So it's been another crazy one, and I'm sorry but this will probably
be a relatively short email...
So, I've moved up here to Newcastle! It was sad to have to say all of
my goodbyes to Doncaster. But I'm quite happy here in Newcastle! The
area is huge. It's a decent sized city and so finding is pretty great.
We had a member have some of her friends over for a little FHE, which
went great, and now we are teaching two of the three of them! We also
started teaching another lady who is so prepared! On Thursday, had to
go down to Leeds for a new leader training meeting, that was quite
fun. Love spiritually uplifting meetings like that! We spent the night
with the Billingham STLs in Newton Aycliffe which was so fun. I love
being around other missionaries so much. Which is the fun thing about
my new flat, we live with some Mandarin speaking sisters, they are
super sweet. So far, the ward and the area has been so good! And being
a leader hasn't seemed too different, but I might not be saying that
in a week!
Love you all!
Sister Barret
Monday, May 8, 2017
Week 59: Expect....
...the unexpected..... what's coming to you.... the worst and hope for the best.... what you want to happen.... Basically this is what sums up my week and how I feel right now. This has been a crazy week! Another really good one though. Basically, this whole transfer has been super amazing and I can't believe that it's over and we have to start another one! Only three left, it's so crazy!
Monday, we went to the Chatsworth House as you have already seen photos of. It's so beautiful out there, seriously. I am so used to being in cities and surrounded by houses, so it was nice to be out in the country side! So lovely. And thankfully, we had a fairly decent day. Afterwards, we went to go see Michelle and had a nice little lesson with her about the Restoration. We then headed back to the chapel and had a lesson with Andy about the law of chastity, that's always fun to teach. But he took it well, so no problems!
On Tuesday, we had a bunch of appointments fall through, which was no good. Tried by a lot of people, always fun when people aren't in when they say they will be. We finally saw L, the Spanish speaking lady, and gave her a Spanish Book of Mormon! That house hold now has three Book of Mormons, each in a different language! So funny. We ended up seeing G in the evening and talked about tithing and things like that. We brought a recent convert with us, it was so good! He had been baptised back in like December and just has such an amazing testimony. He's the best. It was a good lesson. We then did a bit of finding before having ward Coordination which is always a humorous time.
We had district Meeting of course since it was Wednesday, and then we did lots of knocking. Met this one lady who had semi recently lost her mum and had a really good talk about the Plan of Salvation. Pretty sure she's going to get baptised one day! She was super lovely. And let us use her toilet! England is the worst about public toilets, they just don't exist. Went by a less active and some other people, that was fun. Had tea and went by another less active and then went to ward council, which was the most missionary focused ward council I have ever been in.
Thursday, we went from appointment to appointment teaching lots of people. It's kind of crazy how we have been able to build up such a solid teaching pool since whitewashing the area. We taught an English class for the first time as well! Good thing I've had practice in my last area, lol.
Once again, we had a solid day of appointments. Kind of crazy, I have never been teaching so many people. Fridays I feel like are always a bit crazy. Oh well. We had a practice interview with A and he was practically teaching us at one point, man he is so prepared. He's the best. When we asked him about repentance, he said something interesting about how repentance is a way for us to be able to understand our mistakes so we won't do the wrong things and do more of the right things more. It was pretty cool.
Saturday was fun, went out to do knocking determined to schedule someone else. And we did. He was super excited to meet us, he had watched a documentary about Mormons the other day and hasn't ever met many, so it's kind of crazy we came by when we did! We had A's interview! And he passed! So amazing! And while we were waiting, President called! Sister Ashcroft answered and got called to train! That's when I realised I was moving and I was sad. But then she handed the phone to me and President called me to be an STL up in Newcastle! So cool! I'm so excited and a little bit nervous! Mostly because of Geordies.... they apparently have a rough accent. I'll let you know next week! We also went and saw K, she is so cute. Love her.
Easter Sunday! Got some eggs, had a good sacrament meeting about Christ, had some people come to church.... it was good. Between church and going to Fireside in Newcastle (I brought a packed suitcase to give them! Transfers tomorrow will be easier!) we went by M and G and said some goodbyes. It was good. We then spent the night going to Newcastle, being at a Fireside where Sister Berg and her professionally singing family did a musical Fireside, and then driving back. It was a night!
Things have been good here in Donny. And here I go to Newcastle! Leave bright and early tomorrow morning! Love you guys!
Sister Barret
Monday, we went to the Chatsworth House as you have already seen photos of. It's so beautiful out there, seriously. I am so used to being in cities and surrounded by houses, so it was nice to be out in the country side! So lovely. And thankfully, we had a fairly decent day. Afterwards, we went to go see Michelle and had a nice little lesson with her about the Restoration. We then headed back to the chapel and had a lesson with Andy about the law of chastity, that's always fun to teach. But he took it well, so no problems!
On Tuesday, we had a bunch of appointments fall through, which was no good. Tried by a lot of people, always fun when people aren't in when they say they will be. We finally saw L, the Spanish speaking lady, and gave her a Spanish Book of Mormon! That house hold now has three Book of Mormons, each in a different language! So funny. We ended up seeing G in the evening and talked about tithing and things like that. We brought a recent convert with us, it was so good! He had been baptised back in like December and just has such an amazing testimony. He's the best. It was a good lesson. We then did a bit of finding before having ward Coordination which is always a humorous time.
We had district Meeting of course since it was Wednesday, and then we did lots of knocking. Met this one lady who had semi recently lost her mum and had a really good talk about the Plan of Salvation. Pretty sure she's going to get baptised one day! She was super lovely. And let us use her toilet! England is the worst about public toilets, they just don't exist. Went by a less active and some other people, that was fun. Had tea and went by another less active and then went to ward council, which was the most missionary focused ward council I have ever been in.
