing temple trip with all of the other departing missionaries. Because of this, I was able to spend the day with the sisters in Chorley. She leaves for the mission home in Thursday and flies back to America on Saturday. I get to meet my new companion in Thursday though so that should be exciting!

We also had a very miraculous experience while street contacting on Saturday. We were walking around Bangor when we stopped this girl who was walking into town. She looked at us and goes "I know you, you're Mormons!". Her and her family used to be members but have since fallen away from the church. She was in Bangor for only 4 months but we were led to her only two weeks before she was going to leave back to Spain. She was on her way to meet her friend in the town centre for coffee and invited us to join them. We were able to talk to her and her friend about our beliefs and we even shared a book or Mormon with her friend. God is very involved in missionary work!

Gaerwen Week 11

This has been such a good week! Our friend Moruf is doing great. He has his baptismal interview this week and he passed. He is all set for his baptism on Saturday. He has been studying the Book of Mormon from the beginning and I have seen his testimony grow as he does so. It is definitely the greatest contributor to a person's testimony. I am so excited for him!

On Monday, we had a zone service project in Chester. We decorated fairy cakes (they're like flattened cupcakes) to give to those in our area we feel would need them. We also had this amazing presentation on the saviour by a senior couple serving in our zone. I love this Christmas season because it is a time to remember the saviour and the sacrifice he made. I know he lives and loves each one of us and I have been able to feel that love so strongly during the Christmas season. We spent Christmas Eve, Christmas, and Boxing Day at members homes. The members in Gaerwen are so sweet and helped us to feel included.

My companion, Sister Mueller, has been packing all of her things because she is finishing her mission next week! It has been so good to serve with her and I will miss her dearly. I find out this week who my next companion will be.

Gaerwen Week 10

It has been such a great week! It started with exchanges with our STL's, Sister Tubongbanua and Sister Schulze. They live in stoke (about 2 hours driving) but it was so fun to be able to spend a day with them and learn from them. I was with Sister Tubongbanua and she is such an amazing missionary. One thing I learned from her is her is how amazing the knowledge we have is. Sister Tubongbanua is from the Philippines and converted just a few years ago. She had a career but was willing to put it in hold to share the Gospel with the people here in England. How amazing is that!

We also had the Christmas conference for the South zones on Thursday. It was so fun to see all of the other missionaries and to celebrate Christmas together. We had a talent show, played Christmas bingo, and we were even visited by santa.

We got to meet with our friend Moruf a couple times this week and he is doing great! He said he's been reading about the Book of Mormon and every time he does he feels like he wants to read more. We explained that the feeling that he should read more comes from the holy ghost. He has his baptismal interview tomorrow and I feel confident that he will pass. I am so excited that he has made the decision to be baptized!

Our other friend Bijan is also doing great! He went to church again in colwyn bay even though sister Mueller and I don't go to that ward. He has been reading the Book of Mormon with us too. One of the most powerful tools in conversion is the Book of Mormon and I have seen that as both Moruf and Bijan have read it and felt of the spirit.

This next week will be full of Christmas celebrations! We will have a ward Christmas party on Friday, a zone service activity on Monday, and then Christmas day! I am so grateful for this time of year because we have an opportunity to serve as the savior did!

Christmas Party Photo Booth Fun:

Gaerwen Week 9

It's been a great week! We've seen so many miracles, especially with our friends Moruf and Bijan. With Moruf, he came to church this week for the first time! He was really engaged in all of the lessons and quite a few ward members came up and said hello. We also presented him with his baptismal calendar after church. Because the baptism is only a few weeks away, we asked if we could meet several times a week. Thankfully, because lectures are over for the holidays, he has time to do that. I'm amazed at how well the timing is working with his baptism. We asked Moruf how he's feeling about his baptism and he said he is feeling good.

Bijan is someone that lives in Colwyn Bay (which is right next to our area but there are no missionaries there) but he was referred by his sister in America so we've been teaching him. We've taught him twice now with a member from the Colwyn Bay branch. We invited him to attend church in Colwyn Bay and he said that Sundays were his lazy day and that he would be working the night before so he probably wouldn't come. Sunday afternoon, we got a text from a woman in Colwyn Bay telling us that Bijan was at church! She said he felt welcome and he was very engaged, especially since he only had two hours of sleep. We are seeing him again this Tuesday so we'll be able to ask him how his experience was.

We also has the chance to meet with a friend of one of the members here named Alex. It was a great lesson because he was already comfortable with his friend so he wasn't afraid to ask questions or be engaged in the lesson. When the investigator is already close friends with a member of the church, learning about the gospel is so much easier. And the member is blessed as well for fulfilling his mission responsibility. The holiday season is an excellent opportunity to share the gospel with others. For the last week of light the world, it suggests thst we invite someone to a special Christmas sacrament meeting on Dec. 23rd. I wanted to invite each on of you to think about who you can invite to church that day! I can promise that you will be inspired to know who to invite. This gospel can bless everyone and as we share it we show heavenly father we are grateful for the blessings we receive. What a glad message!

