So Pumped!

Man I cannot even focus, I am so pumped right now!!!!!! So bear with me if this is letter is scattered in exictement everywhere. I was having a pretty hard evening last night and I was looking forward to reading e-mails and it has uplifted me so much! So thank you all for helping me.

 

Reasons I am Pumped:

 

1. Billie was baptised in Bath on Saturday!!! On President's letter each week it tells you who was baptised and where and so I was dying to see if Billie was and to see her name made me starting crying with joy! But it gets better! I opened my e-mails and saw an e-mail from Billie! She found my blog and haha will read this now too (so hopefully you are appreciating this shoutout), and wow that made me feel so happy. Billie is such an amazing person and has strengthened my testimony and I cannot wait to meet up with her after the mission in London! Love you Billie.

 

2. It gets better. Chris e-mailed me too and bore his testimony and man, he is doing so solid in the gospel! He is teaching me now! Reading those two e-mails made me realise how special it is to meet these two amazing people that I would have had never met unless I was on a mission at this time. The mission is all about the people you meet and special experiences you get to have as you both are strenghtening your understanidng of Jesus Christ and loving one another.

 

3. We are headed to the temple today for a sleepover! WOOT! WOOT! So since we live so far away we get to take a coach with our zone and the Bristol zone to the temple accomadations. We are supposed to get to Plymouth at 4 and are heading from there. I am so exited to go to the temple to learn and feel of the special spirit there.

 

4. On Saturday, I went to my first English wedding. Steve and Terina are the elders' investigators and they are getting baptised at the end of December. How funny is this. Elder Blackner was the best man and Elder Smith was ring boy and then the witnesses to their wedding. It was so fun to go to a wedding, and Terina looked so beautiful and happy. They have two cutest girls too.

 

5. Kieran, who we have been teaching for awhile is progressing and we taught him 3 times this week and is working toward December 28th for baptism. He is this awesome, older English man who is so sincere and thoughtful.

 

6. Maxine and George. After church we went to our ward mission leaders' home for a meal and a lesson with Maxine and George. They came into church 2 weeks ago and George is a member. They were married in April and are so cute together and in love. I love when people hold hands all the time. They are in the elders' area, but requested sisters to teach them and Maxine asked us so many wonderful questions and is exicted to meet with us again on Thursday. I'm so grateful for the member support here. The Maddock's are the ones who invited them and us over for dinner and now we have the opportunity to get to know them and share this beautiful message of the gospel of Jesus Christ!

 

7. I am obsessed with the Mormon Message, the Christmas Spirit. You should attach it to this letter. It is so cute and humble reminds us what Christmas is all about. It is all about the Spirit of Christ and I am trying to remember everyday.

 

8. We went on exchanges this week. I went over to Redruth in Cornwall and got to serve with Sister Moulis who I absolutlely adore. She is from Nice, France. I don't know if that is spelled right but it is pronunced like Neece. She has been out 3 months and we got along so well and I would love to serve with her again. We laughed so much and her English is amazing from just learning it at the MTC.

 

It is so nice to have this time to write all of the wonderful things that happen throughout the week because it helped me see the joy and grander picture. I am not going to lie, there are so many tough moments on the mission especially this week. BUT, I am so grateful to be constantly learning that there is opposition in all things. I want my misison to be hard because I know I will grow and learn the most that way. Sounds crazy, but I know it is true. Regardless of eveything that goes on, I write 5 things I am grateful for each day in my journal and truly know that the Lord remembers us and blesses us in every season of life.

 

Love you all and hope you enjoy that mormon message.

 

Love,

Sister McLeod

 

P.S.: I don't know what I am turning into! I say my o's so funny now. It is not even an English accent. It is like Scottish or Irish or like someone from Minnesota.

 

P.S.S. Way more pics to come, couldn't today because I forgot my camera.  

Best Week Ever

I am overcome with so much joy, love, and happiness, a deep joy, love, and happiness that I cannot even simply put into words. 