Thursday, we went from appointment to appointment teaching lots of people. It's kind of crazy how we have been able to build up such a solid teaching pool since whitewashing the area. We taught an English class for the first time as well! Good thing I've had practice in my last area, lol.
Once again, we had a solid day of appointments. Kind of crazy, I have never been teaching so many people. Fridays I feel like are always a bit crazy. Oh well. We had a practice interview with A and he was practically teaching us at one point, man he is so prepared. He's the best. When we asked him about repentance, he said something interesting about how repentance is a way for us to be able to understand our mistakes so we won't do the wrong things and do more of the right things more. It was pretty cool.
Saturday was fun, went out to do knocking determined to schedule someone else. And we did. He was super excited to meet us, he had watched a documentary about Mormons the other day and hasn't ever met many, so it's kind of crazy we came by when we did! We had A's interview! And he passed! So amazing! And while we were waiting, President called! Sister Ashcroft answered and got called to train! That's when I realised I was moving and I was sad. But then she handed the phone to me and President called me to be an STL up in Newcastle! So cool! I'm so excited and a little bit nervous! Mostly because of Geordies.... they apparently have a rough accent. I'll let you know next week! We also went and saw K, she is so cute. Love her.
Easter Sunday! Got some eggs, had a good sacrament meeting about Christ, had some people come to church.... it was good. Between church and going to Fireside in Newcastle (I brought a packed suitcase to give them! Transfers tomorrow will be easier!) we went by M and G and said some goodbyes. It was good. We then spent the night going to Newcastle, being at a Fireside where Sister Berg and her professionally singing family did a musical Fireside, and then driving back. It was a night!
Things have been good here in Donny. And here I go to Newcastle! Leave bright and early tomorrow morning! Love you guys!
Sister Barret
Week 58 Crazy Week!
Monday: After our adventures of going out to some random field and wandering about, we went to go visit some members. Had a lovely chat with them and then went to go see A. We taught him the Plan of Salvation, which he really liked. Said it sounds very complete. It was a nice lesson.
Tuesday: The day started out with some finding and then we went to go see G and also taught him the plan of Salvation. As you may be able to tell, our three main investigators are in like the same place, it's really awesome. From there, C and B drove us around a bit as we tried to meet with people, but hey ended up dropping us off in a village and we did some finding before tea. After tea they picked us up to head to the chapel. It was so funny, Sister Ashcroft and I both looked out the car windows at the same time and shouted out cows and sheep that we saw.... it was really funny. Sounds lame trying to explain it. Ward Coordination was good like usual.
Wednesday: As per the request of a member, we went by a former, M. She was really nice and let us in and she started to tell us about all of her issues and how she is starting to turn her life around but needs help. So we are going to keep teaching her! That's pretty exciting if you ask me. We then went and taught A the Plan of Salvation as well! He also really liked it and we were actually able to answer some of his questions about spirits and things. We did some finding and while we were knocking, I did some hard core testifying that stopped him in his tracks a bit. We then saw A and had a lovely time with her. We then had tea again with the Nisars, man is that a mad house but they are so funny and amazing. From there, we started heading home, finding along the way.
Thursday: Went and taught a kind of rough lesson with A.... Bad prep on our end. Oops. We then did a lot of driving all day. Headed out to one village to see a member and try by a referral she gave us. Had to go to another village to visit Georgina and her kids again. And then we went to a village a million miles away to go by a referral the Zone Leaders gave us. Thankfully the guy was in and interested, he apparently though just moved in so is quite busy. We will have to go back again some day. And so after a full day of driving everywhere, we had Book of Mormon class where A and G were! We were able to teach them both the gospel of Jesus Christ at the same time, so that was really cool.
Friday: We had the STLs come over for our weekly planning, and halfway through, the senior couple comes for a flat inspection! Good thing our flat was immaculate that day! We then went on a split with the sisters. Sister Shaw and I went to go see a potential and teach Andy while Sister Ashcroft and Sister Peterson saw G and J and F. It was a pretty good split. Afterwards, we went by a less active lady and her daughters. Had a fun lesson about the Plan of Salvation. We ate tea at the chapel and then went to go see K! Yay! Had a really good lesson with her that was very spiritual and got a bit emotional. Read the Living Christ and talked a lot about prayer. Was able to testify about the power of prayer and how we do receive answers, even if they aren't the ones we want or expect. Also talked about how God still loves us even if some of our prayers seem to go unanswered. It was a good lesson.
Saturday: Did some finding in the morning and then headed to go by a potential. She was quite busy, so we will go by her again later. As a back up we went to have lunch and got some burgers that we ate sitting out in some grass because the weather has been so nice lately! Seriously, it's been practically like summer here, it's crazy. But after that, we went by some recently reactivated members and got to know them a bit. We tried to find a Spanish Book of Mormon for a potential, but could only find Portuguese and Italian ones, so that was a struggle. We then went to M's for tea, and she made us a very nice bolognese. Her dog is so funny, little Louis. After her, we tried to go by a less active family, but it was a bit awkward, so we left and tried to do some finding.
Sunday: Easily one of my craziest Sundays on my mission. So Sister Ashcroft and I have started to get into this habit of just inviting everyone we meet to come to church, no matter who it is. Usually, people don't come. But, today, two of them did. Yeah... One was a Romanian Pentecostal, so that was interesting. The other one was not entirely sober when he showed up... A and A came and they were great and loved it. But Gospel Principles was a very interesting time. I'm just glad I wasn't the one teaching. I felt bad when we left all of them, since they were all male, with the elders and went to Relief Society! After church, we practiced our song for a bit, and then went to visit a potential, Michelle, and then Anne. With Anne, we had a little testimony Meeting since she wasn't able to come to church due to her health. After that, we picked up A and went to the Mission Home Fireside in Leeds! Brian took A and G in his car, which was super nice of him. They loved it! It was really good. And our musical Item went alright, the three of us sang Gethsemane and an elder accompanied us.
