I Believe In Christ

Dear Family,

Way to go on the missionary experiences everyone!!! I am so proud of you all! Keep it up! I'm excited to hear more next week!

Our new relief Society presidency really is the best! Sister Rogers isn't the one who makes 7 desserts (that's SIster Hawkins... we're going there next week!!!), but SIster Rogers does feed us every week and is a good cook. She's given me lots of yummy dessert recipes. She called her counselors yesterday: Sister Lingad (a phillipino sister who recently moved in who is a member missionary machine! We just started teaching her friend) and Sister Johnson (the bishop's wife, who is also a fantastic member missionary: she invited over 40 nonmembers to her son's baptizm and is working really closely with this one family whose children participated in the primary program!). It's going to be amazing to see how this change will help the missionary work move forward. We also had an amazing lesson with SIster Roger's neighbor Suzie this week! She is so excited for us to come back. 

I love England, but the weather really is stupid! Every time it starts raining, Sister Larson and I get out our umbrellas and about 2 minutes later it's stopped raining. So we put our umbrellas away and then it starts raining again a few minutes later. Over and over and over this happens. And we can't just leave our umbrellas up while it's not raining because then we just look silly and it's a hastle, but seriously every time once we put our umbrellas away it starts to rain again and once we get them out it stops. So weird. It hasn't been too unbearably cold.

This week, our investigator, Rudy, accepted a baptismal date. We started teaching him during the week because he takes care of his young children on the weekend and they are very distracting in the lesson. We took them to church on Sunday. WE were a bit nervous that they wouldn't be ready on time and how the kids might behave, but once we got there, the kids were all ready and looking out the window. Once they saw us they started yelling and getting excited,"Dad, Sister Davis and Sister LArson are here! They are here! They are here!" It was so cute! And they were so good during church. Our ward was really great about fellowshipping them.

Lakota gets back from holiday today. I hope he is still progressing and no strong opposition happened while he was away.

Missy's mom is softening her heart, but still hasn't agreed for Missy to be baptized. We gave Missy a new date with the hope that her mom will say yes this weekend. WE set the date for the 2nd of November. MIssy's birthday is the 3rd of November and would then get the gift of the Holy Ghost on that day. What better gift than that for her birthday?! She is so excited! Please pray that her mother will allow her to be baptized then!!!

We've had a good week. Time just is flying though. It's crazy how fast the weeks go, yet how LONG some of the days can be. But it's great and we are teaching such wonderful people, and pray that we will continue to find those that are prepared. People really need the gospel now more than ever! I just wish that all of them would realize that. It really is so scary to see how sneaky and deceitful Satan can be in keeping people from the truth. We met this mother and daughter yesterday. The daughter is 16 and she smoked 2 cigarettes in the time that we were there. The mother has been smoking since she was 9 and said she's tried to give it up but her children won't let her! How sad! I don't know if I've mentioned it before, but EVERYONE in England smokes. I really just don't understand why it apeals to people, but it just is so so sad. This mother was also convinced that because she is "a good person" that that is enough and she doesn't need Jesus Christ. If people could just open their hearts and really understand what Jesus Christ can and will do for them. Thankfully there are people who will listen and who allow their hearts to be changed, but it really is the saddest thing to see those who have just hardened their hearts so much to God and those things that would truly make them happy. 

I am so grateful that I KNOW that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that he came to earth and suffered and died for me. He knows everything that I ever go through and knows perfectly how to help me. Because of Him, I can be forgiven. I can be clean. And I know that is true for every single one of God's children! What a glorious, happy plan Heavenly Father has made for us! 

Continue to spread this wonderful message to all those around you!

I love you all so much!!! 

Love, Sister Davis 

Converting the Princess

Dear Family,

Thank you for your letters!

No one here says "oh sugar". They do have very strang sayings though. Sister larson and I were just making a list of them the other day. I'll send some to the family. They say cheeky here a lot. That is Sister Larson favorite one and she uses it all the time. haha. They especially say cheeky monkey. There are different accents. The farther up north people are from the stronger their accent and the harder to understand them. I don't really have a favorite. Sister Larson and I are working on our accents though. Every morning when we read the missionary handbook we do it in our best English accent (which for me most of the time sounds more new zealandy than Brittish...)

Sister Larson and I do lots of fun things. We haven't done a chocolate face mask yet, but we have a fun jar that we do every night. They are weird, random things. One night we skipped around, one night had a 3-minute dance party, last night we played "this word describes..." with the dictionary and randomly flipping open and picking a word. We have one that is to put up the Christmas tree (we have one in our flat :)). So we have lots of fun!

This week has been pretty good. We desperately need to find more people to teach. Lakota is doing well, but he's gone on holiday for two weeks (what is with all our investigators always going on holiday?). The weather here has been... well, English weather. We had an amazing summer. And now it is over. IT has been downpouring rain most days. That makes tracting fun! But atleast it causes people to ask us why on earth we are knocking on doors in that weather and provides great opportunities to testify.

