It's beginning to look a lot like Lysmas!

Dear Mum and Everybody,
I am glad that we are not in 12 ft. of snow, but I am praying that someone has prepared a nice skating rink in the backyard? ahem, that would be so nice.
I don't really know what to say... just like every week, as soon as I sit down at the computer my mind goes completely blank. Hmmm.
Eddie is doing spectacularly! He is a boss in the gospel principles, and apparently yesterday in Priesthood he gave a really really good explanation of prayer. I never would have guessed that he would have become such a powerful member. When I met him I didn't really have the faith in him that I should have. Well, I have learned my lesson!
He loves missionary work too. It was adorable because on Friday he told us that he introduced himself to his neighbor downstairs who he has never met, and he's been living there for three years! He even tried to have us meet him, but he wasn't in at the time. :D
We had a good week. Sister Garrett is the sweetest and we have a lot of fun together. We saw a member yesterday who has two cats and we got some great cat pictures.
We are continuing to teach Syllene. I can't remember if I told you about her. We met her via her daughter's friend who is a member. (If that made any sense at all, haha) She's doing well, she is willing to learn and put what we teach to action, although we are still working on the WOW commitment. She said that she'd pray about it though, which is a step forward.
Things are great, my mind is blank, and I love you all,
Love,
Sister Lybbert :)

Week #76

Dear Mum and All,
     Congrats to Taylor [and Carson], that's so exciting! I also approve of the name. I am happy it is classic, yet not overused or boring. Cute, cute!
     Also, congrats to Ciana for being a star, I'm sure she was the best even if she only had a few lines. She always is the best.
      This week was fantastic. As you know, we had Zone Conference, and you got a really long e-mail about that so I will not tell you any more about it. It was amazing though. And then on Friday we had our interviews. It was really strange knowing that all of these things are happening for the last time. I think it is starting to sink in, and I really wish I could stay longer, or take everyone here back home with me. I would take President and Sister Pilkington, the missionaries, the people , the Jaffa Cakes, the whole lot! President said that he was hoping they'd pass a low in parliament these next couple of weeks to allow legal kidnapping. He doesn't think it will happen, but he hopes so, because then we, the others going and myself, can stay!
     We had some incredible miracles on Saturday! We were heading to a small village to go knocking, and we missed our bus stop. The fog was thicker than I've ever seen it, and we accidentally hit the bell in the middle of nowhere. Everyone on the bus looked puzzled to see who would want to get off in the middle of a field, and then it was kind of embarrassing having to go tell the bus driver this wasn't the stop we wanted, haha. The old people at the front of the bus started talking to us though, and we all laughed about it. We ended up going to the next village.
      When we got there, we prayed to know where we should go, and what bus we should catch back for tea. (We didn't have tons of time due to our mistake.) Well, we went to a street, knocked on a couple doors, but nobody was home, and then the first house that answered the door was Gemma. She let us in strait away and we taught her and we are seeing her again tomorrow! She is so cute, and her 4-year-old daughter, Ava, is too. It made me so happy to know that we really are sent places, we don't just go places. And our prayer was answered about what bus to take back. When we got out of the lesson we had just enough time to catch the later bus. It all worked out splendidly. :)

Elder Rush, Eddie, Sister Garrett & Me

      Then that night, it was Eddie's baptism! It all went smoothly, the Spirit was so strong. The only thing was that there was hardly anybody there. A lot more people told us they were coming than what number actually showed up. I was disappointed at first, but then it made for a beautiful, simple baptismal service with a few wonderful people.
And last night was the Mission President's Fireside for everyone, members, investigators, etc. All the missionaries in the Zone were at the front to sing. We also sang "Pack up Your Troubles" for everyone. President's message was so good. He has a talent when it comes to speaking, and he is hilarious. He told a story about how, when he was a boy, he believed his dad when he told him that single-handedly, he had won the Second World War. He was talking about the concept of how truth is always truth, but there are people who deceive us for many reasons. Some, don't have consequences (such as his father telling him the WWII story), but some do. It was a lot more in depth than that, but that sums it up. I wish you could have been there, it was incredible.
Well,
I love you all and hope that you have a wonderful week!
Love,
Sister Lybbert

Maple!

Harry wasn't home, but we tried! (We
may have the wrong city)

Christmas!

