Heya!
The weather has been awesome this past week. Sunny and
warm. I've even gotten a little tan which is crazy haha. I think it's
the "week of summer" they have here before the year of rain.
Yesterday, Sunday, was amazing! We had 8 people we've been teaching come! After much
persuasion we finally convinced the lady in
her 80's that refused to come to church because she didn't think she had
anything suitable to wear. But she came yesterday and she loved it!
She says she wants to keep coming. This was definitely a miracle, no
question. Also, a man who's in his 30's and was inactive for
many years finally came back to church with his mum a
little while ago, was able to pass the Sacrament for the first time
yesterday! That was really cool to see. The woman I invited to be baptized my first day also came. I
don't think I've told that story yet, but if so, I'll just tell it
again:) She has been a heroine addict for most of her life but her
father is a less-active member and she's been investigating the
church. On my first day we taught her the Gospel of Jesus Christ and
about the need for baptism. Sister Passey set it up perfectly and right
when I said, "Will you follow the example of Jesus Christ and
be--" her father cut in and said, "What's the Church's views on gay
marriage?" It was completely random! We hadn't talked about gay marriage
at all in the lesson! This was proof to me that Satan is very much
aware of what we do on our missions and is trying to stop us in whatever
way we can. Anyway, we finally were able to bring the conversation
back to baptism and I was able to ask her to be baptized. She said
yes (which I wasn't expecting so I kind of just sat there in shock for a
little bit) but then we found out she has to be off the methadone
program she's on to be completely free of any drugs in her system before
she's baptized. That was kind of sad because it will probably be a few
more years before she can be baptized but it's still a miracle how much
she's progressed and that she was able to come to church yesterday.
I know that Satan is real, especially in those kinds of
situations, but I also know that our Heavenly Father is mindful of us
and that we just have to keep trying to do what's right and He won't let
us be tempted or tried above what we can handle.
We had a funny lesson yesterday at church. Elder Smithers, our
district leader, was teaching the Gospel Principles class, which is
mostly for investigators, less-actives, and those that have disabilities
so they learn a little bit slower than others. He was teaching about
the temple and showing pictures of some. He showed a picture of the
baptismal font in the Salt Lake Temple and one of the ladies we've been
teaching asked, "They have real cows in the temple?"
Everyone was laughing and we explained that they were just statues, but
as I thought about it later I realized how strange a lot of the things
are in the temple to someone who hasn't grown up in the church. I think
I take that for granted sometimes.
We had the nastiest food yesterday. We got held up in a lesson and
we didn't have time to go back to the flat to eat dinner so we decided
to go to a corner fish 'n chips shop and get something to eat there.
Sister Birch and Sister Passey ordered a cheeseburger and were expecting
a normal cheeseburger. No. They deep fry everything there! It
was gross. The hamburger was breaded and red inside and dripping with
grease. We all felt so sick that night and resolved to never go there
again. Speaking of food, a member gave us black pudding yesterday
(otherwise known as blood pudding, blood sausage, or black sausage) in a
package to take home and cook. We're kind of scared to but I want
to try some just to say that I have. It really does look pretty dodgy
haha. Everyone thinks it's strange that kebabs are banned in the U.S.
(because of the dodgy meat) but I'm not surprised. They definitely have
different health standards over here. But also, have really good food. For the most part haha.
That's it for this week! I miss you all!
Sister Caryn Jackson
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