Week 28: All the lonely oranges..

Hello everybody! 

Well here we are back on the normal P-Day schedule (mondays!). The past few days have been pretty dang exciting. Boxing day was pretty amazing, even though my legs were definitely sore for the next few days. I'm pretty sure I had more different types of cheese that day than I ever have in my life. It was awesome. 

On Sunday we made it to church and were talking to Brother Roberts about what we had on boxing day, when the bishop walks up and asks "Oh, are you talking about 9/11?" to which we tell him he isn't even close... and then he just responds with "Cheese eating surrender monkeys." I don't even know. But we were all dying of laughter!

So on Saturday we had an appointment set up with a man named Mohammed. We were waiting at the place we agreed to meet, when he calls us and tells us he is at a church close by. We told him we'd go to him him there, but once we got to the church, he was nowhere to be found! We called him and it turns out he decided to walk to where we were before. Long story short, after about 40 minutes of searching for Mohammed, we told him to come to where we were and we'd wait for a few minutes. He made it! We go inside the building and sit down, and then one of his friends (named Nareman) shows up and decides to sit down with us. 

Turns out neither of their english was very good (They were from Iraq and Iran.. they could hardly communicate with each other since one spoke Arabic and the other spoke Farsi) and we spent an hour and a half trying to teach them.. Half the time Mohammed was talking at us in his broken english trying to explain how we were wrong, but in the end they agreed to come to church. Hooray for language barriers. Our brains were tired after that, so on our way home we saw a lonely orange lying in the middle of the road. Feeling sorry for it, Sister Butler and I made it a song of it's own to the tune of the Beatle's 'Elanor Rigby'. I think that the orange felt pretty loved after that. 

Well that's all I have for this year. I'll see you all in 2015! I hope you all make some awesome resolutions (or predictions, for those who are a part of the Bonney clan). 

Much love,

Sister Slack

The zombie bird! It has part of its head missing.. We don't know how it's alive. 

 Christmas day beach time

A time we were in the flat

Week 27: Happy Boxing Day!

Hey there everybody. No, it is not Monday, but yes, it is pday! In the UK today is Boxing Day, which is like a Thanksgiving mixed with a Black Friday. It's a national holiday, so it's a family day and we get to spend it emailing!

This morning we had the chance to go and play football with some other missionaries and ward members. Turns out it decided to rain on boxing day, so there was lots of nice mud for us to play on. It was awesome. We were running around and having a blast, and my legs are dead. Since we don't run anywhere, I think you could say it was a bit of a shock to the system. But it was so much fun!

Oh, and in case you weren't aware, yesterday was Christmas! Sister Butler and I had a nice adventure out on the beach, where we buried treasure, took some sick pics, and even found a shrimp! We even fed some pigeons, gotta say I was grossed out.. but sometimes you just have to do things anyway. 

We spent our Christmas evening at a members home, where we were able to skype our families. It was definitely amazing to see those people again! We also got to play some Yahtzee, where I totally was dominating the whole game. Just so you know. 

This week we also had a lovely district meeting, where we got to have a pinata. They decided to hang it up on the basketball hoop for us to hit, and they made me go first. It turns out that I was actually too short to hit it, so it was basically 5 minutes of blindfolded Sister Slack jumping in the air, trying to hit the pinata. Finally, when I took the blindfold off, I did get a few good hits in there. 

Christmas Eve there was a carol service at the chapel, and it was amazing. The Spirit that comes with listening and singing Christmas hymns is always incredible. It was amazing to be able to be surrounded by the true Spirit of Christmas. the birth of Jesus Christ was definitely amazing, and It was so awesome to be able to remember all that Jesus Christ did for us throughout his life. I know that He is our Savior, and I know that it is because of Him that we can come closest to God. I love being a missionary!

Love, 

Sister Slack

Week 26: Happy Christmas almost

Wow so It turns out I don't have much time left, but I'll summarize my week hopefully super duper fast. 

This week was full of miracles, and full of laughs. Sister Butler and I had the opportunity to walk to the Church in the rain, and we got to see a rainbow! Not just any rainbow, we got to see the end of the rainbow! It was at this moment that I realized that I am in fact a leprechaun. It was a great moment. 

