And Then the Rains Came Down...

It has been a wet week, but a good one nonetheless. Swinton is fantastic, and I grow to love the area the more time I spend here.

 

We had an eventful week. One fun thing we got to do was go to see the Olympic torch come through the area. It was because we went along with some members to go and watch it. It definitely provided some excitement to the week, and I loved the excitement of it all. It was a landmark event that I will forever remember.

 

We have an amazing investigator! His name is Cyr, and he loves the gospel. (I have told you about him a bit before.) He reads The Book of Mormon, comes to church, attends ward activities, and yearns to learn more. With some people you teach, you kind of half wonder if they actually want you around, but with him you can tell that he does because he enjoys the gospel. I truly feel blessed to be teaching him. I am impressed with the relationships Cyr is making. One of the members, Lesra, has taken a particular liking to Cyr, and they have a wonderful friendship. Furthermore, the elders get along well with him, and it is simply great to witness the joy that comes from his acceptance of the message we share.

 

I have been thinking about what else to write to you all. Well, one thing that happens in the mission is that the senior companion passes along some of the most important things they have learned to the junior companion (oftentimes during an exchange or something). I thought I would go ahead and pass along the top 10 things I have learned on my mission thus far (in no particular order):

1. Study the Atonement of Jesus Christ as if your life depends on it, which it actually does.

2. Open your heart to everyone. There is almost nothing you should not share with others.

3. You can only lift someone when you are on higher ground.

4. Give 7 compliments to every 1 improvement. Remember the improvements you give and acknowledge when change is made.

5. Recognize the difference between youthful mistakes and sin, then you know whether to teach or to chastize.

6. Pray for the gift of charity. It is the greatest gift you can receive.

7. Have fun. If you are not having fun, then you are doing something wrong.

8. Being a forever finder (talking with everyone that is physically possible) shows you have captured the greater vision of missionary work.

9. 100% obedience means 100% access to the blessings.

10. This one usually changes depending on the person, but for you it is as follows...God has an incredible amount of love for His children. Never underestimate the power of prayer and His love for you individually.

 

That is all I have for now. Hope you are enjoying life and continuing to smile. Let me know if you have any questions about things.

 

Much love, Becca

 

p.s. Here are some descriptions about the photos:

-I got my hair cut! Exciting :) Here are the pictures of afterwards. 

-We got to go see the torch. Does it look similar to what happened in SLC?

-This is what happened as we wait. We went with some members to go see it :)

-There is the bus to prove it...We were there.

The Small and Simple Things

This has been a week full of little miracles. One does not stand out to me more than another, but they have added together to make a fantastic week. Let me tell you about some of them.

Some of Elder Bosewell’s parting words were, “Success is a gift.” This week we have been rather blessed. We had three investigators at church yesterday—Cyr, Lee and Amir. Both Cyr and Lee are looking forward to baptism. I am excited for what lies ahead and know that Heavenly Father is blessing us with this gift of success.

Cyr grew up in France, and I shared about him last week. Cyr has such a love for the scriptures. He reads The Book of Mormon between each of our visits, and then likes to teach us about what he has learned. It is clear that he has a desire not only to learn, but also to teach. I think we all know that we learn a whole lot more when we teach, so his progress is coming along well. I will be sure to report more as we continue to teach him.

We have had amazing member work. After six weeks, I know the members fairly well and have pinpointed on the map where they live. As a result, it makes it rather easy to know who to call for fellowshipping, and we have had amazing success! The ward is willing to serve; we just need to be willing to ask. One specific miracle was Sister Poole. I noticed that she lived fairly close to an appointment we had on Sunday evening and needed a fellowshipper for. During church, I asked her if she would be available to come and she said yes. It was an answer to prayers and was so easy I almost thought she misunderstood what I was asking.

Then at zone conference, I am beginning to relearn the things I have learned. I once again was taught to open my heart and to remember Elder Blackburn’s advice “To be willing to put our heart on the line.” I will continue to remember what I have learned and apply it in my daily work.

