July 1, 2013

     Things this week have been pretty great. We had the departure meeting for President and Sister Lindley on Wednesday and that was so nice to be able to get together with lots of the mission. President and Sister Lindley are so great and although I only knew them for a couple weeks, I will miss them. (BUT I am very excited for President and Sister Pilkington too!) President Lindley is hilarious  I told dad all about how he's excited to be back home so he can ride his custom Chopper and listen to his rap music. He does not look like that type of person, that's why it is so great.

     The boat likes me, that is why it is not working. ;)

     Yay for Canada Day Parades! I miss real burgers. There is a small cafe near my house with good burgers, but it just isn't t he same, haha.

     Last P-day we went to Roundhay Park and this P-day we are going to go again. It was Zone P-day so we just played Capture the Flag, and today we are going to go look at the Mansion and Castle part of the park. We were going to go to Howarth (where the Bronte sisters grew up) but Sister Rushworth was sick so we are  re-scheduling. I am excited for that though.

     We have had some pretty great experiences this week. There have been a few times where we just felt a bit discouraged and then something happens that brings our mood back around. On Saturday we had knocked all day and there weren't very many people on the streets. We were absolutely exhausted. I could have actually fallen asleep while walking, and my legs were so tired, haha. I was getting kind of grouchy too because we just seemed to find nobody who would even talk to us. I don't know what it is , but even if all we do is say 'Hi" to someone, they notice the name tag and run away. (Sometimes they don't, and that's so nice.) 

Me at Harrier Fountain in Roundhay Park

       Anyway, we had some time to kill before the ward BBQ and we were so tired, BUT we decided we should go knocking anyway. We went down a road near the church and knocked on a few doors, talked to a lady in her garden, but nothing too great. Then, we saw an elderly man working in his garden and by that time I just really wanted to help him garden because I was so tired of walking. He declined our help, but we got talking and got on the topic of the famous motorcycle races that take place on the Isle of Man. He told us that he raced in those races and asked if we'd like to see his bike. He showed us his garage which was also the home of a REALLY nice BMW, two classic MG's (I don't know cars , so don't judge if I didn't get it right, haha) and his bike, which was custom made in Germany in the 30's. All of these were in mint condition. His walls were lined with photos, and trophies and he told us some cool stories. He was the cutest old man ever. I felt like Lightning McQueen after Doc Hudson was discovered as a famous racer, haha. We have become friends and Sister Jodicke and I are going to take him cookies this week. We talked about the church too (we ARE missionaries) and we invited him to the BBQ. He was very gracious about it and I think as we become better friends things will go great. I know that that was just what we needed at that time because it made our whole day so amazing.

     We also had a lesson with George, a 30ish year old guy from Zimbabwe. We went with a member from the ward, Sam Harrower, who is the coolest person I know. She is a convert and has four adorable kids. She's a really powerful missionary too. He didn't read the Book of Mormon like we asked so we started to read the first chapter with him. Afterward, he said ( in a really cool African way) "Whoa man, that's powerful!"

     We taught him about the importance of  reading, praying and going to church and the lesson went great. He said some pretty hilarious things during the lesson, and there is no way that I can describe it to you here, but I will try.

     We discovered that he's a DJ and is SO good. He showed us some of his tracks, and he raps in his language (Zimbabwe language, haha) and it is seriously amazing. ANYWAY, he told us that we should come to one of his shows, which is in a club, and we politely declined and told him we vcan't go in clubs, or pubs and that we don't drink (Word of Wisdom hasn't been taught yet, haha), and then he said, "But they need people like you in the bups!" (Referring to the fact that people are drinking, and it's where sinners go, haha). It was great. He also told us he is going to mix a song that is about us. I am pumped, haha.

     Things have been going so good. It is hard to look back and try to remember all of the things that I wanted to say. I need to bring my journal to the library next time.

