Stories from Ruth #26

I love Chelmsford! I love how beautiful it is out here. Also my district is awesome! We see the elders every day because we basically share the area and they are so nice. And one of the elders is from North Salt Lake and went to Woodscross. Haha! There are a few arguments there!

My first three days here was a blizzard. The temperature was negative and everyone was freezing. We talked to people and they said it was too cold to talk, so we tracted and they said it was too cold. It is always too cold for the english people.

My companion is awesome! She is actually the first missionary from Cyprus. She hit here nine months on her mission this week and we celebrated by eating donuts and lots of them!

The members in my new ward are very friendly. There are two wards in Chelmsford and people from both wards already know me. There was also an Elder Robertson from Birmingham who served here. So it confuses them.

"With even your strongest faith, God will not always reward you immediately according to your desires. Rather, God will respond with what in His eternal plan is best for you, when it will yield the greatest advantage. Be thankful that sometimes God lets you struggle for a long time before that answer comes. That causes your faith to increase and your character to grow." Richard G Scott

This Week at Our House #9 It's March Already?

We went to Wednesday night youth activities for the first time since we moved. We have to be very careful with how much money we spend on anything, gas included, so I have started to grocery shop on Wednesday nights every other week at the same times as youth activities to let our kids do that and enjoy their friends. Kate has also set that time aside with the sister missionaries to join them. We had stake conference this week too, which was an hour and a half drive away!! That is the furthest we have ever had to go for stake conference.
         

1. Well, John did not get the job he interviewed for. But it was only a 2 month position, so hopefully he will get something else that will last longer.
2. I have potatoes coming up in my garden, and I have been hanging out all of our laundry to bring down our electric bill. I really do love being outside here.
3. Ruth has been transferred. She has had to face some pretty angry people both members and non-members and is relieved to be moved to a more country area. I look forward to hearing from her tomorrow.
4. Kate got to go out with the sister missionaries this week. They taught a member of the Navy who has decided to be baptized!
5. John has been making Johnny do a lot more computer programming. Johnny wants to learn it, but not necessarily on John's schedule. Johnny likes to get up early and get his work done then. John tends to get started at 5pm. 
6. Adam quotes from movies all the time. His Uncle Jeremy did this. I wonder if it is genetic.
7. Rachel is so hard to get up in the mornings. She whines and complains and says it is not fair that she should have to wake up, and she is not even a teenager yet.
8. Anya has been drawing a lot of pictures and is planning a book she wants to write. 
9. I give the kids a treat for each chapter book they read. I grocery shop every two weeks, so they get a treat for every book they read in those two weeks. Joseph had neglected to read anything, but when he found out I was going to the store in 2 days, he read two books.
10. Joshua's reading is coming along very well. He is reading books on his own now, and when he reads with me he isn't so slow and he can sound out words without help. I think in another year, he will be a good reader.
11. Arwen loves and adores Rachel and is always asking to play with her. I love how the little kids admire their older siblings.
12. Susan has decided her name is Lila-- which happens to be my older sister's name-- though Susan has only met her once. When you ask Susan what her name is, she says, "Wiwa".  This really bothers Joshua, who insists his name is Josh-u-a and apparently feels like everyone should be called by their name. So Josh runs after Susan and says, "Your name is Susan," or your name is "Suzy". Then Susan cries and says, "No, my name is Wiwa."
13. Sam put a bunch of duplo blocks together and then very happily and proudly brought them to John to show what he had done. John was quite impressed too, because Sam is only 15 months and we don't think any of the kids could put those blocks together so young. Sam has been saying Anya's name and calling her and Anya just loves that!

Pictures

A Poem to Ruth

A Poem for Ruth 

My elegant girl 

flew far from here

A priceless pearl 

She went to share 

Many a person 

she tried to teach

Though everyone

said “don’t you preach” 

To England gone

Press on, press on 

Words of hate

She ever endured

Yet with strength great

And Spirit inured 

Boldly she spoke

Christ’s words of love

truth ever to evoke

from the heavens above 

To England gone

Press on, press on

Stories from Ruth # 25

 

This week was the very last week of the transfer! And I am moving to Chlemsford! This week I met the second Mexican I have ever seen in England, taught primary, and play football in Hatfield. On Wednesday we had a crazy busy day running to appointments which was good! We gave Simeon a Book of Mormon, had a lunch appointment and lesson with Sister Sim, and attended Ward counsel which we walked to. We had one lesson cancel which we were going to take a bus for, however the bus never showed up and then we get a call from our appointment asking if we could cancel that day and we agreed, because we both felt like there was somewhere else we needed to be. So we went finding and we found a young brazilian family and our mexican friend. On Thrusday we had exchange and I got lucky because we played football again with a recent convert and an investigator. 

I did not fall once! I only kept tripping people on accident!

This week's spiritual thought is:
Mosiah 4: 6 "I say unto you, if ye have come to a knowledge of the goodness of God, and his   

matchless power, and his wisdom, and his patience, and his long-suffering towards the children of men; and also, the atonement which has been prepared from the foundation of the world, that thereby salvation might come to him that should put his trust in the Lord, and should be diligent in keeping his commandments, and continue in the faith even unto the end of his life, I mean the life of the mortal body—
7 I say, that this is the man who receiveth salvation, through the atonement which was prepared from the foundation of the world for all mankind, which ever were since the fall of Adam, or who are, or who ever shall be, even unto the end of the world.
8 And this is the means whereby salvation cometh. And there is none other salvation save this which hath been spoken of; neither are there any conditions whereby man can be saved except the conditions which I have told you."

