i got nothing.... really absolutely nothing is coming to my brain for this... awkward

Donna got baptised this past sunday :) words cannot describe how happy i am for her.  It was funny though, she has had both knees replaced, and when she went underneath the water they both gave out, so when he was helping her stand back up she couldn't, and he whispered, Donna stand up,  and she responded i am trying but i can't!! it was cute, but don't worry she got up and out safely.

her testimony afterward was very short and simple, but perfect.  She said that she felt so welcome and at home here at the church.  and that she has never had so many friends in her life.  and that she knows that this is the right thing she has done and it is the right place.     

we have a dog that comes to church every sunday. i cannot remember if i told you this or not.  but the man is not a member, he used to go to the catholic church but he got kicked out because his dog jumped up on the altar...... so now he comes to ours.  the other sunday during the last song, the dog was behind this man sitting down and put his paws on the back of his shoulders and licked the mans bald head.... the man's face was sooooo funny.   

so it has been raining all week, and we were walking through this underpass, and there were huge puddles that we were dodging trying not to get sprayed by cars on the motorway, but at one point sister hymas almost slipped and fell, and she grabbed onto me and we both almost fell, don't worry we didn't, but then we were laughing so hard we were not paying attention and this huge lory drove by and it was like a tidal wave completely soaked us.  it was actually hilarious.  i think all the people stuck in traffic were amused by us.  just hope we made their day ha 

went on three exchanges this week.  2 out of the 3 were in the visitor's center.  Sometimes I feel I have gotten called to serve there I am there so much.  but it is a good thing. it is a new experience.  It is learning to share the gospel in a different way - to share the gospel by giving tours and chatting online is very different, but it amazes me that no matter how different it is, the spirit is still the key.    

This week has been fantastic.  and I have realised just how genuinely happy i truly am.  and not the temporary fleeting feeling that we call happy, but a lasting and pure joy.  many times we get happiness confused with excitement, adrenaline, or others but happiness is something deeper than all of that.  

  If you were to look at a missionary's life, the world would wonder how the heck we are happy,  we work over 12 hours a day with not really any time off, we don't have any technology, computer, smart phone, ipad, no films, no tele, no fancy possessions, we talk with strangers everyday and get rejected by them everyday, and the list goes on and on.  

 but as I have forgotten about the ways of the world, and focused on what is really important: my relationship with my Heavenly Father and His son Jesus Christ, to do my absolute best to live as He did, to share the gospel and to serve and put others before myself,  I have found myself being so purely happy that i cannot contain it inside of myself.  as cheesy as that sounds, i feel like it is bursting out.  and everyone can have this kind of happiness. regardless of your circumstances and situations.  so be happy, look at the good side of things, there always is one, be grateful for all the blessing that you have been given by our loving Heavenly Father and just smile.  

sounds like you are doing great, except i think becca may have died, you should probably check on her...... adam good job on baseball i am proud of you for finishing even though you didn't want to.  mckay you are just a superstar, it is hard to be your sister you know that? quit making me look bad haha dad mum thanks :) 

have a great week! i love you!!!! rachel  

oh ps i love this mormon message 

http://www.mormonchannel.org/video/mormon-messages?v=2484411795001

I watched the Mormon message - so sweet.  Please watch it.  Also, Rachel's words hit home this week -- happiness really is within our reach when we're reaching for the right things.  :)  Thanks for reading.  

"I love snakes.... I don't like them, but you can love things you don't like." -Donna

one of my favourite quotes from Donna that the elder who interviewed her told us she said during her baptismal interview.  

brace yourself for a crazy email.  my brain is just flying today! 

It is soooooo beautiful here! the weather is literally perfect.  I am even starting to get a hint of tan... by hint i mean that it doesn't hurt your eyes as much to look at me now, the glare isn't as bad.  but this weather just makes me want to go and play beach volleyball right this very second! reminds me of the good days of just playing all dang day.  Aubree next summer ya? we should do a tournament again!!! so fun. 