So this week we had some super incredible miracles, and here is one that I sent to my mission president that I'll share with all of you: 

This week we planned to find someone who could be a friend to Sherlock, so they could support each other in the gospel here and in China. We asked to find someone who has been here about a year, and who is outgoing and open minded and prepared to accept the gospel. We were looking for someone Chinese, tall and with a clean shaven face and with glasses, and we told Heavenly Father that we were going to be on a street near the Uni ready to find him. We talked to a few people at first, and then, suddenly we saw him. Walking towards us, was the exact description of what we had asked God for. We stopped him and talked to him for a few minutes, and after setting up a return appointment for the next day and walking away I nearly fell on my face! It could not have been planned better in a movie... This man had everything we had planned to look for. The best part? His name is Benny. After Bennedict Cumberbatch, the name of the actor who plays Sherlock Holmes in the tv series. God didn't just find us a friend for Sherlock, but he gave us his other half. Kinda weird when I say it that way.. but hey. It is all meant to be! My faith has definitely increased over this past week. I know it was only because we were prepared to find him, that we could find someone that was prepared for us. 

I love this gospel, and I know that Jesus Christ lives and loves us! 

Love you all!

-Sister Slack 

Best name in the world

When we taught Jeremy before he left home for China

This girl definitely wants a book of mormon for Christmas :D

Week 25: Chocolate muffins

What do you know, it's pday again!!! One week ago, the whole district (missionaries in Swansea) took a bus trip out to a beautiful place called Rhossili Bay, and lets just say it was BEAUTIFUL. Lots of cliffs, lots of sheep, lots of ocean, lots of awesome. You can't ask for more than that. Classic Wales.

So there is a girl named Georgie that a team of Elders are teaching, and she invited us over this week for lunch to make muffins with her. We traveled our way there, noticing that she lived in a more dodgy part of town, and when we finally made it to her house, all of her friends were there too. We walk in, and it turns out that all of them decided it was a good time to break many parts of the word of wisdom while we were there, and they may or may not have been a little bit in the clouds (if you know what I mean). As you all know, my body isn't a fan of gluten (found in wheat), so Georgie found this cool recipie where we made pretty much chocolate cupcake muffins with crushed almonds. 3 words: Chocolate, chocolate, and CHOCOLATE! They were so delicious. Sadly I didn't get to take pictures of them because we ate them all haha. While we were making the cupcake/muffins we talked to her about her thoughts of the gospel, and it turns out she likes learning it, but it is hard for her to change when all of her friends are living the opposite way of the gospel standards. So it was pretty fun to be able to eat muffins and help her resolve some concerns about the gospel!

Later in the week on Friday, we got to travel to a city outside of Cardiff called Rhiwbina for Christmas zone conference!! It was incredible. We got to listen to some beautiful musical numbers, and I got to sing as part of the zone choir. I probably didn't help out too much, because I've had a cold for the last bit and I'm pretty sure I sounded like a dying cow. But hey, it was fun! I also got to see some friends in the mission that I have served around before, and we all got to hear and learn more about Jesus Christ's life and birth. 

People are always prepared for the gospel, and I've definitely seen that as we've met and talked to more and more people and invited them to learn. 

I love you all and hope you have the best week!!!

Love,
Sister Slack

District pday at Rhossili Bay!

Just chilling on the cliffs 

Zone picture at zone conference (I'm in that patch of red clothing between Sister Andrew and Sister Butler)

Week 24: Happy December!

Can you believe it's already December 1st?? I can't. Time is going by crazy fast. This last week was full of good things.

First of all, it's the month of CHRISTMAS!! It's the best time of the year :) everyone is so excited, you can almost feel the energy in the air. Lights are everywhere, and it is the perfect time to talk to people about the true meaning of Christmas. We were testing this out on Saturday, and we ended up finding a girl who actually wants to go to Utah and attend the U of U (almost as good as BYU..). It's cool to see who people are and what they love. 