This coming week will be busy but fun. On Wednesday, we have exchanges with the STL's in stoke. It's about a 2 hour drive so exchanges will be a bit shorter this transfer but I am excited to see what I can learn from them. We also have a mission Christmas conference (it's a party but they don't want to call it that) this Wednesday in Manchester. I'm excited to see all the other missionaries and celebrate Christmas together!

Gaerwen Week 8

 This week has been good! We had zone conference this week in Chester and I learned so much there. My Mission President spoke on how we can become more consecrated missionaries. Our perfect example of consecration is the Savior, who only did the will of the Father. They asked us to consider the question: What will you put on the altar to come to Christ and align your will with his? I loved this question because it applies not only to missionaries but anyone who desires to be a true disciple of Christ. Something they spoke about so much in this most recent conference is taking upon ourselves the name of Christ . We take his name upon us by aligning our wills with his! I know that as we turn our will over to the Lord that we have his help in all we do.

Something my mission is doing for the month of December is something called "December to Remember", where the whole mission strives to make December a month full of miracles. At the most recent zone conference, they challenged us to talk to as many people as we could and have faith that the miracles would follow. Over the past few days, Sister Mueller and I have tried to talk to as many people as we possibly could and the miracles did follow! The most exciting miracle was with our friend Moruf. We had met with him a few times before and he was interested but wasn't making too much of a commitment. We met with him yesterday evening and his heart had definitely been softened. We spoke with him about baptism and we felt so strongly to invite him to be baptized on Dec. 29th. He accepted! He said that if being baptized will help reaffirm his faith that he will do it. I am so excited for him!

We've also started the Light The World initiative in December 1st. I love the Light The World initiative because I know it is something that will help us to grow closer to Jesus Christ. On lighttheworld.org, there's a calendar with ideas on how you can serve those around you. I want to invite each one or you to light the world too! I can promise that you will feel the spirit more as you strive to serve those around you.

Pictures: me and Sister Mueller in front of a Christmas tree at a members home, the Christmas tree in the flat, a river we had to drive through in Wales

Gaerwen Week 7

Wow, this week has been eventful. To start off, our friend Moruf is doing really great. We met with him for the 2nd time this Wednesday and I am so impressed with the progress he is made. We taught him the plan of salvation and he had a question on why God would give us agency. Oddly enough, Moruf answered the question himself. He says, "I know, it's because God loves us". Every aspect of the plan of salvation, even the part where we experience opposition, is evidence of God's love for us. It is once we have this eternal perspective that we see our trials as opportunities to grow and to turn to Christ.

Our friend Martin is not doing so well. We went over on Wednesday to read the Book of Mormon with him and his Mum answered and said that Martin was stressing too much about the church. She requested that no one visit anymore and even gave us back his book of mormon. I was so sad to see Martin make that choice but we are praying that his heart will be softened and that he will reach out the missionaries when he is ready to do so.

Sister Mueller and I also had a fairly scary experience Thursday night. We were traveling back from a thanksgiving meal at a member's home and took a tight turn too fast and ended up having a head-on collision with a railway bridge. We got to spend a few hours in the A&E (accident and emergency) in the hospital just to make sure nothing was broken. Sister Mueller actually did fracture her wrist but both of our chests are ok (they though that with the airbag and the seatbelts that we may have hurt our sternum or ribs). We've spent the last few days just resting in our flat because of soreness and bruising but all in all we are doing alright. So many people have told us that it could have been a lot worse so I know we were being protected that night. We're planning on jumping back into things tomorrow, which should be exciting. Also, I'll attach a photo of our car after the accident. It looks pretty nice.

Well that's all for this week. This is the Lord's work and it has been amazing to see the miracles wrought by his hand.

Gaerwen Week 6

This week has been so amazing! The work here in Gaerwen is going so well and I can really see the hand of the Lord in all that we do. Yesterday, we found out that Sister Mueller and I are both going to be staying in Gaerwen for another 6 weeks (Sister Mueller's last transfer). I am excited to be able to work with her again.

Our friend Martin is still doing really well. He is still working on word of wisdom challenges but he says he is getting better every day. He is also reading the Book of Mormon and praying almost every day. The other day, we went over to his home with the Elders in Porthmadog and gave him a blessing to help him quit smoking. They blessed him that he would be able to have the strength necessary to do the things that are required him. It was such a spiritual experience because it affirmed to me that we can be strengthen and supported through the atonement of Jesus Christ, no matter what our challenge may be.