This Week at Our House #8 Spring Comes to Briarhovel

Spring came this week. The weather was warm. I planted potatoes outside. We met the neighbors who homeschool and have 5 kids. Numerous trees on our property blossomed. I love the peace we feel from the nature around us.   

1. John had his first job interview in 6 months of searching. Hopefully this will work out.
2. When I was not teaching school or cooking, I was outside working or reading. I got to meet our neighbor and ask her about gardening. She has been growing a big garden here for 19 years. Adam and Anya helped me to plant some potatoes directly outside. I had two potato plants ready to be planted outside and as of today, I have five. I fermented tomato seeds, and they will be ready to plant in another week. I pray over my garden. I want it to be productive. I will get chickens as soon as we can afford it because I need their poop for fertilizer.
3. Ruth said that her area is very sad. There are a great many people who are distressed and suffering. They have a great need for the gospel, but they do not know it.
4. Kate has reached 18.5 and has talked to the Bishop. He is beginning the paperwork for her mission and gave her the first half of her temple recommend. Kate is beyond excited!
5. Johnny woke up extra early on Friday morning to clean the bathrooms for me. He is a dear.
6. We are trying and trying to get Adam to pay attention to what he is doing and do them well. I think he wants to, but has spent most of his life getting the bare minimum done and is now finding it hard to do a serious study of things. I know that if he continues to put in a serious effort and is honest about what he understands and doesn't understand things will become a lot easier for him.
7. Rachel has memorized the first vision scriptures perfectly word for word. I am very proud of her. It was 772 words and the language is older. 
8. Anya helped me plant the potatoes because she liked doing it. Having help, made the process go a lot faster. I am glad that she did. Anya is having trouble memorizing. I think it will get easier for her as she does it more and learns to concentrate and not let her mind wander.
9. Joseph finished his memorizing, though he still changes the words up. I think he has done very well for an 8 year old.
10. I subbed in primary today and got to see Joshua. The sharing time teacher asked if anyone knew about the ten commandments and Josh said, "I know one is do not commit adultery. Another is thou shalt not lie, and thou shalt not kill. Killing is evil." I thought he was really cute. When we were home and I told the story, Rachel told me that Joseph gave the same answer.
11. On the day the trees blossomed, Arwen came to me and said, "Mom, did you know that this world is becoming a flower world?"
12. I taught Susan's sunbeam class. I was pleased that she did a good job answering questions. Though, if she did not know an answer, she would automatically say, "Jesus Christ."
13. Sam did not eat again until Wednesday. I was relieved when he started eating again. He also became happy again that same day. I had missed my happy little guy. I am glad that he is finally feeling better.

Pictures

Stories from Ruth #24

This week was crazy as usual! Sister Bastien and I woke up Sunday morning to a man screaming and Friday morning seeing five policemen run after a man, both occured right outside our door. England is sketchy, but I love it. 

We taught Mary last pday and she has started to read the Book of Mormon which is exciting! 

Sister Bastien and I went finding in the windy, freezing, rain this week and had a miracle, we met this really chill guy who was interested to learn more and is now reading the Book of Mormon! We gave him one last week and he has already started to read it which is great! On the way home I got splashed by a car driving by and got mud all over me for valentines day! I just laughed and was grateful I was not wearing white. 

 

Friday we decided to go tracting around where the Baron's used to live. We knocked on this door and a little boy wearing his dad's suit coat and a little girl wearing her mom's coat, answered the door. The two of them in unison then said, "Hello we are Mr and Mrs Petell!" Sister Batien and I were giggling. First we asked if their parents were home and they said that they were the parents. We then introduced ourselves and told them why we were here. The dad popped his head around the side and the little boy asked "Are you interested?" The dad responded, "I don't know dad, I am just your son." They were not interested, but it was funny. Then we knocked on Francesca's door, who is a friend to the Baron's, and she invited us in and we are going to be seeing and teaching her family. Yeah!

We went to Hemel and climbed or lunged up hillroad two different days.
On Sunday we went tracting and met this Romanian guy who did not know much English. He then called his brother and asked him to translate and then his brother just drove down instead. We asked his brother why he drove down and he said he heard "I heard two girls and I'm coming!" Needless to say we had a gold laugh!

Well quote and scripture of the week is: "Then, the more one’s will is thus “swallowed up,” the more his afflictions, rather than necessarily being removed, will be “swallowed up in the joy of Christ” (Alma 31:38)." Neal A Maxwell "Swallowed Up in the Will of the Father"

And "Valiant in the Testimony of Jesus" by Ezra Taft Benson "Not to be valiant in one’s testimony is a tragedy of eternal consequence. These are members who know this latter-day work is true, but who fail to endure to the end. Some may even hold temple recommends, but do not magnify their callings in the Church. Without valor, they do not take an affirmative stand for the kingdom of God. Some seek the praise, adulation, and honors of men; others attempt to conceal their sins; and a few criticize those who preside over them."