Quick One

We have been teaching one man, who is an eternal investigator as they say (meaning he has been learning about the church for months on end now). There comes a time when you have to say, we have taught the person all we could and now it is time to let them just decide on their own. As a result, we dropped our only investigator this week, which means we are going to do a lot of finding. However, that evening our zone leaders called us, congratulating us on the hard decision. They then expressed a desire to come help us find. The way their schedule worked out, they were in our area the next day for an hour and half finding. We identified the area of Altrincham for them to work in. As a result, they passed along a referral and shared with us some miracles that happened while they were finding. Furthermore, our district leader gave us some of their potential sheets, former investigators and lost sheep. There honestly wasn’t even a moment for me to be sad about the fact that we didn’t have any investigators because I felt the love of my leaders. I know that they want me to have success as much I as want to. It is nice to know that I am not alone in this work; I have truly felt the unity of the mission this last week.

Recently, I have been studying Mormon 9 in more detail. I recognize that Heavenly Father is a God of miracles and I have been diligently praying to help others come unto Christ. However, this morning in my personal study verse 21 stood out to me. It mentions how we need to ask, “doubting nothing.” Just knowing that God is a God of miracles isn’t enough, I need to put my full faith in Him. This means that while I may not have a clue how this miracle will come forth, I need to have that perfect faith it will happen. I know that as we exercise perfect faith that God will grant us our righteous desires, we will see miracles happen this Christmas season.

I am excited to be a missionary right now and there are lots of great things happening. Sorry I don't have a ton of time today (I got everything done in an hour, so I am not going to pay for an extra one). I will be sure to extend my time next week though and let you know more about the miracles that are happening and the people I am meeting. You can look forward to that next week.

Know that I love you and pray for you daily. Keep up the good work and smile :)

Love, Becca (aka Sister Jack)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving! I realize that it is that time of year and while I may not be enjoying turkey myself, I hope you all eat a little extra in my memory. Enjoy the time spent together with loved ones at this time and know that I am thinking about you! I send my love as always.

The weather has taken a turn for the worse. Luckily, I went ahead and bought a winter coat or two last week to keep myself warm. They are wool and should last me for the cold winter months. Plus layers is the key. I haven't had to put on too may layers yet, but I will admit that I pulled out my wool tights. The cold weather is rapidly approaching us. The nice thing is that it hasn't rained much, so I feel lucky about that.

Yesterday we had stake conference. Elder Kerr, one of the area authorities, spoke about a meeting he had with Elder David A. Bednar. He quoted Elder Bednar when he said, “I did not choose to be an apostle; I was called of God.” In that moment, I felt that quote applied to me. “I [Sister Jack] did not choose to be a missionary; I was called of God.” A mission is really like a roller coaster, in the sense that it is filled with ups and downs. It can be exhilarating. And it can be difficult. I will admit that I never thought I would understand why everyone said a mission was such hard work, but I am starting to understand. However, at the end of the day, I know that this is Heavenly Father’s will for me. I was called of God and there is no way I can deny that. As a result, I push through the hard times and rely on my Savior for strength. I increase my faith and pray that I will see miracles happen, even if it is just something small. I feel like Nephi in Helaman 10:4-5 when I go forth declaring the word with unwearyingness knowing that I am doing the will of the Father.

Right now I haven't met too many people here in Manchester because I have only been here a few days. I will be sure to report more about the people I getting to know better in the future. After all, I will be spending Christmas with these people so I am sure that I will get to know them fairly well. Know that I love each of you and am grateful for all that you do. Keep up the good work!

Love, Becca (aka Sister Jack)

Transfers...Any guesses?