We ran to hampstead heath this morning.oh my goodness google maps it right now!  (Hampstead Heath - google maps link) it is my new favourite place in the world.  You would never think that you were in London.  I felt like I was in Africa or something.  just silent from the world, only birds chirping and the wind blowing.  and there is a place called the Kenwood House in the park. Sister H and I decided it is perfect for either taking engagements or having our wedding reception there..... or maybe i will just photo shop it in, a bit cheaper probably, but it seriously is gorgeous. I can't wait till i come back and visit and just spend forever getting lost here on runs and hikes and everything. ya i love nature! Heavenly Father is so good to us giving us this beautiful earth!  I am in one of those, life is great and perfect and i am so blessed and i love life moods. aren't those just the best moods ever??    

This morning I also decided something, I love cooking! i know shocker right.  The problem still is that by the time I start cooking I am usually starving already, so I just snack while I cook till it is ready, and by then I am no longer really hungry.  but thats okay, baby steps.  Also now I like tuna! mum aren't you proud! I am just growing up so much haha 

5 bedroom house in Sheldon Avenue - 4,300,000 pounds.  Good Luck Rachel!

Also i decided if I ever live in England I want to live in Sheldon Ave. look it up.  honestly picture perfect houses.  just English mansions no biggie.     

one morning this week we walk into the bathroom and discovered that we now had an indoor pool.  Seriously it was flooded up to our ankles. not just a little trickle of water. the landlord came and we helped scoop up the water and mop it up, and then it got fixed... yay plumbers. 

Preston Enland Temple - https://www.lds.org/church/temples?lang=eng

William went to the temple on saturday and loved it!!! and he blessed the sacrament for the first time on sunday.  I feel like a mum watching her little baby grow up! During the sacrament prayer he had to do it a few times because he kept saying thy "Holy Son"..... but hey you can't blame him, it is his cultural upbringing coming out!

 If that is kinda racist I don't mean it to be, mum you can take it out if you want from the blog..... ha

Sister H was trying to put different things together clothing wise, and she put something on and turned to me and asked my opinion, then turned back to the mirror and exclaimed "I don't even know whats cute anymore!"  so funny. and so true.  i will definitely struggle when i get home, but lets be real when did i ever dress cute, jeans or sweats and a hoodie and vans.  cute to me!!  

I was on an exchange with sister T from the Congo, and she has only been here about 3 weeks, and knows VERY little English.  It was so fun, but something flew into my eye and i was holding it open and trying to get it out, and she doesn't say anything, grabs my head, pulls it really close to her face, peels back my eyelids, and blows this huge gust of wind into my eye.  i was just laughing, and she just shrugged and said, idk what to do...  I think you had to see it, because It was really funny. 

Soooooo Saturday was a great day for so many reasons.  

reason number 1, my football team won the cup. go arsenal.  and we may or may not have watched the last 15 mins... BUT it was not our fault.  so Sat night at the same time as this game we had a dinner appointment with this lady, and she lives at the center of the chaos of the game.  But when we showed up, her flat is just one room, and her mid 20's non-member son was watching the game on a huge flat screen.  and for the people here this was the biggest day of the year practically, so he was not turning it off,  and so we tried to sit there and just stare at each other and not watch it, but hey lets be real, practically impossible.  luckily it was almost over.  so we just endured to the end. but did not enjoy one bit of it :) haha  

 but let me just tell you what happened! best game ever, from what i heard..... so the other team scored 2 goals in the first 8 mins! but then, come back!!! arsenal scored 2 and tied it. so it went to over time 30 mins, and we showed up the last 15 of OT.  and it was still tied 2-2 so it was going to go to penalties. and then last 5 mins we scored, and it was such a gorgeous goal!  we all jumped up and starting cheering, and her son laughed and said "dang you are almost as excited as i am!"  it was so fun, technically not allowed, but hey what could we do? we figured it was good bonding with her non-member son.... don't worry mum we turned it off right after and ate dinner and shared a spiritual message.  (sorry for the details of the game, just want you to appreciate the beauty of the game!!! It made me excited to go back and watch sports, and be in a stadium, and ya all that good stuff) 