This week has been the best week of my mission hands down. 

Billie: Billie was the person who walked into church last Sunday and we taught her 3 times this week and she has accepted the date to be baptized December 14th! She is hungry for the truth and has been facing a lot of opposition from her pastor, friends, and anti-mormon material, but she said this text that was so beautiful. It said "thanks so much for the response. I have been praying and last night really felt like this is a true church. I guess this is one of the bumps we spoke about the other day where you are discouraged. There are so many attacks in this church and it's confusing and sad. It is really hard taking this step, but I have faith in God and Joseph Smith. Very grateful for your teachings and the blessings you are bringing to my life:)". She is so awesome! She came to the ward activity on Tuesday and asked us to meet with her again the next day. The university YSA  members that have moved in Victoria, Rachel, and Isabel have been such a great blessing to the missionary work as they have come on a lot of teaches with us.

Guy Fawkes: So fun! We had dinner and firworks at the Turveys' and so many people were there. It is always a party with the Bath ward :) Chris and Billie came too and it was so good to see them being welcomed and integrated into the ward. Such a fun night and it was pretty sweet to see fireworks everywhere that day and week.

This is the Turveys' house and view. They have an Australian flag because their daughter Sophie is serving a mission there.

We had fireworks at their house for Guy Fawkes and this is a picture of Carly, Alice, Me, Rachel, our investigator, Billie, and Sister Chamberlain. I love these girls so much!

Chris: HE WAS BAPTIZED AND CONFIRMED THIS WEEKEND!!!!!!! Leading up to that we had FHE with the Pattersons' on Monday (such a spiritual lesson on service, he cannot wait to serve!), ward activity on Tuesday, baptismal interview on Wednesday, institute with the YSA in Bristol, Friday a lesson in the Broads' home, Saturday he was baptised, and Sunday he received the gift of the Holy Ghost and the Aaronic priesthood! He is planning on blessing the sacrament next week! Seriously Chris has been truly a miracle. It was so surreal for us as missionaries. I still cannot believe everything that has happened in the past 3 weeks. The baptismal service was magical. The Spirit was so strong. Rachel spoke on the Baptism, Jamie Patterson spoke on the Holy Ghost, and there was a musical number by a couple men. A ton of the ward came to the baptism and it meant so much that they were hear to support Chris and the missionary work happening. Brother Broad, who is amazing-most selfless man and our ward mission leader baptised and confirmed Chris. His blessing for the Holy Ghost was beautiful and you could just feel that Chris is going to do so many great things in his life and in the church. I am so grateful there is one more righteous, worthy, and humble priesthood holder on the earth. I cannot put into words the many moments of joy we have had teaching Chris and seeing him being so willing to follow the example of Jesus Christ. He is coming on a teach with us Tuesday night :)

Chris's baptism :) :) :) Brother Broad baptized him, our ward mission leader who I love so dearly.

Transfers: After church, we went to the Bishop's for dinner and as we were waiting for dinner to be done cooking all of the family and us were gathered in their family laughing and having such a good time. And then I felt the phone vibrate and I just knew it was President. We put it on speaker and he told us how proud of us he was for all the work happening in Bath, but sorry to say he would be splitting us up. He asked me to backup train a sister from Denmark who has been out 6 weeks. So on Wednesday, I'll be going to Teignmouth which is in the Plymouth zone (Southwest of England) and right on the coast near Devon and Newton Abbet. He then asked Sister Chamberlain to train in Bath, so I'll be a grandma now! Both of our hands were shaking and as soon as the call ended, Sister Chamberlain and I couldn't help the tears leaking out of our eyes. It was such a beautiful, happy, sad, bittersweet moment and I was so thankful to be in the Bishop's home at that time. We ate a lovely dinner and pudding (they call dessert here that) filled with a lot of laughter and then went in to end on a spiritual note. The spirit was so strong as we talked about love and the story of the Anti-Nephi Lehis. I started bearing my testimony and broke down because of how much I truly loved Bath, the ward, the Kitsells, Sister Chamberlain, and everyone we met. All the Kitsells were tearing up as well and Bishop said the most sincer things with a tear in his eye. It meant so much to me, especially because Bishop is not a man of many word. I will never forget those moments and those people. They are sacred to me, and it made me realize how strong love is. I know my time was coming up in Bath. It doesn't make it an easier, but I know I am supposed to help this sister find the joy of being a missionary and keep on inviting everyone closer to our Savior Jesus Christ in Teignmouth! (I don't know if that is how you spell it).

