Week 7 in Rossendale

Yup that's right, my first new convert and she is so solid!!! It was pretty hard for her this week though, seeing as she couldn't get the holy ghost because church was cancelled. Oh! And church was cancelled because it was snowing haha! I forgot to mention that sorry😅 But she really was a trooper. Becca is a wife with 4 kids but they are all very young and only one is baptizing age. Her kids love us! Mostly because we are from America and are positive that every American knows a wrestler personally. I gave one of them a few American coins because they were trying to name them and he said he would keep them forever❤❤ Becca told us he even slept with them in his wallet the night before! Becca's husband was brought up atheist and has never really gong to a church. He was really confused about our church especially since friends at work kept on telling him things about us (like not celebrating Christmas or sister wives). We came over last Saturday to answer questions and got to know him and his family a bit more and by the end of it her husband loved talking to us and even invited us over again! He later told his wife that he was drawn to us. And guess what his name is..... his first name is Michael.... and his last name is Jackson!!!!! 

So the elders also have this investigator named Michelle that we absolutely love! She loves us too. For Easter she gave us Easter eggs and a necklace to remember her by. She also really wants us to come over to her house for tea. She is already talking about being baptized but she must needs to get married first to her boyfriend. He is a less active that wants to be in the church again and even wants her to be baptized. I will take a picture of them when I am over at their house later this week. They have 4 little pugs!!!😂🐶🐶🐶🐶 But they run around so much it seems like 8. 

So.... I lost my bus pass on the... bus. Which isn't good since they are UBER expensive. So we went to this really dodgy bus station probably 30 minutes from our flat and it was this big building with a ton of windows. And right as we were walking up I could see people were staring at us through the window and at first I was thinking it was cause we were missionaries. But it was only because we were walking to the staff only entrance of the building... We found the right entrance and this lady greeted us by it and just laughed at us because she saw the entire thing. So that is my awkward experience. 

So with general conference coming up I have been studying all the talks in the past October general conference. I decided this week to make sure to look back at Russell M. Nelson`s talk from it and do what he tells us. He really focuses on the Book of Mormon and even Thomas S. Monson did in his last talk a year ago. So I have made it a part of my personal study to read a couple chapters before I study anything else. It really has shown me that the more I read the Book of Mormon and strive to understand it, the more I know this church is true. It really teaches you do much of your potential and the values we should have here on earth. In the talk President Nelson said, "Whenever I hear anyone, including myself, say, “I know the Book of Mormon is true,” I want to exclaim, “That’s nice, but it is not enough!” We need to feel, deep in “the inmost part” of our hearts, that the Book of Mormon is unequivocally the word of God. We must feel it so deeply that we would never want to live even one day without it." 

Even though I know I haven't gone to those extremes yet, I  know that every dongle day I am striving to feel the exact way that he has said. And really that is what this gospel is all about. As long as you are trying, things will fall unto place, no matter how unbalanced the world is, you can always find stability in the gospel. I know this to be true more than anything else. 

Wow you can definitely tell I had more time today haha! Ok also half of my pictures did not send last time for some weird reason. Also, my district leader who caught the sheep in the lake district has left and Elder Brendanburg from the Netherlands is the new one. But I am probably going to stay in Rossendale these next 2 transfers since I doubt president would whitewash us out AGAIN. 

This week was exhausting! It wasn't even because of Becca and all that jazz but we have been getting really close with less actives of the church. I have been noticing that literally all of the less actives we have been visiting haven`t lost their faith but are just not going because of personal reasons I could not even imagine. Like we have been getting especially close to these 2 sisters and another girl who was a recent convert of like a year ago who say they never lost faith but it is not growing due to loss of motivation for another person's choices. I really wonder if it might be the same every where else as well. We are trying to reactivate the 2 sisters and her family and to be honest it is working. I don't know if I said this in my past emails but they are the less actives who hasn't gone to church in 6 months and hadn't invited missionaries in 3 years. But the one time they went to church after 6 months was when it was sister Limb's and I' s first week and we were sharing our testimonies with the ward. They instantly felt connected to us and asked us over for that week. Since then they have come to church 4 times in the last 2 months which is apparently record breaking and the sisters want to go out teaching with us. We are going to Burnley with us today as well. 