I have been feeling more and more lately like my weeks are flying by! We have been so busy lately and it's been amazing! I thank Heavenly Father everyday that I get to be a part of the wonderful work! I love my mission and I love each of you!
Sister Barret
Tuesday: The day started out with some finding and then we went to go see G and also taught him the plan of Salvation. As you may be able to tell, our three main investigators are in like the same place, it's really awesome. From there, C and B drove us around a bit as we tried to meet with people, but hey ended up dropping us off in a village and we did some finding before tea. After tea they picked us up to head to the chapel. It was so funny, Sister Ashcroft and I both looked out the car windows at the same time and shouted out cows and sheep that we saw.... it was really funny. Sounds lame trying to explain it. Ward Coordination was good like usual.
Wednesday: As per the request of a member, we went by a former, M. She was really nice and let us in and she started to tell us about all of her issues and how she is starting to turn her life around but needs help. So we are going to keep teaching her! That's pretty exciting if you ask me. We then went and taught A the Plan of Salvation as well! He also really liked it and we were actually able to answer some of his questions about spirits and things. We did some finding and while we were knocking, I did some hard core testifying that stopped him in his tracks a bit. We then saw A and had a lovely time with her. We then had tea again with the Nisars, man is that a mad house but they are so funny and amazing. From there, we started heading home, finding along the way.
Thursday: Went and taught a kind of rough lesson with A.... Bad prep on our end. Oops. We then did a lot of driving all day. Headed out to one village to see a member and try by a referral she gave us. Had to go to another village to visit Georgina and her kids again. And then we went to a village a million miles away to go by a referral the Zone Leaders gave us. Thankfully the guy was in and interested, he apparently though just moved in so is quite busy. We will have to go back again some day. And so after a full day of driving everywhere, we had Book of Mormon class where A and G were! We were able to teach them both the gospel of Jesus Christ at the same time, so that was really cool.
Friday: We had the STLs come over for our weekly planning, and halfway through, the senior couple comes for a flat inspection! Good thing our flat was immaculate that day! We then went on a split with the sisters. Sister Shaw and I went to go see a potential and teach Andy while Sister Ashcroft and Sister Peterson saw G and J and F. It was a pretty good split. Afterwards, we went by a less active lady and her daughters. Had a fun lesson about the Plan of Salvation. We ate tea at the chapel and then went to go see K! Yay! Had a really good lesson with her that was very spiritual and got a bit emotional. Read the Living Christ and talked a lot about prayer. Was able to testify about the power of prayer and how we do receive answers, even if they aren't the ones we want or expect. Also talked about how God still loves us even if some of our prayers seem to go unanswered. It was a good lesson.
Saturday: Did some finding in the morning and then headed to go by a potential. She was quite busy, so we will go by her again later. As a back up we went to have lunch and got some burgers that we ate sitting out in some grass because the weather has been so nice lately! Seriously, it's been practically like summer here, it's crazy. But after that, we went by some recently reactivated members and got to know them a bit. We tried to find a Spanish Book of Mormon for a potential, but could only find Portuguese and Italian ones, so that was a struggle. We then went to M's for tea, and she made us a very nice bolognese. Her dog is so funny, little Louis. After her, we tried to go by a less active family, but it was a bit awkward, so we left and tried to do some finding.
Sunday: Easily one of my craziest Sundays on my mission. So Sister Ashcroft and I have started to get into this habit of just inviting everyone we meet to come to church, no matter who it is. Usually, people don't come. But, today, two of them did. Yeah... One was a Romanian Pentecostal, so that was interesting. The other one was not entirely sober when he showed up... A and A came and they were great and loved it. But Gospel Principles was a very interesting time. I'm just glad I wasn't the one teaching. I felt bad when we left all of them, since they were all male, with the elders and went to Relief Society! After church, we practiced our song for a bit, and then went to visit a potential, Michelle, and then Anne. With Anne, we had a little testimony Meeting since she wasn't able to come to church due to her health. After that, we picked up A and went to the Mission Home Fireside in Leeds! Brian took A and G in his car, which was super nice of him. They loved it! It was really good. And our musical Item went alright, the three of us sang Gethsemane and an elder accompanied us.
I have been feeling more and more lately like my weeks are flying by! We have been so busy lately and it's been amazing! I thank Heavenly Father everyday that I get to be a part of the wonderful work! I love my mission and I love each of you!
Sister Barret
Thursday, April 6, 2017
Week 57: This Week = Amazing!
So, even though we were in Sheffield for a portion of almost every day this week, I'm pretty sure that I have had one of the most amazing weeks of my entire mission. Talk about an abundance of blessings and miracles.
Monday, even though we got flogged, we had a really good night. We were able to see a recent convert, T. We made some return appointments with different people and found some new interesting people!
Tuesday, we headed over to Carcroft and had a really good lesson with a less active lady, M. We read some scriptures with her and had a good chat with her. It was funny, at one point, she was basically just teaching herself. We tried by more people, but kept getting flogged, so lame. We had tea with some members, which was lovely, even if a bit awkward. And then we went to ward coordination and had to get to Sheffield by the evening. Nothing too special.
Wednesday, I went with Sister Peterson and Sister Ashcroft went with Sister Shaw. It was pretty good, even though it was raining and just about everyone flogged. We did meet with one guy and scheduled him, he was way cool. We also visited with one of their Chinese investigators, but he kind of almost dropped them I think, so that was a struggle. Overall, decent day as a missionary.