We also had a really good lesson with our friend Alex. This week, we taught him the importance of reading the Book of Mormon and praying. The lesson went so well because we brought a ward member along who served a mission where Alex is from. Our member friend, Fred, shared Helaman 5:12 with Alex and bore his testimony that it is only when we are built upon a solid foundation that we can be safe in this world. It really helped Alex to understand that reading his scriptures is a way to help build that solid foundation. I know that if we do the small and simple things, like reading and praying, that we will have the foundation we need to withstand the storms of the adversary.

The last Monday of every transfer we have something called miracle Monday, where as a mission we try to find 150 new friends. This Monday, our mission President also put a focus on working with returning members. There were a few returning members that some of the active members had suggested we visit so we took yesterday afternoon to visit them. It really was a miracle because two of the returning members we visited just happened to home on on Monday in the early afternoon and had time to talk. One of them invited us back and the other said she is going to attend church on the 2nd. Things always seem to work out the way they're supposed to.

Gaerwen Week 5

This has been a week full of ups and downs but I am grateful for the experiences we have that help us to grow.

One of the positive experiences we had this week is that we were able to meet with  our friend Alex again. We met with Alex last week and taught him the restoration. This time we taught him the plan of salvation and he again had such a sincere desire to learn and understand. We brought our ward mission leader along and he bore such a strong testimony of the importance of praying and coming to know for himself. Alex said that if he knows it is true he will be baptized! He is going to pray this week to ask if it is true.

We also had a success with a less active family we are working with. The last few times we had gone over to their house we had followed up with them about praying and reading and each time they said they hadn't. We weren't seeing much commitment from them so we weren't sure if we should continue to meet with them but we felt we should go over one more time. The lesson we had with them was so good! The Dad had read the first few chapters of the book of mormon and was trying hard to understand them. We were able to read a chapter from the book of mormon and show how the book of mormon clarifies and adds to the bible. I felt the spirit so strongly in their home and I know that the Lord was bringing to our minds scriptures and words to share that would help this family at this time. Both of them committed to read the book of mormon and pray about it this week.

Unfortunately, our friend Martin is no longer on date for the 24th of November. We are still working with him to be baptized but he needs a little bit more time to prepare. He is still willing to learn and follow Christ and he has felt the Spirit testify to him. We are excited to set another day for him to work towards.

This week we also have transfers. I will find out if I'm staying or leaving Gaerwen so that should be exciting.

Gaerwen Week 4

This week has been good! This transfer has gone by so fast! We are getting to know the area better every day and I am learning to love the people here in Gaerwen.

Our friend on date for baptism, Martin, is doing well. This week we talked with him about the commandments and he accepted the ones we taught him so easily. Something that he understood so well is that when we are baptized that we are making a life-long commitment to follow God. Thankfully, we received the Holy Ghost as constant companion to help us and to uplift us. He is learning about the rest of the commandments this week, which I think should go well. I excited to continue to work with him

Another miracle we saw this week is with a man we met from Nigeria. His name is Alex and he was so prepared to hear the Gospel! We taught him for the first time last night and he spoke about how he is looking for something to follow but just doesn't know what it is yet. He had loads of good questions about church and the Book of Mormon, which our fellowshipper answered so well. We asked if he would be baptized if he came to know if the Book of Mormon is true and he said yes. We haven't set a specific date yet but we are hoping to soon.

Gaerwen Week 3

Happy Halloween! This week has been truly amazing! We are still getting to know the area but we are already seeing miracles with the work. 

Our first miracles was with Martin. Martin is our friend who is on date for baptism on November 24th. This past week we made a baptismal calendar for him. We really tried to plan ahead so we called members to help with the lessons for him for the next month. The members here are so willing to fellowship and it has made such a difference for Martin as he has learned more about the gospel. He attended church again this Sunday and he had such a good time again. We spoke with him about keeping the sabbath day holy and he has such a strong desire to attend church every Sunday. He also started reading the scriptures and praying regularly. I can see Martin's faith grow everyday and I am so excited for him to be baptized.

We had a major success with a less active family in the ward as well. They are the sweetest family but havin been coming to church for the past few years. Right before we came, the Elders had asked the Relief Society President about who she felt she should visit and she gave them their name. They were able to visit them once before they left but didn't have a chance to really talk to them about anything yet. We visited them last week and they opened up to us about all of their concerns. We weren't sure what we could do to help them other than just keep on coming over and loving them. We visited last night and their attitude had completely changed. They said that they both felt like they needed to strengthen their testimonies and that Sister Mueller and I were the ones they wanted to help them. I am humbled by the trust they have in us and I know that God will tell us that words to say to help them at this time. They expressed a desire to start from the basics so we are going to visit them over the next weeks and teach them the lessons. I am so excited for this sudden change they've had.