but when we were leaving, (we have never been to this area before) and we were in Arsenal's home base, there was people going crazy everywhere!!! and the bus stop she told us to go to wasn't working because of the game, and so we were just wandering around looking for where to go, dodging the drunk fans running everywhere. seriously mobs of people.  I wish you could have seen the scene.  we started walking down one street then realised that the people were throwing beer up into the air on everyone! I turned to Sister Hymas and yelled "retreat retreat!" haha it was so funny.  while we were laughing at the situation, a drunk man laying on the ground complimented my smile.  If only I had a £ for all of the compliments I have received from drunk people.      

second reason sat was so great, and a lot better of a reason 

Anca is getting baptised!!!! on June 1.  We were gardening with her on Saturday and just talking some more,  (the change in her is incredible)  and she is just talking about how much she loves the mormon messages, and general conferences videos, and Book of Mormon and she feels her faith growing and all this great stuff, and then during the lesson she was reading, and goes quiet, and I could just see her feeling the Spirit.  and she turns and says who do I need to talk to about getting baptised?

And then a bit later into the lesson her husband, who is less active gets home from work and comes in, and she said guess what? and he paused and then said,  "your getting baptised aren't you!"  she said yes and then he said "oh shoot!! you are making me come back to church!!" but not shoot.... haha but then he got so excited, and said that he has been wanting to come, but he has been stubborn.  He got so excited, grabbed their son and her and said we are going to be sealed in the temple one day! and he went off on a little rant about how he secretly still has been a mormon at heart and how excited he is....   he has quite a bit of work to do to come back, and he knows it but it was such a beautiful thing to see. and then at the end of the lesson they said a prayer as a family for the first time ever, and Anca said it.  I was going to cry the entire time.  we left the house and i felt like i was walking on a cloud.  It was such a pure joy and happiness.  to be a part of this family's journey to be together forever.  I don't know why Heavenly Father has blessed me so much and allowed me to be a part of this, but I am so grateful that He has.  

Anyways I have to run, it is Sister H's bday and we are going to this carnival thing! but have a fantastic week, I love you and pray for you everyday! I am so grateful for this time to serve Heavenly Father, and the people here is England.  Life could not get any better :)   love you!! Rachel

oh ps on sunday heard a prayer in Spanish, Hungarian, and Farsi (which in case you didn't know is the same thing as Persian.... learned that yesterday.... apparently everyone but sister h and I know that ) 

all in one day! i am going to miss that so much when I get home. I am going to be cultured shock with the lack of different cultures!! 

MUCHOS Mormons

so we are waiting at the chapel for our lesson, so here is a repeat of some of the stuff we talked about yesterday but ya here it is in writing.

Mr. Nevarez would be proud of me. yes that is my 9th grade spanish teacher..... A man we met was from Columbia, and said "oh no english no english", but we decided not to let him get away with that for an excuse, so poor him, he had to endure my rubbish spanish.  I asked if he had heard about the church because it was pretty popular in columbia, he said no.  And then I showed him the Book of Mormon and he said "Ohhhhhh MUCHOS mormons." I tried to explain that they were the same thing, but I don't think that is what I was saying because he looked very confused.... I decided that is something I am going to do when I get home, is learn another language.  mum maybe we better bust out those MUZZY tapes again ha 

also i got to go to canterbury and ashford this week on exchanges.  They are soooooo different than London. That is one benefit of going on these exchanges because you get to see places that you have never served in.  

Wellington is going to the temple on Saturday! i am so happy, I wish we could go with him so badly.... 