I just want to say that no matter how hard things get,  never lose that spirit or motivation for the gospel. Because I see it with all the less actives that it is very hard to get back once lost. And it is so hard on people as well.  Even though trials may be hard, they will be even worse without the help of the atonement. 

So the first 3 pictures are of my district on our last P-day before transfers last week. There is also Sebastian and Rachelle there as well, who are recent converts. They are so nice and Sebastian hangs out a lot with the missionaries since he wants to go on a mission when he is older. 

Pictures:  1.  This one is just cause I thought where I was at the time was SO pretty and I just felt like taking a picture.  2. We went to this chocolate festival and went to a cave where they served super cheap soup with legit homemade bread that was delicious. Also if you notice my drink is this elderberry thing with actual mint in it. it was so good.  3. Sister Limber decided my scarf can double as a turban

Love you all!!!!!

Week 6 in Rossendale

This week was pretty amazing. This is mostly due to BECCA BEING BAPTISED!!!!! It was so great! And so many people were there. It was probably the most people I have seen for a baptism... ever. The members were really supportive and Becca gave her testimony. For somebody who has never given her testimony before, it was pretty incredible. She just talked about how she came to know the church was true. We invited her to the next fireside for new converts because we heard it was in Manchester. 

Thing is the baptism was never finished because church was cancelled this week! Our mission president was going to come to Rossendale for church too! I was actually going to say a talk yesterday! Haha. But we came to the church anyways to help clean up after the baptism and a relief society activity since they couldn't yesterday. And right when we came a family who just moved to Bacup from Chorley came for the sacrament that was cancelled and the elders were helping them get to the chapel. We ended up calling the Bishop and asking if we could take the sacrament with this family. They had me say my talk too haha! So I guess I didn't fully get away from that. And this family was so nice as well! They couldn't understand why church could ever be be cancelled and insisted they had to have a service at least with the missionaries even though they wished they could meet everyone else.

So Sister Limb has told me that we usually face hardship as our investigator is baptized and I just want to say that I believe this is true. You do not want to know how much food that has been burned and also I left my bus pass on the bus... And since Becca is not being confirmed til next week, it will just be another week of more troubles. But she is going to be confirmed. She is so excited to be and was disappointed that she wasn't able to yesterday.

I also have two new investigators that I'm pretty excited about named Rick and Joanne. We met then on the bus and Joanne is so excited to have us over she said she would make us cake! They don't have a specific church they go to but they have gone to a couple different churches so aren't completely closed off to the idea. 

Week 5 in Rossendale

Hello everyone! 

So this week I had a lot of things happen! It was definitely a roller coaster but I did have many miracles happen. One of which was Becca`s baptismal interview! Which she passed with flying colors. She also baked us a Victorian cake which was absolutely delicious. She is also bringing her kids and husband to the baptism as well. 

I also took a stop in Chorley as I had exchanges with my STL`s. I had a chance to go to Preston in order to take pictures by some telephone boxes! Super British! I also went I side the temple. It may or may not have been because I had to go to the bathroom and the chapel was completely locked but it was still nice. 

Today I also went to the lake district. We stopped by the Lowther castle. Which, coincidentally, we went with sister Lowther. Which her ancestors did own at one point. It was huge! And beautiful! It looks like a Disney castle. And then we went to airo force. Which is a waterfall. And they were tree stumps just full of coins. I put in an American quarter to make people confused. At the bottom of the falls, the water is so pure you could drink it! Which I did. And to be honest it tasted way better than normal water. And it was so clear!

One of the elders literally caught a sheep in order to take a picture of it. It was amazing. And in Kendall, we went to a cave which had the best acoustics I have ever heard. We sang in there and it sounded amazing. And there inside a pub, the bathrooms were built around a hill. I can't describe it very well but you can see in the picture. We also visited a manor that looked like Elizabeth Bennet`s house. 

Anyways I love you all and so sorry this was short. I didn't have as much time today:(

Sister Sever

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Week 4 in Rossendale

Hey!

