Another Baptism coming up!

December 16, 2013
Dear Family,
I have some excitifying news. Talyia is going to be baptized this Saturday! WHOO! She's definitely ready and we love her to bits. She's also hilarious and she always makes fun of my Canadian accent. On my birthday we're going to have FHE with her and tonight we are going Christmas caroling. It's so fun to teach her as well.

Christmas Tree FHE with the Herns

     There are more miracles this week as well (as always...but this one is especially nice). On Tuesday someone rang the Bishop's office to ask about meeting times (miracle #1), then the bishop forgot to ask for their name and number (-1 miracle, haha), then Brother Jones dialed some magical code in the phone and got the number (miracle #2), and then gave the number to us. Then we phoned a few days later and made an appointment for the next day to introduce the church to her (miracle #3), AND she came! (miracle #4). We had an incredible lesson with her. Her name is Ashley and she's definitely prepared. We taught her the first two lessons and she accepted a baptismal goal! (miracle #5). AND Talyia came early for her interview so she sat in at the end of our lesson and, bless her, she testified so beautifully! (miracle #6). We are so happy and very grateful. And Talyia is as ready for baptism as she'll ever be. She's reading regularly and she has been having a great time at church. It's so cute because she wears her "I love Ed Sheeran" hoodie to church and comes on her Penny Board. She even came to church when she slept over at her friend's house the night before. She's really making it a priority. I will most definitely miss her when I'm transferred.

With Sister Munroe

     There have been more miracles. I found a warm coat! Sister Monroe and I bought the same ones so now we are all matchy matchy. And we are writing a most fantastic Christmas Carol melody. I will video it so you can see it in the future. Christmas is so soon! AND I am 21soon...argh...I want to be `5. I don't believe I've had a full year of being 20...that's not okay!
    No snow! (miracle #780921340978) and there is a lady in this library who is wearing a string of Christmas lights shaped as Santas. (-1 miracle)
   What else? Well I loveyou all.
   Happy Christmas!
Love,
Sister Lybbert

p.s. thank you for the girts, and letters, and cards, and thank you to Grandma and Grandpa L for the Mickey Mouse bandaids because I had a paper cut when I opened the card, and because I know when I was little I'd always use up all of your super durable fabric band-aids. :)

Fabulous Week

December 9, 2013
Dear Everybody,
     THANK YOU for the whackload of e-mails today. I don't have time to reply to all of them, I'm in a bit of a rush today but I do appreciate every single one.
     To all of you who inquired about sending Christmas things, they are to be sent to my flat, not the mission office (to avoid chaos). However, since it will probably arrive after Christmas, it is alright if you send them to the mission office. If you need my flat address, contact my mom (assuming you know the telephone number) and she can give it to you or e-mail it, or facebook it.
     This week has been so so so great. Gwen is progressing! Before we met with her on Saturday, I was feeling a little doubtful that she has been working on the Word of Wisdom like we had committed her to because she flogged our appointment on Friday. We felt that we should go by on Saturday and see how she was doing.
     We went to her house, and there on the table was a cup of coffee, therefore, by doubts were still somewhat present. But, when we asked her about it, she said she's improved from drinking 15 cups a day and is now only drinking SEVEN. Whoo! And, she flogged but it was because she had to help her daughter and our appointment just slipped her mind. It made me so happy. She's even looking for options to help her to stop smoking. She is praying sincerely for help as well. I am so so happy.

Talyia

Talyia and Trish

     AND Talyia...golden. We were able to meet with her quite a  lot this week, and we even met with her mum and Marcy [her sister]. It was so nice and she's been reading the Book of Mormon regularly.  She's on chapter 11. She texts us whenever she reads a chapter because she's so excited. She came to church again yesterday and although we weren't in Young Women's or Sunday School with her, Clair (the YW president) said that Talyia was answering all of the questions, and even doing the writing on t he board. She also brought a friend to the activity on Wednesday. She's a great example to her family and friends. And she's only 12! She's not much older than Joshy. I feel like Josh must be so old now because Talyia is clever, mature, and she is gaining a real testimony of the gospel.
    We've had a fabulous week.

Our Family Christmas tree photo

What else? I love having flatmates. It makes everything so funny and exciting.



And I'm so excited for Christmas.
Love you all,
Sister Lybbert

Weeks 24 and 25

November 25, 2013
Excitifying news with transfers! I'm not moving, Sister Nigido is also staying and WE'RE GETTING FLATMATES! There is another set of sisters coming to South Shields and I could not be more  thrilled. It is Sister Monroe and her trainee whom we will meet tomorrow. There is a good chance, since there are only three sisters coming in this transfer, that it is Sister Neilson, my fellow Canadian / long lost cousin. I am so happy. Ah, the joy!

On the metro at 5 a.m. for zone conference

     The weather hasn't been too bad. Today it is quite nice but on Wednesday it was hellish. (I'm convinced hell is a place where there is freezing rain, cold winds, boisterous thunder, lightning, and nobody has proper coats or boots or mittens.) Our appointment fell through Wednesday evening and we were knocking in it. I am going to buy a new coat sometime soon, but when P-day rolls around the weather is nice and I fell more motivated to do other things, like be at the chapel with all of the missionaries. Last week, Elder and Sister Marsh, the missionary couple in Newcastle, brought loads and loads of apples they'd picked from a member's tree and all of us were slicing them and then they made apple pie. That's something I miss, is Dad's apple pie. We watched Monster's University. I think I loved it better than the first one. It was hilarious!

across the Tyne to North Shields

Sister Nigido (my daughter), me,
Sister Decker (my sister), Sister Jodicke
 (my mother) and Sister Burningham
 (my grandmother)

     On to the more spiritual side of things, Talyia is the most adorable friend of ours. She is so excited to come to Young Women's with us tomorrow and she came to the ward buffet / Georgina's baptism on Saturday. Georgina was being taught by the Elders. Elder Saolotoga, from Australia and Elder Wells from Utah. It was a miracle because not only Talyia came, but her mom slipped in the back just as the dinner was about to start. I'm so grateful her mom came to be with her. The other night, her mom stayed and listened for a little bit while we were reading the Book of Mormon with her. Talyia is the sweetest girl in England. If I'm ever rich enough, I'm flying her over to visit me in Canada. She is only 12 but she has real desires to know more about Jesus Christ, and about how she can find peace in this life and the one to come. It was so cute because she was outside with her Penny Board when we showed up for one of our appointments, and her dad was in but her mom wasn't so we couldn't go inside. So, we ended up teaching her while we made laps around the block. We probably walked around her block 12 times and it was so cute because I fell like she's just like Ashy in some ways and I care about her just like a little sister.