     Anyway, I am so grateful for the experiences I have had, and even though there is a lot of hard things about this, there are way more rewarding things. I just love being here and devoting this time to the greatest cause of all. Missionary work is so important. After the Missionary broadcast, I have really understood that Missionary work is for everyone all of the time. Seriously  I think I just want to be a ward missionary forever after my work here is done. It is a powerful and important calling.

     Yay, family for being more consistent with Scriptures! I know, it is so hard when there are distractions but I look forward to the hour I get to spend every morning reading the scriptures and learning more about the gospel. I have also learned how to better recognized revelation. The Spirit is so powerful and it is important that we are ready at all times to recognize its promptings. Elder Bednar spoke at an MTC broadcast and said that we don't need to worry about whether it is a prompting, or  just us thinking as long as it is good, then it is of God.

With Elders Oler, Smith and Erikson from Southern Alberta

     We had another experience a couple of days ago where a lady basically stood in her doorway and ranted to us about how  there is no God and that science proves everything. Nothing that we could say could make her feel otherwise, and she didn't give us the chance to say anything anyway. I was pretty discouraged after that, but I read this morning in 2 Nephi 8:7 and that helped  It talks about how we don't need to be afraid or discouraged when people revile against the word of God. As long as we have a testimony, and have the commandments written on our hearts, there is not a reason to fear.

                  

Harrier Fountain in Roundhay Park

     I really loved the scripture 1 Nephi 22:31. I really found the phrase "and thus it is" something interesting. It is a simple phrase, but it kind of is like saying "and there you go, it is that simple." The verse tells us to keep the commandments, and endure to the end. And thus it is.

Anyway, I love you all, thanks for your love, prayers, and your e-mails and letters!

Love,

Sister Lybbert :)

 

Eating a Magnum

Knock, knock....

Dear Family,
     Things are going really well. With how Sister Jodicke and I have had to start up our own teaching pool, we have been really good. We have a few investigators and we have found them either by knocking or street contacting. I am getting better at talking to people, although it is so frustrating when people are rude. The other day we had faced a ton of rejection and we were both tired and hungry and in low spirits but kept knocking anyway. Everyone was being rude and so when one man at his door politely rejected us, it made me so happy that he was actually polite, that I thanked him for it and shook his hand. I'm sure he was taken aback but I didn't care, haha. I was just tired of grouchy people. It is so funny because people always claim to be so busy, but actually they're just on the way to the same bus stop you are, and your bus doesn't come for twenty minutes, haha. It has been a good lesson for me though; that I just need to build my faith and confidence that I will be directed to the people who have been prepared to hear this message. So far I have seen that happen lots of times.
     This week, Sister Jodicke and I were on the way to a tea [dinner] appointment and Sister Jodicke felt like we should knock a certain street on the way. We were able to get contact details for a beautiful family that I am sure have been prepared for us, and a married couple who we have already been able to make an appointment with. There are so many other instances of miracles that have been happening. Even when our plans don't go according to schedule, it is usually because we are supposed to meet someone else.
     The same day we were facing a lot of rejection, we were walking toward a house that we had planned to revisit and we decided to pray before we got there that we would finally be able to find someone with an open heart that would listen to our message. Not two minutes later, there was a man walking toward us and he listened to us. We taught him about the Book of Mormon, and we had a return appointment. The house we were actually praying for rejected us, but I realized that our prayer had been answered anyhow. That was the only man that day that actually listened to our message and we felt so blessed for it.
     I am so grateful for the experiences I have been having. It has been hard but it has opened my eyes to so many things. I can't believe that I've already been in the field for two weeks.
     the members here are really great. Our dinner appointments have gone well, and this week we were able to meet with a lot of members and less-actives.
    There is a lady in our ward that wants to move to Southern Alberta. She had been planning on it for a long time, and so it's been fun to talk about it. Elder Erickson, from Raymond, was the one who baptized her too, and she just loves to talk about Canada and everything. Her name is Jayne and she has adorable little kids. She is super sweet and funny.
     I love you all so much. I am grateful for your love and support and I can feel it still.
     I know that the gospel is true, and that God loves each and every one of us. I also know that the things that really matter the most are the gospel and my family.
  That is insane about the flooding. Hopefully Magrath doesn't get hit by it.  I heard about it yesterday at a tea appointment. I hope that everything is okay soon. It makes me sick to thing about the damage that is so close to home.

