Monday, September 24, 2018

BROOKE'S BAPTISM:  So the prep was much easier than anticipated.  I decided to get rid of the nasty huge spider web by dumping a pitcher of water down the drain.  It got some of it, but then A MASSIVE SPIDER CRAWLED OUT AND TRIED TO EAT ME.  It was the biggest spider I've ever seen in my life, next to tarantulas.  I was lucky just standing over the font and pouring it over the glass, but then I had to run and get another pitcher of water to get it down the drain.  Then we found pretty much every chemical in the church and poured it down the drain.  Luckily we didn't have to clean it, a member came to clean the font/fill it, so he got to do all the hard work for us.  

The actual baptism was amazing.  Almost all the active members of the Branch were there.  It was great, especially on such short notice.  Brooke was really emotional after and just stood in the font for a few seconds after just soaking it all in.  Also her inactive mom and uncle were there.  Her uncle even said the closing prayer!  We also had some of the people we're teaching at the baptism.  ____ and ____ (9) were there.  Alex has wanted to get baptized for probably about a year now, but his parents think he is too  young.  After the baptism he came up to us and said, "I'm next!"  His dad said, through tears, he can get baptized and he knew he needed to be baptised as well.  Now we just pray that his mom's heart will be softened.  

____ also loved Brooke's baptism and he had Brooke sign a program.  He put it up in his house and even took a picture of it to prove to us.  

Now that's a way to start the week!

This week we also had All Scotland with Elder de Feo!  He is in the Europe Area Presidency and he spoke at last conference.  It was amazing to have him there.  I loved hearing his testimony and he just kept thanking us for the work we are doing.  He teared up about 3 times telling us how grateful he was for missionaries because they saved his life. 

Elder de Feo taught us a new way of planning/seek revelation for those we are teaching.  He then gave us the chance to put it into practice for 10 minutes.  When we all went just for those 10 minutes to seek revelation for someone we're teaching Sister Hammond and I planned for ____. We both felt that we needed to reiterate Joseph Smith's experience with him. On Saturday we were reading Joseph Smith History with him and in the middle of it he stopped and just looked at us and asked how we always knew what he needed. He told us that earlier in the week he had done just that and he asked for wisdom from God. It was amazing to see that and to have the confirmation from the Spirit.

Monday, September 17, 2018

BIRTHDAY:  I'm officially old now. [20]  I finally got to open the package and it was great!  Some new cute clothes, cards, and AMERICAN TREATS!  We had District Council in Kirkcaldy (just like every other Tuesday) but the STLs had decided to come to ours.  They picked us up and drove us.  They also made us stop at McDonald's on the way there and get a birthday ice cream (at 9am).  We taught ___ that day and then went to visit a less active member.  When we got there she had made us dinner.   AMAZING SURPRISE.  Happy birthday to me! 

YEAR MARK:  Nothing too exciting.  We got a Domino's pizza delivered to our flat for £5.99 because of a crazy coupon.  

____ had her baptismal interview last Wednesday and passed!  We are so excited for her.  One of the best problems a missionary could have:  So yesterday after church ____ texted us and said she couldn't get baptized on Saturday because she had to babysit.  We suggested to have it on Friday instead, which she said would work fine.  Then about 5 minutes later she texted us and asked if she could do it tomorrow (which is now TODAY).  Her mom is inactive, but ____ decided to tell her about the baptism and she wanted to come.  It's the only time her mom is off work, so we're having a baptism today.   She will be bringing her inactive mom and uncle, and one of her friends along with her.  We are super excited (and slightly stressed out) for her and her decision.  We announced in church yesterday that the baptism would be on Saturday, so now we need to contact everyone and let them know.  So the problem is that we have a baptism to throw together in about 24 hours and the font is disgusting.  It might have to be a similar adventure to cleaning the font in Dumbarton.  BUT if you can't throw a baptism together in 24 hours then you're not really a missionary.   

This week we taught an amazing girl named ___!  She is from Spain and taught herself English from listening to music, reading, and carrying a dictionary with her everywhere.  Her English is amazing.  She is super sincere and was left speechless after Sister Hammond said the First Vision.  She even brought a notebook to our lesson to take notes!  She also expressed to us how she just tries to make herself better everyday.  She is amazing.  I love teaching an honest heart.

Monday, September 10, 2018 - Birthday and anniversary week!

Thank you thank you for the birthday wishes!  Love you lots!  I can't wait to open my package!  [Her birthday is tomorrow, September 11th.]

