Week 18 in Wigan

HAPPY NEW YEARS EVE FRIENDS AND FAMILY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Well this week was uber exciting!!! Here are the highlights.... So we had a street display in Wigan and even though Christmas is done we still had quite a few light the world cards. I wanted to just get them out of the flat so bad. So I grabbed a ton of them and I was determined to give them out to everyone!!! So, some elders from Liverpool came down and did a street display with us. I was on a roll! It was so funny because I noticed if I walked up to a group of people and one of them said no, they all said not. But if one of them said yes, they would all take one. There were these 2 men that I saw out of the corner of my eye. I walked up to them and said hi!! Once they looked at me I could tell they were REALLY drunk, you could really smell it. One of them looked at me and was just like,"I'm doing GREAT!! You look like you need a cuddle!" I was like,"No, I am fine!" I start backing away, I look at the elders and you can see the panic in their faces. Then he hugs me and I'm trying to much him off me! One of the elders like shouted,"I want a cuddle!" So he gets off of him and hugs him instead haha! 

Then, this Sunday we had a tea appointment that evening and he told us that we were getting a roast dinner. We were so excited! After sacrament meeting we were talking with some members and they were telling us how they really wanted over for tea! We told them We had one at 6 pm and they said,"well we can have you over at 3 so you can eat something before hand, we are having fajitas". I love fajitas and we couldn't resist so we said yes. We go over to their house and they give us the fajitas filling.... over a MOUNTAIN of rice!!! I have never eaten so much rice in my entire life! I looked at it and I was like okay, I'm pretty hungry and I can usually eat a lot anyways, I'll just eat it really fast so my stomach can't comprehend how much i have eaten. I ate it!! Then we went to our other tea appointment. We were not hungry whatsoever!!! Then we ha we roast dinner and it was also humongous! It was like double the amount of a normal roast dinner. But I survived and that's what matters. I have lived to tell the tale! 

Also, I have one more chapter of the book of Mormon before I finish!!!!! This challenge was seriously the best!! Focusing on the Saviour throughout the book of Mormon really just made me realize how much the book of Mormon testifies of Him. I was reading in Moroni 7 and in a couple verses he mentioned "my beloved brethren". I than stopped for a few seconds and thought, at this point Moroni doesn't have any brethren. He is just talking directly at us! It just made it a lot more personal. Of course the entire book of Mormon is directed at us but this book is the only one where a man is pleading for us to have charity while his family and people have been killed off and he is the only one left. It just made it so much more real. 

Well I love you all and hope you have an amazing New Years!!

Sister Sever

Week 17 in Wigan

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!! 

I hope everyone has had a lovely holiday! Ours was definitely one to remember! You know, we don’t proselyte for Christmas but these past few days have been just as busy if not even busier than our normal days! We have been fed a lot and quite well. We are currently at some members house, The Grants. They are just a proper family. They have all of the family over and they gave us some presents, the most exciting being Reeses peanut butter! 

Also, Christmas Eve we had district Council in the morning and afterwards we all pitched in to get dominoes. Then, we had a tea appointment later so I could skype home. They weren’t feeling too well to cook so they decided to get something to eat.... DOMINOES!!! Yup, my favourite haha. 

Then Christmas Day, Lucy and Barry had us over for a full English breakfast! Super good. They also got us presents. They are slipper boots! They are the softest things I have ever felt! Then, some members, the Doriches had us over for tea. They gave us some chicken, and this German potato ball. The way I will describe it will make it sound gross but it was actually quite good! It’s kind of sticky and tastes like dough but you put gravy over it to add flavour. It’s called kartoffelclausse... I think... Then we went to our bishops house for Sister Dunlavy to skype home and then went to their parents house for the rest of Christmas!!!! 