We also had zone conference this week. I had the opportunity to give a talk on "My Purpose", the first chapter of PMG, and I spoke about how we fulfill our purpose by doing the small and simple things that we are asked to do as missionaries. But that principle applies to all aspects of the gospel as well. Often times we see that when we are feeling farther away from the Lord it is because we have stopped doing those simple thing we have been asked to do everyday, such as reading our scriptures, praying, and serving others. Thankfully, even if we aren't doing them right now, we have infinite chances to start again. I am so grateful for the atonement of the Jesus Christ that allows to try again and again and I can tesitfy that as we do the small and simple things that our relationship with our Heavenly Father will improve.

Gaerwen Week 2

This week has been amazing! To start off, Wales is so beautiful! We are right by the Irish sea and everything is so green. We visited a castle today in Caernarfon and there is so much history there. It's been amazing to experience a new culture here.

The most exciting thing this week was that our friend Martin agreed to be baptized! Right now it is for the 24th or November. We are so excited for him and the decision he is making.

I was reading in the Book of Mormon, and it talks about in ether 12:6 that we receive a witness after a trial of our Faith. I know that if we press forward in Faith that we can receive a witness for ourselves. I love the scriptures!

Gaerwen Week 1

This week was my first week in a new area and it has been quite an adventure! My companion, Sister Mueller, and I whitewashed, which means that neither of us were in the area before. The majority of the week was getting ourselves acquainted with the area and getting to know the members of the ward. We also started going through our area book and contacting people who haven't been contacted in a while to see if they're still interested in meeting. A few people responded and said that we could meet with them this week!

Something I've noticed already in this area is how amazing the member missionary work is! The members of the ward here are so willing to bring their friends and family to church. We even had one member just come up to us this Sunday and give us her friend's number to contact. I know that as we all lift where we stand that we can help prepare the world for the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ. I love this gospel so much!

I was given the opportunity to speak in church on Sunday and I spoke on the role of the Book of Mormon in gaining a testimony. Elder Bowen of the 70 spoke on this topic in the most recent conference. I've seen that my testimony has grown as I've set time apart to read the Book of Mormon. I wanted to invite each of you to set time apart in your day to read the Book of Mormon, especially you sisters who have just been invited by President Nelson to read the Book of Mormon by the end of the year. I know that as you do so that you will feel the spirit more in your life. The Book of Mormon is amazing!

In letter to Mom:  I forgot to mention in my group email but I get to drive here in Gaerwen... drive! It has been quite the adventure but I've only gone the wrong way on a one way street twice now so don't worry. The area I'm in right now is also so beautiful. We are right by the ocean and everything is so green. Look up pictures of northern wales and you'll see what i mean. I know you appreciate the beauty of nature so you will definitely appreciate that. 

Stockport Week 18

This week has been amazing! I found out that I'm being transferred to Gaerwen in wales! My new companion will be my STL this transfer. Her name is Sister Mueller and she is from Idaho. She is so nice and I am excited to work with her! I also get to drive in my new area. It will be interesting to drive on the left side of the road but it will be an adventure!

Conference this weekend was amazing! I can testify that the words of the prophets, apostles, and other church leaders are true. As we apply their words we will come to know that for ourselves. I especially loved President Nelson's talk on the name of the Church. It is truly the church of Jesus Christ and to call it anything else is offensive to him. I love his testimony and I invite each of you to read his talk once more and listen to the blessings he promises each of us as we do our best to restore the true name of the Church. 

This week I had exchanges with Sister Graham and it was so amazing. Sister Graham is also from Utah and is an amazing missionary. We talked a lot about joy, and how we can bring our joy to the work. This is truly a glad message we share, one that includes being with your family forever, and we show others that by our own attitude. As we try our best to stay positive and Find joy, others will recognize that joy in you.

Yesterday we had what we called miracle Monday, where across the mission we tried to find 150 new people, which is about 2-3 people per companionship. As we focused on being led to those that are being prepared, we saw miracles! For sister viteri, several of our potential investigators agreed to meet with us, even one who had been previously opposed to it. I know that as we exercise our faith and strive to put forth our best effort that we can see miracles, in missionary work but also in our daily lives.

 (I love my companion!)

Stockport Week 17

This week has been good! We saw a lot of progress this week, with some our recent converts and with some of our friends. We saw three of our recent converts this week and they are all doing good. We are working with some of them to attend the temple, which will be such an amazing experience. 

We met with Riz this week and he is so prepared to hear the Gospel. If you don't remember, we  taught him the first two lessons last week. We met with him again this last Friday and taught him the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I am amazed at his hunger for truth. Between the first and second lessons with him he read the testimony of the prophet Joseph Smith and although he is skeptical about an angel appearing to him, he has a desire to come to know this for himself. We are meeting with him again this week and I am so excited!

Every month we have a fireside where people who have been recently baptized come and share their testimonies. Ian, one of our friends, attended the fireside yesterday and had such a good experience. We've been at a standstill with Ian because we've taught him the first 3 lessons several times and he is not commiting to a day to be baptized. We invited him to the fireside and he had a really good experience! Afterwards, we were talking about Connor's testimony (he was one of the speakers) and how he received an answer to his prayer. We invited him to pray and have the Faith that he can receive an answer as well. He said he would do it and I know he will receive an answer!