Sisters Cavallero and Nigido...
my friends from Italy

     I love South Shields. We went on exchanges with some of the sisters in the ward last week as well and I had such a great time. I don't know what else to say except I love it here.
I'm so happy Kaiah is loving her job, and things are going well.
I love you all so much and I'm always praying for you. The Lord is mindful of all of his people and he will guide us and help us when we humble ourselves and ask in faith.
Love,
 Sister Lybbert




December 2, 2013
Dear Family,
Oh, bless! Penny and Erik are adorable! [cousins' babies that I sent pictures of to Sister Lybbert] I am so happy that you were able to go down and see them and that I was sent photos. Mom, you look hot (young, vibrant, happy) ....so do Grandpa and Grandma.
     This week was excellent. It is really funny because the flatmates that we gained in South Shields are Sister Monroe and Sister Neilson, my long lost cousin from Cardston! It was so strange to meet another person from home. We were looking through photos and it's odd to see people that I know or when we were looking through Mara's wedding photos, it was weird for her because she's really good friends with Kirsty.
     I still haven't found a warm coat, I was going to today and then we decided to go to Newcastle for P-day and watch anime with all of the other missionaries...yes, we do that on our p-days and I'm not complaining...I'm actually enjoying it. I think because with my Chinese missionaries, and all the other missionaries it is just so funny. I know how to say "What are you?!" in Mandarin. Sister Wu taught me. :) She's from mainland China and was converted when she was at school in Greece. Her MTC teacher was the missionary who taught her in Greece. Small world ;)
     This week was great. We saw some miracles as we extended the Word of Wisdom commitment to Gwen, and she accepted! Gwen is so sweet. She has so many struggles, nevertheless, she is willing to exercise faith and try giving up her smoke and coffee.
     Talyia is a doll. She came to church on Sunday and she loved it, and she came to young Women's last Wednesday and loved that as well. WE made pizzas. She made a sweet one with peanut butter, jam and all sorts of sweets. It is hilarious because people here don't even comprehend how peanut butter and jam go together. Sister Nigido thought I was off my rocker when I put it on my toast. She loves her giant jar of Nutella and all of her other Italian things. She has real Parmesan cheese and real mozzarella cheese... like not the kind you shake out of a tub. Fancy schmancy.

   What else? Well, I love this ward to bits.

I've been asked to sing at the Relief Society Christmas Party and I was wondering if you could e-mail me some songs or things that we could maybe do? I don't know if I'll have time next week but I'd like O, Holy Night if you could send it. :)
   I'm so excited to see your book! I cannot wait.
   I don't really know what else to say, except that IT"S DECEMBER AND CHRISTMAS IS SO SOON!
I'm not sure how the Skype thing works, but will any time work for you? We'll probably do it in the evening or late afternoon here.
Love you lots,
Merry Christmas!
Sister Lybbert

No Snow Yet

November 4, 2013
Dear Everybody,
I am still grateful for the lack of snow here. It rained pretty hard for a few days this week, but we managed to avoid a hurricane last Sunday. (It wasn't going to be crazy, but enough to keep us in.)
Halloween...i can't believe that it is over and I can't tell you how much I am glad because of that. Halloween has never been my thing, especially here where they don't even sell mini chocolate, just ugly gummy candy.
     For Halloween P-day, we dressed up (not really me, I've never been creative with the costumes) and met up as a zone at the Newcastle Chapel. There, we were sorted into houses (it was absolutely hilarious. There was the music, the sorting hat, and all) I was Slytherin, of course. Then we had contests. One was the Weetabix Whistle challenge. It was horrid. We had to eat a whole Weetabix as fast as possible, and then whistle. the first team to whistle, won.

Elder Harris & Elder Richards...yes they brought the carpet
(Aladdin and Jasmine for those who couldn't tell)

     On actual Halloween though, we had to be in at 6:30 so Sister Nigido and I celebrated properly by making a Christmas paper chain advent, and listening to Christmas music.
     There were some incredible miracles this week. Our goal for new investigators at the beginning of the week was 4. Half way through the week we were still struggling. I was struggling with having the faith to find people who are sincere about learning more of our message. We had decided one night that we would go knock some houses at Beaconside just before a tea appointment at a nearby street. We did, and I just had the feeling somebody would be interested. A man earlier on in that street even said, "I bet you'll find someone along here somewhere" (he was most likely being sarcastic, and trying to get rid of us, but I decided to just add his comment to my faith, hahaha)

Real Holly!

   Well, at the perfect time, an elderly lady, Joyce, answered her door, and we talked to her for a few minutes. then she let us in! We taught her and her husband, David, and it went wonderfully. I could see David's eyes become brighter as we taught more about God's love for us and about eternal families. We left with a commitment for them to read the BOM, and they became our new investigators.
     Then, Friday, we were knocking a street that I felt a while ago that we should make our way to. It was incredible. the first house let us in, we taught him, and he believed everything we said was true! Except he said that he's a Baptist and he believes God is ruling all of the churches...and that he really feels the Pope needs to change some things about the Catholic church... So, I don't think he really understood what he said when he mentioned God rules all of the churches... in a way I found it comical and a tad frustrating. Haha.
     The rest of the street was really receptive as well. We met a man, Oley, who became another new investigator. He doesn't believe in God, and he doesn't even believe in spirits. He's an engineer with some big company somewhere. He GAVE his daughter a brand new BMW. Anyway, he doesn't even see how if there were spirits, they could find each other because the earth is moving so fast that when the people die it's always in a different position. It was something I've never heard before, but I guess it will take a bit of understanding about the nature of God and this life.