This was yet another great week in Perth.  ____ is the best.  We taught her about Tithing and Fasting this week and she was so happy to learn that you don't have to starve yourself for a full day.  Last Sunday her gran told her not to eat and didn't say anything else or explain why.  She went ALL DAY without food or water because she wanted to fast.  We are also helping her quit smoking.   We taught her 15 steps to quit smoking this week and she is doing so well.  Her baptismal interview is this week and she is so excited!

So last week, unbeknownst to us, _____ was assigned to teach the lesson in Elders Quorum.  Yes you read that correctly.  After attending church 3 times he was asked to teach.  He hasn't accepted baptism and told us he needs more time, but the Elders Quorum didn't care about that.  So this week HE TAUGHT ELDERS QUORUM.  He's amazing.  

I can't believe a year has (almost) come and gone.  I love being a missionary.  There is nowhere I'd rather be, even if that sounds cheesy.  I still bounce out of bed every morning and say, "woohoo! Today's a great day to be a missionary."  Everyday that statement gets more and more real.  I feel like I've grown in the last year, but I'm definitely not done yet and never will be.  I think the biggest thing I've learned is that there is no point in worrying about the thigns that I can't control.  I just need to do everything in my part and the rest will fall into place the way it needs to.

I LOVE THE SCOTLAND/IRELAND MISSION.

Monday, September 3, 2018

Every Friday here we have a family home evening with recent converts, people we're teaching, and anyone else that comes along.  ____, the 18 year old we're teaching comes every Friday with her 9 year old sister.  This week they both came and they also brought their uncle and his daughter (their cousin).    We taught them how to play spoons.  Needless to say I have two 9 year old best friends now.  It was so much fun.

We taught our friend ____ this week again and he is amazing.  Last week he had only read the introduction to the Book of Mormon because reading is hard for him.  He has dyslexia, which obviously slows him down a lot.  This week when we met with him he had read all the way through 1 Nephi 18!  And he remember all of it.  He told us how he was going to ask us a question about the tree of life and the iron rod, but he kept reading and he was amazed at how it explained itself.  He loves it.  What an amazing man.  

We taught our friend ____ again this week.  I don't remember if I talked about him last week, but we chapped into him and found out he was taught everything about a year and a half ago.  He works night shifts and gets off at 8:30.  And for the last two Sundays he's made it to church at 10:30.  It's amazing watching him make that sacrifice.

I also learned how to crochet this week!  It was the relief society activity and before you know it I'll be a crochet pro.  BUT as missionaries we don't really have time for hobbies, so we'll see if I remember/still have any desire to do that when I get home hhaha.

On Saturday we got a call from one of the senior couples saying they were about 20 minutes outside Perth with a package for me [her birthday is coming up].  It was delivered to my flat, but absolute torture staring at the package in the corner that I can't open for still more than a week.  I wanted to open it so badly, but I'm resisting temptation.  

Funny Perth moment of the week:  People are always singing/playing an instrument in the street.  This week there was a man, probably in his 70s, sitting on a bench with a speaker playing music from the didgeridoo and 'ooing.'  You would be amazed at how much money that man made.  And every time someone put money in his hat he would interrupt his ooing and say thank you.  Hahahha welcome to Perth.

Monday, August 27, 2018

We had such a good week!  On Monday we were able to chap into a man named _____.  He was taught by the Sisters here a year and a half ago.  He was taught everything, but dropped them right before his baptism.  He said he wanted to meet with us again.  We taught him on Friday, he bought us dinner, and he came to church yesterday!  It was amazing.  Funny:  so ____ was going to buy us Chinese, but the place was closed.  We just went to Pizza Hut instead, except we had Domino's for lunch.  It was a lot of pizza that day!

We were also able to set two of the people we are teaching with baptismal dates.  The first is ____ (from the part member family).  She wants to be baptised because it would be a fresh start for her, but she needs to quit smoking.  We are so excited for her to have a goal to work toward!  She keeps saying how baptism would be "such a blessing" and "a fresh start" for her. 

The other is named ____.   She has been taught since last November.  Her parents are super against religion.  So extreme to the point where she was kicked out of her house for a few days.  She has only been to church once but she has had a couple of really powerful experiences recently and she said she's not afraid to be baptised anymore.  We set her with a baptism date, but she's moving to Aberdeen for university before that date, so we'll see what happens.