Stockport Week 16

 This week has been so good! It amazes me how involved and aware the Lord is in every detail of this work. Our first miracle was on Friday, when we had a lesson with this man named Riz. We met with him on Friday and the lesson was amazing! He was so sincere in wanting to know more and had so many wonderful questions. We ended up teaching all 3 lessons because he just wanted to know all of it. We asked him if he would be baptized if he knew it was true and he said he would. He said he would pray and ask and he even prayed for the first time at the end of the lesson. We are so excited for him to receive his answer! We are meeting with him again this Friday.

We had a miracle with finding this week as well. We had gotten a self-referral from a person up in Levenshulme that requested a Book of Mormon. We went to the address and it was one of those houses that has 7 flats in it. We didn't know what doorbell to ring because they weren't marked but thankfully someone who lived in the building was coming in right then. We asked him about flat #6 and he said he thought it was empty but he let us in. Sister Viteri didn't feel right about going in for a second but after a little time we felt we should go in. We went up to flat #6 and no one answered. We knocked the door next to it and it was the man who let us into the building. His wife invited us into their home and we ended up talking to them for about 20 minutes and setting a return appointment for next Sunday. There are no coincidences!

(My companion, Sister Viteri)

I was studying in the Book of Mormon and I read this scripture that I love so much! It's Ether 12:4 and it says, "Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God." I love this scripture because we know that because of Christ we can always have hope for a better world. There is so much hope that can be found in the Gospel of Jesus Christ! 

I am loving my mission so much!

Stockport Week 15

This week has been so incredible! There were several times where we had smail "coincidences" that just let me know that God was there helping us in the work. One of those times was on Saturday when we were doing a street display in the town centre. I approached this young man sitting on a bench named Sean that was just sitting there drinking some soda. He said he had already been approached by a missionary and that he had taken a card but said he didn't have time. I asked him if he had time right now and he said he did. I told him I was a missionary and he said that there couldn't be a God because God wouldn't allow so much evil and suffering in the world. Coincidentally, just that morning i had studied day 10 of the Book of Mormon challenge, which asks "Why does God allow evil and suffering to happen?". I explained that we are given opposition in this life to help us to learn and to grow. He then said that if he were God he would give us challenges to help us learn until we became eventually perfect. That is exactly what the plan of salvation is! I bore my testimony that God has a plan for us and that he loves each one of us. I asked if he wanted to meet and he suggested that we meet the following week in the same place. I know that God provided the right circumstances for me to meet that man and help him understand God's plan for him.

Another amazing thing that happened this week is we were calling by people in this area by our flat when we met this woman. She was walking home so we talked with her while she walked. We got to her house and she had to go inside so we said goodbye. Sister Viteri then said that we should knock on this door that was one of this woman's neighbours. A man opened the door and just said "The Mormons are here!" and invited us in. It turns out that they are members and they thought we knew that before we knocked. Nope! We talked with them for a solid hour or so. They were baptized when they were younger but had since stopped going. We talked with them about why they stopped going and had a good conversation about our relationship with God. We are going to work with the more to help them return to church!

It has been fun to get to know my new companion. She is from Argentina so she has been helping me improve my Spanish (I actually only know about 3 words: hola, adios, and si). She gave me a drink called mate that they have in argentina a lot. I think it must be an acquired taste. She also has a lot of good ideas about improving the work in Stockport that we have been applying over the past week. It always helps to have a new perspective! 

Additional from letter to mom:  I've been thinking a lot about the power of the mind this week. Last week in zone conference, Elder Moreira spoke about how repentance is changing your beliefs. Literally changing your thoughts to be what the Lord would want you to think. Earlier this week I was very discouraged because Andrea, the woman who was baptized only 2 weeks ago, informed us that she is no longer coming to church. I remember thinking "Why did the Lord lead us to her and help us feel good about baptizing her if this was going to happen?". I let myself think that for a couple of days but then i was reading in in 2 Nephi 2 and in verse 2 it talks about how all things, even our trials, will be for our gain. I decided to change my thoughts about the whole situation and believe that this will work together for my good. Although I still feel sad for her, I truly do believe that all things, even our trials, will work together for our good. 

Stockport Week 14

This week has been pretty amazing! One of the highlights of this week has been hearing from Elder Moreira, a member of the 70, at zone conference on thursday. He spoke about how we have the keys to apply what we learn from the prophets and revelation to those under our stewardship. For us as missionaries, it is people here in england. For others, it may be their families. Whoever it is, I know you can receive help from the lord if you ask in faith.