We are currently teaching one of Sherlock's friends, named Kelvin. He's a chill dude, and we got to walk with him to church yesterday! It turns out he has grown up hearing about all the Chinese traditional ideas of God, but never really believed it. He totally wants to learn more about God, and see how God can actually help him in life. It's fun to teach him- and he even got work off to come to church! Whatta guy. 

This week we got to take Sherlock teaching with us to some of our investigators, and it is so fun to see him testify about what he has just learned. Some of the Elders in our district tried to take him teaching as well, but they got cancelled on. So they taught Sherlock instead, where he described it as "So awkward, they weren't sisters." He loves the missionaries, I promise. 

On Friday, we had the opportunity to travel to the mission home for follow up meeting. It's where all those who are being trained/training get a little inspiring meeting with the mission president. It was fun to see everyone there, plus we met a guy named John on the train who wants to go into the paralympics (idk how to spell that...) in rowing! We gave him a picture of the temple and he was excited about it. There are some sweet people everywhere! 

That's it for now, but the work is going on. Love you all!

Love,

Sister Slack

on the train there was a poster with a man with the last name slack! Represent!

 orange juice

Sherlock got a hold of a missionary name tag, and he was pumped to be wearing it
Well pretty much Wales is awesome, I love being a missionary! 

Week 23: Week of WONDERS

Wow. Pretty much I cannot believe it has only been a week since I was last in this chair. So much has happened since that day! 

The week started off with some excitement, we rushed around and walked up to the chapel with our pal Sherlock to take him to his baptismal interview! We were buzzing, he was nervous, and it was awesome. Turns out that interviews take longer than 10 minutes, so while we were waiting for him to finish his interview, we swapped companions and started an exchange with our sister trainer leaders. I got to spend 24 hours with Sister Andrew! Well eventually Sherlock came out of the interview room, and he passed! Yay! So we celebrated with some chocolate and fizzy drink, yes it was soda people. 

During the 24 hours Sister Andrew and I were running around like mad women teaching and preaching the truth. She's a pretty cool sister, and it is always fun to see how other people do missionary work. 

Wow, ok so I don't really have much time left, but to make a long story short, it was an amazing week! The highlight was definitely Thursday night. We were able to walk up to the chapel with Sherlock, and see him enter into the waters of baptism. It was such an incredible experience. He was so happy, he couldn't stop smiling, and neither could we! It was so awesome to see our friend be baptized, and it was awesome to see how the ward was so excited to have him join them. Pretty much, it was awesome-sorry for my lack of eloquence. 

On sunday I also was able to give a talk on the phrase "Am I my brother's keeper?". It's always fun to speak to the ward, and in summary I told them that "this gospel is a gospel of comfort, but it is a gospel that constantly pushes us out of our comfort zone." We are in this gospel to grow together and individually, so we cannot resist the way God wants us to grow. 

I love being a missionary!

till next time,

Sister Slack

Swans and pigeons EVERYWHERE

Sherlock's Baptism

 And a cute little boot on a sign 

Week 22: (no subject)

Well basically here we are. Another week has FLOWN by and I am still in love with Swansea. In summary: we taught some welsh people, some Chinese people, had a zone meeting with all the missionaries in our area, ate some really questionable food, ate some really good food, had some ice cream, Sherlock wants to be baptized, taught some more Chinese people and the week pretty much went on like that. 

Oh wait, Sherlock wants to be baptized!?! How did that happen? Ah, good question. There we were, Sister Butler and I had prepared to teach him the Law of Chastity, and see how smoking was going. He sits down in the chair, tells us he is completely done with smoking. Miracle! Then the conversation went like this.. Me: So have you been thinking about being baptized? Him: yes. Me: So did you pray about it? Him: Yes, I need it. I need to be baptized. ....... yeah we didn't really know how to react other than to be super excited and pumped and have our hearts overflow with joy! 

Did that really just happen? Yes. Yes it did. In about 1 month he has gone from not believing in God to putting all of his faith in God and Jesus Christ. This gospel is truly incredible!

So basically we have been super busy trying to get everything ready for it, and to finish teaching him all of the lessons. Turns out, since Sister Butler and I have been together, the area has exploded! People have been bringing their friends to lessons, and those friends lead to more friends. Ah the life of a missionary is pretty awesome. Don't get too jealous.