Sister Mitchel...one of my greatest friends from Leeds.

    Then, yesterday, the last day we could have found any new investigators this week, we went to see Gwen. Sister Stromberg was on exchange with me here two weeks ago and we knocked into Gwen. She talked to us, and told ust that she wasn't interested and not to bother coming back. Then last week, Sister Nigido and I were out finding and I didn't remember that we had already knocked that street. We were half way down the street and of all of the doors we knocked on, it  was Gwen's. She was the only one on that road that we talked to previously. It was a miracle. I didn't' even recognize her at first but when  I did, and I realized she was happy to see us, I saw that it was a great miracle and that we were definitely guided there. She told us to come back on the weekend, and so that's when we went last night. She is our newest investigator! We taught her about the plan of salvation, and because of some hard times she is going through, she was feeling inadequate this past week and I felt that my faith to make miracles happen was waning, but the Lord has blessed Sister Nigido and me so much for our willingness and faith. We could have stayed in the flat last night because we technically had our tea hour and then language study, but I felt seeing Gwen was worth a try. It was definitely worth it.
     God loves us and he is watching out for us. We just need to humble ourselves and press forward in keeping His commandments and heeding the promptings of the Spirit.

Love you all,
Sister Lybbert




November 11, 2013

 Dear family,
I hope that you are all well and that you have been enjoying the snow because I'm still happy that we have no snow, just rain.

     There have been some great miracles this week. Saturday though, our fourth appointment with Anne and her girls fell through. I was pretty discouraged about it. It is so frustrating when things get in the  way that I know only get in the way because SOMEONE is trying to stop people from progressing in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I happened to us most of this week with all of our investigators. I felt like our work was going no where. (Although we were visiting less-actives and that is just as important.) Anyway, yesterday Anne and her 10 year old daughter, Niemph, said they would be coming to church. We have Relief Society, then Sunday School, and then Sacrament Meeting. they said that they'd come for Sacrament. However, it started and they still weren't there. Then, just after the opening prayer, there they were! I almost jumped out of my seat I was so happy. We also had Audrey, a less-active who hasn't been to church in 20 or more years come too! It was a fantastic miracle, especially since we are whitewashing and have only been here for three weeks.
     Whitewashing for the third time does not make it any easier but I have seen so many miracles come from it and I feel that it helps me keep strengthening my faith.
   P-days are probably the most stressful days of the week and I forget everything I meant to tell you about.

It's autumn time!

     We found some great new investigators this week. Our neighbor, Marilyn, who has lung cancer and is praying herself free of it (and she' is improving). She's Methodist and very strong in her faith. We had the Elders go over and give her a priesthood blessing. ( We didn't go with them since that isn't allowed), but they were able to teach her a little bit which we hadn't been able to do yet. So, we now have an appointment with her Friday. We are praying all will go well with that.
     We met some more less-actives this week. One couple we went to see has the biggest dog I've ever seen. It is an American Bulldog but it is honestly the size of  the fake massive dog on the Sandlot, or bigger. I decided I really, really, really don't like dogs unless they are Ozzy's size or smaller. Even then, that's pushing it.
     I love this ward. Our Ward Mission Leader is the absolute best on the planet. I'm not joking you. Brother Mcfadyan is the kindest and the most enthusiastic about missionary work. We have meetings twice a week, plus, he is always willing to hold more if we need them. He is the greatest.
   I don't really know what else to say, except that things are going well and the work is definitely hastening. We had another great p-day at the beach last week, and one of my favorite (worldly) things is Ambrosia Rice Pudding from a can.

Love you,
Sister Lybbert


November 18, 2013

Dear Family,

I'm glad your Remembrance Day was nice. Mine was too. We had a few minutes of silence, and in Sacrament Meeting the talks were based on sacrifice.
     this week has been one of some great miracles. Last week we stopped by Marcy and Talia's house to see if they were in. I'm not sure if I told you about Marcy and Talia. Marcy is 18 and she  is interested in the church since her best friend, Johnny, died in August. Johnny was in our ward and so we are close with his mom. She want's to know more because the church was important to him and she believes there must be a god somewhere.

Our socks from Sister Docherty

   Talia is Marcy's 12 year old sister. She's adorable. She is reading the Book of Mormon and she wants to be a missionary. We told her she's going to have to be baptized first, haha. She's so sweet. We are so excited to help her and Marcy progress. Anyway, last week we met Talia and she's going to Young Women's with us on Wednesday.
     Another miracle was Saturday. We went by a potential to see if they were home, and they weren't. I was feeling a bit discouraged about it because it is a somewhat common occurrence. We walked and knocked the doors down their walk, I wasn't really feeling inspiration to do it, my feet were just taking me that direction. then, Imogen answered the door. At first she said, "Are you Mormons?"
"Yes! Do you know much about us?"
       "Yeah! I watch this guy, Shay Carl, on YouTube and he's a Mormon!"
 "Really? Well. could we share a message with you for a few minutes?"
     "Sure, come in!"