We love carly! She is a convert of about 2 years.

I'm going to miss this view.

I cannot believe I am hitting my 6 month mark! I am feeling that joy of bringing souls unto Christ. I have felt it, and I just want to keep on spreading that joy and inviting more to feel the love of this gospel of Jesus Christ.

I love you all. I love how kind Heavenly Father is to us. I have a testimony of patience. It doesn't mean waiting around lazily for good things to happen, it means actively being diligent and trusting the Lord because he knows what is best for us. I learned that as I've been in Bath for 6 months and it was until my last 3 weeks that we met Chris and he was able to be baptised and confirmed. I know I am just an instrument in His hands, but I think it is the best instrument you can every learn to play :)

Love and Cheers,

Sister McLeod

When we carved pumpkins at the Kitsells'.

Progression

Halloween: I really have learned to appreciate American enthusiasm for Halloween. People celebrate it here, but it is not as big and people are not so creative with their costumes. I asked all the kids in primary what they were and 90% said they were witches. Come on now!, where is the creativity there. But there is a holiday tomorrow, November 5th, called Guy Fawkes. It is something about someone trying to blow up parliament or something and they celebrate it by burning things and doing fireworks. so obviously a really cool day. The ward is having dinner and fireworks at the Turvey's tomorrow. And today (p-day) I'm so pumped because we are having an arts and crafts day with Sister Turvey who I love so much! 

Chris: Chris is progressing right along and is so excited about his baptism on Saturday!!!!! AND SO ARE WE!!!!!! We have taught him everything in a lot of different members homes and he has accepted everything with such enthusiasm! He even expounds on the doctrine. For example, we were teaching law of chastity and he went off about Elder Bednar's talk about Chastity in the Ensign we had given to him a couple days before. He is a natural teacher and is going to be such a strength to the church. We are having dinner and a lesson at the Pattersons' tonight so you can say it is going to be the best p-day ever!

Fasting miracle: As a mission we had a special fast for 35 or more baptisms in the months of November and December separately, and we saw the direct and immediate blessing that day! Sister Chamberlain and I were teaching gospel principles and out of the blue Billie, a uni student from London walks in. Her grandma is a member and she has been looking for a church to go to in Bath. We were talking to her and she was like this might sound weird, but is there anything I can read about the church. YA WE DO! Anyway we met with her that night and her flatmates were also interested! With all of them there and participating in the lesson, the Spirit was so strong and it was probably the most natural lesson of the restoration we have taught. I love teaching people me age. Billie is eager to learn more and loved church. We are meeting with her again on Tuesday. 

Bath: The Spirit hits me the most during hymns, and I just felt this incredible sensation of love yesterday at church during the sacrament hymn. I was reflecting on my progression as a missionary and a person in general these past 5 almost 6 months and the progression of the ward. The Bath ward is the most special ward I have ever been to in that you can just feel the love immediately as you walk into the chapel. Since July the ward has had 5 almost 6 with Chris baptisms (they hadn't had one for 2 years) and a lot of reactivation. I have been so blessed to experience my first months of the mission here and the Bath ward will always be so special to me throughout my life. I'll find out next Monday what the verdict is of moves. But anyways, life is great. It is winter here so I'm really starting to understand the power of layers and wool tights. 

I love you all so incredibly much!

Love,

Sister McLeod

Chris

MEXICO: I LOVE MEXICOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! So let me tell you about the miracle of Chris. 