We also had a lesson with a couple named Hollie and Michael. They are a very nice Christian family. Her husband happened to be a pastor, no big deal. I was actually super nervous coming to this appointment just because I knew that they weren’t too interested. But, during the lesson I was surprisingly very calm. I wasn’t nervous at all. That morning I studied in Preach My Gospel in the role of the Book of Mormon and it talked about how the Book of Mormon is the keystone of our church. Of course the bible is the word of God and we need its teachings just as much as the Book of Mormon, but if people prove the Book of Mormon isn’t true then Joseph Smith is not a prophet and our church crumbles. There was a specific quote in it that stood out to me the most, it said that without the Book of Mormon and revelation, our church doesn’t exist. I noticed how in the lesson they kept on trying to disprove and attack the Book of Mormon saying there is no way it is the word of God. They kept on referring us to quotes of somebody who left the church or anti-church facts. I asked them to ask God if it was true as I have and they did not want to. But I just kept on thinking, throughout the lesson even though it was obvious that they had done some research but they couldn’t say anything against my testimony. If I hadn’t asked God if the Book of Mormon is true or if I hadn’t read from it and constantly continuing to water the seed, I would not have held up how I did when defending what I knew to be true! The same goes for Sister Dunlavy, she is so amazing and her testimony so bright. But I do know the Book of Mormon is true and that it is the word of a God. I know this because I have asked with faith in Christ, trusting in whatever answer he would give me. I love this gospel, the more I learn the more I know it is true and will lead me to true and eternal happiness. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. 

I love you all and hope you had an amazing holiday! 

Sister Sever

1. We had canned soup one night and we thought it would be better of we made it look aesthetic haha

2 And 3. Lucy and Barry

3. Us at the grants getting our presents

Week 16 in Wigan

(mom note:  below is all I received from Sidney this week...but her word is true...there are actually LOTS of pictures)

Sorry mom, this is gonna be a lame email. I had a lot more written out but the gmail is doing something really weird. It literally deleted most of everything:( I think 10:30 your time would be the best:) I did have a weekly letter written out but it looks like it was deleted... So I'm just going to send the pictures since I don't have time to write it. But, I promise to send you 2 next time!!  Also, p-day is switched this next week. Boxing day is our p-day(the day after Christmas).

Here's Lucy,Barry and their daughter Hallie

week 15 in Wigan

..................

Hello family and friends!!!

This week will be a bit shorter because I am struggling to remember
what happened. But, we definitely had some miracles!!! So, Lucy and
her husband(excommunicated bishop) were supposed to come to church
this week but one of their kids got a virus and started throwing up
when they were getting ready to leave:( Sad day, but it didn’t stop
them from inviting us over later that evening while she was asleep so
we could have a lesson with them! They are seriously amazing! Lucy
genuinely wants to know and Barry still believes in the church and
wants to come back. He knows that he is not living gospel standards
and wants to change. Something he said was that some people will leave
the church and deny they had the spiritual experiences that they did.
But he said that even when he was excommunicated he always believed it
to be true and by telling himself that he didn’t have those
experiences he would be lying to himself so what’s the point in that!
He also explains things so well and is even asking us questions during
our lessons! Lucy is the cutest! She wants to take a trip to the
temple with us and go to a fireside. She really wants to go to church
events! And Christmas time is perfect because there are so many!

Well, I love Christmas on the mission! It’s not even Christmas and I
already love it! But this time of year just feels so special. Whenever
we go to members houses we just focus on Christ and what a blessing he
is in our lives. We watched the Christmas broadcast this week and it
was amazing! The tabernacle did an amazing job! I loved President
Nelson’s talk. If we turn to the Saviour he will help us and we will
receive the gifts he does offer us and blessings without measure! He
loves us so much! “His infinite and perfect love moved Him to atone
for you and me. That gift -His atonement- allows all His other gifts
to become ours.”

Well, I love you all and hope you have an amazing week!

Sister Sever

(mom note:  here's a fun excerpt from my personal email...it's always interesting to hear of various takes on Sidney's life in England.
"Something weird about England.
They do not have salted or buttered popcorn.... it’s literally
nonexistent here! You cannot find it! At movie theatres they give you
sweet popcorn. Nobody pops it either! No one! Everyone buys it already
popped! I mentioned it to someone and they looked at me like I was
crazy! ")

Week 14 in Wigan

15 And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one SOUL unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father! 

 Have you guessed it? ... SOUL IS DATED FOR BAPTISM!!!