A card from Eve W. in Primary

It was crazy. She let us in, we met her and her little brother who is 14 and they are so excited to take the challenge we gave them to find out if the message that we share is true. They love Shay Carl and how family oriented he is. It's funny because Imogen told us in one of his videos he says if you ever have missionaries knock on your door, let them in and listen to what they have to say. I was so so so so happy. the Lord has great ways of preparing people.
   Among those big miracles, we had millions upon millions of small ones. A lady that has been less-active for 20+ years ( Audrey) came to church again yesterday! Whoo!
     This week has been great and tomorrow is ZONE CONFERENCE! I can't believe it has already been three months since the last one. And Transfers are next week. I don't think we'll be transferred so I'm not worried. I could stay in South Shields for the remainder of my mission. It is incredible.
     Thank you to the Relief Society (Sis. Taylor) and the Fishers for the emails and thank you, thank you to the Hubbards for the letters, and to Cammie for the card with the Thomas stickers and all of the other cards, and to Kaiah for being a regular writer. I'm working on her reply. AND I LOVE EVERYONE, so thank you ;)
Love you all,
Sister Lybbert









   

Week 19

This week has been lovely. We have had no snow, the grass is still green, but the October air is definitely present and it is still, as usual, cloudy and rainy. I'm not complaining though. The only thing I don't like is that it gets dark around 5:30 now and soon it will be even earlier than that.
     We had some great miracles this week. I felt inspired to go down a certain street last Monday, Temple Green. We went down the street and to our dismay, it was mostly old folk's apartments that were pretty much inaccessible. I then thought why I would feel inspired for the street if nothing was even there for us to do, and it was dark and empty. We knocked the few houses that were there, and we didn't get much response. then there was a lady and her daughter walking their dogs and they were about to walk right past us when I just felt I had to say something because they were the only ones on the street and probably the only ones outside at the time.
   This lady, surprisingly said, "Hey! We were just talking about Mormon missionaries!"
    My exact thoughts were "......really?!?"
    I was shocked. Who does that? Who thinks about missionaries? haha.

Marsden Bay

     Well, they had just walked passed the church and apparently the topic of missionaries came up. We continued to talk, and found that this lady has three daughters and she is more than happy for us to come around and visit her and her family. Unfortunately, we were supposed to go around last night but her daughter was sick and had to be taken to a walk-in clinic. Nothing to worry about though, we are seeing them on Thursday. :D
     Another miracle happened last night. We were knocking, and knocking, and as usually getting  the door shut in our faces. It is sad because with the Training Program (12 week program_ we have 2 hours of companion study and an additional hour for language study, plus personal study. Which means that we don't actually get to go out for very long especially on Sundays. I didn't want to waste this precious hour, and I really felt we could find someone who needs the gospel.

Marsden Bay

     The hour was winding to a close, and I was pretty discouraged and a bit frustrated. I said a prayer for a miracle, that we could find just one person. I felt distinctly that we should knock ONE more house. And so we turned back, and we knocked one more. AND, the man didn't even open the door, he opened the top window and told us to go away.
     I was not happy.
     We walked back toward our flat, and I saw a girl, and her boyfriend (they were pushing their baby in a pram) and I decided I better talk to them. This girl, Jessica, was interested and we have an appointment to see her tomorrow.
     God really does care about every one of us.
    After we got back to the flat, we said a prayer of gratitude and I felt uplifted and happy. It is crazy how things happen when God is on your side.
    This week has been so nice. I don't really know what else to say but that I love my Savior and I have felt the impact of the Atonement in my life more now than I ever have. I love South Shields and the ward is incredible.
     The other day during our lunch we stopped down at Marsden Bay. I will send you photos. Needless to say, it was absolutely breathtaking.
Love you all,
Sister Lybbert

p.s. sorry mom, no photos are allowed to be taken in the Bronte Parsonage, it was really nice though. I saw the couch that Anne Bronte died on. Pretty neat. haha

p.s.s. last p-day we watched The Sound of Music Part I. All of my wildest dreams came true right there. hahah [She had previously asked for the sound track]

plaque at the top of the
 stairs to the beach

 

First week in South Shields

This week was fantastic. transfers came and my new companion is lovely. Her name is Sister Nigido and she is from Italy. She's from a city near Venice. She showed me some photos of the city where she is from and it is completely breathtaking. She is sweet, and quiet (but she's coming out of her shell as she's becoming more comfortable with her English and the work). It's funny that I haven't had any companions that have English as their first language. I learn a lot. I know how to say "Good Morning" in ten languages (roughly) haha.

View from our Keighley flat

     I love South Shields. It is the perfect place and it's just south of the River Tyne which is also beautiful. There are quite a few lighthouses near and I've heard (and seen) that the South Shields beaches are some of the best in the UK. I look forward to exploring the coast a bit more. We live a short distance from it.
   While we were waiting for our flat to be furnished (we're still waiting on some essential, but no matter), we stayed in Gateshead with the sisters there (Sister Peck and Sister Benner). We went finding in Gateshead and had some great miracles. In a couple of hours we had found two investigators for the Gateshead Sisters and I was feeling so inspired by it. I love the people here, and the Geordie accent isn't too difficult to understand (usually).

View from our Keighley flat

     Also, we knocked around our street to get to know some of our neighbors, and there's a lady who is a Born Again Christian and she said we can visit her again! She has lung cancer and is determined that she will be healed by faith and prayers. She is improving and it's incredible. I really want to help her and also tell her about priesthood blessings. I know she could benefit from one and so I hope she will be open to it.
  I love the work. I know I say that in every e-mail but this week I have felt so much happier, motivated, uplifted, and everything else. I love knocking and street contacting, and talking to everyone. It has been a really good week.
I know that the gospel is true and I am grateful to be here to tell people about it.
Thank you for all of your love and support,
Love,

The wet dogs. It was a rainy, rainy day.

Sister Lybbert

Leeds Zone A

Our district with the crowns Elder Berrio (DL) made for us

Betty, Marie and me

The cemetery at Bronte Parsonage

the moor by the Bronte Parsonage

Our fancy schmancy bedroom

ugly fish wall paper!

Our wardrobes!