So this week was freezing!!! Apparently it's the coldest it has been since 1991. Oh and it was windy too! Today is fine but it just got back to 40 degree weather and it's not windy.... wind is the worst. And I slipped.... a lot. I will be forever bruised.

But I think finding is the best when the weather is bad. Everything is for a reason and, probably a couple days ago, we were door knocking near the chapel and nobody was answering. Probably 30 minutes in, the only person who really talked to us was a man who literally only talked to us because he used to be Jehovah's witness and knew how hard it could be... But then we came to a house where a man told us to come back the next day and that was Paul. We came back and I know he probably was only listening to us because he didn't expect us to come back in this weather, but lo and behold! We taught him the Plan of Salvation and after we bore our testimonies you could tell he felt the spirit. He invited us over again for Thursday! He is so nice as well! I have a good feeling about this one haha. So even in storms you can find miracles, moral of the story.

Also, you'll be glad to know, I almost lost my wallet. Yup! Yesterday I literally just left my wallet on the bus and I did not even realize it was gone until our phone rang. Apparently I wrote our number on the bus pass... I don't remember putting it there but I'm grateful it was. A nice man found it and drove to the nearest bus station to us. So there are nice people even in cold, wet England. 

Also I made a snow man! Sorry... snow woman on my balcony. I'm putting a picture on here. She died not too long ago since the snow has all but melted but it was fun while it lasted. 

Also our investigator, Becca, is still planning on being baptized on the 17th which is amazing. We really aren't doing anything, her faith and especially the members` support has just been astounding. She is so ready. Hopefully I'll have another one dated soon. 

     Most of the pictures are just showing how cold it is, the snow man, and other stuff. I don't even know where half of them came from...

     Anyways stay safe and I love you all!

Sister Sever

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Week 3 in Rossendale

Hello everyone! 

So this week was so busy! We barely had any time for finding at all.  We literally went from appointment to appointment. At the end of the day I'm pretty sure I didn't just go to sleep, I would pass out. 

So I finally met Becca! She is our only investigator right now and she is amazing. She has basically already accepted the gospel. We went to her house just this week and we taught her the plan of salvation. She took to it really well and i invited her to be baptized! It wad so cute. When I asked her, her reply was, "wow I wanna do that! How do I do it!" She is getting baptized on March 17 hopefully. It really was amazing because this past Sunday, somebody from the ward passed away that she knew, and she told us that all she could think about was what we taught her! Oh and I almost forgot that she invited her own member to the lesson! And it was the bishops wife! As I said she is just amazing and so prepared. 

In other news... today I decided to travel around town and see what was in the charity shops. There is a picture down below of a sign that I found that is what British people think true happiness is haha.

I had zone conference this week! I had to wake up at like 4:30 in order to get there on time since it was in Chorley. Which really isn't that far away, but by bus it takes a fair amount of time. I really liked it! I saw one person from my old district in Lehi! It was super fun and it was where I found out that there is in fact a subway in England. Which I was doubtful of because they didn't even have taco bell. I really like President McReynold`s talk on personal revelation and how we can get it by searching, pondering, and then asking the lord for the answer. It's like the scripture that you must first seek my word then will your tongue be loosed...or something or other. 

Anyways I love you all and wish you the best!

Sister Sever

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Week 2 in Rossendale

Hello! 

So this week has been amazing! Our investigator came to church! This was the first time were ever met her and she seems super solid. She had only had one lesson but has been to church 4 times. We are teaching her for the first time this week. We have been tracting a lot and getting to know the area. I absolutely live the scenery. Zone conference is next week so that's exciting! 

We had a baptism this week but it wasn't ours, it was the elders in our area. I was only allowed to go because I played the piano. It was honestly a very good session for the ward. Around 35 people came and there are only 60 people in the ward so it was pretty good. He even invited his teachers and do we talked to them about the baptism. 

I also had the chance to go to the old folks home in lavender hills in Stubbins again. People there are so sweet, I'm pretty sure half of them were asleep but they said we were really good haha. 

Also in the past two weeks week have been visiting a lot of less actives and done of them came our first Sunday. They heard sister limb and I bear our testimonies and invited us over for tea. When we told the elders they told us that they have never invited the missionaries over before. We had tea and they told us that they had to invite us over again and one of the daughters who served a mission in Michigan said if we ever needed to have a member for a lesson to call her up. They showed up for church this Sunday as well. So that was pretty uplifting.