♫ Pack up your troubles in your old kit bag, and smile smile smile! ♫

Dear Mom and Dad,

Surprise! We have been instructed to write to you today to tell you about our experience at Zone Conference yesterday. It was absolutely incredible, I feel so edified and inspired by the things that we were instructed on. 

First of all, it was such a special day to have a Zone Conference, as it was Remembrance Day and we are in Britain. There was a very special spirit with us as we commemorated those that have laid down their lives for our freedom. It was 100 years ago that the war broke out, and so there was a great amount of emphasis on the impact that it has made on our lives. 

We then were randomly selected to give the three minute talks we all prepared on humility and a Christlike attribute of our choice. I was not selected, thank goodness, but I learned so much from those that did speak. President times these talks, so they are absolutely not to go over three minutes. He said something along the lines of, "You will learn now to only take the time asked of you in meetings. There are RM's (and members in general) that take more time than they are assigned, sometimes even leaving an apostle who is visiting with less time than He has been granted." So you can imagine the pressure that accompanies that three minute talk. 

Elder Orr said (or he quoted somebody that said), "Being humble does not mean that we think less of ourselves, it means to think less about ourselves." Also a quote from President Uchtdorf was shared when he said, "It is impossible to be lifted up in pride when our hearts are full of charity." Those two statements had great impact on me as I am still weak in many things and I am striving to be more humble and charitable. 

Then Sister Pilkington instructed us, and this was a highlight of the meeting. She had Elder Mckay play his Ukulele and teach us the song from World War I that goes:

♪♫ Pack up your troubles in your old kit bag and smile, smile, smile!

Just think of all the happy times we'll have!

Smile boys, that's the style!

What's the use of worrying?

It never was worthwhile, so,

Pack up your troubles in your old kit bag and smile, smile smile! ♪

We all stood and sang it together, and it sounded just as it would have as all of the young men were marching off to war. It was emotional; President Pilkington couldn't sing, I noticed that he was sitting down with his head buried in his hands. 

Sister Pilkington then spoke about how the first battle went. 900 British men went out that first battle, and only 250 returned. She spoke about how the youngest soldier was only 14 years old. 

She told us about how we are a part of a great war, although it is a spiritual one, it is still great. She shared a quote from George Q. Cannon about those who came to this earth and followed Christ, (again, I don't think I have the exact words)

"In the pre-mortal life, we faced the adversary and did not flinch."

President then gave instruction. He told us to never forget how blessed we are to have religious freedom. We need to place on the altar, our hearts. When we devote our focus and hearts, nothing can stand in our way. He told us to remember the experience we had singing this song, and I will. 

He told us the power that comes from humility and a soft heart. That obedience is the very centre of a soft heart. 1 Nephi 2: 16, 18, 19 show that Nephi chose to have a soft heart and he chose to have faith, whereas his brothers, who had the same parents, chose differently. We choose what condition our heart is in. President said, 

"The condition of our hearts determines the level of our happiness." And it is true. He told us, through great emotion, that Sister Pilkington's family reveres the name of the missionary who taught her family, Elder Brockbank. In tears, he explained that this Elder Brockbank was also the missionary that baptised his mother. We never know the impact we have on other people. But we can decide what we shall be remembered for. He said, "Lift up your heads, and fight for Christ."

Later in the meeting, President instructed us once more. This time it was on the scriptures found in 1 Samuel 25. A phrase, or motto, that we use in the mission is "March North". We read the story of David as he protects the shepherds of Nebal, and then Nebal (being wicked) shews them away. David reacts in anger, and his judgement of all of Nebal's household is flawed. He then prepares an army to go and slay his household. Abigail, Nebal's wife, who is a type of Christ, prepares bread, wine, and sheep for David and falls before him. She says that she will take upon herself the folly of her husband. In this, David sees that he should not have reacted in such anger, and her example stopped him from murder and from condemning himself as well.

