"Forks" ... "Fawkes" ?? must be the British accent. Here is the history for us curious "folks". FYI, he's NOT a hero in England. They celebrate the fact that the plan failed, from what I read.
anyways depressing story, but here in England it is the closest thing to
4th of July. apparently there are huge fireworks and they dress up dummies and
burn them in bonfires. should be fun. i love fireworks!
I know exactly what you mean mum about technology. hope it ended up
working for you mckay!
technology is so crazy in the fact that it can be
sooooo useful, aka emailing you miles and miles away, but at the same time it
can be the BIGGEST pain in the butt. i remember countless nights staying up
wayyyy to late because technology was NOT cooperating ha it is weird being so
out of the loop technology wise. people looked shocked when we tell them we
share a phone, don't have tv or computers, and our phone is about £5 and looks
like a brick. but yet we survive!
the hard part is now it gets pitch black at like half 4. the people we try
and stop get scared and think we are trying to mug them. and when we knock on
doors mums always tell us, don't you think it is a bit late to be knocking on
doors. we are trying to put our kids to sleep. and i just stare at them like
they are crazy because it is only 6! but oh well hopefully people will feel bad
for us and invite us in, we chat a bit and bam! they will feel the spirit and
they won't know what hit them. haha i have been trying to think of ways to still
find people at night, and i have decided we should just get a day pass for the
train and then evening time just ride up and down the 30 mins of our area
talking to people on the train.
currently there is this huge storm that is supposed to have happened last
night, and right now. everyone was talking it up, saying it was going to be
huge. winds of 80 miles per hour, crazy rain blah blah blah. i woke up last
night and it was bit windy, but not bad. today it was pretty clear as well.
there are a few trees that blew over, but it was nothing compared to what they
said it was going to be. i am hoping that winters are like this. everyone talks
about it like it is the north pole and that it will be not bad at all. we will
see! this is probably boring every email about the weather, but really everyday
you get all 4 seasons, so it is what everyone talks about here. when i get home
and all i can talk about is the weather people are going to think i am crazy.
mum you would be proud of me, i am becoming such a good homemaker. ha
today i did a deep cleaning of the whole flat. once again took a hammer and
banged out the ice in the freezer to defrost it faster. and made apple crumble,
and last p-day we went to a less actives house and we learned how to make a
skirt. it is not the kind of skirt i will ever wear.... i am picky i know. but
my future little girls could definitely wear them. i almost forgot to mention
the part where it took me three times as long to make the skirt because i kept
messing up and having to unpick things, but hey minor detail.
last sunday we were knocking doors and it was pouring, but the next day a
member told me something that i say to myself now, well i am already wet, i
can't get more wet, so why not just stay out in the rain.
family, my commitment to you for the next couple weeks- be nice to the
missionaries, make them feel welcome and at home. talk to them. become their
friends, even if they are weird and awkward. considering they are elders, they
probably are, justtttkidding. but really do this, because it really makes the
biggest difference to us. the members here are so nice. i love being in the
same area because i now know mostly everyone. i feel like i am part of the
community and family of the ward. one mum, when she asked what we eat and we
told her, the next day she had her son deliver a bunch of groceries of good food
to us. it was the sweetest thing. she has a big family and i am sure the
groceries weren't cheap. her daughter is on a mission in greece, and i am sure
she was hoping there are mums in her daughters ward that would treat the
missionaries the same way. so be that family! be the family that takes notice
of them, remembers their names and cares about them.
so about our investigator. her life is so chaotic right now. i wish we could help
her do all the things she needs to do. she is doing some things with court and
her ex and her kids, and also her mum is having a hard time, and some other
things, and she has a lot on her plate right now. but it is amazing to see the
peace and calmness with which she is dealing with it all. a few weeks ago when
we first started teaching her it was not like this at all. her whole atmosphere
has changed. even the way she physically looks is so much happier, and at
peace. her baptism has had to be pushed back to december 7th. because with her
children and the case, they would not be able to come to it, and she wants them
a part of it and by then the court case will be over, it is the end of november,
and she wants to be able to fully appreciate it and not be going crazy. which is
hard for us as missionaries because a month for us seems like FOREVER. i could
not be here by then, but i just had to step back and think what was best for her
and her family and i read a scripture that made me chuckle about the matter. it
said that "all is as one day with God and time only is measured unto men." Alma
40. kinda just reminded me that what matters is that she is making these
covenants with Heavenly Father. Whether i am there or not, doesn't
matter.
I have been thinking a lot this week about the many many ways that i need
to improve, and what my weaknesses are. I realized that we tend to not notice
our weaknesses when things are going well for us. when things are all peachy
and fine and there is no stress or strain on us, our weaknesses lie in
obscurity. when everything is working out, there is no need to practice our
patience, so we may not realise we are impatient. when we are surrounded by
people we are similar with there is no need to practice our tolerance. or
surrounded by people we love and get a long with, no need to practice loving
everyone. but that is not why we are here on Earth. we are not here to slide
by. we are here to learn, to grow, to try and become more Christlike, and
prepare to meet God. we do this by being put in situations and going through
trials that make us realise our weaknesses, humble ourselves, and rely on the
Lord. In Ether 12:27 He tells us that He gives us weaknesses that we will be
humble. and only through our humility and faith in Him will He make these weak
things strong. http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/ether/12?lang=eng
we go through times in our life and ask why instead of focusing on what we
are supposed to learn and how we are supposed to grow. It reminds me of what
you said mum about when they were building the Salt Lake temple and they had to
bury and hide the foundations from the US army. when they uncovered it they
realised that there were large cracks in the foundation. so many times a
circumstance will reveal to us large cracks in our selves. places where we need
improvement and repairing. instead of moaning and groaning that we need to
start over we should thank Heavenly Father for revealing to us this weakness.
giving us the opportunity to grow and with His help turn it into a strength.
I am really trying to now focus on turning my weaknesses into strengths. I
am grateful to Heavenly Father for putting me in these situations to help me
realise my weaknesses. boy is it not easy. it means going against our natural
self. it means thinking about what we say and do before we say and do it. and
sometimes it means biting our tongue when we REALLLLYYYY want to say something.
but as time goes on, i am confident that with Heavenly Father's help i will
have to bite my tongue less and less, and eventually it will not be my natural
response. isn't life great. that we get these amazing opportunities to learn
and grow. I am so grateful for life! and for the gospel that helps and guides
me in my progression.
sorry for the rant. just some of my thoughts lately. hope you have a
fantastic week! don't eat too much candy. love you!! rachel
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