Thanks for the pictures!! I love getting them, I love seeing all their beautiful faces. But on a side note, and don't let this stop you from sending more, it makes me realize that life is not the same back home. I don't want to come home. So yeah. Don't worry about picking me up from the airport. I am happy where I am haha. Everyone has changed so much and I am just not sure how I will fit into everything. I have changed so much and yeah that scares me. So I know what you are thinking... "Don't think about coming home." Well, an apostle of the Lord told us that we need to start preparing now, so you are wrong! I love saying that. I probably shouldn't, but hey, this is my email.
Monday night we had an appointment and they didn't show up - just like every appointment! It's fine, that is not where we needed to be. Heavenly Father needs us to teach someone else. So we found on our way home. There is this hill called "Steep Hill" and it is what its called. We got to the top and there are two ways we can go home. I asked Sister Spangler which way the Spirit was directing her to go. She stood and looked both ways for a moment and then said "Not sure. What do you think?" I looked both ways and a tug on my heart told me to go to the left, so we did. We tried talking to some people - not very interested, and then right before we turned a corner, we bumped into a guy. He isn't too much older than us. We chatted for a bit and had an amazing lesson there. One thing Elder Ballard asked us to do was to get the investigators to pray from the start. Don't even do the "I can say one first and you can say it at the end." So we did and he said the prayer. I was a bit pushy in a very nice way and we got a return appointment for tomorrow!! He was so awesome. The spirit that we felt as we left that lesson, it was amazing. I have been praying so hard that something really comes from meeting Sam that night.
Tuesday- (this is when we were told we had to start thinking about home and what we are going to do) I had the world's most trunkiest meeting ever! It was a self-reliance meeting and it was all day. We had to get up at 3, to get to the train station by 5 to catch the train by 5.30 to get into Nottingham to pick up Sister Banchini and drop off Sister Spangler and then to travel to Birmingham by 9. We had such a cool time on the train. We sat at a table and a psychology professor who studies the brain sat by us. We had such in depth conversations. We made him think so much. It was amazing. We couldn't say a prayer but at one moment, we had 8 people involved in the conversation. I love missionary work!!
But in that meeting I had a blast. There is just something about knowing a lot of the missionaries and being able to get along with them and enjoy them for who they are. They asked me to say the closing prayer and to lead the closing song and my voice was squeaking the whole way. It was so bad. We got home just before 9 and had a member pick us up, because I was worried about being able to make it the whole way home.
Wednesday- got the washing machine fixed and rested before we caught the train into Nottingham where I had my doctors appointment. (I have/had laryngitis, a chest infection and a urinary tract infection). There is some underlying problem that is causing me to get so sick so frequently. The results from my blood and urine tests still haven't come back that we know of. I am having a hard time figuring out the balance of knowing when I am okay to work and not. We had just missed our train into Lincoln and so we called our dinner appointment to let them know and when they heard my voice they took pity on us and had us over a whole hour later. It was a really good meal, just what the doctor said I needed.
Thursday- District meeting. Turns out some members heard I was in hospital overnight. They all thought I was on my death bed. Thankfully I am not, but some members were not happy that we walked to district meeting in the cold "since I pretty much have pneumonia" or that is what they said. We had Thanksgiving dinner with the American family in the ward. It was a blast. It was all american - they even had Rhodes rolls!!! By the end of the meal, I was so tired. They took us home and I crashed.
Friday- we had an appointment but they canceled right before we knocked on their door. But, on our way there, we talked with this really cool girl. Her name is Jess and she is so prepared!! Such a cool experience and, yeah, she prayed too!! We only got to teach 2 lessons this week but both of them were new investigators and both look so good!!!
Saturday- we did some service with this couple, the Diamonds. On our way back we talked with this really prepared kid. He is originally from Stroud area. It was cool to talk to someone that lives not far from Gloucester :)
Sunday- we biked to church. We went slow so it was a really fun ride for me!! Just a leisure ride. We got off and took such a cute picture. This morning, I slept through exercise (permission to sleep whenever I need was given by Sister Leppard) and then got up and got ready. We got a call from this awesome Polish lady. She wanted to meet at the library at 9, so we said yeah, and got on our bikes. We will have studies later tonight. but the lesson went really well with her. We hit some Black Friday sales really quick and exchanged a few things I needed and now we are going to head off to get some food. Please, if you would keep me in your prayers - my head is spinning even right now. Not sure what it is.