Thursday. Amazing. Started out with zone training and interviews. Had good interviews with President and Sister Turvey, talked about some practical things. Zone training was good, talked all about out hearts and our motivations for doing things. That was good. And some elders let us use their peanut butter and Nutella to make a sandwich since we forgot to bring a lunch, that was nice. We then went home, got flogged, and did some finding. We decided to get Indian takeaway with C at one point, so we were street contacting nearby before it was ready for pick up when we met a bunch of different people who were willing to meet with us. One of them, G, said he would come to our Book of Mormon class that was going on 45 minutes later. We went to the chapel, ate our Indian food... And G showed up! So we hijacked the class and turned it into a first lesson which was super good. Talk about spirit guided. He is so amazing. He told us that he doesn't usually walk that way, but for some reason, he did today, and so he feels like he was really meant to meet us. It was way cool. And he accepted our invitation to be baptised! Way cool. At the end of the lesson, he said the prayer and he was feeling the spirit so strong that he was getting emotional. Afterwards, we went to a return appointment with a guy we met earlier in the week, A, from Greece! As it turns out, a friend of his had given him a Book of Mormon when he was still in Greece and he too is so willing to learn more! It was so amazing! He also prayed at the end, but said it in Greek! Way cool.
Friday, we went to a return appointment of this lovely couple who have the cutest baby. It was a really nice lesson and they were quite interested to hear more of our unique message, so here is hoping! We then had to quickly run to go see A, and man, I don't know where these people are coming from, but talk about another person who has been so prepared by the hand of God. So another great first lesson with A, he's really cool. We then headed off to have tea with a lady who lives out in a village in the middle of nowhere, good thing we have C who is so amazing... We then went back to the chapel to see if any of our investigators were going to come to the ward activity, an 80s night, that was going on. And A showed up! So cool. It was pretty funny. I forgot how much I love the 80s ;)
Saturday, we had some return appointments that fell through, so we spent some time finding... Until a random former called us and asked for us to come over. Turns out, she just wanted us to try her dumplings, which were way good. We then had a chapel tour with this guy, but he wasn't too interested in the message that we have to share. It was a bit weird at one point. And then we went to conference! So good! Afterwards, we went home and had dinner.
Sunday, as it turns out, everyone is busy Sunday morning and don't want to talk to us. That's a new one... We went to C's and then she took us and A to the 1pm session. He was quite surprised by the meeting, in a good way. We then took him home and picked up G and K to watch the 5pm session. They too enjoyed it, and on our way back, there was a cute moment where K taught G the Word of Wisdom! So funny. It was amazing.
Yeah, it was a really good week. General conference was amazing, I can't wait till I can read the Sunday afternoon session, but as of right now, I really enjoyed Elder Uchtdorf and Elder Nelsons addresses. Those were really good. And for those who haven't watched them yet, watch the new Easter videos! #PRINCEofPEACE they are so good! Got a bit teary eyed in some of them... Hope you all have a good week! Love you!!!
Monday, even though we got flogged, we had a really good night. We were able to see a recent convert, T. We made some return appointments with different people and found some new interesting people!
Tuesday, we headed over to Carcroft and had a really good lesson with a less active lady, M. We read some scriptures with her and had a good chat with her. It was funny, at one point, she was basically just teaching herself. We tried by more people, but kept getting flogged, so lame. We had tea with some members, which was lovely, even if a bit awkward. And then we went to ward coordination and had to get to Sheffield by the evening. Nothing too special.
Wednesday, I went with Sister Peterson and Sister Ashcroft went with Sister Shaw. It was pretty good, even though it was raining and just about everyone flogged. We did meet with one guy and scheduled him, he was way cool. We also visited with one of their Chinese investigators, but he kind of almost dropped them I think, so that was a struggle. Overall, decent day as a missionary.
Thursday. Amazing. Started out with zone training and interviews. Had good interviews with President and Sister Turvey, talked about some practical things. Zone training was good, talked all about out hearts and our motivations for doing things. That was good. And some elders let us use their peanut butter and Nutella to make a sandwich since we forgot to bring a lunch, that was nice. We then went home, got flogged, and did some finding. We decided to get Indian takeaway with C at one point, so we were street contacting nearby before it was ready for pick up when we met a bunch of different people who were willing to meet with us. One of them, G, said he would come to our Book of Mormon class that was going on 45 minutes later. We went to the chapel, ate our Indian food... And G showed up! So we hijacked the class and turned it into a first lesson which was super good. Talk about spirit guided. He is so amazing. He told us that he doesn't usually walk that way, but for some reason, he did today, and so he feels like he was really meant to meet us. It was way cool. And he accepted our invitation to be baptised! Way cool. At the end of the lesson, he said the prayer and he was feeling the spirit so strong that he was getting emotional. Afterwards, we went to a return appointment with a guy we met earlier in the week, A, from Greece! As it turns out, a friend of his had given him a Book of Mormon when he was still in Greece and he too is so willing to learn more! It was so amazing! He also prayed at the end, but said it in Greek! Way cool.
Friday, we went to a return appointment of this lovely couple who have the cutest baby. It was a really nice lesson and they were quite interested to hear more of our unique message, so here is hoping! We then had to quickly run to go see A, and man, I don't know where these people are coming from, but talk about another person who has been so prepared by the hand of God. So another great first lesson with A, he's really cool. We then headed off to have tea with a lady who lives out in a village in the middle of nowhere, good thing we have C who is so amazing... We then went back to the chapel to see if any of our investigators were going to come to the ward activity, an 80s night, that was going on. And A showed up! So cool. It was pretty funny. I forgot how much I love the 80s ;)
Saturday, we had some return appointments that fell through, so we spent some time finding... Until a random former called us and asked for us to come over. Turns out, she just wanted us to try her dumplings, which were way good. We then had a chapel tour with this guy, but he wasn't too interested in the message that we have to share. It was a bit weird at one point. And then we went to conference! So good! Afterwards, we went home and had dinner.