Love you lots,
Sister Lybbert


A note Sister Lybbert sent a couple of days ago for anyone wanting to send her packages:

Packages have to be sent to the Mission Home.
If it is clothing, you are supposed to write it as
USED whether or not it is.
Don't send anything over $100 (make the claim to
be under $50 no matter what)
Mark it as a gift.
Don't send any beef products (I don't think you
would anyway)

Whitewashing...but not with paint

An airplane shot. It was so beautiful!

Dearest Family,
Thanks for all of your emails / letters! It is so nice to have them. I'm sorry if I don't reply to all of them, because I don't really have tons of time to do so, but I will try.

This week has been crazy. First off, my companion and I are whitewashing (we're both new to the area) and so all we did for the first three days was basically tract, and street contact, and knock, and knock, and ... knock. I have shin splints from walking so much but other than that I'm fine. Also, I'm always tired (but happy..haha) I think it has to do with the fact that this is such a different lifestyle than what I was living before. Getting up at 6:30 remains difficult, haha, and every chance I have (which is during lunch hour and tea hour...so not really any) I try to power nap. Walking everywhere is kind of nice though.

Sister Lybbert & Sister Jodicke

My companion is so great. I love her to bits. Her name is Sister Jodicke (Yu-di-ka) and she's German and is the sweetest trainer I could have asked for. Also, it is nice because our district leader and his companion live just across the road from us and so they helped us figure out our bus schedules and everything. Their names are Elder Amundsen, from Norway, and Elder Orr, from Utah/Winnipeg/ Cardston or something. He didn't really make it clear to me, haha.

 Our area is a poorer area, it has some "posh" neighborhoods but for the most part they are just really dingy. It is nice like that though because it's all of the posh neighborhoods that have rejected us the most, and been more rude. It is amazing how humble so many of the people are here.

The first couple of days, like I said, were hard. i feel like I was really struggling with wanting ot be out here and finding the motivation to find joy in the work. At times I was feeling homesick and thought of how nice it would be to be at home with all of you With lots of studying, and more praying than I have ever done in my life, I found that I was able to just focus and remember my purpose for being here. I felt a lot like I did when I first moved to Edmonton.

Our first knocking experience was a miracle. It was my first day out, and I felt sick to my stomach because I felt like this was going to be the longest time of my life. Sister Jodicke and I decided to just go knocking through our neighborhood because after Orientation Meeting we didn't have a lot of time to figure out our area.  The third door we knocked on was opened to us by an elderly man with coke bottle glasses. he let us in straightaway to share a message and then we found out he is a member. He is really cute, his name is Mr. Townsend. He lives by himself and is rather lonely so it was nice to be able to visit with him. It brought my spirits up a lot.

Something that I have noticed here, is that Andy was right. I haven't experienced dog hair in the food yet, but there is dog hair everywhere. The first few days in this area, with all of the messes and clutter and hair and smoke, I felt pretty uncomfortable and somewhat (or a lot) disgusted. For all of you who will get the reference, it was very comparable to how Jenny Lee must have felt when she first started her work. BUT I knew t hat I could just get over it and love the people. It has been improving every day with how I have been able t o do that. I really have met some amazing people.

St. Bartholomew's Chapel, in Armley, Leeds

I really am starting to love this area too. To get to the bus stop, we have to travel through an old War cemetery in Armley that has a really old Gothic style church. It is really beautiful.