Sunday: We were waiting at our bus stop and were just stopping everyone. We stopped Chris and he said he knew of the LDS church and had been to a priesthood session of conference back in Mexico. We scheduled an appointment at the chapel on Tuesday.

Tuesday: We had Rachael, (RM (return missionary) from Argentina who just moved into our ward for a masters degree - from Bay Area) come on the teach with us and it was so incredible. He is teaching spanish at secondary schools (high school) for 9 months and has been in England for 3 weeks. He humbly said how teaching and helping others gives him such purpose in life. He learned of the church by a friend inviting him to play basketball (SHOUTOUT TO MEMBER MISSIONARY WORK! WOOT! WOOT!). That friend also invited him to church, but quickly after that he moved and lost in touch with the church. This was 10 years ago. We taught the Restoration and he accepted the baptismal date of December 7. We gave him the Restoration DVD to watch to on his own. Right after the teach we both felt he could get baptised sooner, November 9th, and were decided we would pray about it and see how he progressed. We also remembered how we fasted and prayed for someone to be baptised on that day, and just had this feeling that it could be him.

Wednesday: He texted us! K that never happens on the mission. He said "Hello sisters, thank you for the dvd, it's just so wonderful :). Have a great afternoon." We just look at each other and are like is this real life? It gets better.

Thursday: We texted him to see how he is doing with the Book of Mormon and to ask us any questions. He responded "Yes I am really enjoying it. I really liked from the very beginning when Nephi says he was born to goodly parents, you can tell how much he loved his family. And you know, I just told my friend I'm learning about the church and he told me that that's the best decision I could ever make because I'll learn how families can be together forever. Wow!" We responded after with a happy dance "I'm so glad you are enjoying the story of Lehi's family. One of my favourite verses is 1 Nephi 2:16 because it shows how important prayer is for Nephi knowing if what his father has been saying is true, I love how we can discover truth and revelation for ourselves." He responded "I am reading that verse once again and it makes perfect sense to me now. Because now I know and I feel that I am doing the right thing. I just found another reason why I am here, to learn more about the restored truth. Now I know that our Heavenly Father had this prepared for me. Thank you for taking the time to talk to me on Sunday!" Seriously is this not like out of a story from preach my gospel?????!!!!

Friday: We had dinner at a member's home and after taught the plan of salvation. He said he felt like he was home. He was sharing insights on scriptures and gladly accepted being baptised November 9th.--- amazing!

Saturday: He came to the baptism of a little 8 year old in our ward. He loved it and said he just envisioned himself getting baptised.---!!!!!

Sunday: Absolutely loved church!

Monday: TODAY we are having an FHE at the Bishop's home with him and meeting him with 2 more times at member's home.

Seriously, Chris is truly a miracle and we can learn so much from his story. First, the power of inviting friends to church activities and how no effort or invitation is in vain. Second, how important it is for missionaries to talk to everyone. Third, how this work is covering all over the earth. We find it pretty funny that of course the first Mexican we meet in England is ridiculously prepared. We joked that this is how the missionaries feel like in Mexico everyday. And fourth, how important it is for missionaries to develop solid relationships with your ward. I have been here in Bath for almost 6 months and can tell you something about everyone in the ward. Every Sunday it is my goal to talk to everyone - remembering the details of their lives. Love is all about remembering the little things. There is around 120 people that come every week too. Mom- I know you asked that. Because of the love and relationship we have for one another, members have been amazing at being so willing to come on teaches and open their homes our investigators. I know I have had so many ups and downs being on a mission, but it is so special to look back and see everything that has happened in the Bath ward. The work is really hastening. The transfers are on November 16 I think, so we shall see If I go or stay. Sister Chamberlain will be done with her training and I just have a feeling I am going, but who knows! I definitely will cry. I love Bath so much, but who know knows maybe I'll stay. 

I love this gospel with all my heart. I know it is true. I am learning everyday. I love you all.