Something I have really been thinking about is how to find more people to teach.  In this mission, we do a lot of finding, or "talking with everyone" we call it.  And it is so sad when we stop people on the street and they are just not interested.  I know Heavenly Father has given us the wonderful gift of agency, the freedom to make our own choices, but sometimes it is heartbreaking when I know that the message we share will bless their life, and the lives of their family, but they don't take the time to listen.  As I have been going on exchanges lately I have realised that as missionaries sometimes we just get into this rut of an explanation about what we do and teach and i realised how ineffective this is.  In order for someone to want to meet again with us, they have to feel the spirit, AND it has to apply to their life, it has to interest them.  no one is going to learn about something that they have no interest in.  So it is our job to show them how the gospel does relate to them, and how it can help and bless their life.  within the few moments we talk with them... no pressure...  and that is the greatest thing about the gospel of Jesus Christ, it does relate to EVERYONE, and it really does bless every single persons life.  no matter what age, circumstance, interests, or anything.  It truly does.  

well thats about it....  i love you! have a great day, and week!   

oh ps i have to play a hard song on the piano for a musical number. say what? and the lady who asked is just a bit terrifying. so i know that if i play one wrong note, i am probably going to be sent home. no joke. so i will probably be home in a few weeks instead of 4 months.... she is that intense. lovely, but intense.  

pps i am now playing this game where if i am on the bus and no one is sitting next to me, i smile really big at the people outside to see who will smile back. it is quite fun. you get some good reactions. you should try it!

http://www.mormon.org/elaine     one of my favourite I'm a Mormon..... it just shows, we don't all have to be the same cookie cutter person.  that is not what Heavenly Father wants.  He has made us different and He wants us to embrace that.  She is so just herself and unique and just cool. and i like the music... and the baby.... ha

Eating a Jewish cracker 

picture: us eating some Jewish cracker.... a member gave it to us. it was really good. but we ate it with butter and ham, and then realised that might have been a bit disrespectful.... oops
 

love ya! rachel

I told Rachel about our ward Book of Mormon Reading Challenge and she sent this video that she loves:  
President Holland, 4 min. video

toilets and toast

I have decided the hardest thing about a mission, is having to use the toilet, especially because shops and restaurants and other places here don't have any, or they are not available to the public.... so if we are out on the streets in town centre it is pretty much the worst thing ever. but i found this little cafe that has one, so we go there a lot. but you have to buy something, and the cheapest thing on the menu is toast..... so we get a lot of toast.  

We email from the internet hair cutting place like I told you, and this bald black guy is getting his hair done...... i don't really know how it works, but the barber has been working on him for about 30 mins, and it still looks the same..... bald.  someone just needs to let him down gently.  

I have figured out a way to inspire me to write in my journal, I bought a fancy pen!! okay it is a cheap fancy pen, but still.... it is the quill kind. i don't really know how to write with it very well, but my idea has worked, i have been writing in my journal more! also it is because Sister hymas makes me.

Donna is still my favourite person in the whole wide world.  the cutest littlest older lady.  She just gets it, and it is so fun teaching her, because we can ask the deeper questions, and she can make the connections.  She is such a great missionary as well, her children have been questioning her and wondering if she should join the church and she is answering all of their questions and defending her faith! and she says things straight up.  She said when they ask her questions she doesn't know that she tells them,  " I don't know.  I don't know everything, I am still learning, but I like what I am learning, and I feel good about it."  talk about incredible.  after hearing that her family is more supportive... we are trying to meet with them, but we haven't been able to yet.  but i just can't wait for the 25th! and to send you pics of her.  the other day we had to go early to our appointment.  about 50 mins early, (who would think, missionaries early)  and she answered the door and was in her nightgown and didn't have her teeth in, and we said  " we are so sorry we are a bit early!"  she responded, " ya! 50 mins early!"  but in her closing prayer she mentioned that she had a great time, and she knew that we loved her and loved coming even in her unready state. :) 

2 great miracles that happened this week, but i don't really feel like typing, so i will try and summarise, so i hope they make sense,

I was walking down the street and Sister Hymas crossed the street, and but i decided I just wanted to keep walking on this side (not because we don't get along.... we do..... too well ha) but I was walking and just said hello to this girl about early 20's.  she looked confused said hi and then said "ohhhh that's where I know you from."  Then it was my turn to look confused, because i did not recognise her one bit. and i am pretty decent at at least recognising people.  Then she told me, "oh you don't know me, sorry, but I sat behind you on the bus the other day, and heard you talking to a lady and telling her about being over here for a year and being a missionary, and i was eavesdropping....."  fine by me! we got talking, and now we are teaching her! she is so cool. just goes to show you never know who is listening, so even if the person you are talking to is not interested, nothing is ever a wasted effort!   