The Sea! (bad picture from a bus window)

Transfer #3

Dear Family,
     Before I tell you what is happening with transfers, you said you wanted to guess where I'd be going. So I will let you do that and then tell you in a few paragraphs the big news. :)
     The song Angie re-created was fantastic, I hope you took a video of it! I'm happy you all had a great Thanksgiving. I didn't even remember it was Thanksgiving but I knew it was coming up sometime. I didn't have turkey this week, but I guess last week we went to Toby's Carvery with Tracey. I wish we had carveries back home because they are delightful. There is an over-abundance of the most delicious food.
     This week has been pretty splendid. We visited quite a few ladies who have non-member husbands and they were so sweet. the thing about visiting elderly ladies, is that they have a lifetime worth of stories and they love to talk and talk and talk. We were running to other bus and other appointments a few times this week because of it, haha. I love visiting them though. Sister Audrey Page is one of the ladies I recently got to know and she's incredible. Her testimony is amazing and my favorite thing is listening to the conversions stories of all of these people. There are so many converts here because a lot of the English people who were converted back in the 1800's moved to America to be with the Saints there.
     Also, this week we found some new investigators. We went back to a lady's house that we had knocked a few weeks ago. This lady is Catholic and was so kind and wonderful to us. When we went back she was excited to see us, invited us in and made us some peppermint tea and biscuits, put the fire on, and we had a lovely visit with her and her husband. Their names are Anne and Arthur. We talked about the importance of families and family history, and they showed us so many of their family photos that they love. I really see potential with them and am excited for them to progress.
   Also, yesterday after District Meeting, President Pilkington took Sister Jodicke and I to have a lesson with Dennis from Leeds 3. It was because Dennis contacted the Mission Home and President thought it would be good for us to have one last lesson with him so he can transition to new missionaries. He's pretty attached and so it was good to go and help him realize it isn't about the missionaries but the message that they share.     Oh, and I'm sorry mom, I will send the photos as soon as I can, [I asked her about the ones from Haworth] but the library here in Keighley is horrid and the photos don't work well. As soon as I can, I will be sending a lot of photos. ;)
     Now, for the big news! I am being transferred to South Shields [30 min from Newcastle] and I am training! I'm pretty excited about it because that is near the coast and I've heard that South Shields is beautiful. There are only four sisters coming in, and about 20 elders. It's funny because Sister Jodicke is training again, and the other two sisters who are training are also companions and they're in our zone. Sister Peck from the MTC is one of them and she's going to be in Gateshead which is in my new zone as well. I'm so happy about that. She's a doll.
   Conference was incredible. I loved M. Russell Ballard's talk as well. It is true that the members are scared that missionary opportunities will come, but I know that as they come and we rely on the Spirit that we will be directed as to what we should say.
     D. Todd Christofferson's address was also one of my favorites because right now the world seems to make the wrong things its priority.
     I also thought that Henry B. Eyring's talk from the Priesthood session was incredible. The Good Samaritan was not just taking a stroll, he was busy and on his way to get somewhere important, but he stopped and made service and being Christlike his priority. Ulisses Soares' talk about meekness and developing Christlike attributes was very inspiring as well. Especially right now in the mission because President Pilkingon always tells us that our goal is to become like God is. In the mission we have a new personal goal that we are to make every transfer. We choose a Christlike attribute and work through the transfer to develop it. I'm looking forward to understanding Christ more as I apply these new goals.
    Things are going well, and I'm always feeling the support from my family, friends and from God as I continue to try and bring people closer to Christ.
Love you all,
and I'm grateful for you,
Sister Lybbert

October 7, 2013

Dear Everyone,
I don't even know where to begin. i am on the hugest spiritual high right now because General Conference was INCREDIBLE. I didn't' even get to watch the last sessions because of the time difference, but I will be listening to it as soon as possible. We watched the first sessions live (so, yes we all watched it together!) at 5 p.m. and then the next morning us Sisters felt it would be uplifting to go to the Priesthood Session. the ZLs were mocking us for it but we went and had a miracle. Yep, we did. :)
     After the session on Saturday, we were catching a ride ( and some McDonald's :D ) back to Keighley with the Skipton Sisters ( Sister Kuhn - Australia and Sister Edgington - Utah whom I love dearly). We had a brilliant idea. Since  we were going to conference the next day together we asked the APs if we could stay over in Skipton together, and he said YES! The Skipton flat is gorgeous. Its' in a restored mill that is now apartments. We had some fun for sure and we all loved conference.
     On the way to the Priesthood session, there was a lady standing on the corner by the church (it's not an actual church but the Church is renting out the old courthouse for the Skipton branch. It's adorable.) Anyway, her name was Sue and she was wanting to come to church with us. She was waiting until she saw someone! She came and watched the Priesthood session with us, and she really loved it. the Skipton sisters will be meeting with her again. :)
     I have so many notes on conference and sadly...really sadly... I forgot my notebook so I'm just going to have to tell you other things that I can remember.
     I loved President Monson's address to the Priesthood about the importance of being a shepherd. It really made me excited to be the best Visiting Teacher after my mission. Also, I loved what L. Tom Perry said about the Articles of Faith. I started to study the first one today and while I read them this morning I realized how powerful they really are. I want to continue to study them every day and memorize them again.
     I also wanted to mention that M. Russell Ballard talked about us. As a matter of fact, he looked right at Sister Jodicke and I [when he gave a conference for the missionaries in Leeds this summer]. So, when he spoke about the missionaries in Europe that he saw, yep, I was one of the ones he was talking about. ;)
     I really love Skipton. I love Keighley too but Skipton is so quaint and beautiful.
    During the last session we were allowed to watch ( Sunday morning) the reception for the internet kept cutting out in Skipton. We wanted to hear the Prophet SO badly. All four of us ran out of the church in Skipton, to the flat, jumped in the car, and drove as fast as the law would allow to Bradford where they were broadcasting it AND we made it. It ws worth it too.
     AND the World report featured MY MISSION! President Lindley, Sister Lindley, Elder Weitzel and Elder Gee (my first AP's) and if you look back in the photos I sent, elder Juran was the one they featured and he was my first Zone Leader. He's Czech and so he was working in Sheffield with the Slovakian people. We meet so many Slovakians. We actually have a Slovakian Investigator right now, Joanne, who doesn't know English so we have to meet with her when her daughter is there to translate. We also meet a lot of Polish people that don't know English. One of Sister Kuahn and Sister Edgington's investigators that came to conference is Polish and she loved conference even though she didn't understand any of it. It was so nice to know she was feeling the spirit and that's all that mattered. Also, Sister Mcreyolds is in my zone and she is SO great. She was Sister Jodicke's companion before I was.
     I would really love to learn a language so that I can communicate with either the Polish, Czech, or Slovak people here. I can only say "Hi, how are you?" In Slovak. "Ahoy!" is Hello. haha.
     Next week is transfers again. I can't even comprehend that. Sister Jodicke and I have predicted that she'll be transferred to Newcastle and I'll be training here in Keighley. I would be perfectly happy with that. I will miss her though. She's been fantastic.
   Oh, and I haven't said much about the actual week because I was sick and we had a few days of staying at the flat. (Plus, I can't really remember things from day to day anymore...) It was not pretty. I am doing better now though which is a miracle because usually my colds/asthma problems last way longer. I'm hardly having any breathing problems at all. And yes mom, I have been taking my inhalers religiously. ;)
     I love you all and am so grateful for all of the letters. I feel like the luckiest missionary out here. I got some wonderful letters from Kaiah, Grandma and Grandpa Atwood, Jen, Mom, and then some I think I forgot to mention from Camille, Nicole, Sister Hillary Bennett, Shawna, and a package from BROOK SCULLY and LAURA HAMILTON (THANK YOU AND I LOVE YOU).