Well I am sure you are all in suspense to know what happened to me. Surprisingly enough, I got moved to Manchester South ward. I am now serving with Sister Gallozo from Spain, so watch out maybe I will start sending emails in Spanish. Okay I won't, but I do hope to speak some Spanish and brush up on things. Sister Davis also left Wigan and moved to the Isle of Man. Yes you heard me, both Sister Davis and I left Wigan. The elders who have been in the ward are moving into our flat and taking over the area. I was sad to leave, but I know that the elders will do good work there. Honestly, the Wigan ward was sad to let the sisters go, but I think I will go back some day (whether or not it will be while I am serving a mission is just what I am unsure about).

To give you some insight to the miracles we have recently seen, let me tell you about an experience. We know that the ward and stake leaders hold the keys to missionary work in our areas (in other words they are in charge of the work that is done). The mission president is really just in charge of the missionaries, myself included. As a result, our mission president advised us to go to the bishop and ask him to prayerfully choose areas for the missionaries to focus on. We told him on Saturday night, and by Sunday after church we were in Bishop Gifford’s office talking about it. He said that he was awakened at 4 a.m. with locations of where we should be. Bishop assigned the elders to Hindley (a location we had recently been drawn to and been having success), while we were assigned to Bryn. I know that these locations were inspired and that the Wigan elders have a lot of good work ahead of them. (Side note: This is the same day that the 40 day fast started as well.)

Ever since that meeting, the work in Wigan just took off. We met with a family, the Needhams, (who we hadn’t seen in a few weeks) who happened to live in Bryn to tell them we were leaving. They agreed to continue to meet with the elders, and I think they will gain a testimony for themselves and be baptized. I am not sure if that is the reason the bishop assigned us to Bryn, but I definitely think it is part of the reason. I know that for whatever reason the Needhams needed a little break, and it appears they have a true desire to know if The Book of Mormon is true and then follow through with the implications of that knowledge. Honestly, I saw a huge change from the dad, Simon, who was rather quiet and eager to listen opposed to the slightly contentious and talkative man we had taught about a month earlier. Not to mention his wife, Aldona, made sure that the member who was with us would return with the elders. She took quite a liking to the member, and it is clear they have formed a bond. I see a bright future ahead for them, especially because they already are searching for the truth and have a close family unit.

Additionally, we saw some wonderful miracles in Hindley. We found two new investigators there! We met Kirsty last Saturday and set up an appointment. Unfortunately, we had lost her number, so we stopped by a bit earlier than expected. When she came to the door, she told us to come back at our scheduled time because a friend wanted to sit in on the lesson too—what a blessing. Furthermore, on our bus ride out to Hindley, I met a nice young lady named Amy on the bus. She was atheist and didn’t really accept the message I was sharing, so our conversation eventually died off. About five minutes later, she tapped me on the shoulder and asked how long I would be in Hindley for? She told me that her brother, Lewis, believes in God and suggested that we stopped by to visit him. Through a series of events, we were unable to stop by. However, the elders did go by later that evening and they were able to teach four people! (For the record, that is a lot...) The work is truly picking up in Wigan and I know that they will see miracles happen this next transfer. I am excited to know what results we see happen, even if I may not be a part of them and not know the exact specifics of everything that occurs.

While I am sad to leave Wigan, I know that the Lord has need of me elsewhere (Manchester South to be specific). I know that the Lord has a hand in this work and that it is His will for me to be in Manchester. I am not sure what that means at the moment, but I know that I will work hard and do my best to accomplish whatever His will may be. I have recently been grateful to have such a rich heritage to look up to and legacy to follow. I really do feel honored to have such a good family, which includes more than just those I love at home. I know that I am continually making my family bigger as I meet new people and form bonds with them.

Thanks for all your love and support! I am excited to see what I have to report next week because it is a whole new area, so there is a lot to look forward to :)

Love always, Becca (aka Sister Jack)

I know that you love seeing my smiling face, so here are some photos of myself. :)

First, Christmas comes quite early here with no Thanksgiving to delay things. This is a picture of Sister Davis and I at a member's home. Christmas season is definitely already here!