also another miracle.  her name is Anca from Romania.  There is this lady in the ward named Delunna (acutally dalounna, but i spelled it wrong for a long time, and now i can't really switch, it looks too weird to me)   well she is incredible.  long story short, her life has been really full of challenges, her husband left the church and the family and now all her kids are grown and are less active. but she is still a power house. she lives with her 19 son, 20 daughter and like 24 son, and his wife and their little baby.   anyways we went to go visit her the other day, and begged her to allow us to weed her garden.  finally after much persuasion, she accepted.  We came the next week and weeded the whole front. (not an easy task)  but half way through her daughter-in-law that lives there came out and asked if she could help.  We got talking and she asked what we do and different questions and then she asked if we could teach her!  of course we readily agreed.  

Our first lesson was brilliant.  The spirit was so strong.  She is so sweet, and such a hard worker, and wants to become a good example for her son, and raise him right.  anyways long story short, we came back and she had written a whole page of notes and questions from reading alma 32 which is what we left her.  She said "it is exactly what i needed to read!"  also she said it was the first day in a longggg time that she didn't have a panic attack. and she feels something changing inside, and she blames it all on us.  and that her husband told her that if she is going to come to church, then he will come as well!! the thing is that missionaries have been going to dinner at that home for months and months. it just shows that Heavenly Father knows when the time is right and knows each one of us personally.  That is something I learned with all my heart here on my mission, is that we are each children of God, and that He loves us so much.  the details of our lives matter to Him, and He is waiting and wanting to help and bless us.  We just need to ask! 

Also I want to play matchmaker and have William marry this lady in the ward.... hard thing is that as a missionary we make plans for everything!.... but i have realised this isn't really something you can make plans for. dang. they would be so cute.   

oh ya can we skype 7 your time. so 3 here and 8 for becca. in the morning. is that okay? ya i will log onto beccas and you onto mine i guess. works for me! 

also you know how it was all such a big deal that we can now use facebook.  sister hymas and i have both been blocked for the past few weeks because it thinks we are spammers soooooooo we don't even use it. ha 

also there was a tube strike last week, right in the middle of when we were doing exchanges with the visitor center sisters, and so traveling was a nightmare!!! i decided it is a good thing i am not claustrophobic or i would have freaked. soooooo  many people crammed into a tiny little cart under the ground.  just asking for someone to freak out.     there were massive lines to get on, but the tubes that were coming were all full so no one could get on, so finally the doors open and this lady flings herself on top of the people inside and yells sorry i am late!! it was the funniest thing.  poor people. she literally threw herself on top of them because there was no room.   

that is so exciting for jesse! such a great thing for that family.  really neat that you got to baptise him dad.  also please no fish.  had to eat it at someones home the other day. there was bones. and. everything!!!! ew i almost died.  (Ed and Adam went fishing with the Woodhouses and caught a lot of tapia).  

well have to run, but i love you! i can't believe we are talking this sunday..... where did those 5 months go!! happy early mothers day!!!! love you!!! rachel 

i feel like i am forgetting to say something.... oh well.  

oh we had a mission leader council this week and elder Teixeira and his wife came and spoke to us! it was great! i'll send some thoughts from that next week..... 

OK - mom's notes.  First off, Rachel asks me to change the names of the people in her blog  for privacy sake, which is fine.  This week, however, I found myself challenged with changing not only the name, but it's former misspelling.  Now it's really misspelled.  Oh well.  

I looked at the first picture Rachel sent and wondered why she was sending me this? 

Then I looked at the next one ... and it all became clear.  That's what you call service!  Can't wait until she gets home!  

Maybe for Mother's Day I'll ask for a picture with HER in the freshly weeded garden.  I'll just be happy I got a picture --so beautiful and green!