Yup it was a miracle! To be honest, we were so afraid that he wasn’t keeping commitments so what happened was... we went in for a word of wisdom lesson, he was already taught it before but we decided to teach it again because we were pretty sure if not positive he wasn’t keeping it. So, we started talking and he told us that he was a huge smoker... 5 months ago. Apparently, when the sisters taught him that smoking was wrong he didn’t stop straight away. He went to church that Sunday and before he went in he had a smoke. When he was inside the building, he just felt this overwhelming feeling that it was wrong and he has stopped ever since. He said he still drinks occasionally but we were just like that is a huge step forward!! And so now he is dated for January 19! Super exciting!

Then we had this trend going on this week with people telling us to read and open our hearts to the bible... We kept on telling them that we have the bible and read it frequently haha. But I think they thought that our bible was the Book of Mormon. But there was one man who we talked to that was a tad bit drunk. He came up to us and was just like,”Why do you believe in a God?” And we told him haha. He was lightly bashing us, not too much but by the end of the conversation he really wanted to learn more! We gave him a Book of Mormon and he wants to meet with us again!

We had zone conference this week and the mission presidents wife focused a lot on giving our will to the Father. They gave us this talk called,”Swallowed Up in the Will of the Father”. It’s super good! Totally recommend. But at the end she challenged all of us to find something to “put on the altar”so that we can become better. It just made me think of Soul and all other that I have taught and seen become members of the church. Some of them give up so much to become members but the change that I see makes them become so much better because they are coming unto Christ. I’m so truly blessed to be a missionary at this time. It seriously is the best. I know that this church is true without a shadow of a doubt and I know that if we do continually change throughout our lives to become more like Christ, we will be truly happy😊 I love you all and hope you have an amazing week!

Sister Sever

Week 13 in Wigan

Hello friends and family!!! And HAPPY THANKSGIVING🦃🦃

This week was amazing!!!! It was chock full of miracles!!! First of

all, Sister Dunlavy is amazing and I love her so much!!

We didn’t get to celebrate thanksgiving that much but we did have a

tea appointment then where a member gave us delicious Chinese food!!

Then, I learned something really important. Probably the most

significant thing I have learned on my mission. Apparently, golfing is

dangerous😂 The member told us he has the record of the most injuries

on the golf course. There’s one course he calls hand break corner

where he fell 2 feet and broke his hand. When he went to the hospital,

the doctor asked him how tall the building was he fell off of because

the hand was completely shattered. After they did the x-ray, they put

it up in the break room where the other employees played guess the

body part and apparently nobody got it right! Then there is another

course he calls heart attack hill!! Apparently, it’s a really steep

hill where he actually had a heart attack and a false alarm of one!

So, that’s what I have learned this week! Haha.

Then, we had a lesson with good ol' Soul! He is praying and really

wants his friends to come to church. He said he will bribe 15-20 of

them and then lock them in the chapel so they will feel the spirit and

be converted. He then said they will have champagne later... we told

him that probably wouldn’t be best to end Sunday with haha.

Then, A MIRACLE!!! Yup they do have them. The church is true! So

Sister Terry(shout out) had an a amazing idea to message everyone in

our WhatsApp to see if anyone was interested! So, a girl named Lucy

responded and said she enjoyed our message from the church and talked

about the word of wisdom and so we assumed that she was probably

taught by the missionaries.... WRONGO! We got there and her husband

opened the door. So her husband was a bishop and was a member of the

church a few years ago. Now he wants to come back and be rebaptised.

But it was the best lesson and he was an amazing fellow shipper. He

encouraged her to meet with the missionaries and said that he will

come to church next week with the kids. Lucy has a doctors appointment

and said she would meet with us in the evening though. There can be

miracles! When you believe!

But yeah, this week in my personal study I have been studying in

Mosiah and one chapter it was talking about how God and Heavenly

Father are one. And I was just thinking,”No wonder religions believe

in the trinity because if I didn’t know they were separate this would

be really confusing.” With the focus of Jesus Christ in my Book of

Mormon reading, I have become really confused with if they are

speaking about Heavenly Father or Jesus Christ. But, it truly

testifies that Jesus Christ is our prime example. He came down on this

Earth not to do his own will, but of the will of the His Father that

sent him. He came here for no selfish desire but for us and Heavenly

Father. He gave us his gospel, established the true church, and died

for our sins for us. Because of Him there is hope for us! With Light

the World just around the corner. It is a perfect time to thank Him by

serving others. As we learn from King Benjamin, when we are in the

service of our fellow beings we are only in the service of our God. I

know that Jesus Christ lives and that he is my Saviour. I love this

gospel so much!

