SILLY ENGLAND WEATHER

Time is going by sooooo fast. I hit two months this coming week & it doesn't even feel like I've been here for one. Also, this week was a roller coaster. My emotions have been all over the place. I didn't think it was possible to love people as much as I love my investigators & the people I serve. It I s both a blessing & a curse because I cry all the time now. 

July 22nd Today we had an appointment with a potential investigator, but when we showed up we found out he was actually a member but was less active so neither one of us had met him. So that was a lil confusing. After that we went to a members house for dinner & then right after that we went to a relief society bbq for our second dinner. #blessed

July 23rd Today we had district meeting, which was super exciting because we got to meet all of the new missionaries in our district. It's definitely going to be a different dynamic in our district, but I love everyone so much I'm sure it'll be a good transfer together. After the meeting, we went to Elms Farm with the elders so that our investigator could have her baptismal interview. But a ton of stuff had happened with her family we didn't know about at the time, so we ended up having to move her baptism from this coming week to a different one. It was a very hard situation & I left the house wanting to cry. 

July 24th In our weekly planning, we do something called companionship inventory where we talk about our strengths & weaknesses. We don't big issues though, so what was discussed was how I say silly all the time. Sister Yucra was convinced that I was swearing when I said it, & I had no idea how to explain exactly what it meant so she would believe that it wasn't swearing at all. So we were going to the English dictionary, the Spanish to English dictionary, pretty much every dictionary we had in the flat. Then we texted our district leader & a member in the ward to see what they thought. Eventually, we all convinced Sister Yucra that it wasn't bad to say. The whole time I was sooooo surprised that someone was borderline rebuking me for saying silly when that's such an innocent word hahahahahah. 

This whole entire day it rained. It never stopped. And we had no appointments to go to, so we were left having to tract in the rain. It didn't go well because no one let us in & no one in their right mind was out on the streets. So on our way home the only things for us to preach to were the geese & swans so, because I'm so funny, I took out my Book of Mormon & pretended to be having a lesson with the birds. It doesn't sound funny when I type it out, but Sister Yucra & I were so tired & delusional that we were both dying laughing. Then, when we got home we had to do our gaps (the two minute lesson role plays) & as a joke we decided to act like total strangers we would meet on the street. It was the best idea ever because Sister Yucra pretended to be an old person & I couldn't stop laughing after everything she said. Then I pretended to be a gangster & we both were crying we were laughing so hard. Lol we are so easily entertained.

 

July 25th Today we went banner finding with the elders &, as usual, crazy stuff happened. One man stormed up to Sister Yucra & I & started yelling at us because 'the Mormon religion is the reason there are wars between religions' & 'you had to go & write some new book (referring to the Book of Mormon) just to be different.' So this guy was very bitter, & we just stood there the whole time he was yelling at us (like five minutes). Then, when he was finished I said, 'we didn't write the Book of Mormon. It was written by prophets & contains the word of God." He got really mad & stormed away. After that a black man came up to us & accused us of being racist because we had a picture of Jesus on our banner & Jesus was white. Sister Yucra was just standing there like "hello! I am not white either!" But we just let him yell at us & didn't argue back & he eventually left. But banner finding wasn't all that bad! I found one new investigator! She is lovely! 

After that, we decided to tract & on our way to the street we stopped a sweet lady from China & she told us she wanted us to meet her son (he's studying at the uni & doesn't have a lot of friends-- her words, not mine) & take him to church. So we waited until he came out of the house & when he did his mom told him about us & made him give us his number. He was really embarrassed, but we got a new investigator out of it, so we aren't gonna complain 💁. 

July 26th OUR INVESTIGATOR THAT DROPPED US CAME TO CHURCH & IS GOING TO BE BAPTISED THIS SATURDAY!!!!! Ahhhhhh such a crazy miracle. We were so happy & I literally jumped for joy when she committed to being baptised again. It was so last minute that we had to call the elders & get them to the church so elder alvey could do the interview. Next week I'll tell you how it went :) 

Something that I've had to focus on a lot this last week is having a positive attitude, even when I feel like sitting on the side of the street & crying. One of the hardest lessons I've had to learn since coming on my mission is diligence. Sometimes things get really, really hard & it seems so much easier just to give up. But I know that it's in those times when I need to push myself just a little further. It's in those times when I need to turn to my lord for guidance & strength. And it is in those times that miracles take place. 

"You have 18 months to labor and the rest of your life to think about it. Do not rob yourself of that hard work, when discouragement comes do not give up, it is the completion of the journey that counts, but its not about just finishing, you have to serve with all your might" -Elder Ardern 

I'm so grateful for the opportunity that I have to be serving. Although missions are physically, mentally, emotionally, & spiritually exhausting, serving a mission was the greatest decision I've ever made. I know that the church is true & I know that the message I have  the privilege to share is a message of hope & happiness. I know that my redeemer lives & loves each of us, I know he is there to lift us up in our times of trial & heartache. 

I love you all!!! Sorry I took zero picture this week. I promise I will email some next week! 

Sister Sydney Johannes