This week we also had a dinner appointment with a woman in the ward who is not there all the way mentally, but she has the sweetest heart. We showed up to our appointment with her, and she totally forgot we were coming! She invited us in anyway, and started cooking some food. We were in the room next to the kitchen, and it suddenly started to fill with smoke. The member was yelling through the door "Don't worry, it's just the oil burning off!" while Sister Butler and I were suffocating.. So we rushed to open a door and then the smoke alarm went off! 

Then we ate the food, and we are pretty sure the plates haven't been properly washed in about a week. But we put our minds to it and cleaned our forks in the sink before eating and did our best not to pay attention to it. And here we are, still alive today! 

But anyways, I love the gospel and being a missionary! It has been so awesome to see people progress in the gospel. 

Love you all!

Love,
Sister Slack

Nu-era! Ahaha just like a church magazine.

Ready to teach in the library cafe!

Cold enough to wear hats.

Week 21: Winter is coming...

Time has come.. And time has gone again. I can't believe already that another transfer has passed. This last week I had to say goodbye to my lovely old companion Sister Lambert, as she had finished 18 months of her mission and was being called home to Canada! So where does that leave me? Well.. Let's just say that her going home and travel arrangements involved lots of trains and even a missionary sleep over. 

Seeing as Sister Lambert left my presence on tuesday afternoon, I slept over in a city near Cardiff on tuesday night. On wednesday morning we woke up incredibly early to run to catch a 3 hour train ride to Birmingham back in England. Pretty dang exciting! Me and Sister Thomson traveled there together to pick up our new companions, who just so happen to be fresh out of the MTC. Yup, we both get to be trainers! 

My new companion's name is Sister Butler. She's a cool cat from South Carolina, and she loves to ride horses and play volley ball. We get along pretty well, seeing as she has excellent taste in music haha. But really, we do get on nicely. It is a brand new world, having to teach someone everything you know. It's definitely stressful, but it is also kind of fun. Since I don't know everything, the phrase "fake it till ya make it" has gotten a whole new meaning. 

Oh yeah, turns out that it does get really cold here. Remember when I didn't believe that this part of the world had any cold or any rain? That is a false statement. I've now learned that the sky can hold so much water, and also that when it is wet it can get really cold. My coat and scarves and I have become pretty great friends now! 

For example, yesterday Sister Butler, Sherlock and I were all walking up to church yesterday morning. When we first walked out of our house, it was nice and sunny and there was no sign of rain. No need for umbrellas! We were invincible Sister missionaries with a Chinese investigator walking up the hills of Swansea. About 5 minutes into our walk the clouds came and it started to rain.. and rain.. and rain all the way until we get to the chapel, when it actually stops raining. We all had to wring out our clothes before church started haha. 

Sherlock on the other hand, is doing quite well. I mean, he did complete the 30 minute trek in the rain with us to get to church! He will do such great things :) 

Turns out I don't have much more time.. But here are some pictures of sis thomson and I travelling (with HOT CHOCOLATE of course) And then me and SIster Butler. 

Love,

Sister Slack

Sister Thomson and Sister Slack (me)

Sister Butler and Sister Slack (me)

Week 20: "But I have stolen..."

Picture this... Two white girls from the North American continent walk into a cafe. They had a plan, they were determined to teach their friend Owen. They spot him across the way, surrounded by friends. They make their way over to him, are introduced to everyone, and then eventually teach all of them about the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

Which is actually how our week started out. It wasn't what we would call an ideal teaching situation, because they all ended up arguing among themselves, but we did feel pretty cool. We taught 4 people from Africa that night, and since 3 of them were guys, it was probably a funny looking situation. 

The next day we got to teach our good friend Sherlock. We taught him all about the ten commandments, and he actually wants to follow all of them. He's a cool guy. However, when we got to the commandment "Thou shalt not steal" he looked at us with the most serious look on his face and said "Oh, but I have stolen before." Being kind and caring, we were about to explain about repentance again when he burst out laughing saying "Stolen girls hearts!" Way to go, Sherlock. No worries folks, he is not some crazy person.

