Shout-outs: To my best friend Mary Bullock, who is actually now Mary WATTS!!! I asked my brother to send me a picture of your wedding and you looked absolutely stunning! SO happy for you and Jeff and can't wait to hear more. ANOTHER shout out to my Jerusalem besties Dre and Tom MEYER! They met in Jerusalem and are absolutely my favorite people to be around. June was a big month in weddings of the people I love and just know you have got a very happy missionary in England wishing you the best!
So my dad requested info about schedule, food, companion, and ward so here ya go Brucey Boy and anyone who reads this.
Schedule: On average since I have been in Bath we are teaching about 13-15 lessons a week. We have such a great companionship ahead of us too so I am feeling really blessed. We wake up at 6:30 and exercise by either running outside or staying inside the flat to do yoga/weights/ "stretch" when we are feeling a little lazy-haha. We get ready and by 8 we have personal study for an hour and then at 9 we have companion study for an hour. After we head out to either go to a lesson or a place to tract {going door to door}, street contact or what not. We really try to find when we teach, and teach when we find to maximize our time. We are in Bath, Radstock, Keynshem, Mid Somer Norton, and so it usually takes 15-45 minutes to get to places on the bus. We walk a lot and I really enjoy it. Beautiful place to be a missionary. We have a lunch hour, extra study hour {for me since I am being trained}, and a dinner hour where we usually have 3 meals at members' houses a week. We come back to plan at 9 and do area book {record people we met and taught} and then go to bed at 10:30. And then we wake up and do it all over again. We are constantly doing something somewhere talking to someone. It is good fun and hard work.
Food: Food is food and I am happy with anything I get. The food is similar to America, but everything is blander. I am salting everything everyday or trying to spice it up in some way. They eat potatoes with everything too. When we go to members to eat, it is often some potatoes, cottage pie, and cooked veggies. I am a happy camper though and thankful for having normal foods. They have a million different kind of cheeses here and I really am enjoying their cheese. Their meat is not the greatest and their attempt at Mexican items are really funny. Their chocolate is BOMB. American chocolate tastes like plastic compared to theirs.
Companion: Sister Barker is a wonderful trainer. We are both learning from each other and that is so important in a companionship. She is fully of energy and enthusiasm and friendliness. I am a little quieter, but am finding it is an effective balance. We are constantly trying to create a balance as we teach and meet people, as we both try to discern through the Spirit what that person needs help with.
Ward: The ward is ZE BEST! They are so solid and strong and I feel like at home in the Bath ward. It is really a family ward and they are so willing to help and go on teaches {appointments} with us. A lot of the members are in the Chippenham area which is in the elders' area, but there are still are wonderful people and families in our area. It really is a blessing that there can be sisters and elders in one ward.
Spiritual: Okay so one of the families I absolutely love reminds me of my sister Melissa's family and we were fortunate to have dinner with them yesterday. She is in this legit fashion school here in Bath where only a few are accepted every year and she just had a fashion show. She was explaining how much the gospel helps her out in designing and creating her pieces and getting her through the intense nature of the fashion industry. Most of the other students are 10 years younger, and are amazed how she has 2 kids and a husband and is able to be one of the top students. She knows it is all because of the Lord and the gospel and I love how she has incorporated her testimony into everything she does including her profession. She is passionate about wanting to incorporate modesty and gospel inspiration into modern and contemporary creativity of being a designer. It is her secret to success. Her virtue contrasts so much to the lack of self worth and negative aspect of the fashion world. She stands out because of her light. As she shared with us her vision and love for the Lord, I felt the spirit so strongly. It made me think how we need to incorporate the gospel into every aspect of our life. The Lord does not just want to hear from you about going to church. He wants to hear and help you when you are surfing, cooking, planning for a birthday party, or working out or ANYTHING. When you let Him into the things you love, you understand how much He has blessed you and it can make you a natural missionary in your natural environment. Many of her teachers and fellow design students recognize the beauty she embodies and I know it will lead to missionary experiences. I invite you to bring the gospel to things you love, and with that mindset missionary work is not as scary and I know missionary work is something you can develop to love and desire.
Funny: So the bus is our buddy. We are always traveling on the bus and I'm getting used to getting off and on quickly. 3 times this week I have completely fallen because of the momentum of the bus stopping or starting. Like literally one time I completely fell on my back and the Book of Mormon and my green apple went flying. The worst part was that Sister Barker was already off the bus and I feared the doors were going to shut and we would be separated! Oh the thought of being separated from your companion-haha. Nonetheless, I have provided some comical entertainment for the bus riders of Bath. So I'm going to work on not being so clumsy this week.
Love you all,
Cheers!
Sister McLeod
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