Love you lots,
 Sister Lybbert :)

Past two weeks...yes I'm catching up

September 23, 2013
This week has been pretty great. We did 30 hours of finding, which was insane, but I'm enjoying it. It is something I want to get better at as well. it's hard to think of how to introduce yourself to people and make it genuine, especially when you really just want to have them open  their hearts to the gospel. I'm working on it though.  Today we are going to visit a lady who is a wedding planner and has teenagers. We gave her a For the Strength of Youth pamphlet last week and hopefully from that she sees how the gospel is such a great blessing. I'm praying that she will be home. So often we find incredible people, make appointments and then they "aren't home." It can be really discouraging. However, I did meet some pretty great people this week and I love the ward. The Stake President is in our ward as well.

Kirkstall Abbey

     President Pilkington and the Stake President, President Stewart, are really encouraging missionaries to build relationships with the members and never to ask for referrals, but to just get the members excited and involved in missionary work. this way, we love the members instead of annoy them. It is so hard sometimes (depending on the ward) because members feel like they are their own 'church' and the missionaries are their own. The greatest way for missionary work to progress is to work with the ward members.
     I didn't have any more crazy experiences like last week's but I still have good ones. Sister Jodicke and I were feeling discouraged last week, and so we prayed that there could be miracles and that we'd be happy and ready to work our hardest. After the prayer, we looked out the window and there was a full rainbow! So, naturally, we decided the end of the rainbow is where we'd go finding next. This is where the lady lives that we are meeting with today. :)
Love,
Sister Lybbert




September 30, 2013

Things this past week have been pretty good as far as the work goes. right now I can't really thing straight though, I have a terrible cold and it is not fun. I was also sick with a horrid stomach ache last Wednesday and had to take the whole day off.

Lewis, Natalie & Sis. Lybbert

     On Saturday, Tracy came out to work with us again. She's from Leeds and she knew Sister Jodicke when she was serving there so she likes to come help us out. We went finding and saw so many miracles that day. One of the miracles happened later that day when we were all exhausted and didn't know what to do next. I wasn't feeling too motivated and my head was hurting so I  was going to just settle for whatever Sister Jodicke and Tracy decided to do. Then, out of the blue, I had a burst of energy and motivation and I looked at Sister Jodicke and said, "We're going finding!" and off we went on the next bus heading to Haworth. We didn't know where we would get off, but relied on the Spirit. We got off, chose a street and went knocking. We were happy and even though people didn't really respond like we would have hoped, we kept going. We finished the street and then started walking to the bus stop. I felt we should knock one more house though. We went to a house, and it was impossible to get the gate opened, so we went to the house next to it. A lady answered and she was in the middle of baking. the miracle is that people usually pretend they're busy when they're not, but this lady was busy and she actually stopped to talk to us. She said she's been through some struggles and has been wondering if any body is allowed to attend our church services. We were thrilled at this, talked to her about the blessings of the gospel and she is now our new investigator! She's so darling. she's probably in her late 50's and her name is Amanda. :)
     Church yesterday was great. We focused quite a lot on missionary work because Priesthood and Relief Society were combined. I think we helped the members understand that missionary work doesn't have to be difficult, it's as simple as inviting someone over for dinner and letting them know you are a member of the church.
    I'm not sure what else to say other than I can't believe September is over. Time is flying and in two weeks from now, it's transfers again.
Love,
Sister Lybbert

Happy Birthday Dad!

Hello! and HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO DAD AND SISTER JODICKE!

