Tuesday, July 12, 2016

A Week Down Miracle Street

The Jones & Swasey Show:
https://drive.google.com/a/myldsmail.net/file/d/0B1mGy2Dfge25dG5iRG9wMm40d3M/view

Rough Video:
https://drive.google.com/a/myldsmail.net/file/d/0B1mGy2Dfge25bmRMSFFXRlFFYms/view

**Response to my notifying Syd her dog Cooper survived after being hit by a car**
Dearest mum, 
 My heart hurt to hear about my baby getting hit by a car. I'm so sorry that you had a miserable few days. I would have too if I was there. I am so grateful that he is okay. Gosh, I miss him. I'm sad to hear that his tail is broken. What do they do about that? I hope he gets back to his normal self soon. I cannot believe that daddy was just going to shoot him. Heartless turkey. Of course he made it! He's a champ! :) Thank heavens.. That must have been so hard for you mom. Thank you for taking care of him. I know he loves you so much. I hope that he remembers me when I get home in less than a year! :)
#gonnaliveforever

Sydney Sick  & Singing Video:


Dearest Fam,
 
Hello from blessed Leicester, England! The work is moving forward and we are seeing tender mercies left and right! Our numbers were higher than they have ever been before and it was a blessing to see the fruits of our labors! 
 
The sweet, sweet elderly :)
On Tuesday, we were able to meet with our newest investigator Callum. We met him while teaching his mom in her home and he totally stopped cooking his steak so that he could sit in on the lesson! What? I know.. Golden, right? :) Our first lesson with him was incredible. He asked all the right questions and even some that made Sister Swasey and I think a little bit. He is a clever 24 year old who has a lot of ambition for his life. His biggest goal in life is to have a family and lots of kids! How cool is that? Anywho, he came to church yesterday wearing a white shirt and a red tie, already looking like a member! Sister Swasey explained nearly every ounce she could during Sacrament, just because he kept asking questions about everything. He is very inquisitive and has a desire to become the man that the Lord needs him to be. We are excited to see him again tomorrow and follow up on his Book of Mormon reading! :)

Thank you, Asda, for reminding me where my heart is! I love and miss
you all! Continue living it up in Zion!
Sister Jones and Sister Swasey brushing each others teeth for points:
 
 
     On Wednesday, our district leader's bike got stolen and so we were with them trying to deal with that situation when a guy walked up to us and we started chatting. His name is Kole (pronounced Kolay) and he is originally from Africa. We started talking about what we do and he said "Could I come to your church?" MAN! Of course you can sir! We were so excited! And guess what, he was there yesterday! In his proper African dress too! So cool! He is a teacher and it turns out that one of his students is in our ward. Small world. He, too, asked loads of questions and I was able to give him a run-down of everything in Sacrament. It turns out that he is just outside of our area, but we are excited for him to progress! 

Gelato with the crew
 
       And for the main event of the week, we went to meet with an investigator named Gordon. We took our ward mission leader and his wife with us. Before this, we knew that he had come across some Anti-Mormon stuff and was ready to write us off, but I asked if we could meet with him one last time. So, as soon as we sat down, he began to go off on all types of doctrine and facts that he thought we didn't know about and we sat and listened. Brother Plater piped up and tried to explain the doctrine to him but he would not listen. Needless to say, the Spirit was gone instantly and he started to get very loud and verbally abusive. Pointing at Sister S and I, he said "You know what, I feel sorry for you girls. Your parents have blindsided you into this church and you will never know what the truth actually is....." and so on. At this moment, my chest was heavy and I kind of wanted to throw the table across the room, BUT we didn't participate in any violence :) I sat up on the sofa and took the opportunity to testify to him that I most definitelydo know what the truth is and I know exactly how it has blessed my life. I told him that I was never forced to do anything by my parents, that they simply put the opportunity in front of me and that it was my choice to take it. Following me, Sister S testified as well of the truthfulness of this word and it was a powerful moment for us all. *Proud trainer moment* Whether or not this man felt or understood our testimonies was beside the point. We knew that his mind was not going to be changed. But, we did have the opportunity to testify to him that we knew it was true! 
Having some fun with the Photo Booth! :)

Elder Boogy's birthday bash!

      At Zone Conference this week, I took the opportunity to bear my testimony on this very happening. I said that there will come a time in our lives and definitely on our missions that our testimonies will be challenged. That we will have to choose a side; right or wrong, black or white there is no in between! We have to know, for ourselves, that what we are teaching and testifying of is true! Otherwise, our testimonies will be shaken and Satan will have won the fight. It was an incredible moment for me as a missionary; to see a man so filled with hatred, anger, and false knowledge about this Gospel. As he attempted to show us his Youtube and Wikipedia "proof", I stood up and left the room, Sister S following. Our testimonies were not shaken, but only strengthened by this incident. We couldn't help but feel sad for how hard his heart was. Nevertheless, we learned much!
Biking is great fun!  The sun is Out!

 We have worked incredibly hard this week and have seen so many miracles come to pass. We are looking forward to seeing more this week! We are so excited for all that is to come. We are working with some very promising people that we are learning to love so much! I am grateful to be here in England, sharing the one thing that makes me the happiest! There is no where that I would rather be. 

Have a great week! 

God is good, all the time. And all the time, God is good!

Much love from the EBM

Cheers! 

Xxx,

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