Sunday, as it turns out, everyone is busy Sunday morning and don't want to talk to us. That's a new one... We went to C's and then she took us and A to the 1pm session. He was quite surprised by the meeting, in a good way. We then took him home and picked up G and K to watch the 5pm session. They too enjoyed it, and on our way back, there was a cute moment where K taught G the Word of Wisdom! So funny. It was amazing.
Yeah, it was a really good week. General conference was amazing, I can't wait till I can read the Sunday afternoon session, but as of right now, I really enjoyed Elder Uchtdorf and Elder Nelsons addresses. Those were really good. And for those who haven't watched them yet, watch the new Easter videos! #PRINCEofPEACE they are so good! Got a bit teary eyed in some of them... Hope you all have a good week! Love you!!!
Week 56: Happy British Mother's Day!
This week has been fun, we have been seeing a lot of answers to prayers and miracles unfold in front of us! So good!!!
Monday night, things just kept falling through, so we ended up street contacting at night. Fun stuff. Tuesday, more things fell through, but that's okay, we just spent more time finding again! We did have a lesson with a less active recent convert, but that really didn't go very well. She is a bit on the crazy side.... We went to have tea with some members, so that was really nice. And then we miraculously were able to catch a but back from their random far out village to get back in time for ward correlation. Wednesday, we went way far away to go see a less active lady who has some really cute but kind of crazy children, that was really good. Hopefully we will be able to help her out. After her baptism two years ago, she never got the missionary lessons again, so we are going to make sure she gets them now! We then headed out for lunch, had fish and chips with C, and then went to go see J. We got there, and after some confusion (they kept speaking in Czech) and shuffling around, we ended up teaching her son, T. Turns out, that about eight years ago, the whole family used to investigate the church! Crazy! We had a good lesson with him, and he accepted the invitation to be baptised! Yay! I love how quickly the spirit comes into a lesson when you recite the first vision, it's amazing. We then went out and did some knocking and got really really cold because it was really really rainy. We then had tea with some members who have like seven kids, and the husband is deaf, it was a crazy house! But they were way fun. Did a cute little lesson using the tree of life, that was fun. I was the tree and Sister Ashcroft was the director, and the kids played different people in Lehi's family. It was way good.
Afterwards, our angel C drove us to Sheffield so we could sleep over due to zone conference!! Yep! It's time again for another one! Crazy stuff. Slept in a flat of like eight sisters... That was interesting.... But zone conference was super great, even though it was a two hour coach ride there and back, that was gross. Also, found out that my zone is mostly elders, that's new. And weird. Oh well. But yeah, in zone conference, President was talking a lot about the Atonement and what it means to us and how it can help everyone. It was very uplifting and inspiring, since then, I have been trying to put more of a focus on the Atonement in my studies and the lessons that we teach. There was also a lot of instruction on really leaving good commitments with people that they will actually keep, so that was helpful of course. We had another testimony, and this time I did bear mine. I actually went up second because I knew if I didn't go then, there would just be a long line after awhile. So I did it, and talked mostly of Christ, and I actually quoted part of the song, This Is The Christ. It has been on my mind a lot lately, I really like it. You should all listen to it if you haven't. After zone conference, we went home. And that is all we did because it took such a long time to get home via the trains and things. I really was tired of public transport by the end of that day.
Friday, we had to drop everything and run when the elders called us saying that they couldn't make a return appointment that was happening in twenty minutes because they didn't have a member and she was a lady. This is the great thing about sharing an area with a set of each, passing people. We got there, and had a lovely lesson with a lady named F who seems really interested and excited about how the gospel of Jesus Christ can help her in this life. We then went to go do a bit of knocking before seeing a less active man, G, who is the sweetest guy. We met someone while knocking who said come back in an hour, so we did, and he let us in. He is Muslim and had a lot of questions for us because he had never heard of our church before, but knows quite a bit about other Christian religions. We ended up giving him a Book of Mormon and inviting him to church. It was pretty cool. We had tea with some fun members, and then dropped off a Czech Book of Mormon for J and then headed to go see K who is sadly on bed rest. We brought her a picture of Jesus, and halfway through our appointment, we called B and he came over to give her a blessing. That was really amazing.
Saturday, we had lots of plans fall through again, but we were able to go see R being baptised! That was really great. Also, R is the human version of Manny from Cloudy With The Chance of Meatballs for those who have seen the great children's film. So funny. But yeah, there, we were able to meet the wife of a member who the sisters previously have been teaching and we tried to set something up with her, so that was good. We then ran to go see J and F and answered lots of questions that they had. Since they investigated the church for only a short time quite a few years ago, they had so many questions. But it was good. We are excited about continuing to teach them. We then had tea with some other members and then tried by a semi active family in the evening. It was good though, they let us in and we were able to learn of some of their various concerns. We hadn't actually planned on seeing them so we didn't know what to share with them as far as on a spiritual side, and so at one point, my companion asks if we can share something with them, gets out her iPad and hands it to me! Yup, it was funny, so I just had to pull something up on the spot, and shared Helaman 5:12. And then Sunday, after having to evacuate our building due to a fire on the first floor, good thing live on the fourth, we went to church, where we celebrated Mothers Day! Yay! Sister Ashcroft and I got to talk about our mothers and how they have influenced our lives, so that was fun. After church,we did more finding, met a cool Greek guy, found a potential we passed to the elders, tried by J and F, and spent our evening visiting single elderly ladies who are way cute.