Sister Limb is absolutely great. I love her so much. She is just so patient. I was a bit sick this week and she just was so caring. This transfer do far has not been so hard and especially going in to the mission field has been easier because of her example. England is going well as usual.

Cheers!

Sister Sever

(mom note:  Found this photo below from a post by Sister McReynolds, the mission president's wife)

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Week 1 in Rossendale

Hello! A lot has happened this past week. My companion is Sister Limb and she is from Utah...so close.  I am stationed in Rossendale and we are completely whitewashed...so I'm not the only one that is clueless -my companion is as well. (definition of whitewash in the mission field-- to open a new area, with a brand new companionship to top it off...can be difficult to build new relationships/history)  But this area is gorgeous! The weather is extremely bipolar. It's on a constant cycle of rain, hail, snow, and sunshine. But the people here are super nice. The field is so different from the MTC but its a good difference. We have mostly been meeting with members since we don't know anyone in Rossendale. The elders have been a huge help since even though there is only one ward of 60-70 active members. 

Sister Limb has been incredible. She and I have had so much fun together. She has been very patient, especially since she has had to whitewash and train me at the same time. But I have been learning so much from her and the members. We have investigators but we just haven't met them yet.... they are always either busy or sick. But we have been door knocking quite a bit.  I actually enjoy door knocking.  People are really polite and say at least a no thank you as they close the door- haha. The thing is that my area is so small that everybody has already met with the missionaries or had them knock at their door.  But sometimes they have no problem talking. Like the Jehovah's witnesses are so nice here. They are basically trying to convert us. We exchanged cards with them. 

Even though we haven't necessarily taught any investigators, I love teaching the members. The members are just so friendly and LOVE missionary work. One family literally has a missionary album of past missionaries that have come to their ward and their wedding invitations. It is so nice teaching actual people and just getting to know all the members.

Mom, you asked if I've yet had an opportunity to play piano or sing...YES! haha, right when I arrived to the mission home I had to play the piano and when they sent me to my ward the organist had a stroke so I came just in time. I also have already played and sang for a nursing home (which was the most gorgeous place, if I were to live in a nursing home, I want to go to that one). 

The missionary daily schedule really isn't that bad. I think the worst part is waking up in the morning but I got over it pretty fast. I forgot to mention that British shops are so cool here. They have the best things. And in our flat, which by the way is super nice, there's is one of those pillows that I am obsessed with; that you can move the sequins and on the other side it's a different color. But the boiler in our room is super annoying. We have to reset it almost twice everyday and Sister Limb and I keep on debating who goes first, since the one who goes last has to take a cold shower. 

The bus pass is super expensive but I get reimbursed. The most I spend my money on is chocolate. Remind me before I go home to fill my suitcase with kinder Buenos; they are heaven in a plastic wrapper!  Also, why don't we have kettles?  They are so handy.  Also, go to the store and get couscous...You will like it. It's like rice but better and you can have it with curry. You won't regret it. Anyways, I miss you guys and I will definitely pray for you. I love you and I am doing great. 

Sister sever

(mom note:  Bonus...the mother of Sidney's new companion/trainer made contact with me and shared her daughter's email for the week. So sweet to hear her description of Sidney!! Below is from Sister Limb:

"I was so nervous because I haven’t trained a new missionary before and when I met the new ones I had a feeling when I saw my trainee that it was her before they even announced it. So I am grateful to have her because she has been AMAZING I am so grateful for Gods decisions to give me something better than I could have imagined. Sister Sever is amazing and exactly what I needed. She has been patient with me while I have been figuring out how to train and to whitewash at the same time, but it’s been really good. She is the happiest person I have ever met. The amount of faith she has is amazing and she makes me want to be better everyday. I have tried harder to help her have a good start to her mission. She already has good teaching skills and finding skills, she isnt scared to say hi to people or Tract for a long time. I am so grateful for her and I have so much to learn. We have been laughing so much this week, seriously it’s been a long time since I have laughed this hard. We are good friends already:) i know I needed her influence before I go home in a couple months."

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