I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week!

Sister Sever

Pictures below...my new companion, Sister Dunlavy!!!  (and a pretty path...there are lots of those, haha)

Week 12 in Wigan

Hello friends and family! 

Transfers are here!!! I am staying in Wigan but Sister Terry is leaving😭 I am a bit heartbroken. I love her to bits but I’m getting another American companion named Sister Dunlavy!! She is pretty great so I’m excited to serve with her.

This week has been pretty eventful!  We had a great lesson with Charlotte and talked with her about the word of wisdom. She told us of an amazing experience she had where she went to a bar for a karaoke competition. She had a few drinks, she said she definitely didnt drink a lot but she got quite upset with her fiancé and her brother for drinking and smoking but she can’t remember it at all! This scared her quite a bit so she said she is officially quitting drinking! Her fiancé also quit at least til Christmas!

We had a miracle lesson with Katie. We haven’t been able to teach her for a while but we finally found time to teach her the plan of salvation. We had a really good discussion about the premortal life where we talked about how the gospel may seem familiar to us because we already knew it before! She then said how whenever we teach her something new, she feels like she has known it before. Pretty incredible!

Then one day, we had a few lessons that were arranged and were excited for! But then they ALL fell through... but there were amazing fruits instead!!  The Lord truly does have a plan for us. We decided to try to stop by another friend in the area and he accepted a Book of Mormon and told us we could come back! His name is Jason! Then we had a fellowshipper for one of the lessons. He is a returning member who served a mission not too long ago. So we told him the lesson fell through and then he said, “well you can teach me!” So we met up with him in the town center and he gave us a ton of referrals to go by! 

I have been hearing about those California fires!! I’ve heard they were really bad! A friend we are teaching, Soul, was really concerned about my family! But I assured him that if anything was close to you that the mission would notify me immediately. But, Soul told me to tell you that you are in his prayers. So more people in England are praying for you besides me haha. But those fires do sound terrible. You can definitely take some of England’s rain. They have plenty! 

So...we have plans for thanksgiving! So one member who feeds us asks us what country we want him to make and then he makes dishes from there. So he signed up for this Thursday and so we asked him if he could make us American food! But then he was like, American, I don’t much like American is there ANYTHING else you want.... so we are having Chinese food for thanksgiving haha! But he is an amazing cook so I’m super excited! 

Christmas time is coming!!!! It’s the most wonderful time of the year!!! I am so excited for this Christmas season! Since Sister Terry was leaving, a member gave us our Christmas presents earlier so my new companion wouldn’t feel left out. So now I’m super pumped for Christmas and I can’t wait to see the miracles in store! 

Then I also was reading in the Book of Mormon this week in Isaiah. I started in the middle of the Book of Mormon for president nelson’s challenge. I decided this time when I read them I do want to look in the bible and use both to try and understand. It totally works! I understood the Isaiah chapters more than I have in my entire life! The footnotes in the bible made it so much easier to understand! It truly testified to me how the Book of Mormon and the bible support one another and we need both for our salvation. I definitely know these books are true. Whenever I read them, my testimony of them grows stronger. I can feel just how much God loves us by giving us these books to truly help us in this life to come closer to Christ. 

Well I hope you all have a good week!

Sister Sever

Below are

1. Sister Terry and I we were matching haha

2. Debora and us

3. Deboras baby she is the cutest

4.Sister Terry and I in Manchester after my doctors appointment, President and sister McReynolds came and it was their date night haha

5. A rainbow!!!

Week 11 in Wigan

Hello friends and family!!! 

Today was a very special week!!! It was November 11 and it signifies 100 years since WW1 ended!!! Pretty incredible stuff! So it is a HUGE thing here. The poppy flower signifies peace and supports soldiers and veterans and so everyone wears one. The churches help sell them in poppy appeal stall and the profits go to the British legion which helps all the families of those who have died in conflict and the veterans who have returned home. This Sunday was the exact day of when it ended and the church did something really special where there was only an hour of church at 1. And at 11 am we all went to a cenotaph(a war memorial) and spent 2 minutes of silence, remembering those who have fought for us! There were actually tons of people there!!!! It was really special. It was kind of weird though because it was really cloudy and rainy before the minutes of silence and then 5 minutes after it had cleared up and it was sunny!! 

