Rain, Rain Go Away

Dear President Preston,

The computer was just shut down so I lost the entire letter that I just wrote to you, so sorry if this one is short.

All in all this was another amazing week. I now know firsthand that the Lake District is the wettest part of England. That is ok though because the Gospel of Jesus Christ brings enough light to brighten even the darkest, most wet day.

We were able to meet an amazing man on Thursday named Roger. He asked strait off where our church was and asked if he could come on Sunday. We told him about stake conference and he thought that was a wonderful idea. He shared with us that he believes in God and wants to live a good honest life but doesn’t have a church that he goes to because although all of them have parts of the truth but they also have many things that have seem to have gone a bit amiss. He then decided to give us his number before we even asked for it. This honestly seemed too good to be true. It felt as if Roger fell from heaven and landed right in front of us with all the right answers. We were then able to set up an appointment with him and left feeling great.

On Saturday we received a phone call from Roger saying he wasn’t able to make it to church on Sunday but has been thinking a lot about our encounter on Thursday. He said, what we shared had been on his mind the past couple of days and he felt it was so strange that he gave out his personal information to two complete strangers. He said that is completely not like him. He was a little hesitant to still meet with us but decided that he would make his decision to continue meeting after having the first lesson.

Wow! Roger was so prepared by the Lord. I am so looking forward to meeting with him and helping him in the process of recognizing The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints as the true church. I do feel a little nervous though because I want to say exactly the right thing but I know that as long as I have the spirit with me, it will not matter what I say because the Lord will fill my mouth with the words I need to say and the words Roger needs to hear.

I absolutely loved Stake Conference. We were able to bring one of our investigators, Sherralyn. She also really enjoyed it. She definitely felt the spirit, as did I. I know that the church is true and Love the gospel with all my heart.

We look forward to letting you know how it goes as we do some work in the Leeds MissionJ.

-Love Sister Alyssa Longmore ...............

Finding Family

Hey Moma. Guess what... So we were invited by one of the members to come to a Family history activity that the branch does every fourt-night (which means every 2 weeks or ever 14 days) they use that term a lot here. Well when we went there were only 4 members which suprized me but I guess out of a branch of 20 what can you expect. I was able to pull out my little cards of family history though that you and grandma made and show them. We were looking at all the places in England and they were telling me a little about them. Then we got to Jane Nelson that is from Moreland, Westmoreland.... You will never believe this but the area I am serving in now used to be westmoreland. They were trying to explain to me how the name was changed some time ago, but I never would have known that had I not shown them the ancester things you made for me. It is so cool that I am serving right where one of my ancesters might have walked... You can still see some evidence that this used to be called westmoreland because there are a few old shops that are called Westmoreland Tyres (that is how they spell tires here) and a few other shops as well.

 

E-Mail to the President

Dear President,

I am so grateful for that both my mom and dad have taught me to work hard. Just last Saturday we had what I would consider to be one of the hardest days physically in the mission field so far. We were out all day in our new area, walking around everywhere and talking to everyone. I would say we walked probably close to 10 miles. It was exhausting. We spoke with so many people though. We were able to have 21 quality gospel conversations that day out of which we were able to set up 4 appointments. We also had 3 lessons to non-members that day and one to an active member. One of the 21 people we spoke with turned out to be quite a miracle. We met this man named Kevin as we were walking down an old country road in what seemed like the middle of nowhere. It was beautiful and there was a green hill with many sheep dotting the field next to us. This is what I pictured England to be like. We were on our way to an appointment with one of our investigators, so don't think we were just randomly walking down an old road. But as we proceeded we stopped to talk with a man named Kevin, he told us he knew who we were. He said he has off and on visited with missionaries for the past 10 years he just never has seen girl versions of the elders. He ended up sharing that he feels that he is on the brink of something big and he is not quite sure what to do with the future. (I know it kind of sounds like a fortune cookie). But as he shared this with us I got the biggest prompting to invite him to follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized. So I did and we read Mosiah 18:8-13 with him. He told us he felt the spirit and he told us that he knew about Joseph Smith and knew he wasn't lying when he said he saw God the Father and Jesus Christ. This was AMAZING!!! We had a new investigator. He truly was prepared by the Lord. Later that night we looked through all of the teaching records that the past missionaries have kept and couldn't find Kevin anywhere. I know he was placed in our path by the Lord. We weren't even supposed to be having a lesson with our investigator Matty but because one of our other plans fell through we had time to see Matty. The Lord knows us so well and knows where we need to be.... Oh what I was going to say about hard work though is that after our lesson with Matty we went to get on the train home and inside I was feeling so tired and just wanted to sit and not talk to anyone but then the spirit whispered to me "forget yourself and go to work" so that is what I did. I spoke with a nice woman and daughter that were visiting from Italy. They agreed to look on Mormon.org. It made me feel so good that I was able to put the Lord first.

I am so happy to be serving with Sister Mauch. I feel we are working so well together. I really get along with her and feel that we are helping each other to become even better missionaries. She is great and the branch is also really nice. The people have been so kind to us. I feel we are going to do a great work here in Kendal.

Yesterday at church we had some members, the Barkers, that are living in the Leeds boundaries but because our chapel is closer they have permission from the first presidency to attend here in Kendal. As we spoke with them they said they have some neighbours that they really want the missionaries to meet and start teaching. One of them is looking to find Christ in her life but unfortunately keeps turning to alcohol to numb the pain and wonders why God is not helping her. Another one is a grandmother that is taking care of her grand-daughter because the daughter actually died during the child birth of her baby. The Barkers feel she is really prepared to receive the gospel. The only problem is that it is out of our boundaries and they have spoken with the missionaries in the Leeds mission and supposedly they say it is too far to travel to teach these individuals. The Barkers asked if we could teach them if they come to pick us up and drop us off. What do you think, President?

Kendall, England-Transfer #3--Sister Mauch from Austria

Isle of Man Tartan

Keep Strong & Carry On

(An Email to Taylor) I am having some really good experiences. We were out street contacting on the Promenade, which is kinda like the boardwalk, and we divided up to talk to more people but we stayed close by eachother so we could keep an eye on one another just in case anything were to happen. But I went and talked with a man that opened up to me that he has gone through a really rough divorce. He said that he had a belief in God but didn't really go to church or do anything about it. He continued on sharing how hard things were for him and I shared how with the gospel, the bad times won't necessarily go away, but he would be able to handle them and they would be easier to deal with. He liked the concept but didn't agree to meet with us again. :( he did however allow me to say a prayer when I asked if it was ok. As I did he must have truly felt the spirit because as I opened my eyes his eyes were teary. He quickly shrugged it off and carried on his way. I know that although he might not have agreed to meet with us, I did plant a seed and maybe it was what he needed to give him the faith to pray on his own. As I went to go meet Sister Doherty she was talking with a man that was pushing an empty wheel chair. As I approached him I realized he was handicap. He said that he wasn't always this way. He showed us a huge scar he had down his belly and one on his neck. He said he got in a motor bike accident when he was 17. He is now 51. He said people said he would never walk again, but he taught himself to walk. He walks by holding onto the wheelchair and when he feels tired he sits in it and pushes himself. He said so many people laughed at him and pointed at him, but he has gotten used to it now. You could tell his mind was completely fine but his body was ruined. He appreciated us talking with him so much. It was such a good day. I love you Taylor and am so proud of the man that you are becoming. I know learning and growing is sometimes not the easiest or the most fun. It takes some falling down in order to practice and perfect walking and eventually move onto running but I know it is well worth it. Keep strong and carry on, ( a British motto). But really Taylor, you can do anything you put your mind to. -Love ALYSSA