Oh, and Brother Jensen was correct. Everyone calls me 'love.' It is a nice addition to people's rejections. It softens the blow somewhat, haha. Something that is really interesting is when we ask something along the lines of "if you came to know that the message we share is true, would you follow the example of Jesus Christ?" and they say, "No...sorry." So, basically even if they did come to know the truth of our message, they'd still just want to keep living their lives as they are. Doesn't make much sense.

As missionaries, we are supposed to constantly bear testimony to the people that we meet. At first I found this hard because it was hard for me to bear testimony to people that I had grown up with and are members of the church. Every day though, I feel more comfortable and more sincere in it.

I know that the Lord is really protecting me and guiding me and Sister Jodicke. We went to visit a less active family the other day and when we got to their house, they claimed that they didn't know we were coming, and that the Elders were coming later. (They actually did know that we were coming, and we spoke to the Elders the next day and they cancelled on them too.) So, feeling disappointed, we just started knocking the street. It started raining and became really windy. We weren't finding much success until we knocked on one house and a 19 yer old girl answered the door. She was super cute and she let us in. We talked about so many things and she was really curious about everything. She and her family are strong Methodist and I didn't realize before, but Methodists believe many of the things we do. We gave her the first discussion (The Restoration) and set up a date for her to be baptized. I'm really praying that her family we be openhearted about this and that they will value the message of the Book of Mormon.

It is also interesting when really religious people don't care that we have another testament of Jesus Christ. They are so strong in the Bible, and they follow Christ in all of the ways they know how, so wouldn't they want more?

It is so nice to study every morning for so long too. It helps me to wake up and get excited for the lessons. We have been blessed so much too because we have appointments booked up all week and we whitewashed. That doesn't usually happen.

Church yesterday was good. the ward is big and there are a lot of Primary kids. Our tea list for this week is basically booked up, which will be so nice because I'm tired of eating ham sandwiches and bananas, haha. Oh, and Sister Jodicke makes the BEST oatmeal. Yes, mom and dad, I like homemade oatmeal. (This kind, haha). She makes the oatmeal in half water, half milk. Then she puts a drop of Golden Syrup (they put it in rice pudding too, and it is so good) and some granola-type cereal in it and mixes it around. We have had it every morning and I LOVE it. It is so so so good.

I love you all so much, and I am grateful to all of you for your support and the strength you give me. I am starting to love the work even though it is physically draining. I love when people start to understand the importance of the message that we share.

With Sisters Cochran, Peck, Pacis and Read

Our 'party' we had as roomies a
couple of nights before we left the MTC
Sisters Peck, Klemm, and Pacis

Love you so much,
Sister Lybbert

In the Field

    We received a very brief email from Sister Lybbert on Monday stating that she would be leaving the MTC on Wednesday and requesting several of her friend's email addresses. We received another email today from her mission president, President Lindley, stating that she has arrived safely and eager to serve. Her companion is Sister Jodicke. I don't know where she is from but there are two little dots above the o in her name. They are assigned to the Leeds 3.1 Area of the Leeds Zone B. I have no idea what that means or where it is so we will have to wait for Monday's email from Sister Lybbert. President Lindley included two pictures with his email.
     Just a reminder to everyone that Sister Lybbert cannont see any comments on  this blog. She is only allowed to go online to her mission email address. She is only allowed one hour a week online to read her emails so if you would like her to have time to read your letters, you are welcome to send them by snail mail to the mission home address on the side bar of this blog. I know that she would really appreciate anything encouraging and uplifting from home, and even more so when she has a hard copy she can read when she needs more encouragement. At this point, I don't know if she can print off her emails. I think it will depend on where she is. Also, please understand that because she only has one hour a week to read AND reply to any emails, she will do her best to reply to your kind messages, but may not have time to reply to all of them every week. We will continue posting her letters home so you can all know what she's up to. Thank you for your kindness and friendship to her. I know she loves all of you.

Teejay (her mom)

President Lindley, Sister Lybbert, Sister Jodicke, Sister Lindley

Leaving for Leeds!