Are we marching north, or to Carmel? When we are offended, or angered, or even sometimes when we withdraw ourselves (meaning when we give up on friendships, and put up barriers because we believe we're justified etc.) we are marching to Carmel. When your heart hardens, your judgment becomes flawed. President shared a story of when he and his brother were in business together, and his brother wasn't doing what he should have. They then went years without speaking. Then his brother was diagnosed with cancer and only given a very small amount of time to live because of the lifestyle that he had chosen lead. Upon hearing this, President arranged to meet at their mother's home. He said when they saw each other there were not words, they just embraced. Everything from the past melted away and there was a great lesson learned. President also learned that his brother had been doing incredible deeds for those that needed help. Being a man of significant wealth, he had been writing cheques to people who needed money raised to help their disabled children, and he had put up a large sum of money for the return of a child who had been kidnapped. The child was returned home. This among other things, President learned that because of hard hearts, judgement was flawed. 

He told us from this experience that it is so important to not hide behind the letter of the law, but live the spirit of the law. The Saviour requires our hearts. 

So, Pack up your troubles in your old kit bag and smile, smile, smile!

I love you all and I am so grateful for your love and your prayers.

Love,

Sister Lybbert 

p.s. I apologise for the length, but I couldn't leave any of it out, it is all too good! 

Glad I don't live on Hoth

Dear Mum and Everyone,
I do not miss the Canadian weather. I don not want to have to drive on icy roads, or feel like I'm living on planet Hoth [Star Wars reference], or any of that. Although, I'm getting tired of the rain as well. It is just plain cold here regardless of if it rains or not. But, I am embracing the beautiful fog and moss, and green-ness.
     It has been a great week. good news everybody, Eddie is being baptized this Saturday! I am so grateful to be a part of this experience, it is so exciting to see someone progress in the gospel and desire to make covenants with their Father in heaven. We have also had some neat experiences while finding, and we had a great miracle on Friday. We had been trying to meet with Syllene and Amare her daughter) a couple of times this past week and it fell through both times. It was such a great blessing though, because as we went to the appointment we had set up on Thursday, she was just stepping out the door (so..we caught her at the right time!). We invited them to a Ward Party (for Bonfire Night a.k.a. Guy Fawkes Night) and they came! It was brilliant. Syllene asked us questions the entire time, the ward was really friendly, and she is really looking forward to seeing us on Friday. Guy Fawkes night is quite interesting... googling it would probably explain it better than I can. He was a guy who tried to burn down Parliament, so now, for some reason, they have a holiday for it? They have bonfires and fireworks, and they eat pork pie with mushy peas and mint sauce (interesting combo, but it was good nevertheless) I love mint sauce, by the way. I will have to bring some home with me.
     So, we have seen many miracles and Sister Garrett is doing so well. I can't believe she's only been out for as long as she has, she is doing amazing in lessons, and in finding situations.
I am grateful about how everything is going. :)
I love you all,
Love,
Sister Lybbert :)

Oh dear! I forgot to tell you something crazy! A few of the members in our ward saw myself and Elder Hays on the telly! (our companions were nearby, we were just the only two they recognized) It was on a preview for a program on Yorkshire politics or something. Apparently we were just walking down the street, but nevertheless, we are famous!

Week #74

Dearest Mother and Everybody,
This week has been good, and I am so happy to hear that everything has been good for you! Halloween sounds like it was a blast. I am so happy it is over, I am completely in the Christmas mood as of November 1st. Christmas music was on that morning! Whoo!
     I am so happy to hear that you and Sister Monroe (*ahem* Alli) are in touch! She is the greatest with a capital GREATEST. I don't know if we told you our plans of living in the wilderness and becoming friends with the Sasquatches, but that is what we are doing. She is my long lost sister. Seriously. :D
     This week we have seen so many miracles. Eddie, our investigator from Nigeria, is scheduled for baptism on November 15 and he is going to make it, I know it! He is so accepting of everything we teach, and when there is an inconveniently deep question by a certain someone in Gospel Principles, he answers it simply with his testimony that it just doesn't matter whether we know it or not! Bam! He was first contacted on the street by Sister Monroe and Sister Howard, and now he is progressing in the gospel so well. He loves church, he loves the Book of Mormon, and he is ready. This is all so excitifying.
     Sister Garrett is so sweet. She is seriously the cutest thing since the Baby Kitty riding on a baby duck that I drew on Sister Monroe's planner once upon a time.
I am happy, things are wonderful, the weather is marvelous (for the next five minutes anyway) and we are seeing so many miracles. :)

I love you all,
Love,
Sister Lybbert :D
p.s. Thanks mom for the poppies! Sister Garrett and I love them!