We are having slow success with exciting the members, but success nonetheless. We have started having a missionary moment at the beginning of Relief Society and we had a WONDERFUL missionary lesson in RS yesterday. We got a new RS President. It was one of the couselors from before, Sister Rogers. She's amazing. And she referred us to two of her neighbors, who we have appointments with tomorrow! Pleas pray they go well! It's for Kelly and Susie. She will be amazing though. She already basically was president, because the previous president (who also was amzing) went on holiday for a month and recently has been really sick. We also got a new Elders Quorum President ( I wonder if it has anything to do with the issue of home teaching). Hopefully we can really get the ward council doing missionary work and that will inspire the rest of the ward.

We had an amazing sacrament meeting yesterday. We have those special people who always get up every Sunday and do the "did I tell you the story about..." kind of testimonies. They got up yesterday as well, but then so many others got up and bore simple, pure testimonies of the Savior. The spirit was just wonderful! Too bad none of our investigators could make it :(

Mom, before I forget, I can't remember if I told you this already, but a couple weeks ago I had a dream that the family all went to the party for the queen. In the dream you gave Princess Kate a Book of Mormon. And then she asked to meet with us, the missionaries! IT was awesome!

We got the mp3 of the last session of Conference and have started listening to it. So good!! I just love Conference! And the gospel! And the fact that we have a living prophet! And the fact that I get to teach people about our Savior! What a wonderful gospel this is!!

I love you all so very much! I pray for you and know the Lord is blessing you!

Love,

Sister Davis

So we had an emergency transfer this week.

I'm going to......

 

 

HOGWARTS!! ;)

 

 

I got to go to Platform 9 3/4!!! HOw cool is that?! 

 

Dear Family,

Don't worry; I'm not dead. Sorry that I didn't get to write yesterday. We had an all day sisters training conference in London. It was wonderful and so uplifting. Between watching the RS Broadcast, the first three sessions of Conference, and the Sisters Training, I am all super spiritually recharged! What a wonderful past few days!! Conference truly was AMAZING! I LOVED all the focus of member missionary work. Sister Larson and I are so excited to start really working with our members and helping them get fired up about missionary work and fulfilling the call the prophet has given to them. Way to go on making a family mission plan. I'd love to hear more details about it! So many people commented about President Eyring's talk and for the life of me I can't remember what he talked on. I'll have to look at my notes when I get back to the flat. I think with all the broadcasts and trainings and everything it's all just blended into one. I do know that I LOVED President Monson's talk at the Relief Society Broadcast and I loved the focus of covenants. It is always interesting to see the theme of Conferences. Aside from the last session (since it was too late here for us to watch it), it seemed covenants, missionary work, and enduring (truly living the gospel, handling challenges with faith, repenting, and making and keeping covenants) seemed the big themes. It does make it seem like the second coming is getting closer and closer. How wonderful that we get to be a part of this great work!! Also, the missionaries from Central London after conference are in my mission; I know them!!! The one from New Zealand is one of our AP's. all wonderful missionaries! I must say watching Conference as a missionary is a bit of a different experience. So many things people said I was thinking, "if only ____ was watching this." or "this is just for ____" or "I hope that _____ is watching this and feeling the spirit of this particular message" But of course, I was blessed to get lots out of it for myself as well. What a wonderful blessing to have living prophets and apostles! I don't know how anyone could watch conference and doubt this wonderful good news of the restored gospel. It's so true!!! And Conference just brings the perfect spirit of it!

 Sister Larson really is so great! She is from Fruit Heights, Utah. She knows our cousin, Mark! They went to school together!! How fun! She has the same laugh as Megan. IT's awesome! And we laugh a lot, which is so great! She's only been out three months, but I feel like she is re-training me. She's so wonderful. And she has some great ideas about helping our ward become more enthusiastic about missionary work. She also is a cosmotologist. Free haircuts!! Which is awesome because on transfer day I really wanted to go get my hair trimmed because it is driving me NUTS. We didn't have time though with visiting people and getting Sister Som packed. Then what do you know, I get a companion who cuts hair. I was so excited when she told me (especially because hair cuts here are pretty pricy... and that's even just having them cut it dry-they have dry cuts and wet cuts and the wet cuts are ridiculously much). Since we were in London yesterday for pday I haven't been able to get it cut yet, but I WILL get it cut next week.

We saw a fox this week! It was awesome. People are always saying they are everywhere in England and I finally got to see one.

We had a crazy Ward council this week. It was like WWIII. It was over Home teaching (which I heard the priesthood session talked a bit about.). Our ward has been saying the HT list is going to be re-done and updated ever since I got here and keep promising that it will be done by the next ward council. Well, 4.5 months later with me still here, it still isn't done. Our RS President wasn't too happy about it. And the Elders Quorum wasn't at the meeting to help sort anything out. Hopefully by the next ward council it will be done or else I don't envy the person who has to tell our RS President. I can understand her frustration because so many sisters are struggling to stay active and having Home teachers who can bring the spirit to the home can make such a difference. Hopefully as we continue to work with the ward as well, we can help.

Lakota is doing pretty well. His mom fell this past week and so he had to go and help her and we weren't able to visit him :( But we are suppose to be seeing him today. Hopefully it goes well!!

