Quick reminder

Next week is moves week, so I won't be emailing until Tuesday. Don't be alarmed. 

Also, I've never been more sure in my life that I am just staying in this area. The only mystery is who my companion will be. Sister Ovcharenko could stay, or I could be getting someone else, but it is about 99% certain I'm staying.

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23 September 2013

Seven months until my birthday! Just about time to start thinking of what you will send me! 

JK everybody. Postage to England is pricey. Anyway, can I say before I start saying anything worthwhile that our upstairs neighbors have been watching The Office on Netflix or something nonstop for the past 3 weeks straight? Reminds me of me pre-mission. Every 30 minutes we hear the theme song. It's hilarious.

So things that happened this week: I went on another exchange, this time with the lovely Sister Bergstrom. She is from my group. She serves in the visitors centre/ Hyde Park ward. We had a lot of fun and met some crazy awesome people! In particular, we met one guy carrying a guitar and we asked him if he played and we had like a 40 minutes bus ride conversation with him and he showed us his music (he is REALLY good) and said he went a music school and guess who was in his class? Ed Sheeran. What?! He was a really cool guy and said he would come to our next fireside, so that is exciting. Another guy was a record producer that has worked with Donny Osmond before and apparently good old Donny shared a lot about the church with him.

We also had interviews this week, which was fun. Our whole zone got together for some trainings and then individual interviews with President Jordan. It was really good, he gave me some great advice because I was not having a super great week. Our leaders are inspired! I love the leadership of this mission, President and Sister Jordan, all the zone leaders I've had, and especially the sister training leaders. They are the best examples of Christlike love I have ever met. I want to be just like them when I grow up. 

Anyway, love you all. Go out and help someone today!

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Sister Bergstrom and I on our exchange. I look gross because it rained all day and I did not have an umbrella.

The lovely London North zone at our interviews.

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Fwd:

M&M world in Leicester Square!

Me at the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square

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16 September 2013

Hello all!

Not much new to report on this week except for our amazing new investigators, Lena and Marie.

Lena referred herself on mormon.org.uk after watching a video on the youtube channel shaytards about them being Mormons. She said she wanted more structure in her life and to turn a new leaf and stuff. She invited her friend Marie to the lesson as well.

So basically they are both awesome and funny and completely prepared to hear the gospel. They both accepted baptismal dates of October 13th! Love it! They came to church yesterday and loved it as well.

I think this is just a great example of how we can use social media to set a good example and share our faith with others. Whoever shaytards is, I love them! Way to be a great missionary using the internet. Everybody go follow their example!

Anyway, have a great week everyone!

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Picture Post

Huge teddy bears in Harrod's

  Dose of Disney

 Elder Hein's grandpa sent him a 5kg tub of Nutella. Yum. It is bigger than my head!

 This is the tube stop I live at

Cool store front in Camden Town.

9 September 2013

Hey all! I had a great week this week, lots of great people we were able to start teaching!

 

First I just want to say, because I know you read this, thanks so much Nikki for your card! You are the best! I hope you receive the letters I write back to you, but if for some reason they don't get to you, just know I really appreciate hearing from you!

 

Anywho, this week was fun. Last Monday after I emailed, we went to Harrod's. And I actually bought something. It was only a £1.50 brownie, but dang it was the best brownie I have ever tasted. Ever. We walked around the store seeing all the designer labels and stuff for like 2 hours. It was an experience.

 

Today for PDay we didn't really do much, beside go get me a new bag and boots in Camden Town. I managed to talk the guy down from £40 to £27 on the bag I bought. All those cruises to Mexico really prepared me for today. Thanks Mom.

 

We have started holding an English club every Thursday night, which is really fun because I get to meet people from all over the world! Well, I get to do that anyway, but it is fun to have a night where I can help them improve their English and learn a few phrases from them too. On a related note, no I have not learned any Russian whatsoever. Well I can say hi how are you, but thats it.

 

This week is going to be a good one. I'm having a work over with the lovely Sister Gibson, a fellow Nevadan (she's from Sparks) tomorrow. It should be a party. I am having the time of my life! Being a missionary is the best! I hope you all have a fabulous week and remember that God loves you! And I do too!

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View from Muswell Hill, a place in our area.

Sister O and I on the bus home.

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2 September 2013

Hello All!

Not much to report on this week, except that Frank has a baptismal date! Yay! It is so awesome to see the people we teach just absorb the gospel so fast and make drastic changes to their lives in a short time span. It's the best!

We had zone conference on Thursday and it was a blast! It was all about faith, and although it is a basic concept I learned a lot. President Jordan made an excellent point that if God just shoved all the evidence in our face, it would leave us no room to choose between faith and doubt. And if we can't make our own choice, then we can't grow and learn! So faith is a choice God has blessed us to be able to make ourselves. He doesn't send crazy miraculous signs all the time because He wants us to make our own choice of whether to believe or not.

Other than that, I have nothing crazy exciting to tell you. I hope you all have a great week. SHARE THE GOSPEL! 

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August 26- New Adventures in a New Area

Last week after I emailed, we went to say goodbye to some of my
dearest friends in Bedford. We went to Angela's house with the elders
and played board games. She bought me going away presents which was so
sweet! Man, I love Bedford so much. Leaving was EXTREMELY hard, but I
know there are people here in North London that need me. It was
actually harder than leaving home, because I might not see those
people again! But at the beginning of my mission I was told something
very wise by Sister Bolton: Never look back. I don't help myself or
the Lord when I look back. He needs me looking forward so I can see
the people that are prepared for the gospel. So when I got on the
plane to come to England, I didn't look back. And I've determined that
it needs to be the same when I leave an area. I will always consider
Bedford my English home though.

Anyway, North London. Living in the city is exciting! People here are
in such a hurry though! It makes street contacting a little more
difficult because no one wants to stop and chat. Regardless, we have
found some great people this week. We've done a lot of finding, but
it's good because I am very out of practice.

My new companion is Sister Ovcharenko. We entered the MTC at the same
time, but she stayed 6 weeks to learn English. Which she rocks at. I
have so much respect for her, and any missionary that learns a new
language, because I'm pretty sure I would be rubbish at it. All I know
is that I am very bad at explaining what words mean to her. Which
actually came in handy because she has a Russian-English dictionary I
was looking at on the bus the other day and the guy behind us asked me
if I was learning Russian and we got to talking with him and he is
learning and wants help learning, so we offered to help. Then last
night we had him to a small get together with the bishop, his wife,
and one of the ward missionaries and taught him about the Restoration
and he loved it! He thanked us for not only helping him learn Russian
but about the truth! He is going to be so good. His name is Frank.
He's from Germany.
But anyway, back to Sister Ovcharenko. She is awesome. She is 25 and
was baptised with her whole family about 5 years ago. She is great! I
love being with her already, I'm learning a few Russian phrases. It is
really funny late at night when she is really tired she forgets that I
don't speak Russian (her last companion did speak Russian) and she
just starts spouting things off in Russian and I'm like huh? It's
hilarious.

Our district is SO YOUNG. It is just us and the two sets of elders
that serve in the same ward with us, and Elder Hutchins (remember the
elder that drew all those pictures in my district in the MTC? Yeah,
him) is our district leader. I guess I'm the district mother since
I've been in the field the longest. Elder Hein is training a new
missionary named Elder Gregson, and that makes him my 4th child. My
3rd son. Mission geneology is weird, don't try to understand it. I am
the third sister to serve in this ward, and the first American sister.
One member calls me Sister America.

Anyway, I have a lot of pictures, hopefully they all get up. Everyone
have a fabulous week! Don't do anything I wouldn't do!

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