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