So yup! It has been a good week! Hope you are all well! Also, super excited for general conference this weekend!!!! Love you!!!
Monday night, things just kept falling through, so we ended up street contacting at night. Fun stuff. Tuesday, more things fell through, but that's okay, we just spent more time finding again! We did have a lesson with a less active recent convert, but that really didn't go very well. She is a bit on the crazy side.... We went to have tea with some members, so that was really nice. And then we miraculously were able to catch a but back from their random far out village to get back in time for ward correlation. Wednesday, we went way far away to go see a less active lady who has some really cute but kind of crazy children, that was really good. Hopefully we will be able to help her out. After her baptism two years ago, she never got the missionary lessons again, so we are going to make sure she gets them now! We then headed out for lunch, had fish and chips with C, and then went to go see J. We got there, and after some confusion (they kept speaking in Czech) and shuffling around, we ended up teaching her son, T. Turns out, that about eight years ago, the whole family used to investigate the church! Crazy! We had a good lesson with him, and he accepted the invitation to be baptised! Yay! I love how quickly the spirit comes into a lesson when you recite the first vision, it's amazing. We then went out and did some knocking and got really really cold because it was really really rainy. We then had tea with some members who have like seven kids, and the husband is deaf, it was a crazy house! But they were way fun. Did a cute little lesson using the tree of life, that was fun. I was the tree and Sister Ashcroft was the director, and the kids played different people in Lehi's family. It was way good.
Afterwards, our angel C drove us to Sheffield so we could sleep over due to zone conference!! Yep! It's time again for another one! Crazy stuff. Slept in a flat of like eight sisters... That was interesting.... But zone conference was super great, even though it was a two hour coach ride there and back, that was gross. Also, found out that my zone is mostly elders, that's new. And weird. Oh well. But yeah, in zone conference, President was talking a lot about the Atonement and what it means to us and how it can help everyone. It was very uplifting and inspiring, since then, I have been trying to put more of a focus on the Atonement in my studies and the lessons that we teach. There was also a lot of instruction on really leaving good commitments with people that they will actually keep, so that was helpful of course. We had another testimony, and this time I did bear mine. I actually went up second because I knew if I didn't go then, there would just be a long line after awhile. So I did it, and talked mostly of Christ, and I actually quoted part of the song, This Is The Christ. It has been on my mind a lot lately, I really like it. You should all listen to it if you haven't. After zone conference, we went home. And that is all we did because it took such a long time to get home via the trains and things. I really was tired of public transport by the end of that day.
Friday, we had to drop everything and run when the elders called us saying that they couldn't make a return appointment that was happening in twenty minutes because they didn't have a member and she was a lady. This is the great thing about sharing an area with a set of each, passing people. We got there, and had a lovely lesson with a lady named F who seems really interested and excited about how the gospel of Jesus Christ can help her in this life. We then went to go do a bit of knocking before seeing a less active man, G, who is the sweetest guy. We met someone while knocking who said come back in an hour, so we did, and he let us in. He is Muslim and had a lot of questions for us because he had never heard of our church before, but knows quite a bit about other Christian religions. We ended up giving him a Book of Mormon and inviting him to church. It was pretty cool. We had tea with some fun members, and then dropped off a Czech Book of Mormon for J and then headed to go see K who is sadly on bed rest. We brought her a picture of Jesus, and halfway through our appointment, we called B and he came over to give her a blessing. That was really amazing.
Saturday, we had lots of plans fall through again, but we were able to go see R being baptised! That was really great. Also, R is the human version of Manny from Cloudy With The Chance of Meatballs for those who have seen the great children's film. So funny. But yeah, there, we were able to meet the wife of a member who the sisters previously have been teaching and we tried to set something up with her, so that was good. We then ran to go see J and F and answered lots of questions that they had. Since they investigated the church for only a short time quite a few years ago, they had so many questions. But it was good. We are excited about continuing to teach them. We then had tea with some other members and then tried by a semi active family in the evening. It was good though, they let us in and we were able to learn of some of their various concerns. We hadn't actually planned on seeing them so we didn't know what to share with them as far as on a spiritual side, and so at one point, my companion asks if we can share something with them, gets out her iPad and hands it to me! Yup, it was funny, so I just had to pull something up on the spot, and shared Helaman 5:12. And then Sunday, after having to evacuate our building due to a fire on the first floor, good thing live on the fourth, we went to church, where we celebrated Mothers Day! Yay! Sister Ashcroft and I got to talk about our mothers and how they have influenced our lives, so that was fun. After church,we did more finding, met a cool Greek guy, found a potential we passed to the elders, tried by J and F, and spent our evening visiting single elderly ladies who are way cute.
So yup! It has been a good week! Hope you are all well! Also, super excited for general conference this weekend!!!! Love you!!!
Week 55: Who is Donny?!
Hey everyone!
This week has been so crazy.... So, Monday after pday Sister Luna and
I went with Sister Eschgfäller to visit their investigator, Ian.
Tuesday, we got up early and Sister Luna and I got a train to Leeds,
and from there, got a train to Doncaster. Got picked up by C,
Sister Ashcroft, and the elders here. C took us to our flat
and we put our stuff away, had a sort of comp study, and then headed
out! Went out and contacted people on the streets asking them where
the chapel was because we genuinely didn't know. We did end up finding
it though. We also tried to find bishops house, but had the very wrong
address, so we just knocked a random street. We ended up having ward
coordination which was super helpful and also really funny. Professor
Oaks! Good times. Wednesday, we had district Meeting and when we told
all of the elders there that we walked there since we don't know the
buses they all looked at us like we were crazy. It was only about a
half hour walk.... but the meeting itself was really good! My district
is pretty nice.
