And I would walk 500 hundred miles...

Well hello everyone! It's that time of the week again! Ahh it feels so good to actually use technology.. haha I feel like a real person again :) Well, rather than just ramble about I'll just jump right in!

Weekly Update!

Well this week was a bit slow, and definitely another hard one. But that shouldn't come as a surprise to me anymore because the first few months of the mission are the toughest... so I'll just have to keep calm and carry on! During a particularly frustrating par tof the week I heard the mail slot open and so, desperate for a change of scenery from my study desk, I ran downstairs to check it! A newspaper was pushed through the slot and since we don't read them I tossed it in the pile next to the door. In big, black, bold letters the headline read, "STAY POSITIVE". Ha Ha. Good one. Needless to say, I tried to focus on staying positive for the rest of the day, and cut out the little section of the newspaper to hang on my wall. :) We had a few meetings and trainings this week and so that made the work feel a little slow. But I always love them because I get to see other missionaries and plus President and Sister Preston were at this one!! I just love President haha his humor is the best!! I am learning more and more and feel a little more comfortable with the work. Which probably means that I'm getting more and more weird... oh joy. ha Well, on to the stories then!

Funny Moment

The funny moments help keep me sane on the mission. And often times the funny things aren't even all that funny when they happen because you're usually in complete distress, lost, or just completely confused at the situation. This time though, it has to do with being lost. Sister Nelson and I had just come back from tracting and were waiting at the bus station for the next bus to arrive to take us home for the night. We sit down next to a man named Ben and just start talking about where he is from and where we're from. Naturally, the conversation flowed to what we were doing all the way out here in England and proceeded to talk about the Gospel and the message that we share. We talked for a good 15 minutes before the bus came and found out he was getting on as well. And surprise! He sat next to us and started asking more questions! We ended up passing our stop by far and had a 45 minute conversation about what we believe, all the while the bus taking us farther and farther from home. We finally had to get off at the next town over (Nantwich) and so I handed him a copy of the Book of Mormon which I had written my testimony in and we said goodbye and hopped off the bus.

Great. We're in Nantwich at 20:30 on a Saturday which means limited bus services.

No worries, we'll check the schedule.

Oh, the next bus won't come for 45 minutes you say?

Well we need to be in our flat at 21:00 so that obviously wasn't going to fly.

What do we do as missionaries? We walk! And when we walk, we get lost. haha So Sister Nelson and I start heading back to Crewe. Meanwhile, I've been feeling nauseous the whole day and so I feel like I'm going to throw up and sister Nelson's feet don't even really resemble feet and we're just wandering back the one road we know haha Long story short, we hit a field and both stop to look at each other. "Do you remember this part?" "No, not really. This is the part of the bus ride where I normally zone out". "yeah, me too." We ended up walking what felt like 500 miles. We made it home somehow but, hey! Sleep that night has never felt so good!

Foods and Words!

So this week I had trifle and dumplings!! The English are big into their puddings and yogurts as well as their pastries and breads. So of course they have to have something that combines them all :) And as for dumplings.. I'm still not exactly sure what it is made of, but I ate it and it was good.

This week I had to pull out my brolly! Yepp. It was raining and it was the first time I was actually caught outside in it and so I pulled out my dandy pink brolly. That's what they call umbrellas here! Not a brelly, but a brolly. Interesting. I know haha but I love it!

Miracle Moment!

Oh man. This one is good! So sister Nelson and I were tracting doors and most of the time people aren't home and the other percentage of the time you get a mixture of slammed doors, angry faces, or rarely, there will be someone who just politely listens to what you have to share and then declines. BUT then there are the miracles. We knocked on a door and a young mother with her daughter answered and we shared with them that we were missionaries form the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and we are sharing a message about how God has provided a way for us to be sealed to our families for eternity. We can be with them forever! She was so kind and so sweet and loves anything to do with families and so we gave her our number and she wants to learn more! They're a young couple and they're in the middle of moving but she said to give her a ring in a couple weeks when they're all settled. Oh my goodness! MIRACLE!

Quote of the Week!

"Sometimes we will face things for which there is no earthly explanation. In those moments we need to erect a sign that reads, "Quiet: God at work!" Meanwhile, hold on, child of God. Keep believing. Don't quit. Don't give up. Let God do His work in you. The greatest tragedy is to miss what God wants to teach us through our troubles." Elder Bradley D. Foster

(John 16:33)

I love every one of you!! And I love hearing from you all :) Even the quick emails just to tell me how things are going. Keep moving forward! Be steadfast in your faith. You're in my prayers always <3

Love,

Sister Reed