Second, this is a picture of myself and a member, Sister Higham. She is great and always willing to come out with us. She takes good care of us and makes sure we always have plenty of fruit to eat :)

Third, a member gave us snuggies, so here is Sister Davis and I wearing them. If only you could have a full body shot to see what they look like. They are fun! And should keep us warm while we study.

Fourth, this is the view out my window each morning from where I study. Notice the plant. I planted that at the beginning of my mission and look how much it has grown over the last 3 months! Isn't that crazy? Go ahead and read Alma 32 because faith is like a seed and that chapter in The Book of Mormon describes it perfectly.

3 months...already?

Well hello! Can you believe that I have already been gone for 3 months? Part of me seems like I have been serving a mission for a whole lot longer than that and another part of me says, 3 months already? It is simply crazy how time flies by.

I went ahead and attached a picture from Brother Andrew's baptism. It went beautifully well and he is excited for this change in his life. Baptism is a covenant or a promise with God and is really just an outward expression of a change that is happening on the inside. I have honestly noticed this change in Daniel's life, and I know that he will forever be blessed for the decision he made.


One area that I decided to improve in this week was travel contacting. Travel contacting basically refers to talking to people while you are traveling places such as on the bus, train, etc. The idea is that there are people everywhere that need to hear our message and what is the difference if you meet them on the bus or on the street? To be honest, I wasn't comfortable with travel contacting at first. Talking to people in confined places just didn't seem fair, mostly to them. However, this week, our zone leaders (Elder Dantas and Elder Feith) came to district meeting and talked about travel contacting. They mentioned how we should be having quality conversations with people as we traveled. As a result, I focused on having one quality conversation about the gospel each time I traveled somewhere. I did not succeed every time I traveled, but everyone has his or her agency (or choice) so you can only do so much. Although, I did have some nice conversation that lasted between five and twenty minutes.

My favorite conversation (that came as a result of travel contacting) was with a young lad named Andrew. He was sitting across from me on the train ride to Liverpool. I figured when he looked up at some stage, I could get his attention and say hello. However, we sat there for at least 10 minutes while he just stared down at his iPhone. I kept thinking to myself, how sad is it that this young lad will not take his eyes off his phone? Between texting, listening to music and doing who knows what, he seemed completely unaware of his surroundings. Finally, I was to wave and catch his attention. He took his earphones out and we had a quality gospel conversation. While we talked about the gospel, we also discussed our interests and how the gospel applies into many aspects of our lives. He grew up in Liverpool and is going to University (studying history) there. He likes to cook and his family is very important to him. He is not in my area, so I gave his contact information to some other missionaries. I am not sure what will happen, but I do know one thing—he took a moment that day to appreciate the people around him rather than his phone. How often do we go around and forget to notice the things around us? I notice it more and more in the world today that we get caught up with technology and forget the simplicity of life and its beauty. I challenge each of you to take a look around you the next time you are outside for a walk and say hello to a neighbor, smile at the person passing you on the sidewalk and enjoy nature. I know that as we do these things, we find greater happiness and joy in the simplicity of life.

That is all for now, but I will be sure to write more next week. Next week is transfers, so you won't hear from me until Wednesday. I will most likely be staying in Wigan and getting a new companion, but you never know for sure. That is at least what Sister Davis is fairly confident of.

Love you all and I am grateful for all your support! It is wonderful to hear from you.

Becca

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween everyone! Can you believe that October is almost over? I sure can't. The weather has fortunately been very nice. It has only rained a couple of times this last two weeks, so I feel very lucky. Besides the weather, the work is going well. There is so much to report, but with limited time I have to decide where to start.