This morning for Sister Jodicke's birthday we had French toast and all kinds of fruit and ice cream and golden syrup and everythin'. It was delightful!
This week has been a good one. There are days where I feel like whitewashing is the devil, but at the same time it isn't so bad. We have met some lovely people this week, and we love our ward.  We are going to be getting the members SO excited to be involved in missionary work. There are over 200 less actives here, and there is not a chance the four missionaries in the ward can bring them back. It is the member's job to re-activate people. Missionaries come and go, but the members are the fellow-shippers. So, if you are giving the missionaries less-active families to visit, go visit the families with them! There is no pint if the missionaries just go on their own. Eventually, the missionaries will not be t here and the less-active people will still be less-active.
    We had some fantastic miracles this week. We were going to visit Marie and Betty, and we got off the bus too soon and had to walk up the hill more. I wasn't too thrilled about that, but there wasn't anything we could do. We walked past this guy, said hello, and then he started to ask us questions!  His name is Dan, he's 30 and he wants to know about what we believe. He has some pretty strong opinions about things but we were able to tell him a bit about the Restoration.  We asked him if he'd come to a baptism that the Keighley Elders were having on Saturday, and he actually came!  Not only that, but after the baptism, President Pilkington talked to him for an hour!  It was great! We then had a lesson with him and he actually let us talk. Usually he's pretty chatty.
     Yesterday morning, President phoned to ask if he'd be able to come to further lessons with Dan, and we are so excited. It is a bit intimidating, but I love President and Sister P and it will be fantastic.
A few days ago, we were walking in the pouring rain and our feet were soaking wet. (My black shoes don't have a sole any more, I need to buy new ones... I thought they'd last longer but I guess not...haha.) It was somehow so great though. We were walking in Riddlesden, and it is beautiful there with the rain, the front gardens of some beautiful houses, and the scenery of the hills. We visited a member from the ward, Sister Ratcliffe, and she made us hot chocolate and crumpets with lemon curd and then we shared a spiritual thought. I love days like that.

     There have been such wonderful things happening in the area and I'm excited to continue teaching the new investigators we found this week. We found a man who's in his 60's who likes to talk a lot about life, and about how the world is going downhill and he loves talking with us.  We were able to open his heart a little bit but he's still pretty stubborn and won't read the Book of Mormon or pray. I never understand how people say they won't read things after stating how open-minded they are. It will eventually happen with him, but will take a bit more time I think. He just needs to open his heart to the Spirit. I love it here, and I love the members as well. they are great!
Tell Baby C I love him!
Thanks for all you

We ate at a legendary place called "Chicken Cottage."
It's the greasiest, cheapest chicken in town. It only cost £2.00!
Whoo!

do,
I hope you have an excellent Birthday Dad,
Love,
Sister Lybbert

Last P-day we went to Haworth and went to the Bronte Parsonage. It was absolutely lovely! I saw so many great things, including the first edition of Wuthering Heights, and Charlotte Bronte's dress she wore while travelling to her honey moon, and so many other great things. It is a beautiful little place.
[Sister Lybbert added that her camera had died so she was unable to send the pictures this week]

On to Keighley

This  week has been pretty crazy. On Tuesday for P-day we went to Kirkstall Abbey and threw a Frisbee around, which was really nice. I will send you some photos of it. It was built in the 1200's. It is all just ruins now, but very pretty ruins.

During transfer calls Monday night, we were informed that neither Sister Jodicke or I were moving. To be honest, I kind of wanted to move just to experience something new. I felt like the work in the area wasn't really going anywhere, and I wanted to have a fresh start somewhere new. It was NOT that I wanted to leave Sister Jodicke though, she's the greatest.

The next day we had a P-day and Sister Smith was still with us. She left that evening. It was insane because 6:30 Tuesday night the phone rang, and it said it was the Assistants. Before I answered the phone, I said, "I bet this is them telling us we're both moving..." I was completely kidding. When I answered the phone, to my surprise, it was President Pilkington. The first things he said were, "Hello Sisters, we are transferring you out of the area." I was stunned. I was also pretty excited because we both got to move together to Keighley.

It was nice that we did say good bye to everyone the week before because we felt we were moving. I was able to get pictures with quite a few people as well.

We went to transfer meeting but didn't move that day because we had bought a whole week's worth of food thinking we weren't moving and we couldn't exactly get on the bus with our 5 suitcases and all of the food, and because there were problems with transporting everyone else's suitcases with the coaches, we didn't end up getting moved until Friday night. When we moved all of our things in the new flat, it was pouring rain and we were so tired. I love the new flat, except the room with the shower and the sing is upstairs, and the toilet is in a room by itself downstairs...weird.

Keighley is amazing so far. We have met some wonderful members and less-actives, and we have had a good time finding. Whitewashing again isn't the nicest thing but I really can't complain. Sister Jodicke has only ever whitewashed, and she was training after week 5. It has been splendid. Keighley is very beautiful. There are SO many hills, but it looks gorgeous with the mist and the trees and all of the housetops.

Oh, and last Saturday we had another baptism! I don't really count it as ours (not that it matters anyway) but it was a girl named Natalie who has a four year old son, Lewis. She was being taught by the Elders and then they decided having her with some Sisters would be nice for her and so we taught her the last couple of weeks before her baptism. She's so cute.

Sister Smith is going to come back and work with us because she loved the two weeks so much. I am so excited because we all have such great fun together.

Yesterday was Stake Conference and Elder Dallin H. Oaks came. It was incredible and he spoke to the members about how it is their responsibility to help the missionaries find people, it isn't the other way around. He stated that the keys to preside over the missionary work in the area are actually with the Stake President, and that President Pilkinton has the keys to preside over, teach, and direct the missionaries so that we can work with the wards we serve in better. It was nice because members seem to think they don't have to do anything except bring their families and themselves to the gospel. It is everyone's responsibility, so, please family go out  on exchanges/splits and be member presents for the missionaries! They will LOVE you. I know it's probably hard in Magrath, but missionary work is still somewhat possible.

Before the meeting, everyone was greeting each other and we were sitting in our rows. A man was shaking the lady's had a few people down from me and kept coming down the row. It wasn't until he got to Sister Jodicke that I realized it was Elder Oaks. He did shake my hand. This is the fourth apostle I've seen I think. President Uchtdorf [before he was in the First Presidency], Elder Scott, Elder Ballard and Elder Oaks. Unless I can't remember one from when I was little, I think that's it.

Things are great and I'm loving the missionary work. The Lord loves every one of His children and He will bless them as they put their trust in Him.

