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