We also have the daughter of a less active , Missy, who is suppose to be baptized in a couple weeks. Her father's heart is finally softened to the idea (his son was just baptized a few weeks ago). And he is really excited for her, but now her mom is not happy with it. Please pray that her mom's heart will be softened and that she can get baptized!!

So we went and taught Lakota and he is doing great! He will go on holiday this week, but he is excited to continue to read the Book of Mormon and he really wants to come to church once he gets back!

I am so thankful for this wonderful gospel. I know that it has been restored in it's fulness. I know we have a living prophet today, Thomas S. Monson. He speaks for God. He holds the power of God. I have been called and set apart with that power. For that, I am so eternally grateful!

I love you all!!!!!!!!

Love, Sister Davis xoxoxo

We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet

Dear Family,

Can you believe this week marks my 6 months?! It is going by much too fast, but I am so grateful everyday for inspired leaders and the opportunity the Lord has given me to devote myself to full-time service. It is hard to believe it was a year ago that President Monson made the announcement that has completely changed my life and is completely changing the world. I am so excited for GEneral Conference!!!!!! HOpefully we will be able to get many people there. However, sadly because of the time difference I won't be able to see all of the session. Hopefully, it will work to be able to see all but the last session. We haven't seen the RS broadcast but they are broadcasting it this week. I'm looking forward to seeing it.

Shayla is still doing amazing. She is integrating into the ward really well. She went to institute this week and really enjoyed it. They are just starting the Book of Mormon course so it will be perfect for her! The miracle man in the library is doing really well. His name is Lakota. HE accepted a baptismal date in November!! It would have been sooner but he is going on holiday for 2 weeks to Germany. We had taught him Word of Wisdom in our first lesson and when we went back he had already given up tea completely and was cutting down on coffee. So wonderful!! We had this other amazing investigator, Carla, who was getting so excited to be prepared for baptism, but sadly one of her friends sad some negative things about our church that Carla took as her answer that it wasn't true. I was devastated! It is so sad to see people blinded by the craftiness of men and fail to understand the happiness that their loving Heavenly Father so desperately wants for them. Hopefully in time her heart will be softened.

This week truly has been full of miracles and we have met so many amazing people!

Sacrament Meeting was absolutely wonderful! IT was the primary program. Other than General Conference I think it is my favorite Sunday of the year. There is just such a sweet spirit about seeing and hearing the children bear testimony of sweet, simple gospel truths. Our bishop and his wife have been working closely with their friends who have three children. They were able to come on Sunday and two of their children that were old enough were able to participate in the program. THey are definitely going to join the church one day. They are such a wonderful family! And it was a really sweet experience to see a once less-active man and his recently baptized son pass the sacrament. Sister Greenfield and I had been teaching the son, but then passed him to the elders because we felt that it would help him relate with the priesthood more. He was baptized a couple weeks ago and received the priesthood last Sunday. We are still teaching his younger sister (who's 10), but her dad who was originally hesitant for her to be baptized is eager for her to be able to be baptized as well. So hopefully in a couple weeks she will be baptized as well. It is amazing to see the growth this family has made. In general on Sunday it was just a really sweet experience to see the growth the ward has made since I've been here and to be able to see how I've been able to be an instrument in the hand of the Lord in making it happen. I felt it was the perfect Sunday to be my possible last. The Lord definitely knows what is best. We received a call last night. I will be..... staying in Gillingham! Sister Som is leaving to Romford and I am getting Sister Larson here. I think that she just finished her 12-week training. I honestly was pretty shocked that I am staying here; I had SIster Som all prepped to take over the area, but I think she is relieved to not be in that situation. By the end of this transfer I will have been here for 6 months. I am really happy though because I just absolutely love the people. The ward is fantastic and we are working with so many wonderful people. When the Lord decides it is finally the time for me to go somewhere else it will be really hard to leave. I'm excited to see the miracles that will happen this next transfer. This is truly the Lord's work and He is doing things in His way:perfectly. I know this church is true; that it is God's kingdom on the Earth. I know that through the prophet Joseph Smith the priesthood, the power and authority of God, was restored to the Earth. I am grateful for the saving ordinances it allows us to perform, the sweet covenants it allows us to make. I know the Book of Mormon is the word of God. It was written for our day and I come to love it more and more every single day.

Enjoy listening to a prophet's voice this weekend! (Don't forget to come prepared with questions and prepared to receive personal revelation :))

I love you all!!

Love, Sister Davis

 

"We invite all men everywhere to read the Book of Mormon, another testament of Jesus Christ.The Bible sits on the pulpit of hundreds of different religious sects. The Book of Mormon, the record of Joseph, verifies and clarifies the Bible. It removes stumbling blocks, it restores many plain and precious things. We testify that when used together, the Bible and the Book of Mormon confound false doctrines, lay down contentions, and establish peace. (See 2 Ne. 3:12.) We do not have to prove the Book of Mormon is true. The book is its own proof. All we need to do is read it and declare it! The Book of Mormon is not on trial—the people of the world, including the members of the Church, are on trial as to what they will do with this second witness for Christ."- President Ezra Taft Benson