Another exciting thing this week is that we were able to meet with Janice. Janice is one of our recent converts who had been struggling quite a lot. One evening we were in the area and i felt like we should stop by and see her. She was home and said we could come back a few days later. When we stopped by she let us into her home and we were able to talk with her and she how she is doing. The spirit really does guide us in our every day lives!

Another miracle we saw this week was one of the people in our phone messaged us and asked how we were doing! He said he had just been thinking about us and wanted to meet sometime. We were so excited! i know that there are people that are constantly being prepared to hear the message of this gospel and are being influenced by the Holy Ghost.

Stockport Week 13

I got a new companion! Her name is Sister Viteri and she is from Argentina. She has been so good to work with so far and I am excited to spend a couple weeks with her!

This week has been good! To begin, the most exciting part was definitely Andrea, Sami, and Sebastian's baptism. The baptism was such a special experience. To see a family make that covenant all together brought me so much joy! We asked Andrea, Sami, and Sebastian how they felt after the baptism and they said they felt fresh and like they were very clean. How amazing is that! Andrea was nervous to speak at the fireside (we do new member firesides once a month) but she did great! We are now working with Andrea and Sami to prepare to enter the temple on the 14th of August.

Across all the missions in Europe they are doing something called the 21 Day book of Mormon challenge. Every day we are asked to read a chapter in the book of mormon with a specific question in mind. I thought it would be something good for you all to do! I'll send you a pic of the challenge. I invite each of you to study the scriptures every day. I can promise that as you do so that you will gain a great testimony of its truthfulness. 

Stockport Week 12

 

I wrote a letter but it accidentally got deleted and there are 5 minutes left of pday so I'll give you a short summary. My week was good! We have a baptism on Saturday. Sister Smith is being transferred to Liverpool. My new companion is Sister Viteri from Argentina. Transfers are tomorrow so I'll meet her then.

Pictures: zone pday, dinner at an Indian place with Nigel, us with Margaret, us with Iyabo, us with Sister Dellaney, us with Lewis (a singer in the Town centre)

Stockport Week 11

This week has been incredible. First off, we were able to meet with Andrea and her family several times, which is especially good because they have their baptismal interview this Thursday. Their family is incredible! They so easily accept everything we teach. I am so excited to see the day when they enter the waters of baptism. Watching someone make that covenant for themselves is such a special experience.

This week we also had exchanges with the STL's. We headed to Stratford, where I spent Tuesday and Wednesday with Sister Mueller. She is from Idaho and is so sweet. I love exchanges because you have so many things you want to apply by the time it's over. 

This week I finished the Book of Mormon and it was such an incredible experience. As I've read the Book of Mormon these past 10 weeks I have gained a greater appreciation for the scriptures. And I know that the promise in Moroni 10:3-5 is true. I have asked for myself if the Book of Mormon is true and I have received an answer. I invite each of you to read the Book of Mormon every day because it truly is the best way to bring you closer to God!

Well that's all for this week. I love all of you so much and I'll talk to you soon!

Stockport Week 10

This week has been a week full of highs and lows, with thankfully more highs than lows. We are really seeing miracles and I know that it is through no effort of our own that these things are happening. The hand of the Lord is in all we do

The first exciting thing is that we were able to meet with Andrea, Sebastian, and Sami several times this week. They are a family from the Czech Republic that are all on date for baptism on September 1st. As we've met with them, we've realized the challenge that it is to adjust to the needs of 3 people at once. We've tried to make sure each one is an active participant in each lesson. We asked them last night how they were feeling about the baptism and they all said they felt excited for it and that they knew it would help their family. Andrea was also telling us just last night that one day she was just thinking to herself "Is this true?" and she felt an indescribable feeling. We explained to her that that was the Holy Ghost and she proceeded to tell us all of the other times in her life when she had felt the same way. It was such a special experience to hear of all of the other times she has felt the Holy Ghost in her life.

Two weeks ago in church we had a woman just walk into church because she was curious and wanted to learn more. Her name is Miriam and we were finally able to meet with her for the first time earlier this week. She is from Malawi and is so prepared to hear the gospel. We taught her the restoration and she said that she felt like it was true already. We invited her to be baptized on September 1st as well and she accepted! It was actually a very similar experience to what we had with Iyabo. Those two big truths of missionary work (that there are people being prepared and we have the authority to find them) have been proven again and again as we have literally just run into people who are prepared to meet the missionaries. How incredible is this work!

Do you remember our friend Kevia? Well she now has her own place and is doing so much better. With help from the government she has been able to get her own place and begin living again. She is so much happier now that she has gotten back on her feet. Now that she is set temporally we took this opportunity to set another goal for baptism that we can begin working towards. We invited her to be baptized on September 29th and she accepted. We also found out that she had met with missionaries in Bermuda, where she is from, and Blackburn before she met with us here. She has heard the lessons before and has a good understanding of the content of each one. We are hoping that as we work with her to receive a witness for herself that she will be well prepared to be baptized on the 29th.

