Missionaries can change the weather!!

warning this email is random and I kept skipping around and ya, just my thoughts exploding on the paper, so sorry in advance if it doesn't make sense! 

 

 For those of you who miss hearing Rachel's singing, she sent this video!  :)  Click on the words below, then the link. I've watched it about 10 times.  Yep.  Gotta love her. 

20 second video of Rachel singing

I LOVE GENERAL CONFERENCE!!! I am so thankful for a living prophet and apostles.  Each session I had a question that I had prayed about, and every single time my question was answered. Even if it was not flat out said, it was answered through my thoughts and feelings as I watched.  We went to Hyde Park chapel to watch it, and 2 of our investigators came and absolutely loved it!  Monica, Nancy's friend, who is late 70's, came by herself on the buses over an hr of travel to come and watch. The other is William who is getting baptised on the 20th!! he is incredible, honestly I feel so blessed to be able to be a part of this process for him.  He loved conference, and we advised him to watch with a question, and afterwards he said that it was answered.  also we traveled with him, and we got there a bit early just by coincidence, and there was a baptism happening at that moment from another ward.  we got to watch it and William loved it.  good thing I don't believe in coincidences :) 

also this morning we were headed to teach a lesson to him, and it was pouring, and we had tried to get another member to come teach with us so that we could go in ( missionary rule, we can't be alone in a house with the opposite sex) but none could come.  So when we were by his house we said a prayer before the lesson, and asked that the spirit be there and we asked that if possible the rain could stop.... we had an incredible lesson even though it was on the doorstep, he truly is amazing. but it wasn't until after we were walking away that we realised something. it had stopped raining :)  President Jordan always tells us "missionaries can change the weather". today we learned that it is true.      

quote from sister H. for the week, "what would happen if you super glued your eyes shut??" haha  

also another question, sister H., who is a future nurse... has diagnosed me and we think i have this pinched nerve in my hamstring, because there is a tingle all the way down my leg, and my second big toe is always numb.... any way to easily fix that? 

pics attached to this email- our year mark celebration!!!! so on the 4th we had officially been out a year, so we went to a pub for lunch.... the old great lion. what an brilliant name right? don't worry the bottles on the table are just sparkling water, we didn't go that crazy ha

 

sister B. and I on an exchange on an epic balcony at their flat! she is so great, loves volleyball and track, we are going to be best friends when we get home.... except she has only been out a month, so i will just have to wait for a year and a half.... but no worries, i will STILL be at byu.... yay for being in school for foreverrrrrr  

 

 

third is one of the Book of Mormon musical adds that are all over London.  great adverts for us :) 

and us shopping. after teaching william, nothing could wipe the smiles off of our faces, we felt on top of the world 

guess who i saw at conference!!! well the only person that really will appreciate this is Laurie,  I saw Dr. Otterstrom and his family! it was so funny. I saw him walk in and had to do a double take, and then remembered he is here on study abroad. It took a while for him to recognize me, but then he did, all those hours of grading his tests, and he almost forgot me..... ha

I almost teared up in the tube last night. on our way home from conference, we were with the elders and this man from our ward. get this, he is 94 and he traveled on the tubes all by himself to general conference! talk about a boss. such an amazing example to me of always putting the Lord first and never making excuses.  So the elders were escorting him home, and when they were getting off the tubes the doors started beeping and closing right when the old man was in the doorway! it was all slow motion.  then one of the elders in our district, elder W (just came out a few weeks ago from South Africa, he is just like the cutest little boy, except he is not that little he played rugby ha) but he just picked the old man up and grabbed him out of the way and set him down safely on the ground while he got jammed in the door.  It was incredible. i think you had to be there, but the other sisters we live with saw it also, and all of us were just touched. 

well i have to run, like always but i love you! your camping trip sounded like so much fun! i know exactly what you mean about hating to get into trouble mum. also i would not come pick me up.  it is a rule.  if you have any questions feel free to ask sister jordan. but i wouldn't. i will go back one time in my life, you might not come with me if you and dad don't make it a priority ha but i know that i will at least maybe with my husband, idk but ya don't want to leave by breaking a rule. (Good to know.  Makes October simpler too).  Adam i am glad you wanted to put the fish back :) and i am glad you all liked the present! sorry it was just a wee bit late.... but thought that counts right?

address: 11 Mansfield Heights, East Finchley London N2 ONY   i think that is right, maybe test it out with a letter before you send a package haha love you!! 

have a great week! love, rachel 

ps i heard in a talk that if you don't go over the notes you made from a meeting (aka general conference) your retention drops down to 25%. so go read through the notes you took, and if you didn't take notes, go read them online, take notes, then review them haha

mum you are going to loveeee me :) just added loads of pics and some videos to dropbox (Yes, I LOVE you Rachel!!!  Even without pictures, but pictures help.  haha)    

one of them was of my really destroyed shoes, the heel used to be a bit higher, and it wore down a lot, but apparently i walk like a crazy person, because it wore down uneven, and the flap...i tried to super glue it and safety pin it even, didn't work, and there are holes in the heels, because they were hollow i guess idk but they were great, lasted me through winter.... i loved them, thought about just getting them resoled or something, but then i figured they were past help.  (Like mother like daughter -- I hate getting rid of shoes!). 

 

also pics of our flat, sooooo posh, yes a square toliet...

(there are a lot more pictures, but it's taken me a while to figure this much out ... gotta go!).