Miracle of Mike

Sorry for the lack of pics lately, don't worry next week there will be a plethora. The library comps are just not the best and our Internet in our chapel has been quite spotty. ANYWAYS

 

Miracle of Mike: We have been meeting with Mike since beginning of July and his baptismal date is for August 23, this Saturday. He has been to church 5 times, but because of his job he hasn't been able to come to sacrament meeting and he has been in the process of quitting smoking. In order for him to be baptised, he needed to come this week and he needed to pray specifically. He believes in everything, but he hasn't ever prayed specifically so on Saturday we committed him to pray about being able to come to church and if he was ready to make that commitment this week. He wasn't sure on Saturday, but in the evening he said he got down on his knees and sincerely prayed about a lot of things. Well during the start of church Mike was not there and we thought he couldn't make it. During the beginning of the sacrament, I was just reading the words of the sacrament hymn and reflecting on the Saviour and especially thinking of Mike. I said a prayer for him and when I looked up from the hymn book, 2 pews in front of me was Mike. I thought I was hallucinating at first. I did not even see or hear him walk in. I literally thought he teleported there. Shocked I just squeezed Sister Sargsyan's arm. He just turned back to us and smiled. He told us for the first time he felt like God had really answered His prayers to be able to make it that morning and be able to be baptised. A new light had come into Mike that I hadn't seen before. He was hesitant a week ago about quitting smoking, but today he said he had smoked his last cigarette. When talking about baptism, he was giddy like a school boy and started calling all the people he wanted to be apart of it. This was a miracle. I cannot believe it honestly. We really thought he was going to have to push his date back because we felt he wasn't ready, but it is amazing that prayer is what really builds our faith and propels us forward. When he specifically asked, God specifically answered. Saturday will be so special. He has been through so much in his life and can't wait to be baptised and receive the Holy Ghost.

 

I love you all so much, I am sorry this is short but my time is dwindling quickly. I know God is a God of miracles and I am a witness to so many.

 

Love,

Sister McLeod

Blessings

This week: It was a bit of a crazy week to say the least. Ended up in hospital in the middle of the night, but things are working out and we met with another doctor later on in the week and are continuing to meet with them to figure out what is happening with Sister Sargsyan. Won't go into detail about it all, but it is so hard to see someone in pain and not be able to do anything about it. I really wish I could switch with her or just get a giant pain vacuum. 

Crazy guy: There was this man we met on the street that we invited to church and he ended up coming. Well, turns out he just wants to marry my companion and I have never prayed so hard during a church meeting for him not to do anything crazy. 

Blessings: Seriously on my mission it seems like the hardest of weeks the Lord blesses you the most. He is so very kind and I am so grateful for prayer. This week it seems like I am in continuous prayer in my heart and really know that my Heavenly Father is there and listening and helping me and the people I am around.  We were able to find some really cool new people to teach that are really interested and almost every dinner appointment we had we were able to bring an investigator and teach them. Mike is planning to be baptised in August and he is doing so great. He already loves the members so much and has felt the influence of God increase exponentially in his life these past 3 weeks of meeting with us. He is in the process of quitting smoking and I love hearing his prayers. You really can tell if a person is progressing by their prayers. Mike's are so humble and pure. So beautiful.

I love you all so much and am grateful for your prayers. It seems like everything in the gospel comes down to prayer. Grateful for this simple, yet profound blessing in my life. 

Love,

Sister McLeod 

Training Experiences

Bournemouth: The great. It is sooo sunny and warm and so many people out. It is great being new sisters because families are giving you people that they think sisters would be better for and so we are starting to have a good investigator pool with part member families. 

Training: Sister Sargsyan keeps on coming out with the craziest stories about her life and mini mission in Georgia that is so hilarious. I think I need to write a book for her. Like for example in Armenia I guess it is common for men to try to kidnap the person they want to marry if she refuses and this one man (out of many admirers of Sister S) tried to take her when she was going to her car in the grocery store car park, and I guess he is still parked out near his house today waiting for her! Creepy. He even bought her a car. Anyways stories like this keep coming up and I am just loving it. It is so interesting training a lot because every experience and person is completely different. You have sweetheart Sister Chamberlain who I got along really well with in Bath where I was really nervous to train and all our investigators seemed to drop us right before she came. You have sensitive and thoughtful Sister Andersen from Denmark coming into the new area of Teignmouth and starting from 1 investigator and building the area. You have hilarious, talkative, straightforward Sister Schmidt from Germany coming in at the height of success in Teignmouth. And then we've got confident and glamorous Sister Sargsyan from Armenia coming into Bournemouth, both of us new to the area figuring it out and learning English. Missionaries have come up to me and said oh you must be the best trainer, but honestly I feel like I am learning so much every time, being humble and realising how many things I need to work on. I am so grateful for companions being patient with me. I am learning by trial and error with every companion and I liken that to how it will be as a mother. Every child and circumstance in your life will be different. But I love the gospel and the ability to change everyday and just keep trying amidst imperfect.   