Furthermore, I was struck by the assistant’s comments about desires, thoughts and actions. I recently have been pondering what increases desire to share the gospel. We learn from Preach My Gospel, Chapter 1: "What is My Purpose as a Missionary?" that studying the Atonement of Jesus Christ will increase that desire. Furthermore, Elder Bosewell and Elder Smart invited us to study charity, promising an increased desire. I would add that increased understanding or excitement about gospel doctrine increases our desire. But what else increases our desire? This is something I will continue to ponder and ask others about, so I can find out how to increase my personal desire to do missionary work.

Lastly, I am impressed by the leader’s trust in their missionaries. This week we were supposed to have an exchange with the Manchester South sisters, but unfortunately, one of the other sisters was a bit poorly. When I called the zone leaders to ask about what we should do, rather than being given an answer, Elder Deliabitiki asked, “Well what do you think we should do Sister Jack?” I will admit he caught me a bit off-guard. At the same time, I was grateful he values my suggestions enough to ask for them and consider them. When leaders demonstrate trust in those they serve, it attributes to positive growth and increased faith of missionaries and their individual significance/impact on missionary efforts.

 

Hope all is well and everyone enjoyed their time together this weekend! I send my love to you all and hope you have a wonderful week!

 

Love, Becca

 

p.s. The first picture is of my companion, Sister Howes, and me. 

The next is a day after my umbrella broke...they usually turn inside out or something, but this one just broke. Oh, umbrellas get some serious use as a missionary in Manchester.

Hello from England!

I feel like I just wrote a few days ago, but it’s probably because I did. In the meantime, we have been enjoying our time together in Swinton and seeing miracles along the way.

First, I want to report on an experience I had last week! On Tuesday, The Isle of Man sisters were here. Unfortunately, our fellowshipper fell through, so we had the two sisters accompany us. It was actually quite lucky because Jakob (a potential) brought two friends to the lesson rather than the one he told us. (With rules about numbers, it ended up being good because we can’t have even numbers with males and females. We had arranged for a female to come along with us.) The lesson was good. We still need to further establish the role of God as our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, but overall they have a wonderful interest and questions about the gospel. It was nearing the end of the lesson and we didn’t make it all the way through the restoration lesson. However, I was thinking they needed the invitation to be baptized. Shortly thereafter, Sister Doherty explained her baptism and extended the commitment. After the lesson, I thanked Sister Doherty for extending the baptismal commitment. She responded, “I thought you told me to.” As far as I can remember, I never spoke any words (a look maybe, but words no). Sister Doherty heard an audible voice and just assumed it was me. However, it was the Spirit. Sometimes the Spirit speaks to us as an audible voice and can help companions communicate one with another. What a miracle!

Second, Cyr came to church. Sister Beaty and I met Cyr while street contacting one day and taught him a short lesson on the spot. We had lost contact with him, since he didn’t respond to our phone calls or texts and didn’t come to the appointment we had set up. Lo and behold, he walked in halfway through sacrament meeting. The elders and us looked at each thinking, “Is this your investigator?” The elders motioned it wasn’t their investigator, and I thought he looked familiar. The Spirit then reminded me and the name Cyr came to my mind. He stayed for the rest of church and appeared to really enjoy it. We are planning to meet with him on Wednesday evening to teach him more. I am excited! It was such a tender mercy from the Lord. All I could think is, “Oh ye of little faith.” Well lesson learned, my faith has been restored—even in Cyr.

Third, in my reading of The Book of Mormon, I read Alma 32. I was reminded of the cycle of faith as always.

This is the cycle of faith:

Man --> desire (v. 27) --> give place (v. 27) --> don't cast out (v. 28) --> swell (v. 28, 30) --> perfect knowledge (v. 34) --> man --> desire --> etc.

[Read Alma 32:27-34 for the full version]

Desire=Want to believe or find out the truth of something.

Give place=Make room in our hearts. Allow the words in.

Don't cast out=Simply allow it to grow. Nourish it even (read, prayer, study). Don't reject what you feel, learn, understand.

Swell=Have good feelings. Let the goodness grow within you.