......

So it was transfers this week,and they didn't make the calls till 11:30... talk about suspense.   but our whole flat is staying, so it does not really feel like transfers. Which is fine because I love London.  Still does not really feel like i am here in england after a year.... sometimes i hear people talk, and it just blows my mind. buttttttt good news, the other day someone said i didn't sound American! except she was about 80 years old and i think pretty deaf, but i will take it :) 

I got the package! i loved it, the lotion was perfect! mmmmm smells so good.  thanks for the bunny and the peeps. i am giving the bunny to william but i forgot it on sunday so it is a bit late, but oh well. better late than never i guess. 

We taught William with President Jordan on Thursday.  It was a short 15 minutes on the Priesthood but the most inspiring ever.  William loved it.  You could tell in his face, it was lit up the whole time.  Especially when President asked him, "how would you feel to be able to baptize your children?" (he doesn't have a family yet.) "or how would you feel to know that you could give your wife and children blessings of health when they are sick?" All of those blessings can be his as he keeps his baptismal covenants.  Man, I just love President Jordan! 

And then on Sunday, William was baptized! Woo hoo!   I promise he was excited, you can't really tell from the picture.  He is not one to show excitement really.... but the Saturday before we had a lesson, and when i asked "well are you excited???" He smiled and replied, "yes i am very excited." so don't let the picture fool you. 

 It was an amazing service.  Except for a minor detail before church even started... So we are sitting in the chapel at 10 am waiting for Sacrament meeting to start and guess what?  William is not there.  We send him a text.  No reply.  I call him and says he is just walking in, so I thought, great! he's here and he'll be walking in at any moment.  Well, the meeting starts and William is not there.  10 minutes pass and still no sign of him.  20 minutes pass and we couldn't see him in the congregation over our shoulders.  Half past 10 and I am starting to freak out thinking he got hit by a car or something!  One last scan of the room before going out to search for his dead body, we see him!  Just a few rows behind us in the middle:) I then get a text from him. 40 minutes later.  I was gonna kill him. haha No worries everything turned out great!  He brought his close friend/flatmate, Dalton, and we had 2 other investigators at church as well. a recent convert, Anthony, baptized him, 3 times.  Third time's a charm, right? ha his forearm was not going under the water...   And Sister H, Sister S, and I sang a trio:) 

 My favourite part of the baptism was his testimony afterward.  He got up and said that he wasn't very good at public speaking, but then proceeded to give a 7 minute speech that was so spiritual and moving, that the room was completely captivated.  He expressed his gratitude to Heavenly Father and to Jesus Christ.  He bore his testimony on the Book of Mormon.  How everyday it is exactly what he needs to hear, and gives him that spiritual strength that he needs for the day.  He was so grateful for the support the ward showed him, he was only expecting about 4 or 5 people and there were about 25. and also he said he is so excited to be a good example to the people around him, and to share this incredible truth and knowledge he has now with his family.  He is going to make such an incredible husband and father, our next assignment we have decided is to find a wife for him ha 

For our exchange this week I was with the visitor center sisters.  Which is brilliant because you pretty much get to be a visitor center sister once month.  While we were there we taught a man on the phone from Pakistan.  It was incredible to see the way that technology can be used to further Heavenly Father's work.  Missionaries are not allowed there yet, but apparently he has about 100 friends and family members that he teaches from what we share with him.  It was such a miracle to hear his faith, and be able to share more of the gospel with him.  

Lunch time at the VC was just proof that even though we are missionaries, we are all still 20ish year old girls.  It was a bright sunny day, and the kitchen we use is right up by the roof, so we went out and all just laid out there eating for our lunch break.  oh the perks of serving in the visitor center.  