In the Book of Mormon I've been reading in 4 Nephi, Mormon, and Ether. I've been quite excited because as I've gotten more familiar with the scriptures, I've been able to use the more in lessons. Something I liked that I read this week was in 4 Nephi 1:15-16. It says "there was no contention in the land, because of the love of God which did dwell in the hearts of the people ... and there could not be a happier people among all the people who had been created by the hand of God". Having the love of God in their hearts led to no contention which led to happiness. Well what is the love of God? Charity! And how do we develop charity? In Moroni 7:48, Moroni urges us to "pray unto Father with all the energy of heart, that he may be filled with his love". So, if we pray to have charity we can eventually be happy. What an incredible promise!

Stockport Week 9

This week has been so good! It started off with an amazing experience with a referral from one of our recent converts. Her name is Andrea and we actually first met her at a relief society garden party. Our recent convert invited her as a way for her to learn more about the church in a casual setting. She really enjoyed it and even came to church the next day. We asked her if we could meet sometime this week and she said we could come over Monday evening. We taught her the Restoration and it went so well. She easily accepted the message and was actively listening. At the end of the lesson I closed in the name of Jesus Christ and then Sister Smith asked if she could ask her a question. She asked her to be baptized and she accepted! She said that she felt that something had been missing in her life and that she had now found it. We were so happy for her! We are now working with Andrea and her kids to learn more about the church. They even came to the fireside yesterday and they loved it. I know that the Lord is preparing people to hear the message of the Gospel.

Yesterday we had a fireside where recent converts come and share their conversion story. Our friend Iyabo, who was baptized last Saturday, was chosen to speak. It was so good to see her go up there and share with members and nonmembers how this gospel has changed her life. One thing she spoke about specifically was that she is not afraid anymore. She said that she has a peace like she has never known before. I know that she is feeling the presence of the Holy Ghost. As long as we have received the gift of the Holy Ghost and are living worthily, we too can have that same peace that she has experienced.

We also went on a church history tour this week. We went to several places, including where the first missionaries in England stayed and where the first baptism in England occurred. There's actually a funny story associated with the first baptism. Two people were so excited to be baptized that they raced to the water. George W Watt won and he was the first baptism. In honor of that race, we raced across the bridge over the river ribble. Unfortunately I didn't win but it was fun to imagine what it would have been like all those years ago. Another thing I realized on the tour is that this earth is evidence that God is there. We visited a place called Downham that has been preserved to look like it did in the 1800's. It is such a beautiful place! I'll attach pictures. It is truly amazing what the Lord has created for us.

Well that is all for this week! I am so grateful for this gospel!

Pictures: Us and Iyabo at the fireside right now, me in a pretty place, us chilling on a wall, me in Downham, goofing off in h and m with some fake glasses, and Stockport town centre receiving a lot of rain

Stockport Week 8

Wow this week has been busy but it has been so good! To start off, our friend Iyabo was baptized yesterday. The baptism was amazing! The spirit was so strong as we all watched her make that covenant with God for herself. She is such an example of faith to me. She said she felt so happy and calm after she was baptised too. It really was an incredible experience.

Our friend Kevia was moving this week so we helped her pack her old place up and move it to her new place. Service is an incredible tool in missionary work and I've seen that many times this week. We've been working with Kevia with a while but she hasn't been to church or been very willing to meet. As we just tried to follow the example of the Savior and just serve her this week I have seen a difference. She has expressed a desire to attend church and to have us come over and teach a lesson. I know that by serving her as the Saviour would that we were able to help her feel the spirit and have a desire to learn more.

Something that I've just seen as I've gone throughout my mission is that things work out the way they are supposed to. I've seen again and again small "coincidences" that help everything work out. I know that Heavenly Father is very aware of us and that he is in the small details of our lives. I invite each one of you to look for God's hand in your life this week. I promise that as you do so you will recognize that he is there and that he is helping you more than you can know.

This week we get to go on a Church History Tour. Did you know that within the Manchester mission was the first baptism in the UK? I didn't either until I came here. I'm excited to see those sites where early missionaries taught and where spiritual experiences occurs. I'll tell you all about it next week!

Well that is all for this week! Missionary work is really incredible!

Stockport Week 7

This week has been so great! There have been so many amazing little things that have happened that there is no way they're all a coincidence. It's mainly been with finding people. Just yesterday we were leaving the flat and right as we were leaving we ran into a woman who we had met in the street the other day. We asked if we could meet and she said we could find somewhere to sit and talk right then. We were able to give her a Book of Mormon and get her number! If we had come out at any other time we wouldn't have seen her and had the amazing opportunity to talk to her. It is incredible how involved God is in the details of our lives. 

Our friend Iyabo has had her baptismal interview and is good to go. We met her only 4 weeks ago but she was so prepared to hear the Gospel. She is getting baptized this Saturday. I am so excited for her! 