If there is one thing that I want you to take from this email, it is that Heavenly Father knows everything. He knows what we can and cannot do, and where people will be and when. And, as we ask with faith, He will lead us to them.
Love ya lots!!
Sister Ashley MacKay
Monday night we had an appointment and they didn't show up - just like every appointment! It's fine, that is not where we needed to be. Heavenly Father needs us to teach someone else. So we found on our way home. There is this hill called "Steep Hill" and it is what its called. We got to the top and there are two ways we can go home. I asked Sister Spangler which way the Spirit was directing her to go. She stood and looked both ways for a moment and then said "Not sure. What do you think?" I looked both ways and a tug on my heart told me to go to the left, so we did. We tried talking to some people - not very interested, and then right before we turned a corner, we bumped into a guy. He isn't too much older than us. We chatted for a bit and had an amazing lesson there. One thing Elder Ballard asked us to do was to get the investigators to pray from the start. Don't even do the "I can say one first and you can say it at the end." So we did and he said the prayer. I was a bit pushy in a very nice way and we got a return appointment for tomorrow!! He was so awesome. The spirit that we felt as we left that lesson, it was amazing. I have been praying so hard that something really comes from meeting Sam that night.
Tuesday- (this is when we were told we had to start thinking about home and what we are going to do) I had the world's most trunkiest meeting ever! It was a self-reliance meeting and it was all day. We had to get up at 3, to get to the train station by 5 to catch the train by 5.30 to get into Nottingham to pick up Sister Banchini and drop off Sister Spangler and then to travel to Birmingham by 9. We had such a cool time on the train. We sat at a table and a psychology professor who studies the brain sat by us. We had such in depth conversations. We made him think so much. It was amazing. We couldn't say a prayer but at one moment, we had 8 people involved in the conversation. I love missionary work!!
But in that meeting I had a blast. There is just something about knowing a lot of the missionaries and being able to get along with them and enjoy them for who they are. They asked me to say the closing prayer and to lead the closing song and my voice was squeaking the whole way. It was so bad. We got home just before 9 and had a member pick us up, because I was worried about being able to make it the whole way home.
Wednesday- got the washing machine fixed and rested before we caught the train into Nottingham where I had my doctors appointment. (I have/had laryngitis, a chest infection and a urinary tract infection). There is some underlying problem that is causing me to get so sick so frequently. The results from my blood and urine tests still haven't come back that we know of. I am having a hard time figuring out the balance of knowing when I am okay to work and not. We had just missed our train into Lincoln and so we called our dinner appointment to let them know and when they heard my voice they took pity on us and had us over a whole hour later. It was a really good meal, just what the doctor said I needed.
Thursday- District meeting. Turns out some members heard I was in hospital overnight. They all thought I was on my death bed. Thankfully I am not, but some members were not happy that we walked to district meeting in the cold "since I pretty much have pneumonia" or that is what they said. We had Thanksgiving dinner with the American family in the ward. It was a blast. It was all american - they even had Rhodes rolls!!! By the end of the meal, I was so tired. They took us home and I crashed.
Friday- we had an appointment but they canceled right before we knocked on their door. But, on our way there, we talked with this really cool girl. Her name is Jess and she is so prepared!! Such a cool experience and, yeah, she prayed too!! We only got to teach 2 lessons this week but both of them were new investigators and both look so good!!!
Saturday- we did some service with this couple, the Diamonds. On our way back we talked with this really prepared kid. He is originally from Stroud area. It was cool to talk to someone that lives not far from Gloucester :)
Sunday- we biked to church. We went slow so it was a really fun ride for me!! Just a leisure ride. We got off and took such a cute picture. This morning, I slept through exercise (permission to sleep whenever I need was given by Sister Leppard) and then got up and got ready. We got a call from this awesome Polish lady. She wanted to meet at the library at 9, so we said yeah, and got on our bikes. We will have studies later tonight. but the lesson went really well with her. We hit some Black Friday sales really quick and exchanged a few things I needed and now we are going to head off to get some food. Please, if you would keep me in your prayers - my head is spinning even right now. Not sure what it is.
If there is one thing that I want you to take from this email, it is that Heavenly Father knows everything. He knows what we can and cannot do, and where people will be and when. And, as we ask with faith, He will lead us to them.
Love ya lots!!
Sister Ashley MacKay