Sister Pursglove in the England Manchester LDS Mission: Weekly Letter #44: August 10, 2020

Hello hello!

This week was kind of a crazy one, but was really good overall. One of my biggest goals was to try and get the 3 areas sorted so that everything and everyone was addressed and taken care of, without letting anyone slip through the cracks. Quite honestly, I thought that we did a pretty good job of this as we really went super deep for weekly and daily planning to make sure we were talking and teaching as many people as possible, but also making sure we have enough finding time. I personally don't think that we had enough finding time overall, but that's something I'm hoping to work on for this week!

THE MOST EXCITING STORY?
The most exciting thing for this week was that we had an AMAZING lesson with our friend Rebecca (in Crosby, Liverpool) about the Plan of Salvation. We had two fellowshippers there, one of them being a recently returned missionary, and the other a recent convert of 4 months. Ari (the recent convert) was able to help answer her questions super well, as well as share her own experiences and her own conversion story, which we think was the turning point. Right now, she's on date for the 19th of September, so we're super excited to keep working towards that and teaching her the remaining lessons!

THE CRAZIEST STORY?
Hahahahaha. We drove back and forth to Barrow twice this week and they were both adventures. The first time we went we were going to see friends but we picked the worst possible time as there was major construction and it was an absolute nightmare and doubled the amount of time it typically takes. What was fun on that trip was when we got back to Lancaster, Sister Weyland thought she had left the keys for our flat in Barrow and we both had minor heart attacks. Luckily they were just in a different pocket.

The second time we went, we started driving and about 20 minutes in our engine warning light turned on. I don't know a whole lot about cars but I do know what that light means, so we pulled over and I retightened the fuel cap to see if that would make any difference but nothing. So that drive was a little stressful there and back but luckily we were safe and we're getting the car checked out!

WHY I BELIEVE
The "Why I Believe" Devotional was wonderful (as always) and a few of our friends really enjoyed it as they either received answers to their questions, or they were grateful to hear other people's stories to know that they aren’t the "only one" being taught or having questions or whatnot. If you haven't watched it yet go watch it right now! Here's the link for the devotional.

THE WORK?
All of our friends and returning members that we're working with are doing splendidly and we're seeing so many miracles. I love being a missionary just for the joy you feel when you see other people understand things, realize who Jesus Christ is for them, and want to learn more and come closer to Him. I wouldn't give it up for the world.

RANDOM THOUGHT?
This week in my studies and just something that's been on my mind lately is the fact that I control my reaction to things, and I am the one who dictates what emotions I do and don't feel. That's definitely something I need to be better at doing, so I'll be working on that this week!

COMPANION?
Sister Weyland is good and I'm learning a lot from her. No complaints here!

Overall, life is good. Lancaster is gorgeous, Barrow and Crosby are doing well, and I'm living the dream. Have a great week and lots of love!

P.S. The picture at the top of the post. We visited a lady who heard it was my birthday - she had a celebration for me. So cute!

Photographs below and links to some great videos that I highly recommend! Just click on the links or the image to launch the videos