Donna's prayers are so sweet and sincere.  I love them.  Prayers of the people we teach are one of my favourite parts.  They are so sincere. and they just talk from the heart.  Such a good example to me and a reminder to me of how i need to better my own prayers. but last time we went in her prayer she asked "Heavenly Father to help her to understand the Book of Mormon, and to understand and take in our messages.  And that she thinks that she will join the church, and by thinks she probably will."   The gospel is for everyone, not our place to judge, we never know who God is preparing, so we have to courageously follow the promptings we get from the spirit to share our testimonies.  That is all we have to share.  We don't need loads of knowledge and a deep understanding of the scriptures.  We just need to be willing and ready to share our testimonies.    

Once again out of time sorry so i will send pics next week.... (because the place with the really nice guy who knows all of us missionaries is closed for a week, so we came to this other place that is really expensive and so we have to run) 

can you believe mother's day is in just 3 weeks?? what the.... i just talked to you! not that i am not excited but just wow. 

LOVE YOU!!! rachel 

   

Garra Ruffa

Such a fun p-day! and week and life :) it was sunny if you can't tell; it especially affects my mood, i was happy already, and the sun and BAM instant high on life  

so we cleaned for a few hours. you know how much i like that. but really. it is weird. i really like it. yay spring cleaning. 

then we went to camden town, where the adventures began. so we got bang bang chicken. yum. missionaries always go there, so they give us free drinks!  

background on camden town. such a ghetto scary but great place. it is definitely a place where sister missionaries stand out like a sore thumb.... i think i got high just from walking around. and you can buy the cheapest (in price and quality) stuff. but it is also full of adventures. every other shop is a tattoo piercing or something or other parlor..... wouldn't know we look the other way ha 

but i decided to get all of my souvenirs. because next week is transfers, and who knows i could be moved up to ipswich and never come back to london! so don't worry i bought loads of london things! 

then we went and got our feet eaten by well-trained baby Piranhas!  no but really.....  not joking there is this place and you sit with your feet in this pool, and the fish eat the dead, hard skin off of your feet! IT WAS SO COOL! it tickled so much slash felt like little vibrations on your feet.   But just kidding about the baby piranhas.... they are called garra rufa. look them up! apparently there is this place in Turkey that you can swim in a whole lake full of them and they do it on your whole body, but  thats just too much. 

Then we went to Hyde Park and it is beautiful!!! today was the most gorgeous day ever.  i realised it is a good thing it isn't sunny here all the time, the English people wouldn't be able to handle it.  they go crazy when it is nice outside.  so we went and decided to ride the Barclay bikes! you can rent a bike for however long you want and then just drop it off at any of the Barclay bike stations, which are ALL over london.  but let me tell you, idk how sisters ride in skirts, because I was struggling!!! i ended up just standing up the whole time, which worked. but it was so beautiful.  I can't believe I am so blessed to be able to live in this incredible place, doing missionary work! the greatest thing that I could be doing! life is great :) 

Also we saw a guy slack lining in the park!!!! he was soooooooo good.  doing tricks on it and everything. reminded me of the time we tried it at the school up at BYU..... we were awful. i almost went and asked him for some tips and if i could try, but i figured it would not be a good skirt activity.  i took a creepy stalker pic but it isn't working, will send it next week.  

The other day I was on an exchange with Sister B! she is serving in the Portuguese branch, so it is her job to just find Portuguese people. It is fun. Also they can go anywhere in London to do it.  So we went to London South, out of the mission boundaries. so rebellious i know.  also I got to have guyana and coxinha and brigadarios. (look up how to make them, and make brigadarios, they are incredible! but i don't usually wait for it to cool and harden to make the balls, I just eat them with a spoon out of the bowl. ha) 

the flat in south kensington has the coolest balcony. except you can't tell from the picture, but just trust me, it is cool. but i don't think sister B was that happy with me making her take a pic on it at 6:30 in the morning.... but she wouldn't sleep outside with me on it, so she owed me at least a picture.   

I decided I am probably the worst sister trainer ever. after one exchange on tuesday, we were meeting at the train station and switching to another one for wednesday/thursday, we were almost there on the tube and i realised i forgot my suitcase back at the flat, even though we went specifically back to the flat to grab it, i was just so excited about my guynana and coxinha that i forgot to grab it.... oops... oh well.... 