Halloween was this week, and we got to spend the whole day travelling to a meeting! We actually had to go on exchange, so I got to go to the mission home with Sis Thomson, who I knew in the MTC! It was pretty cool to go to the mission home with her. 

This weekend we also got to see two Chinese investigators get baptized! The elders have been teaching them for about a month, and it was so cool to see them take this step towards Christ. 

This week has been great, I love you all, and time is short! 

Love, 

Sister Slack

Our whole district

Journey to Birmingham with Sis Thomson

Some sweet stained glass 

Week 19: Castles and Chinese people

What a week. Here we are. Once again, in the library emailing all of your lovely faces! 

Last P-Day we had the chance to go see Oystermouth Castle out in Mumbeles, and it was at that moment that I realized it would be a pretty hard task to over take a castle. No wonder people had to use massive hooks and ladders to get over those walls!

This week we got to work a lot with our Chinese investigators, one in particular was Sherlock. In the beginning of the week, we kind of evaluated where he stood with everything. He told us that he still didn't really believe in God, but knows that the church will definitely benefit his life. We encouraged him to read the story of the Brother of Jared (ya know, the one in Ether) about when he sees the body of Christ, and to pray about it. Two days later we marched on over to his house, and asked him about it. The first thing he told us was "I read the story!" Yay! Definitely what us missionaries like to hear. We asked him some more about it to make sure he understood, and then asked him what he prayed about. He told us that he prayed to know if the Brother of Jared actually saw Christ, and that he thinks it's true. Wait. Step back. He thinks it's true! As we talked to him more, he expressed that he is starting to believe in God. Reading the scriptures and praying is powerful, people. 

We also got to have stake conference this weekend! It was wonderful. People shared some really cool experiences, and  our mission president was there! It's always good to see him and his wife. They both introduced themselves to Sherlock Saturday night, and he felt pretty awesome meeting our "boss" haha. The Sunday morning session was held an hour away from Swansea, in Merthyr Tydfil. Not really expecting any investigators to want to make the long and windy journey, we made plans for ourselves to get there. Late the night before, we learned Sherlock actually wanted to come to both sessions! So we got him a lift there and back, making sure he'd have a wonderful experience. 

Nothing makes missionaries more happy than seeing their investigators progress. We were able to be spiritually uplifted, and hang out with Sherlock for  a bit. And then teach a few more of our Chinese investigators later that day. I guess you could say Sister Lambert and I are getting the hang of how to best teach those Chinese, and it's weird when we talk to someone who has a Christian background. Anyways, time is short and precious! But God is real and loves each and every one of us. Nothing gets better than that.

Love,

Sister Slack

 Lllama crackers! Sweet Chili flavor!

The companion and I near the beach

 Part of the district at the castle in Mumbles

Sherlock!

Week 18: Chinese Kung Fu

Here we are. Another week of the life of Sister Slack, enjoying the ways of the Swansea City. How is it that this is possible? Well. Doi. It's loads of fun here. And so many Chinese people!

Our area covers the university, so we have the opportunity to see so many people from all over the world. And it just so happens, that Chinese people are ALL OVER!! Which is the best thing ever. I'll just let ya all know about one of our investigators. Sherlock. Sherlock Jones. He is from China, and he chose his English name this last week because, in his own words, he is an "avid Sherlock Holmes fan". 

Anyway, we got to teach him about the life of Jesus Christ. It was going well and everything, showin him pictures of Christ's life. We get to a picture where Jesus walks on water, and he asks "Whoa, did that really happen??" We tell him yes. He responds pointing to the picture, "Oh, it's Chinese Kung Fu!" Exactly. Whatever makes sense in your brain, Sherlock. He's a pretty cool cat. He even made his way to church with us yesterday! 

OH. So on Tuesday, we got an interesting text from one of our investigators. He claimed to have read the whole Book of Mormon. Thinking that his English was just a little confused, we stopped by to find out if he had really finished it. Turns out, he had. In 3.5 HOURS. Mental. But pretty awesome. 

Well, I don't have really any more time right now, time flies. I'm sorry I don't have pictures, the computer is being weird. 

