Week 60: Do it, because you can.

Hey everyone, it is a Monday!

We had some really cool things happen this week. We had 2 exchanges (where we swap with other sisters), zone conference, and mission leadership council. Lots of driving, but lots of spiritual stuff. And I even got to eat ice cream! Cheeky monkey flavour, it's a British thing.

Early in the week we were talking to some people on the street, when person after person just did everything they could to avoid us. Typical. Finally, Sister Miller cornered this guy who was waiting for someone, and they were talking for ages together. Not wanting to interrupt their lovely conversation, I stopped another person who looked pretty nice. His name is Phillip, and the first thing he says to me "Hey, I'm a member of the church, and I'd love to talk, but I really do need to leave. But I do want to talk to you later!" Turns out he is a less active member, and now we are going to teach him again and his family. The guy Sister Miller was talking to is named Mo. He is incredible. He is from a non-Christian background, and he asks all the right questions. Pretty much we showed up to teach him about the importance of The Book of Mormon, and he had been reading it and had all these awesome questions about it. How solid is he? Well he biked for 30 minutes to come to church yesterday. He's awesome.

I got to go on exchange with Sister Wiesner, she is from Switzerland! She is so fun, and we went to another area together in Nottingham. She was nice enough to even share her swiss chocolate with me. The next day Sister Miller and I took Sister Wiesner and her companion to Zone Conference! It was in Leicester, and Elder Dyches (a member of the 70, a leader in the church) came to speak to us. It was amazing. I learned so much in those few hours we had together. He talked a lot about making decisions, about using our agency the right way. He gave us some awesome things to work on, and one of my favourite things he said was "Do it, just because you can." He also promised all of us that if we each read 30 minutes out of The Book of Mormon every day on our mission, and at least 10 minutes after our missions, that we would never fall away from the church. It is incredible to know that that book has so much power and influence to better our lives. I am SO grateful that I know about it, and I know it has definitely changed who I am for the better.

Elder Dyches also had some missionaries do a push-up contest, so that was interesting and kinda intense. He had two sets of elders go up, and two elders would do pushups, and their companions would encourage them. One Elder said "Keep going! You are winning!" And then Elder Dyches whips around and says, "No, no one is winning." Great stuff.

The next day we had MLC (Mission leadership council) and Elder Dyches was there again. He is a funny guy, and he served his mission in Germany, and has tried to keep up his German. Too bad my German companion, Sister Miller, can't actually speak German anymore, so when he asked her to help him out it didn't work so well haha. He and his wife talked a lot about doing your best. I've come to realize that our best is always better than what we think it is, and that God doesn't expect anything less than our best. Sister Dyches talked about how "God sends us where we will blossom." It's so true. He doesn't want to just send us where we will grow, but where we will bloom into something even better.

Eventually, I got to go on exchange with Sister Butler again! This time we stayed together in Nottingham, and it was the coolest. We had a dinner appointment with some members, and the fed us OSTRICH! Yup, that giant flightless bird is actually pretty tasty. Then we got to go together to teach a super prepared lady named Deborah (who we will see again today!). She was taught by missionaries years ago, and contacted missionaries in Lincoln and feels that now in her life she is ready to accept God completely in her life. It is amazing to be a part of the process to help people realize how much God cares about them and their families. This gospel is what everyone needs, and it can heal any situation, and always leads us back to Jesus Christ. He provides the peace for us.

Isn't knowing that God loves us the best? I know it is.

Have the best week ever people.

Oh, and Happy Birthday to my little brother, Slade! (on the 14th of course)

Love,

Sister Slack

Sister Miller and me

Tasty Ostrich!