Love you,
Sister Lybbert

p.s. today our oven was not turning on so I had to microwave the batter for German pancakes. It actually turned out okay...haha.

Surprise!

Surprise!
Very unexpectedly Sister Jodicke and I are both being transferred to Keighley, SO don't send any post to the other flat but to the mission office ;)

Love,
Sister Lybbert

Just Continuing the Work

     This week has been fun. It is weird because the weeks fly by and I can't even remember what happened in which week.

with Joyce

     Transfers happened, and I am staying in Leeds! I have mixed feelings about it, but I won't go much into detail. Just that I'm happy Sister Jodicke and I can be companions still. I don't know what I would have done if  I was to lead the area. I could have done it, but it's nice that I don't have to.
     Sister Smith and Sister Jodicke and I have had SO much fun these past two weeks. I can do a pretty convincing Scottish accent, and Sister Smith's is so good. this past week we have been reading all of the signs on the buildings in Scottish and it has been really entertaining. Oh, and I'm getting pretty good at singing in Swedish. It's hilarious.
     This week we have been assigned to teach Natalie, a girl who is being baptized this Friday in another area in Leeds. She's so sweet and has the cutest little boy. I'm excited to work with her before and after her baptism. I love baptisms!

Mushy peas...I don'w know why
they are so popular here but they are!

     It was weird because I really thought I'd be transferred this time around but I wasn't. I said my goodbyes to everyone and now I get to show up at their house and feel awkward, haha. It will be good though.
     President Pilkington spoke at the Mission President's Fireside that happens every month and we were able to go to it on Sunday. He talked about how the blessings of the gospel far outweigh the "happiness" the world seems to entice us with. He said he'd like to gather all of the world's greatest minds, celebrities and scientists, etc. and tell them to come up with the way to make people the happiest. And he then said nothing they could come up with in a mil;lion years would be greater than what we are offered because we have faith, and a knowledge that God exists. It was a remarkable talk he gave. It made me think a lot about how I really don't care about what the world knows about me in the future. As long as I develop my talents, and I do it for me and not for the rest of the world, I will be the happiest.
     I don't know what else to say really, but things with Dennis have been progressing. He is really seeking to know whether this is the truth that we teach him and I know he has felt that it is, he just needs to realize it.
Things are good, just continuing the work.
Love you all,
Sister Lybbert

She loves her cat ears and wears
them all day and EVERYWHERE! 

My pudding package. Thanks
Cammie, Mom and J.P. We made
chocolate pudding last night!

Elder Alforque (Birmingham/Philippines) Elder Leavitt
 (Las Vegas)Elder Walter (Utah?) Elder Paczensky
(London) AND us sisters

Last Week of Transfer 2

with Sister Smith (mini missionary)

This is the last week of transfer 2! I cannot believe it. I have a feeling I'll be moving, so we will see what happens. Make a note not to send any more mail directly to my flat for now. [ Send everything to the Mission Home address on the blog]
     This past week was fantastic. We had another companion, Sister Smith from Doncaster, come with us as she's on a mini mission for two weeks. I love her, she's so cute and we only have one week left with her! I love having three of us, and a car. She was able to bring her car and use it. It is the greatest blessing in the world, it saves us so much time, and we get to jam out to Swedish Disney music. the Swedish stuff is more fun to listen to than the English by far, haha.

     Yesterday we had a Zone Conference and it was great fun. We took a coach to Billingham which took about two hours. I loved it because we just got to chat with other missionaries on the bus and I love the other sisters. We had to wake up at 4:30 though in order to get to Billingham on time.
     The Zone Conference was really focused on putting our hearts into the work, and not focusing on the numbers. This is something I am so grateful for because I don't want to be motivated by numbers, but by the people that I'm teaching. President and Sister Pilkington are so great. President Pilkington has made a few changes that have to do with that. He has more trust in us about being more responsible and policing ourselves with accountable hours and everything. Also, only one hour of e-mailing now...so we will see how fast I can learn to type.
   This week Dennis and Anthony both came to church! It was so so so great. Dennis wasn't sure if he was going to come, but he found the courage and came to Sacrament Meeting. He said that he felt very comfortable, loved how friendly the people were, and when I asked him if he felt the things we learned at church and the things we taught him were true, he said yes! Tight after e-mailing today, we are going to his house for a visit and we will find out whether or not he wants to be baptized. It is nerve-racking. I know how much the gospel could help him and how much he needs it. He said that his family is in support, whatever he decides, and I'm grateful for that.

Brother Jeff Powel

     There is an elderly man in the ward, Jeff Powel, who we visited last week and let me tell you, I could sit and listen to him for hours. He's hilarious and he has SO many stories. He was in the army and lived in Japan, Hong Kong, and I think it was Malaysia. His favorite was Japan. He worked with the artillery. After he came back to Leeds and settled down with a family, he worked doing autopsies and worked with some that had to do with pretty widely known criminal cases. My favorite thing though, is that on his 70th birthday (YES, his SEVENTIETH) he went bungee jumping! He said he'd do it again in a heartbeat but that his heart might stop...he's 83 now. He would also jump out of an airplane. He's always joking around and so energetic. Seriously, I would love for all of you to meet him. I will send a classy photo of him. His jokes remind me a lot of Grandpa Lybbert. :)
  I really love the work here. things have been going marvelously.
  Yesterday I got the big envelope from you all with your  VERY poo-oriented game of whatever-it's -called and I laughed so hard. So did all of the sisters I showed it to. I'm also so grateful for the lovely notes on the back and for Kyler's drawing of more poo. What is with you people? Haha I love your guts anyhow. :)
Thanks family and friend for all you do. I pray for all of you every day.
Love,
Sister Lybbert.

Some very ugly geese at Temple Newsam Estate

This pig was as big as 3
sister missionaries

Organ at Temple Newsam Estate

With Sis. Jodicke enjoying
icecream