I love being a missionary here in Swansea! Sister Lambert and I are having the time of our lives, and we get to go see a castle today. 

Love you all, stay strong and feel the joy!

Love, Sister Slack

Week 17: Swansea is the promised land

Well well well... another week has come and gone! Man. So much has happened. 

First things first.. HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!!

Now I guess we'll start from the beginning. So it turns out, it actually does rain in the UK. For the past week it has actually rained EVERY day! Who knew? So naturally, we put on our coats and go to work! I am so glad that I brought a coat with me.. otherwise I might have put on every article of clothing I had and looked like a proper rainbow marshmallow. 

This week we got to have a zone meeting. I think it was one of the most inspired meetings I've ever been to! Everyone that went definitely got something new out of it, and knew how to change their own ways to become better missionaries and people. After we walked home through the rain, the zone leaders dropped off some supplies we needed and they included a Polish Book of Mormon. You never know when you'll need one of those! That same day we went out to talk to more people, and the third guy is... you guessed it. Polish! He walked us all the way to his house, and introduced us to his house mates. Turns out one of his house mates is studying chemical engineering (woot woot) and so then we were able to invite them all to learn more. Definitely a cool day. 

That same day we actually got to teach our first Chinese investigator!! Liu Yizhang! He is such a cool guy, and listening to him pray was an experience I'll always remember. Even though it was all in Chinese, it was awesome to hear him speak to his Father in Heaven for the first time. Prayer is definitely a powerful tool. 

On friday we got to teach an investigator that came to general conference. Everything in the lesson seemed to be going great, until I looked at the clock at the end and realized that we had been talking with him for two and a half HOURS. So much time. But it was ok, he just had lots of questions. As we introduced the Book of Mormon to him and we asked him if he would read it and pray about it, he responded with "Ummm.... DUUUH!" Ok man. I think he is headed in the right direction. 

So because Sister Lambert and I were whitewashed into Swansea, we also inherited the responsibility of throwing a ward party that the previous sisters had been planning. Turns out those things take up A LOT of time! Man. But we made it happen! It took place on Saturday night, and we had to entertain the ward for about an hour and a half while we waited for the bishop to bring back the food... But he brought back chips (Fries) so it was worth it! I don't know why, but I've developed a love for fried potatoes over my lifetime. They were delicious of course!

Yesterday we got to teach our 2nd Chinese investigator, and we also taught him to pray. We asked him if he would like to end with a prayer. He folded his hands, closed his eyes, and we waited. And waited. And waited... Sister Lambert and I looked at each other and realized that he was praying, but in his mind! Which was grand and dandy, except he prayed for 5 minutes straight!! We wondered if he had accidentally fallen asleep or something...So we sat in dead silence in the cafe and waited. After he awoke from his prayer, it turns out he just talked to God about his life. He told God what he needed, and was looking for feelings of an answer. How neat is that?

One thing that a member said in church yesterday really stood out to me. She said "The most important thing people can know about me is that I know the church is true." Deep stuff. I think we should remember that the gospel is truly the most important thing in our lives. When things get tough, when life gets stressful, the gospel is always there as a comfort. Maybe not all of the people that are members, but the head of our church, Jesus Christ, is always here to help us out. 

Keep dry and warm!

Love,

Sister Slack

flooding outside our flat

sometimes you wear weird things inside your flat when you practice singing

eating famous Joe's Ice cream

Week 16: Funny you should say that...

WOW THIS PLACE IS THE BEST

This week has literally been one of the craziest on my mission so far. It feels like 3 weeks have past, but in a good way. We have done so much and met so many people, it is insane.

The university of Swansea started up again last Monday, so now the whole area is FLOODED with students. Which is PRIME. Sometimes it reminds me of my time at good ol' BYU because it is full of young people doing fun stuff.. except like none of them are members of the church.. Yet!! We have the Uni campus in our area, so as we find and teach people, they are all students from all over the world. We have talked to more Chinese and Africans than I've ever seen in my life, it's the best!! 