Perfect knowledge=You understand! You know without a doubt of its certainty.

The first part of the cycle "man" through "don't cast out" is under our control; it is action. The second half is under God's control; it is power.

I once again took the opportunity to review the cycle and ponder its steps (something we learned in October when President Kopischke came and visited the mission). This time a new thought came to my mind. We are lucky to be missionaries because we are constantly faced with questions and concerns that make us re-evaluate our faith; hence, the cycle of faith is constantly being tried. It is just part of what happens with wearing the badge we do. At home, we will not be so lucky. We will have to provide ourselves with opportunities to experiment with the cycle of faith. Those opportunities will come as we seek for them and look for reasons to strengthen our faith and gain greater knowledge. I know as we experiment with this cycle that faith grows and that is how we progress.

 

Thanks for all your do. Sorry I don't have any new pictures this week (I should have some more next week). Hope you all enjoy your week and time spent together.

 

Much love, Becca

Still in Swinton...but with a new companion.

It has been a wonderful past week and a half. I am sure you are all wondering what happened with transfers. Well, I am still here in Swinton, but I have a new companion. Her name is Sister Howes and she is from East London. Yes, I have an English companion! I am going to get to know the English culture all the better now. I am very excited.

I am struggling with the English language, but somehow I am managing. Some days I wonder if I should be given extra time for language study (like they do when you go on a mission speaking another language). Let me tell you a few stories that will hopefully make you laugh.

I was at the bus stop and starting talking to this young lad named Ricky. We were discussing the gospel as well as talking about our days. He mentioned how he was going home from work, so I asked what he did. He told me, “I am a bookkeeper.” For whatever reason I thought to myself, “Oh, he works in a book store.” At which point I asked, “So do you bind books or something?” He then responded, “No. It’s like betting.” You can imagine my embarrassment. I told him I wasn’t from around the area, which he clearly already knew. I honestly have no clue what I was thinking. Who binds book these days anyways (besides Annie in a class at BYU)? Furthermore, I met a lady on the bus who told me she was a retired dinner lady. The conversation continued and I had no idea what a dinner lady was, so I asked her. She informed me that it was the person who watched the children at school during meal time to give the teachers a break. Translation…dinner lady=lunch lady. I learn new things every day and am grateful for my new companion, Sister Howes, because I know she will help me to better understand English :)

Finally, I need to report about transfers. I will admit that I was a bit surprised about it all at first. I realized that I am usually the one to leave my companion behind and go to a new area. The only time that didn’t happen was in Whitefield, when I trained. However, with the excitement of training and knowing Sister Low was going home, there wasn’t much time to dwell on it all. I can tell you that I have inquired of the Lord and know that this is His will for me. It has come with time. Monday evening, I prayed and asked Heavenly Father if this was His will for me. I just had the feeling that I needed to trust my leaders. I know that they are called of God, and as a result, I need to follow through with their assignments. Then Tuesday morning in personal study, I came across Alma 29:9. In this verse, Alma says, “I know that which the Lord hath commanded me, and I glory in it. I do not glory in myself, but I glory in that which the Lord hath commanded me…” Humility is key. We should put our faith and confidence in the Lord, recognizing that we are here to do His work. Throughout the entire time, I felt that the Lord has something different for me to learn than I had planned for myself. I am excited for what lies ahead and am confident that this transfer is planned by the Lord. I know we will be able to accomplish whatever it is He has for us to do.

It is sad to see many missionaries go home this transfer. A lot of them, I have served around as well. I can’t believe how fast time flies by. Luckily, I was able to speak to a few of them before they left and received some parting words of wisdom. While I know their presence will be missed, I know there are great new leaders that will arise to the occasion and influence all our lives for the better. The mission is changing, but that is what happens when you have people come and go. It is wonderful to learn new things and witness not only a change in our lives, but also in the lives of others.

Love always,

Becca

 

p.s. I think I sent a picture of Sister Howes and I last week from the photo scavenger hunt. This week I sent a picture of Sister Howell and me as well as Sister Beaty and me. Hopefully you reognize them from past pictures I have sent.