Miracle After Church: We had just left church and were walking down the road when we stopped and talked to this Portuguese lady. She wasn't very interested so we kept on walking and I noticed this guy was staring really creepily at my companion and following us, so I said walk fast and pass these two ladies in front of us. The two ladies were wearing really pretty dresses and we said hey I like your dress and started to walk with them. Turns out Bertille from somewhere in Africa was looking for the church and her friend Tamsyn had decided to go with her. She had been baptised in 2008 in Southhampton, but had lost contact to the church and was just going to any Christian church service she could find. We said well we can just go back to the chapel right now and talk and so we did that and it was so amazing to hear her conversion and her friend is super interested too. It is amazing how the Lord works and put them in our path for a reason. Even that creepy guy so we could walk faster and talk to these lovely ladies.  

Well I love you all so much! It is so exciting to here updates here and there and shoutout to Mrs. Kaitlyn Taylor who is not Kaitlyn Taylor anymore. I saw one picture and you looked beautiful. Have such a lovely and sunny week. Someone said it is going to be a warm summer in England so I will take that!

Love,

Sister McLeod

Oh and we took a pic outside the chapel because they were all matching except me

I am getting the best watch tanline ever! Sister S and I in this giant balloon that goes up and down and we got permission to go on it today! And us at the beach on good old p-day.

Loads of Potential

Bournemouth: It is so diverse and there are so many people everywhere! Kind of a crazy place. We have had some cool experiences when we started talking to someone, and a couple people overheard and came to join us. One time it turned out to be a Christian from Angola, a Muslim family from Pakistan, and us speaking about the plan of salvation. Another time we stopped a man in the street from Portugal and went to a bench, and when we stopped talking to him two English guys from the military were intrigued and wanted to learn more. When we were talking to them, a man heard the word Jesus and wanted to join in. He told us he ran a Christian radio station and wanted us to come on it. And someone else we met wants us to come to an interfaith forum, so ya we are meeting loads of people and just building our teaching pool, weeding out who is really interested, but there are loads and loads of potentials.

World Cup: One of our neighbors are Brasilians and were going nuts when Brazil played, it was good fun listening to them and Sister Sargsyan stealthily took some pics or their dancing and celebrating, I'll send some next week. And when we were someing home there was a massive group of people all celebrating and getting ready for England to play. I don't know if they won or not, but ya world cup is a big deal over here. I completely forgot basketball existed until my Dad told me their was the NBA championship.

Sister Sargsyan: Just some fun facts about my comp. She was Miss Armenia like 5 times and has met Kim Kardashian. Her dad is the stake president in Armenia, there is one stake and they joined the church when she was 2. She is really funny and kind of a diva and we are writing down funny moments of learning enlgish every day. For instance, we were inviting someone to a musical fireside and she said ya come and we will sit by the fire and sing songs. soooo funny, but yes fireside is a weird word.

Love you all soooooo much! and hope you have a lovely week.

Love,

Sister McLeod

Bournemouth

To begin, sorry if my responses might be shorter because we only have 1 and half hours in this library as opposed to 2 hours we got in my last area. 

 

Missionaries: On Wednesday I made the last trek from the Plymouth zone to Staines. There were so many missionaries there and it was so good to see a lot of people I haven't seen for a while. All of my district from the MTC was there and we took a pic together. So fun to see how much we have grown in one year. One just got called to be an AP, 2 are zone leaders, and the other 2 are district leaders and training. Sister Cowley just came off the Channel Island Jersey and is sister training leadering it up in the reading zone. love it!

 

Sister Sargsyan: My new companion is from ARMENIA!!! Ya I had to look on a map too... She began learning English 2 weeks ago in the MTC and it is her 6th language! She speaks Russian, Farsi, Spanish, Armenian, and Georgian. She is super beautiful and very glamous. It has been a really fun last couple of days getting to know each other and this new area.

 

Bournemouth: Bournemouth is so beauitful and so different than quiet, white-filled people of Teignmouth. There is a university here and it is a proper city and SO diverse. It is also very touristy. I seriously have talked to people from like 50 different countries already. There is a nice white sandy beach and we live right near the high street, so it is a good location. The Bournemouth ward feels like a proper American ward and hasn't had sister for years so they are really liking us. There are a million activities going on and they are a very involved ward. It is pretty large, and there are another set of elders in the ward. They had 2 Chinese elders here and one of the elders in Staines handed me the key to the flat and phone and said good luck. The flat was not in the worst condition, but we are definietly going to spend some time cleaning. It is amazing how the Lord is helping me understand all the different buses and areas very quickly. There is so much potential here and right now we are focusing on just getting to know and serve the members, and to build our investigator pool because we started from scratch but are already meeting with 3 people these next couple of days. There are so many people here so we are always talking to everyone. SO blessed to be here and exicted for the progress ahead.

 

Miracles: I feel like there are too many to count, but it just seems like there have been members we have met and people on the street that need us at this time and it is amazing how the Lord directs you even though you may think it is all random or you are going in the wrong direction. I honestly haven't gotten stressed because I know I just have to trust in the Lord where I need to be. One lady took a route she has never been before and has been lately thinking about where her Dad is who passed away recently. Gabby from Venzuela feels like there is somethign missing from her life and wants to learn more. Steven asked for the Book of Mormon and is seeking to find the right church. Amazing things happening and excited to keep on trusting in the Lord to be in the right place and say the right things.

 

I love you all so much!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love,

Sister McLeod

Kieron and Jasmine in Teignmouth

My MTC disctrict united

Sister Sargsyan