Week 49: You can have these... paperweights?

Yo yo yo greetings from Coventry! Gotta say, this week has been jam packed full of fun.

We got to go on exchange with the beautiful sisters in Westcotes,  I got to go with Sister Stewart!  Man I felt like I brought bad luck for them seeing as we spent the first hour and a half trying to fix her bike, but we did learn how to fix a flat and put the tire back on and how to adjust the brakes all by ourselves! We also had to go and ask their 6 year old neighbor for a bike pump, and it  was a miracle that it worked. Pretty exciting. That night we did get to eat some nice sushi though. We also got to teach a young guy named Jim, and he seemed pretty excited to learn about the gospel, so that was cool. Oh. And we got to bike everywhere!!! Have I mentioned that I miss biking? I miss biking. The bike I got to ride was amazing. Riding through the rain, riding up and down hills, oh it was glorious. 

On Wednesday we got a surprise call telling everyone that the rumors could go to rest, and that everyone would be receiving iPad mini's the next day. Wait... what? Yes. The apple product called the iPad mini has entered the England Birmingham mission. What this really meant was that we had to get up early the next day and drive to the mission home to have 2 hours of training on how to set up an ipad, and then set up our own, and then take the rest of the mission's ipads and distribute them to each little band of missionaries throughout the mission. 

Sister Thomson and I took our little stack of iPad's and traveled around to 3 more two hour meetings where we gave the the training of how to use and set up the iPad. It was awesome to be able to go around and teach people about it, but it was a long day full of staring at iPad screens and such. That might sound like a great addition into the mission, except for now everyone has them, and we haven't gotten permission from Salt Lake to use them yet. Essentially, we now have some nice ipad shaped paperweights lying around, because we can't even turn them on until we get the green light from the big cheese. Crazy, right?

Another miracle! We taught our friend Tony about the word of wisdom, and when he learned about not drinking tea he told us "oh dear, I have to go call my mom and tell her about this!" He is so cool. He just absorbs the gospel like a sponge. We also met this lady named Sabine from the Congo. we met her walking to our car for dinner. We stopped and chatted, and at first she wanted to just walk away, but after talking a bit about our families and her family and the role Jesus Christ has in them she became more open. It was amazing to hear her own testimony about Jesus Christ. She eventually felt like she would enjoy having us over, so we set up an appointment with her this week. We are pumped!

 We have had so many miracles happen. I think one of my favorite miracles was on Saturday. We were finding in city center, and it was time for us to head back for an appointment. We kept seeing this guy walking back and forth, and he looked like one of our investigators named Obi, who is from Nigeria. Eventually, I call his name and he looks around and we wave him down and go to talk to him. "Don't you remember us?" we asked, but he said no. Then looking more closely, I realize that it's not Obi. We start talking and it turns out that his name is actually Obi, and he is from Nigeria and he was willing to listen. So we taught him the restoration right there and after we said a prayer he wanted our number. It was awesome. We exchanged information and then he told us "you know, the only reason I stopped today was because this morning I wrote my name and address on something online, and it told me that I would receive a gospel message today. That's the only reason I stopped. Thank you." God definitely puts people in our path that are prepared! Our minds were spinning after that. Good thing his name was actually Obi, otherwise it would have been kinda awkward chasing him down.

OH. Also Sister Thomson and I need your prayers, we got our provisional licenses to learn to drive in the UK, and we have about 3 weeks to pass 2 tests and get our actual UK license. Hooray for studying about driving in a different country.. It'll be great. The only scary thing is that like everyone fails the first couple of times. One lady in the ward failed the test 13 times, so that's encouraging. It can be done! We'll let ya know how it goes :) 

Also, transfers are this week, but we should both be staying (hopefully), so I'll let ya know!

Much love,

Sister Slack

 Exchange with Sister Stewart

We got our provisional licenses! Watch out GB, we're gonna be professional.

Our lovely paperweights (ipads without use)

 District selfie during ipad distribution

car times

 and sometimes we chill on the couch in our pj's

Week 48: "Oh, it was just heavy."

Hey hey hey everyone! What a wonderful week we have had. Miracles galore!

This week one of our favourite people, Grace, took of for holiday. Before she left, she took us out for lunch. It was amazing to talk about her journey with us and getting to know each other! She told me that when we first met and learned that I had come from Swansea, she was willing to go with me everywhere! God definitely is inspired to put us where we need to be in the right time. We also got to show her how to do family history. It was brilliant to see how excited she got and when she found out she could look through Chinese records, she was so excited! She got her temple recommend and plans to go there in the near future. She flies off to China today. 