We had interviews with President McReynolds this week which is always fun!! Then we had a lesson with Debora!!! She is the sweetest!! We talked to her about callings and ministering assignments. Then also her records are in!!!! So hopefully we can go to the temple with her soon!!!!! She is also super excited to minister!!! She is just amazing. She said that the church and its members have helped her so much and she wants to help those in the church as well. 

We also met with Charlotte and Yvette this week!! Charlotte is getting married on May 31!!!! Now she is thinking of getting baptised soon after and her mom wants to get baptised sooner than that. Yvette wants to get baptised while her son is home so it should be pretty soon. 

Then Katie, the miracle referral, came to church!!! Apparently there is a hole in her ceiling and so that's why she couldn't meet with us this past week.... so solid excuse. But we are meeting with her this week on Wednesday!!! She is still reading the book of Mormon and she is still amazing. 

So this week I have been thinking a lot about all the wars and tribulations that we do have in this life. I love how British people have taken the poppy as  a sign of peace. The story behind it is that there was a war in France in this place called Flanders fields and it was basically a massacre. Many people died in this field and for years nothing grew on it. Until a few tears later and it was filled with poppies. Now, English people take it as a sign of peace. I can't help but think through everything we do go through in life, our church takes Christ as that symbol of peace. The talks this Sunday all talked about how all those men who fought in those wars sacrificed their lives for their country but how Christ sacrificed his life for everyone. He made the ultimate sacrifice for all of us so that we can be happy not only in this life but in the life to come. I am just so grateful for that sacrifice and I definitely have seen how that sacrifice has changed lives including my own. 

Well, I love you all!!!!

Sister Sever

Week 10 in Wigan

Hello family and friends!!!

This week was great!!!! We met with our friend Charlotte and she asked us to dedicate her home. So her home is now dedicated and she says she feels better! So that is great! She still wants to be baptised and her fiancé and her have a marriage date!!! She said it is somewhere after Christmas. She hasn’t told her mom yet so she didn’t feel comfortable telling it to us which is reasonable. But she said it’s not too soon but not too far. 

Also, Debora got to speak at a fireside!!! She was amazing.  I almost cried. She just has been through so much and the gospel has changed her significantly. She lived in a very tribal part of Namibia where her parents weren’t Christian but believed in holy fire that they talked to and they could talk to their forefathers. So she wasn’t allowed to go to church but she believed in God. But now she is in England and met with Missionaries! 

Also, an answer to prayers is real!!! So we were supposed to help a member with a poppy apple stall in the Wigan market but Sister Terry got really sick. So we had to cancel:( But the member was very overwhelmed and prayed that the Lord could give her help. She started talking to a returning member named Sonya and she helped her! Not just for that day, but for the rest of the week!!! Sonya wants to come to church again and this Sunday she did! She not only came to church but she brought a nonmember friend named Shane! He wants to come to church as well and he wants to change his life!

Last but not least.... I finished the Book of Mormon this week!!! Seriously this book has so much power. President McReynolds spoke at the fireside where Debora bore her testimony and he said that the most incredible thing about the Book of Mormon is not its miraculous translation, but the spirit of the word of God inside it. Whenever I read it, my testimony grows and it really gives me the motivation to do the work I do. 

I love you all!!! 

Sister Sever

mom note:  I asked her about how Halloween was celebrated in England, and if anyone was aware that it was also her birthday...this was her reply:)

Uuummmmm a few members knew. The relief society president found out and invited us over for lunch and gave me a cake and some flowers haha. I think she posted it on Facebook somewhere so I will find pictures and send them. Then the best thing in the world happened!!! Our baptism!!! Mohammad was baptised and confirmed this week. Baptism on my birthday! It was seriously such a spiritual baptism. After so long, he is finally a member of the church on record! He seriously has the strongest testimony ever. British Halloween is kinda... lame. Well it is getting bigger haha. Not many people go out trick or treating. Then there is a tradition the day before called mischief day where chaps walk around with eggs and flour and then throw them at people. Nothing happened to us but we were warned about it. 

Picture below:  We went to a returning members home and her dog just sat on us haha