First, I will comment on the Zone Leader Council. One of the most important things I learned from that is that you have no clue what your influence is. To relate a story told by President Kopischke at Zone Leader Council, he told of a time that Elder Holland mentioned a time when they were meeting to discuss church business. At this time, the brethren (men of the church) were about to excuse the women from the meeting. However, next on the agenda was a discussion of missionaries. The General Relief Society president at that time told the brethren that they may want to keep them around because, after all, they are the missionaries' mothers. Between President Preston and Sister Davis, they attributed that story to Grandma Jack. Now grandma will have to verify that story is true and I would like to hear her first-hand version, but none the less I think you get the idea. President Kopischke mentioned that this story is why he invited a companionship of sisters to the meeting. I couldn't help but think when grandma (or whoever it was) made that comment all those years ago, no one would have ever imagined it would have resulted in her granddaughter attending a zone leader council as a missionary. The influence of one individual has a large impact on many generations to come and it is important to remember that. You never know who you might be influencing, so make sure whatever you are doing, make sure it is for good. Additionally, it was a testimony to me how miraculous the Lord is. He has a plan for us and He provides a way for us to accomplish it. I wonder if grandma hadn't made that comment all the years ago, if I would have ever got that chance to sit in on the council and discuss the needs of the mission with the other leaders.

Second, I had a chance to bear my testimony at church yesterday. I was able to stand up in front of the Wigan ward and thank them for their wonderful example and influence. I am not going to lie, I wasn’t in the cheeriest of moods before sacrament meeting. Not for any particular reason, but I just wasn't over-filled with joy as usual, cheery Sister Jack. However, as soon as sacrament meeting started, I had a change of heart. It happened to be fast and testimony meeting, so I went ahead and bore my testimony. I talked about charity and it being the pure love of Christ. I told the ward, “Charity is the Wigan Ward. You can make someone feel at home, even though home may be thousands of miles away.” Then I also told them how much God loves and knows them individually. After the sacrament, I had a few ward members come up to me and thank you for my testimony. One came and commented just how wonderful it was that I could feel at home, even though I wasn't anywhere close to it. A different two mentioned how much they enjoyed and were grateful for what I said. While another I saw tear up as I spoke and looked out at the congregation. Not only that, but another member reminded me how influential missionaries are. She said, "While you may think you are forgotten, there are people who will never forget you." In that moment, I just felt that not only had I lifted the ward members, but they were also lifting me. I can’t accurately describe how much my heart was softened by the experience. I know that there is a greater feeling of unity as a result of that simple testimony.

Third, back to Brother Andrew. He is all set to be baptized on Friday! More exciting than that is that we were able to go and serve him this week by cleaning his house. He moved in 3 years ago. Since then, he just hasn't had time to fix things as he desired and sort through the piles of things he has accumulated. We were able to go ahead and get some things sorted out. As a result, he should have a fully functioning kitchen by the end of the week! I really should have taken some pictures from start to end, but bottom line there was a huge change. I really feel this change and desire to clean things up is an outward indication of how he is feeling on the inside. He is ready for baptism and is excited to become a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He is truly a happier person now and has greater joy in his life. During the week when we were helping him, we helped Brother Andrew recognize this change is similar to repentance. Repentance as defined in the Bible Dictionary is a fresh view about God, oneself, and the world. Just as cleaning his house and fixing things felt great, repentance is joyful and rewarding. Whether it be a big or little change, this change can help us feel relieved of guilt and leads to a happier life.

Well those are my thoughts for now. I hope you enjoyed hearing some of my insights from the week. There is always so much to say and I only can write so much, so let me know if there is ever anything in specific you would like to know more about. Keep up the good work. I love and miss you all!

Love, Becca

The first picture is just of me today. This was my Halloween outfit with orange and black. As per Eric Brewer's suggestion, I dressed up as a missionary :) Sister Davis and I did dress up as each other for a bit as well by switching name tags, but I don't have any of those pictures on my camera.

Here is a picture from the Zone Leader Council I was telling you about. Can you find me? I think it should be fairly easy to play this game of where is Sister Jack?

p.s. from Annie: So sorry about the delay on posting this letter...I promise I'll be better!