Recently we have come back in contact with some investigators who have been scarce, and some of them came to church this week! It was amazing to see how the spirit can work on some people. Tony (remember him? We took his watch last week) met up with us again and it turns out life just got crazy last weekend. We gave him his watch back and in the closing prayer of his lesson he said "Father, please help me to wake up on time for church on Sunday, this is really important to me right now, and I need your help." It was so incredible to see his faith in the Lord in helping him wake up. Another one of our investigators, named Costa, turned down a job offer that would require him to work on Saturdays and Sundays so that he could be able to come to church. Who does that? People who have their priorities straight!

We also got to see our wonderful friend Kristina a few times this week. One evening we told her we would have to come later due to a dinner appointment. It was delicious and we were sooo full (as we usually are after eating at members homes) that we just wanted to lie down. We walk into Kristina's house and she says "oh I'll be with you in a minute, I'm cooking." We thought she meant just for herself, but then she asked if I could eat some of it. Oh no. 2 dinners right in a row is never good, so she was kind enough to pack it up for us (phew!). We didn't have to explode. We also got to watch some parts of General conference with her, and while we watched Elder Holland's talk from last conference she told us "He uses posh words, but the meaning is so simple." We talked about how she felt the spirit, overall it was amazing. 

We got to see our friend Joyce before she headed to Australia for a week and a half, and she showed us a picture of her holding a foal! Oh man it was the most adorable thing ever. When we asked her how it was, she said "Oh, it was just heavy." There ya go everyone. 

This week we had exchanges with the lovely sisters in Nuneaton! I got to go with Sister Mousley in Nuneaton, and it was pretty awesome. When we were walking to an appointment I saw this really tall guy, and I said to her "This guy needs the gospel." So here is how it went... we followed the guy for two minutes walking behind him just out of reach (his legs are long, ok) and then finally we run a little bit and catch up and say "Oh hey! We just feel like we should stop you." He was way nice and wasn't freaked out! So that's good. He was glad we stopped him, turns out he has been praying for God to guide him to a church. BOOM. We got his number and stuff, it was pretty chill. Miracle.

Everything is awesome over here in England!!

Love you all, have  an amazing week and keep on keeping on.

Love,

Sister Slack

 Last meal with Grace

 Teaching Kelly

teaching Joyce with Sister Randhawa

Exchange with Sister Mousley and Sister Scherf

Week 47: Happy post mothers day!

Hello Everyone! 

Well, first things first, happy late mothers day, mom! We had the opportunity to skype our families yesterday for mothers day, and it was amazing. Families are the best thing in this world. I found out as well that my lovely brother Stockton got his mission call to Argentina, the Buenos Aires South mission. Being a missionary is the best thing in the world!

Chicken feet

This week we had lots of meetings again, but also lots of miracles. On Wednesday, we had the opportunity to make (more like watch) chinese food with Candy and her flat mate, Muse. It was so fun to see everything they do to prepare it all. We saw this pot of something that looked like claws, and we asked what it was and Candy told us "Chicken feet". It had honestly never crossed my mind that chicken feet had any meat on them or we edible or anything.. but they didn't taste too bad. The only problem was that you could see the little toe nails of the chicken foot, and so I was only able to manage 2 of them. Afterwards I felt a little sick because I kept thinking about it, but everything else we had was pretty tasty. So it is all good. After we had made the food, we sat down and started to talk to Muse about her beliefs. It turns out that when she traveled to singapore, her friends took her to church. Ever since she had gone, she went and bought a bible and has had so many questions about it, but no one could answer them. (Can you feel how excited we were getting? She is gold) We told her about how that is pretty much what we do all day every day. We asked if we could teach her, and she responded with an enthusiastic "Yes!" We are excited to teach her again this week.

We also got to go on exchange with the Glenfield sisters. I got to bring Sister Alexandroia to Coventry. It was so fun, we got to see a lot of people, and we met some incredible people as well. We got to teach our friend Joyce about how the church is organized, and we eventually started talking about baptism again. We asked her how she felt about it, and she said "Actually, I think I am more ready for it now." She is travelling to Australia for a week, but she should be baptised once she comes back. We are so excited. With Sister Alexandroia, we were eating lunch and we had about 20 minutes left before we had to go. I asked her what she wanted to do, and she said "McDonalds." Say no more, we leaped into the car and sped (at the speed limit) on over to MD and got some delicious Mcflurry's. So delicious.

On Saturday, when we exchanged back, Sister Thomson and I were talking to people on our way back to the car to pick up some supplies. We see this family, and we start talking to them. As we are speaking to them, I look across the road and see Tony! He is a guy we've been working with for a bit, but we haven't gotten a hold of him in over a month. We finish talking to the family and get their information, and then I look up and Tony is gone. I think I see him go into Iceland (a grocery store), and so we book it inside after him. We look around for a minute, and then, there he is. Right next to the frozen food section. We walk up to him and he is so surprised to see us, and then he enthusiastically tells us that he really wants to come to church. Here is how it went: "I need to come to church. I need to give you my shoe or something so that I can come and get it from you.. but I need my shoes, it's cold outside." And then Sister Thomson says: "Well we can take  your watch." And he says "OK". So we took his watch. 