This last week was full of miracles, so I'll only share a few. So on Friday I had the chance to go on exchange! Miracles happen on exchange people. So Sister Williamson came to our area, and she stayed with me for those 24 hours. Just after my companion and the other sister left, we realized that they had taken our phone with them! So, we decided to go out finding for a few hours and pray for the best. We got loads of digits and set up some appointments (because people here are so open minded!!!) and met some incredible people. One girl agreed to meet with us just because we "seem like cool people". So that's awesome. As we talked to lots of people, we met one guy named Owen who we talked to for a few minutes. We invited him to general conference, and he said he'd come and bring friends! We were excited, but didn't know if he would actually keep his commitment.

The exchange went on, and the next morning we were out finding people. Literally the second guy we talk to invited to teach us right there and then in the park. It was awesome! He was from India and had some interesting ideas about meditation.. yeah. But after talking to him for an hour we realized we were going to be late for  an appointment! So we RAN to where we were supposed to be, and got there 25 minutes late only to find that no one was home. Awesome. 

Being exhausted from that uphill run, we walked back and talked to a few Chinese girls on the way home. The last one we stopped before going in for lunch was named Renee. I stopped her and started talking when she told me to just take her number because she was about to miss her bus into Cardiff. As I was writing it down, she suddenly burst into tears and told us that she just received the news that her uncle had died. Of course then we hugged her and comforted her as best as we could, and told her that she would see him again. She then told us that she felt a lot better and would see us this next week. 

So as the exchange was supposed to come to an end soon, and after teaching some more, my companion and Sis. Williamson's companion got back (an hour late. of course.). We were about to go inside when we realized that we had locked our keys inside of our flat... awesome. Eventually the zone leaders came and opened it for us and it all worked out!

Pretty eventful. That Saturday night we got to watch general conference, and it was incredible. Our investigator, Joao, came and watched. About an hour into it, I got a call from Owen saying that he was trying to find the church! We quickly grabbed a member and went to pick him up, only to find that he actually did bring a friend! It was incredible to be able to watch conference with 3 non-members around us. They all loved it.

General conference was good people. So watch it. OH. So on Wednesday Sister Lambert and I were talking to people on the street. We stopped this one guy, and the conversation went like this: 

"So do you have a belief in Jesus Christ?" 

"Funny you should ask that... I just got released from the mental institution for claiming to be the anti-Christ two years ago."

Alright man. He ended up being pretty nice for being a crazy person.

But yeah. I guess you could say I am IN LOVE with missionary work now. It is so much fun, and it is so awesome to be able to talk to so many people.

Have the best week people! I love you guys!

Love,

Sister Slack

So I found a nemo onesie in the flat.. so naturally we had to take some pics on our vintage green couch

rock climbing with mormon.org cards

castle ruins in Swansea city center we found last pday

Umbrellas inside? Me & Sister Lambert

Week 15: SWANSEA

Well let's get this over with quick and easy.. I've been transferred!!! Last week we got the call that I was headed over to Swansea, in Wales, with Sister Lambert! Yes, we went on exchange like 2 weeks ago. But we are now whitewashing the area!

So here's my new address: 

47 Sketty Road

Uplands, Swansea

SA2 0EN

Wales

I cannot get over how beautiful it is here. We live right along the beach, and we can see it from our flat. In our area is also a University, so since it started classes up again today, we will hopefully get to teach so many wonderful young people! Already we've been able to talk to quite a few of them, and set up appointments to meet up again. People at this age are so open!

My last few days in Eastwood were good, and it was sad to let my trainer Sister Heikki go, but I feel like a new missionary! Sister Lambert and I get to start off the area nice and fresh, talking to everyone with a new point of view, and it's so exciting! The people here are so nice. I love Wales!

Quick funny story, yesterday we were invited to a members home for dinner. It's a younger couple, with 4 kids under the age of 4. Adorable! But as we were driving over, they couldn't remember my name, but didn't want to be embarrassed or something. So they decided to guess! Next thing I heard was.. "Hey, Sister Snail where are you from?" Nice try, but not quite there haha.

Ah, I don't have much time, and this computer wont let me send pictures! Hopefully I can get it to work next week.. But I love you all! Go watch general conference this weekend! It's going to be incredible :)

Love,

Sister Slack