Hey everyone,

I'm doing fantastic! I don't have time to email this week because I'm leaving for Leeds Wednesday. My P-days in the field are Mondays though.

 

Love you all!

Keep the Faith my friends,

Sister Lybbert

p.s. thank you for all the emails and letters here!

                          

Supercalifragilistic!

Dear Family,
I'm glad everyone is doing well. I have been doing fantastically.
The travelling here was quite the adventure. Elder Noad and I traveled the entire way so that was a major blessing. The Calgary Airport changed the Gate Number we were supposed to leave at and they didn't announce it at the previous Gate so we almost missed our first flight. It wasn't us though, it was their fault.

In Chicago, they did not give very clear directions at all. Long story short, we accidentally left the secure area and had to do that all over again. It took us two hours to figure out what to actually do but Security didn't take long at all. We finally found the other missionaries. the whole time I knew we were going to be fine because a) we are missionaries and have the Lord watching out for us and b) because I didn't want to be stranded in Chicago. that would have been terrifying.

On the plane I sat next to the cutest elderly couple. they were from Chorley [the England MTC is in Chorley]. I was able to tell them a bit about what I was doing and we had a lovely chat. I got a window seat on all of my flights too which was nice. (Except I didn't like it when we were in the clouds...terrifying)

Missionary Training Center (MTC)

Sister Lybbert, Sister Pacis (from the Philippines),
 Sister Peck (Rexburg), and Sister Klemm (Tampa)

As soon as we got here to England I just never wanted to leave. the houses are all old brick and they are absolutely beautiful. It hasn't rained really and I just love everything about it. There are so many flowers and cute houses.

The MTC has been fantastic. The fist few days were hard just because it is such a big change. I wasn't sad, it was more that I was wondering what the heck I had gotten myself into. BUT I love it.

My companion is Sister Pacis. She is from the Philippines and she is still learning English. At first it was difficult to feel unified and I was having a hard time because of the cultural barriers, but after a few days it was excellent. She's probably not even 5 ft tall and she is ALWAYS smiling. She's adorable. It's funny because we taught her the phrase "Holy Cow!" and she thinks it is hilarious.

MTC

I have really loved studying the gospel all day, every day. It is completely exhausting but I don't get bored of it really. My teachers are so great. One is from Manchester and the other is from Scotland. Brother Day and Sister Binnie. In the MTC right now there are only 50 missionaries. 20 sisters and about 30 elders. It is nice because everybody knows everybody.

The practice lessons are going great too. At the beginning it was disastrous because we had no clue how to do it. Now we are getting better and Sister Pacis is becoming more confident with her English. Our teachers act as Investigators and they are so convincing it seems real. They won't even tell us how we did after because they "aren't the same person." It is so we can learn how to evaluate. We can ask them questions though as if they are not the Investigator.

Sister Toly and I get along fantastically. I will send you photos soon.

Sister Toly (Lethbridge) and Sister Lybbert

I love the gospel and I am learning so much. It is tiring and every night I am exhausted but it has been so good.

Oh! And the food here (in the MTC anyway) is delicious. We have salmon, and potatoes, roast beef, nice lasagna, and all kinds of things. Also, they make really nice cake for birthdays. I am eating healthy though and I feel like during my exercise time I've been able to work hard.

Well, you are all great and I love you.
Love,
Sister Lybbert

p.s. I get to go to the temple this afternoon. From the outside it is GORGEOUS.

With Sister Gish...they met at the air
port in Manchester.

With Sister Tabao (Marshall Islands),
yes, that is her hair!

Plaque: Where e're thou art,
Act well thy part.

Preston Temple (actually in Chorley about 2 blocks from the MTC)

I have arrived!

Dear Mom & Dad,
I am here and safe and everything. Also, it is beautiful and I might extend this mission for 80 more years. My p-days are Wednesdays so you will hear more from me then. :)

Love you!
Sister Lybbert