Be Still and Know That I Am

Spring has sprung! :) It's beautiful here!

Dear family and friends,

      What a cool week. Sister Cebollero and I are totally having a blast here in Coventry. We were probably Premortal companions. She shows up with the same bedspread and Christmas jumper. Holla. We have had loads of bonding experiences in our short week together. And we have laughed A LOT, which has breathed new life into my tired mission bones! We went running 3 days this week and are committed to running nearly every day this transfer! Only 11 weeks to get this body into shape before returning home! Sister Cebs goes home just one transfer after me, so we are in the same boat. :)
      On Tuesday morning, I dropped off Sister Romo at the train station and then it was just me. ALONE. For one whole hour. The longest I had been on my own for 16 months! I got in the car and panicked all the way to the petrol station and back. It was a weird experience that I will really need to get used to understand just a few weeks. I was so grateful to see Sister Cebollero step off the train! Such an odd experience.

The field of dreams...#flowers

      I was so grateful to have watched the first three sessions of
conference this weekend. We haven't been able to watch the final
session because of the time difference, but hopefully we will catch up soon! I loved the reminders to set goals, follow the first prompting, to take time to just be still, and to be BOLD with my testimony. I am so grateful for the inspired men and women who lead and guide us today. It truly was a spiritual feast that will fill me for at least six months! ;) It was so exciting to hear that there will be a new temple built in Pocatello Idaho! I enjoyed hearing the gasps and silent cheers that came from the crowd!! The church is growing for sure!
       Something that I found quite difficult, was to listen to the thick
American accents that came from the pulpit! It was hard for me to
understand a few of the speakers because they had such thick accents. I'm just not used to it! One of Sister Cebollero and I's goals this week is to 'sound less American'. :) Haha I love the plethora of
accents that we hear on a daily basis! We meet people from all over
the world! I got asked this week if I was from Poland or Scotland.
Hahah. I just had to laugh!

 District selfie after finding. Elder Barth looks like Adam Sandler, huh? :)

      Just before district finding this week we stood on a corner and
offered a prayer for guidance and for our mouths to be filled with
God's words. Just as Elder Dodds bowed his head, I saw a man come around the corner and as we passed us said "What's this? A corner prayer?!" I braced myself for a shove or a glass of water to be poured over our heads, but we all kept our heads bowed until the prayer was over. It turned out to be a grumpy man who didn't like people praying. Haha. It's something that I've never experienced on my mission before!

We did have good reason for calling and she totally let us in... #holla

       We are working in our Spanish and are preparing to teach our first lesson in Spanish here soon. We are excited to see some of our most promising investigators begin to progress. We saw both Sandra and Kristina this week who said that they felt like they are getting closer to something, but they don't know what it is. Kristina looked at a picture of President Monson and just said "There's something about him, but I just don't know what it is!" We smiled and explained who he was, but she still didn't catch on. They are both progressing and are seemingly unaware of the change that is happening in their lives. It's amazing to see their hearts literally being changed by the Book of Mormon and through prayer. It's such a blessing to see these changes in them!

Silly air freshener don't even smell...

    

 Premortal comp unity.

        Last night we went to a families home for dinner and during our
spiritual thought the father told us that one of his sons (who was
present) doesn't come to church anymore and asked us to share how he can find Christ in his life. We took a deep breath and tried to
understand his situation. I then bore my testimony about how I had to find out for myself if the Book of Mormon was true and no longer lean on my parents testimony. Sister Cebollero then bore her powerful testimony and we look to the father for approval. With tear-filled eyes he thanked us for coming to their home to share a meal with them, said a prayer, and then departed. The spirit was strong and we were so grateful to have been apart of that special moment. These type of experiences are absolutely irreplaceable!

Weekly planning on the balcony. #welovesunshine

Our "walls of love" are on point.

      We are excited for this coming week. We have MLC and will be getting a mini-missionary on Saturday! We are so excited! We will be inviting everyone that we meet to church this Palm Sunday. It should be GREAT!
      I love this work and the opportunity to share my testimony with the people of Coventry England. What a privilege it is to be with an
incredible companion who teaches me so much. I am grateful for a
modern Prophet who guides us in these latter days. I am thankful to
know that I can take time to just be still and feel the love of my
Saviour and not be overwhelmed with the cares of the world. I know He is there. I know that he loves us more than we can begin to comprehend. I know this to be true.

     All my love from Cov,

                           Sister Sydney Jones

The new pound coin! It has twelve sides and resembles the two pound
coin. So cool!

I got a limited edition Shakespeare two pound coin last week when
we were in Stratford! It has a quote from Hamlet written around the
side.