The next day we are waiting for people to come to church. Did Tony come to get his watch? nope. We called him later that day only to find out that he left his phone at a friends house, so we had no way to find him. But hey, now we have a real nice and fancy watch on our hands. All we really want though is for people to come to church. 

Being a missionary is the best thing in the world. Yes, we are going full circle. I love knowing that I am doing God's work, and that this church is true. It is amazing to watch people's lives change, and to feel the spirit so much. Sunday after church there was a baptismal service for 2 chinese lads getting baptised. The first guy, poor thing, had to be dunked 6 times before they got it right. The next guy, 1 and done. It was great. Both Grace and Candy were able to speak and bear their testimonies at the service, and it was amazing to hear of how they felt the spirit. I know that everyone that was there was definitely impressed, and we all felt God's love.

That's about it for now. 'Till next time!

Love,

Sister Slack

 Elsa and Anna everyone

Making food with Candy and Muse

Beautiful Coventry

More coventry

Ice cream with Sister Alexandroia

 Everyone walking to Church

and my beautiful family!

Week 46: A day of missionary work.

Hello world!

Well this week was definitely jam packed full of fun. Sister Thomson and I have been having the time of our lives, and it is going by so fast! There is too much to write, so I'll just give you the highlights.

Highlight 1: We got to travel to a part of Birmingham this week as a whole mission for a conference. It was amazing and uplifting, and we definitely learned a lot. Brother Allen (who is over missionary work of the entire church) came to speak and it was awesome. Turns out he is pretty hilarious, but also knows how to get the point across. It was basically all about using technology wisely and becoming better missionaries. Our mission should be getting ipads soon, so that will definitely be a big change. One of my favourite things he said: "Just changing doesn't involve the Saviour, repentance involves the Saviour while changing. That's the difference."

Highlight 2: We have been teaching one of our investigators named Joyce for 2 weeks now, and we taught her about the word of wisdom (no coffee, tea, alcohol, tobacco, drugs.. unhealthy stuff). In the next lesson we followed up and she said "Oh, yes of course I've stopped drinking coffee." She also had some doubts come up about baptism. She was worried that her date was too early, and that she wouldn't feel ready. We encouraged her that she would be, and asked her to pray about it. The next time we saw her she said she had prayed about baptism and that all of her doubts and fears just left her mind! She is definitely elect. 

Highlight 3: We got to have dinner with some of my favourite families. They will remain nameless, because I love everyone.. but honestly food is the way to a missionaries heart! Especially if it is gluten free :) and if it is hot chocolate. 

Highlight 4: I got to go on exchange with Sister Beck! She is an adorable girl from Riverton, Utah. We had an awesome time together, and had a cool miracle happen. We had just finished a lesson in the morning and our other appointment was just about to show up. We were standing at the stairs to the library, when suddenly this lady came up to us and asked if we were busy. We explained that we were waiting for a friend. This lady then told us how she was a less active member of the church, and she had a strong desire to come back into the gospel. Her name is Kelly. We then invited her to stake conference that night, and exchanged information and then went to go teach our other investigator. Later that night at the adult session of stake conference, Kelly was there! It was amazing. We spoke to her after and she said that she really felt the spirit. Amazing how the Lord puts people in our path.

Highlight 5: We had Stake Conference and Elder Herbertson (of the quorum of the 70) came and spoke. It was awesome. On the Sunday morning session of it, he spoke about being on the straight and narrow path. The straight and narrow path being the way back to God. He made 4 points about it. 1- It doesn't matter how fast or how far along the path we are, as long as we are on the path and moving. 2- It doesn't matter how we are on the path compared to other people. Each of our lives are different, and comparing ourselves to other people never does us any good. 3- If we fall off the path, it's ok, we just need to get back on the path. Sometimes I think we think if we mess up, we're done for, but that's the whole reason Jesus Christ came to the earth for, to help us get back on and stay on the path. 4- If we see our loved ones who have fallen off, the best way to help them is not to jump off the path and stay with them. The best way to help them is to keep moving forward ourselves, it's kinda like the whole 'you can't save someone who is drowning if you don't know how to swim' thing. Overall, it was an awesome conference.

OH. And we also taught someone who I am convinced is a pirate.. he had only one eye and dreadlocks and wore a bandanna and used to be at the head of 2 gangs and would have them fight each other. Good thing this guy figured his life out in prison and came to Jesus otherwise it would've been pretty dodgy to teach him :) 

That's about all I've got for the week, but I love being a missionary! It gets better and better. Things are great. Keep it real. 

Much love,

Sister Slack

 Hot chocolate at Sarah's 

Stake conference with Joyce

The coconut we smashed last pday

All of the trees here now look like this (or in white form) it's amazing!

Driving around like crazy americans

 RAINBOW. Nice things come from rain.