We then went out to a random village to get to know
more people. The elders showed up and kind of took our teaching
appointment with a recent convert, but we couldn't stay anyways, so it
was fine. Knocked more doors. Visited a less active man, G, he was
really great. Had tea with the Browns. Met a less active lady L who
is really great. Thursday, went back out to that village to meet
another less active lady and her husband. Had tea with some other
members. Had Book of Mormon class with some members and K and
it was really nice. Friday we had a good, very much so needed weekly
planning session. We then did more finding (you may notice that we
spend a lot a lot of time finding right now!). We also visited a few
members until the elders called us needing a baptismal record sheet so
we had to hurry home, just in time to see them jumping over this wall
that we live by.... we then did more finding and had tea at home and
hen headed to the chapel for a ward activity, a game night. May have
gotten a bit competitive playing this play-doh pictionary type game.
K came to that as well. She is so great!
And then Saturday C took us out to a random far out part of our area called
Goole. Turns out, not much is out there. We then came back to
Doncaster and went by some more people. I also got a blessing because
my back has been bothering me a lot lately. Though not as much since
then. We knocked even more doors and we ordered pizza that was
recommended to us from the elders. And when it was taking too long, we
said a prayer and looked out the window to see the pizza guy's car
pull into our parking lot. Miracles are real people. We then went to
K's house for a lesson. We asked her so many questions! But it
was really good, she basically spent the lesson bearing her testimony
to us based off of the questions we asked. It was awesome.
Sunday was so fun! It was ward conference! We got to meet everyone, it was great!
We also had a Munch and Mingle afterwards, which we got to help out
with, so that was really nice. We then headed off to knock more doors
and try by a few old potentials. We had tea with the Nettleships and
then they took us to visit a less active lady and her girls. It was
fun and it was nice teaching some of the Restoration with them.
Afterwards, we street contacted home, and Sister Ashcroft made me sing
for this random guy. I didn't know what do to because it was
unanticipated, so I started singing This Is The Christ, and it brought
the spirit really fast. He said it sounded actually pretty good, so
that was cool. Too bad he was in a rush. But yeah, that's been all
really this week! I love my new companion, Sister Ashcroft is great!
She's from Gilbert, Arizona, has five siblings, loves the great
outdoors and is so funny. She does and says some of the craziest
things, so it is never a dull moment! Love it here in Donny!
Love you all and hope you guys have a good week!
Sister Barret
This week has been so crazy.... So, Monday after pday Sister Luna and
I went with Sister Eschgfäller to visit their investigator, Ian.
Tuesday, we got up early and Sister Luna and I got a train to Leeds,
and from there, got a train to Doncaster. Got picked up by C,
Sister Ashcroft, and the elders here. C took us to our flat
and we put our stuff away, had a sort of comp study, and then headed
out! Went out and contacted people on the streets asking them where
the chapel was because we genuinely didn't know. We did end up finding
it though. We also tried to find bishops house, but had the very wrong
address, so we just knocked a random street. We ended up having ward
coordination which was super helpful and also really funny. Professor
Oaks! Good times. Wednesday, we had district Meeting and when we told
all of the elders there that we walked there since we don't know the
buses they all looked at us like we were crazy. It was only about a
half hour walk.... but the meeting itself was really good! My district
is pretty nice.
We then went out to a random village to get to know
more people. The elders showed up and kind of took our teaching
appointment with a recent convert, but we couldn't stay anyways, so it
was fine. Knocked more doors. Visited a less active man, G, he was
really great. Had tea with the Browns. Met a less active lady L who
is really great. Thursday, went back out to that village to meet
another less active lady and her husband. Had tea with some other
members. Had Book of Mormon class with some members and K and
it was really nice. Friday we had a good, very much so needed weekly
planning session. We then did more finding (you may notice that we
spend a lot a lot of time finding right now!). We also visited a few
members until the elders called us needing a baptismal record sheet so
we had to hurry home, just in time to see them jumping over this wall
that we live by.... we then did more finding and had tea at home and
hen headed to the chapel for a ward activity, a game night. May have
gotten a bit competitive playing this play-doh pictionary type game.
K came to that as well. She is so great!
And then Saturday C took us out to a random far out part of our area called
Goole. Turns out, not much is out there. We then came back to
Doncaster and went by some more people. I also got a blessing because
my back has been bothering me a lot lately. Though not as much since
then. We knocked even more doors and we ordered pizza that was
recommended to us from the elders. And when it was taking too long, we
said a prayer and looked out the window to see the pizza guy's car
pull into our parking lot. Miracles are real people. We then went to
K's house for a lesson. We asked her so many questions! But it
was really good, she basically spent the lesson bearing her testimony
to us based off of the questions we asked. It was awesome.
Sunday was so fun! It was ward conference! We got to meet everyone, it was great!
We also had a Munch and Mingle afterwards, which we got to help out
with, so that was really nice. We then headed off to knock more doors
and try by a few old potentials. We had tea with the Nettleships and
then they took us to visit a less active lady and her girls. It was
fun and it was nice teaching some of the Restoration with them.
Afterwards, we street contacted home, and Sister Ashcroft made me sing
for this random guy. I didn't know what do to because it was
unanticipated, so I started singing This Is The Christ, and it brought
the spirit really fast. He said it sounded actually pretty good, so
that was cool. Too bad he was in a rush. But yeah, that's been all
really this week! I love my new companion, Sister Ashcroft is great!
She's from Gilbert, Arizona, has five siblings, loves the great
outdoors and is so funny. She does and says some of the craziest
things, so it is never a dull moment! Love it here in Donny!
Love you all and hope you guys have a good week!
Sister Barret
Week 54: Transfer 10 with a Surprise!