Incredibly enough we had 5 people at church this Sunday. Two of them we didn't even know were coming... They just showed up in the middle of the last hour! They are from Turkey and Saudi Arabia so they know some English. One of them said I couldn't understand much but I liked how I felt so I'll keep on coming. It was so incredible! The whole time they were there I was just praying that they felt the spirit, even if they had no idea what was going on. We hadn't even had a chance to describe our church service or anything. It really shows the power of the Spirit in the conversion process.

I can't really think of anything else at the moment but I do know that God is helping us so much in this work! He is our heavenly father and he loves each one of us so much!

Fifth Sunday Questions

Mom (Patrice) gave a 5th Sunday Report on Allyson. Here are the questions Allyson answered:

1. Share a testimony building experience
An experience I've had that has definitely strengthened my testimony was meeting Iyabo. We were having trouble finding people who would keep our appointments and had been praying to be led to those that were prepared. We were traveling to a members home for tea (dinner) and we missed the bus because it actually came early. Sister Smith and I were pretty frustrated because normally the buses are late but the one bus we needed to be late actually came early. We were speed walking to the main road to catch a bus that comes quite frequently. We were saying hi to people as we passed but not stopping to talk to anyone. One woman we said hi to stopped suddenly and just asked for one of our books. We were so surprised! We asked her if we could meet and she said we could come over the next day. We came to her house and taught her the Restoration and she accepted the message so easily. I know that God answers our prayers because he has answered mine again and again as I've asked sincerely for help. It may not be exactly how or when you wanted the answer, but if you trust in him and have Faith that he will answer your prayers eventually, he always will. He is our heavenly Father, he loves each of us so much, and because of this love he wants to bless you. The only condition is that we knock, seek, and ask (3 Nephi 14:7)

2. Greatest challenge you've faced as a missionary
Oddly enough, the thing I've had the hardest time with is talking to people on the bus. One of the main principles of finding is that you should talk to everyone. It is only when you do this that you eventually find those that are prepared. For maybe the first 2 or 3 weeks of my mission I was awful at talking to people on the bus. I was too scared to just open my mouth and begin talking. As missionaries, we are promised that if we will just trust in the Lord and open our mouths that they will be filled. I went on exchanges with the STL's at about the same time I was struggling with this. Sister Smith must have told her that I was struggling with It because we ended up spending a few hours just travelling back and forth on the buses talking to people. I was so nervous but I knew that if we were going to be led to those that were prepared that we had to talk to everyone that we had the opportunity to talk to. As I began to trust in the Lord more to help me speak, I was able to find the courage to talk to someone every time we took the bus (which is several times a day). I know that what it says in Ether 12:27 is true: the Lord can help our weaknesses become strengths.

3. What do you wish you were better prepared for? Or what do you wish you had know beforehand?
The one thing I really wish I had done more before my mission was become more familiar with the scriptures, especially the Book of Mormon. One of the greatest conversion tools is the Book of Mormon because once they have a testimony of the Book of Mormon they know that Joseph Smith is a prophet and that the Gospel of Jesus Christ was restored through him. We are encouraged to use the Book of Mormon often in our lessons. It is easy to do that when you know exactly what you are going to talk about but often you don't end up talking about what you think you will talk about. An investigator will ask a question and I'll think "I know there's a scripture that answers that question but I have no idea where it is". So all of you future missionaries out there, I invite you to study the scriptures and become familiar with them. I promise that as you do this that the Lord will call these scriptures to your remembrance at the very moment you need them.

4. What is a story about you and your companion?
The first full day I was in the field (so back in the beginning of June), we were trying to get back into the flat at the end of the day and it turns out Sister Smith had locked the keys in. Elder Forsythe in the mission office had a set of spare keys but we called him about 20 times and he didn't answer. We ended up calling the zone leaders because We were going to be out past 9:30 and so we had to let them know. We had left a window open because it was so hot and we don't have air conditioning. The zone leaders decided to drive over and try to climb in through our window (it's on the 2nd floor). They put a chair down first, then Elder Jensen got on the chair, then Elder Schoonover climbed on his shoulders. There's a little ledge just to the right of our window so he ended up perching on that, pulling our window open, and climbing in. It was so funny to watch! We got into our flat by about 10, after which Elder Forsythe decided to call us back. The whole situation was pretty funny.

5. What is the food like?
The food is not too different. There are many different cultures here but I've mainly just tried the things that the members feed us. The weirdest thing I've tried is somethin Iyabo fed us. It's called "Melon" and it's made with the ground up seeds of Melons. She made a sauce with it and then served it with chicken and shrimp over rice. It was actually not that bad. British pastries are actually so good as well. There's a place called Pilkingtons just down the road from our flat and it has the best pastries. I tried something called a Rocky Road which is fudge with nuts and mallows in it. It was so good.