I learned a really funny Hungarian Easter tradition. A lady from our ward taught us.  Back in the old days, boys used to dumb a bucket of water on the girls! isn't that funny, the reasoning behind it is because they are watering them just like they water flowers.... idk i guess it makes sense in Hungary. ha but now they don't do a huge bucket, just a little capsule. but still i think it is funny. sometimes wives and mothers would wake up to a bucket of water getting dumped on them! i think i will adopt this tradition in my family, but obviously roles reversed. this tradition is almost as good as the duffins shooting the turkey! 

Strange thing of the week, sister H and i were walking down the high street, and this guy walks up to us, kinda looks like he is in a circus, and asks us if we would like to hear his new song called mother earth.... he was really creepy so we just kept walking, and then he gets really close to us and makes that farting noise with his hands.... and runs away. it was actually hilarious/pretty creepy.    

This past weekend was stake conference, and the Young single adult ward was singing, and they asked us to sing with them.  We sang He is Risen and More Holiness Give me. Mum, our choir was about the exact opposite of yours. (Mom note:  I sent this to Rachel:  "For Easter, our choir is singing "He Is Risen".  There are about 12 people in the choir.  Dad is singing tenor in the choir, McKay is singing bass, I'm singing alto, and Adam sings Bass an octave higher (which is usually the melody). So maybe for family night we'll tape us singing it and send it to you.  :)  haha.  could be really scary" ... back to Rachel's choir)   there was about 40 of us! but I am sure your choir is great too. (I WOULD LOVE A VIDEO OF IT!)  but our conductor was fantastic, she is a senior couple missionary, and she is a expert you can tell, and she helped us to sing it with such feeling.  It was an incredible experience to be a part of.  I love how strongly the spirit is present with music.  It touches the heart in a way that just words can never do.  Singing about our Savior and how He is truly risen was such a beautiful thing. and helped me to understand and feel the spirit about this truth on a much deeper level than ever before.  

Also a few sundays ago, we were waiting with a couple members at the bus stop after church, and i saw this old lady in a window watching all of us. she waved, and I waved back, but then the bus came and we got on.  I made a mental note of the old lady to go back and visit, and while we were on the bus, the senior missionary couple walked up and he said, " did you see that old lady in the window? she needs the gospel."   so we went back the next day and just visited for a quick sec because she couldn't talk, but we gave her a plan of salvation pamphlet.  she didn't seem all that interested but she said we could just stop by sometime during the week, she couldn't give us a specific time.    

about a week and a half later we visited her and after we knocked a few times she didn't answer so we left the complex.  As we were outside of the flats we paused for a few minutes deciding where to next go, and which bus to take.  After a few minutes we hear this little old lady saying "hello.... hello?"  we went back to the door and it was Donna! she is very old and moves slowly and said she is so sorry but she was on the toilet. but we started sharing a bit about the plan of salvation.  Her questions were so deep and sincere it was brilliant.  You would not expect that from a very older lady that seems sickly. and a few minutes in, she asks, "last time you came you had a book with you, can i buy it from you?" our favourite kinda question!!! (They are free and we LOVE to share them).  we are so excited to continue to teach her.  Her neighbor is a member, and said she has talked to her about the church before, but she was never interested.  It just goes to show that it is all in the Lord's timing.  and bonus, she lives about a 2 minute walk from the chapel!! but for her probably a 10 min walk, but still. really close :)  

adam i hear you are a stud at baseball!! good work! dad thanks for the medical advice! i'll stretch better, i am the most inflexible person in the world.  i love your one sentence thoughts. exactly how my brain works. and d. is going with sister k then!!! soo cool. i am sure your lesson was great. who is in charge of singles ward?  mum i liked addisons comment. i also liked the fact that they have technology that can use wifi.... you should see our bricks we use.... its a good thing though i drop it all the time! 

I love you so much! have a great week!!! Jesus Christ is truly our Savior and He is Risen! He lives, and the evidence of it is all around us, if we open our eyes and truly look.  love you!!! rachel 
"To This End I was Born" - 4 min. video

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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!).