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