Edinburgh to Galashiels… rinse and repeat

Well well well, another crazy week, but I know every missionary says that.

BIG NEWS:

WE FINALLY MOVED INTO OUR FLAT! Home sweet home! But we moved in Friday night, and we had to take a train back up to Edinburgh for the weekend for Stake Conference so we were literally in our flat for a good 12 hours before we left it again. But Hey! We came back to Galashiels once again, so we are hopefully done hopping back and forth for at least another two weeks.

VIVIAN:

Vivian is a lady who lives in Galashiels who just got baptized on Friday, which also happened to be her birthday! That also happened to be the night we moved in, so Friday was a crazy day! But her baptism was wonderful! I was asked to sing, so I did, and it went well! I felt the spirit so strong during her baptism and her confirmation, I actually cried! AND I HAD NEVER MET HER BEFORE! She is so dedicated! I can’t wait to work with her while we are down here!

MOVING IN:

We got to Galashiels about an hour and a half before the baptism started, but we had to go shopping to get necessities for our flat. Craziest hour of my life. Imagine buying everything you need for a flat in one hour. Oh man. Then we had to squish it all, along with suitcases, into a tiny European car. A lot of people got pictures of it, but I didn’t since I was squished inside. Hopefully I will get one. Hahaha. The mission President’s wife got a picture and said “Well I know what is going to be on the front of this month’s newsletter now!” Gah oh great! Then we had to run to the baptism, but the sweet older Sisters that took us shopping had to leave, so they threw everything in the Mission President’s car because he and his wife were down in Gala for the baptism. They helped us bring our stuff inside so that was really nice of them.

OUR FLAT:

It’s suuuuper nice! Super posh and big! BLESSINGS! I’ll get pictures of it next week. But even our mission president said when he walked in, “oh woah… okay then!” so score! We spent the next few hours having to unpack everything, and we only have a loaf of bread, some butter, milk and cereal for the weekend hahahah ohhhh its been grand!

STAKE CONFERENCE:

We had Stake Conference this weekend (Gathering of all the local congregations to meet) so we went BACK to Edinburgh again! YAY! We got there Saturday night, and went around the city talking to people again. We met so many awesome people! And I tried a few new techniques in getting people to stop and talk to us. One of them might have been running alongside someone and telling them I would race them in a skirt and flat shoes… hahaha that was a good one! At Stake Conference on Sunday morning, I was so surprised! There were soooo many people! I was actually in shock! There was an African children’s chorus that came and sang and was the COOLEST THING EVER! We had Elder De Feo from the Seventy come and he talked a lot about building faith from nothing! Ah so good! It is in the times when we are tired, worn and exhausted when the Savior will come. Just like when he came to the apostles on the boat to calm the storm, he came at the 4th watch, the last watch of the night to calm the sea. We have to wait for a while in our struggles and trials, but he will come. He will always come. We just have to be patient and try our best. He will always come.

ZONE CLUSTER:

Because of stake conference, we had the rare opportunity to have a zone cluster, where the missionaries that serve in the Edinburgh Zone can all come together and meet. There were 22 of us which is a big deal here, I guess! It was so wonderful! We talked about how we can be more united, and we set some wonderful goals and new challenges and I left that meeting with my heart so full of joy and excitement to go and serve and teach those around me!

FINAL THOUGHTS:

As we took our train home to Galashiels, I reflected on how I’ve felt with my mission so far. You guys, it is the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. It is honestly so hard. There is no way to describe it. But it is also the weirdest sensation of being the happiest that I am. Whatever you’re going through this week, no matter how crazy or hectic it gets with school starting, work getting crazy, or just your children driving you up the walls, please take a moment to sit and reflect on how blessed you are. If you are struggling and don’t feel happy, TALK TO THE MISSIONARIES! It is literally our job and why we are out here to make others happy and bring them joy.