So.... things have been going a bit upside down lately, so I'll just summarise the past two weeks real quick. L almost got baptised last week, A and L are talking to us again, teaching E has been really interesting due his Buddhist philosophies, we had a big zone conference with two other zones, went on an exchange with Sister Eschgfäller, and then we got our transfer call last night. And guess what. I'm moving. Yup, you read that right, after only a single transfer here in the Horbury area, I am now getting shipped off to Doncaster. In fact, I've already had to move out since Sister Wood is going home, we have to be in Huddersfield all of today to be with Sister Eschgfäller. Yeah, it doesn't make much sense, but that's been my life lately I feel like, unexpected phone calls that something I wasn't anticipating is happening. So, this morning, I started packing... only to find that out and I just crammed everything in since I didn't want to spend all day doing it. Oh well. I dot like packing and leaving, so this just made it happen all at once really quick. Even though I feel like I'm getting kicked out of Horbury right now. I'm really excited for Sister Luna though, she got called to train! Best thing ever! It just means that she will spend about half of her mission in the smallest area in the entire UK, probably all of Europe! But it's a great area, so no big deal. The lovely people and amazing ward make up for the lack of size!
Okay, so I mentioned a few things and I'm going to guess you'll all be really annoyed if I just leave things at that 😆 L. Love her, I'm going to miss her and M. She is doing so amazing! Like I said, she almost got baptised last week, but because of things coming up with her little girls health, it wasn't able to happen. But I'm sure soon enough, she will be!
A and L, yeah, they have been under a lot of pressure with everything, learning about a new church, the idea of getting married, health issues, and remodelling their home. It has been a bit crazy. So we have had to give them a bit of space. But in just the past few days though, things have been going better! We have finally been able to be in their home again, they came to some of church again, they just seem happier, and they still want to be baptised someday! So that's awesome.
E.... yeah. That's been fun. We will see how long he will continue to be taught. Doesn't seem too willing to do much.
And yeah, no is week, but last week, we had a zone conference with our zone, Huddersfield, Hull, and Sheffield, the zone I will be in starting tomorrow! It was a really nice meeting. Got to sing at it, we sang Let Zion In Her Beauty Rise. It's funny, Sister Wood was out in charge of pulling together the musical Item, she didn't want to sing, but she wanted us to sing her favourite hymn. I'm going to miss her. 😉 We had a testimony meeting where anyone could get up to bear their testimony. I didn't, but I really enjoyed those who did! The spirit was very strong in that room, it was amazing.
It was actually last Monday to Tuesday we went on exchange. It was really nice to go with Sister Esch. She is so nice! It was a bit sad because she had done something to her ankle, and my back was hurting again (I think from when I hurt it a few months ago, but now it is fine again!) so we were kind of hobbling about, looking like a sorry sight. But it was still fun!
Oh, almost forgot, we also had a stake conference this past week, and that was really lovely as well. Got a lift with one of my favourite member families in Horbury, the Hunts. I love their little boy Terry, he is so funny. It was a broadcast and the main theme had a lot to do with being spiritually self reliant, which is one of the points of the Area Plan. There was a talk about finding joy in the gospel, someone else talked about knowing what you believe, it was really lovely.
That's about all folks! Next time you hear from me, I can tell you all about Donny (apparently people call Doncaster that) and my new companion, Sister Ashcroft! I have actually met her a few times, and she seems really lovely! So on to a new adventure! Love you all! Hope you guys have a good week!
Sister Barret
Okay, so I mentioned a few things and I'm going to guess you'll all be really annoyed if I just leave things at that 😆 L. Love her, I'm going to miss her and M. She is doing so amazing! Like I said, she almost got baptised last week, but because of things coming up with her little girls health, it wasn't able to happen. But I'm sure soon enough, she will be!
A and L, yeah, they have been under a lot of pressure with everything, learning about a new church, the idea of getting married, health issues, and remodelling their home. It has been a bit crazy. So we have had to give them a bit of space. But in just the past few days though, things have been going better! We have finally been able to be in their home again, they came to some of church again, they just seem happier, and they still want to be baptised someday! So that's awesome.
E.... yeah. That's been fun. We will see how long he will continue to be taught. Doesn't seem too willing to do much.
And yeah, no is week, but last week, we had a zone conference with our zone, Huddersfield, Hull, and Sheffield, the zone I will be in starting tomorrow! It was a really nice meeting. Got to sing at it, we sang Let Zion In Her Beauty Rise. It's funny, Sister Wood was out in charge of pulling together the musical Item, she didn't want to sing, but she wanted us to sing her favourite hymn. I'm going to miss her. 😉 We had a testimony meeting where anyone could get up to bear their testimony. I didn't, but I really enjoyed those who did! The spirit was very strong in that room, it was amazing.
It was actually last Monday to Tuesday we went on exchange. It was really nice to go with Sister Esch. She is so nice! It was a bit sad because she had done something to her ankle, and my back was hurting again (I think from when I hurt it a few months ago, but now it is fine again!) so we were kind of hobbling about, looking like a sorry sight. But it was still fun!
Oh, almost forgot, we also had a stake conference this past week, and that was really lovely as well. Got a lift with one of my favourite member families in Horbury, the Hunts. I love their little boy Terry, he is so funny. It was a broadcast and the main theme had a lot to do with being spiritually self reliant, which is one of the points of the Area Plan. There was a talk about finding joy in the gospel, someone else talked about knowing what you believe, it was really lovely.
That's about all folks! Next time you hear from me, I can tell you all about Donny (apparently people call Doncaster that) and my new companion, Sister Ashcroft! I have actually met her a few times, and she seems really lovely! So on to a new adventure! Love you all! Hope you guys have a good week!
Sister Barret
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