Look Not Behind Thee

Hiya everyone!

Gosh, it was so good to talk to you all last Wednesday! I can't believe that it's been almost a whole week since I spoke to you guys. It was so nice to hear your voices and to actually get to speak to you. Just think, next time I get to speak to you on the phone or Skype, it will be May, and I will have less than 6 months left on my mission! How crazy is that?! Time really goes by so fast! I'm sorry that I couldn't Skype with you guys last week. But, maybe on Mother's Day I will Skype with you guys. You could probably get Jen and Jordan, Chris and Wendy, and Matt and Peyton in on the Skype call too. I'll let you guys figure out that end of it. But, the most important thing was that I got to talk to you guys! That was my best Christmas present as well! Also, thank you, thank you, thank you for all of the Christmas presents! You guys really didn't have to send me all that stuff, especially cuz it's expensive but I am very grateful for it all, so thank you!!! :)

So, lots more missionaries are preparing to go out now! Come join the army of 80,000+ Christian Soldiers! Honestly, you'll never regret going on a mission! Congrats to those who have gotten their calls! You'll love it! Not much has really gone on since I last talked with you guys. We've just been doing what we do, and loving it! I hope you guys enjoyed the video I sent you. We couldn't stop laughing! I think the end bit where I am standing on my head is my favorite part! lol. Hope it gave you guys a good laugh! :)

Now is the time for New Years Resolutions! Now is the time to look back, but just for a moment, on the regrets of 2013, and to make your resolutions. Once you have made your resolutions, don't look back anymore. The future is before you, so just like it says in Genesis 19:17, "...look not behind thee...". There is always room for improvement in everything. My advice is to set goals and make plans to accomplish your resolutions this year. It's great to have them, but unless you set goals and make plans to accomplish it, then it won't happen. Work hard for it, and you'll get it.

I hope you guys had a very Merry Christmas, and I wish you a Happy New Year! Bring it on 2014! Have a great week, and a great start to your new year! I love you all!!!

Love,
Sister Connery

P.S.-Here is a link to a Mormon Message that you guys should watch:
http://www.mormonchannel.org/video/mormon-messages?v=910930409001&cid=HPTH122613304&im=true

Merry Christmas

Check this out! A member of the ward made this using an iPad app! It's my companion and I, and two of the Elders in the ward. Enjoy! It's hilarious! :)

Going to the Temple

Hiya everyone!

Oh my gosh, I am so excited for Christmas day! I can't wait to call you guys and tell you more about all the missionary work and to hear more about what's going on with you guys! Yes, I will call at 12pm your time, which will be 8pm my time. I figured that way you guys could have breakfast and open presents and stockings already. That way the kids won't be complaining and dying to open their presents! haha! Don't worry Mama, I won't forget to call. Please answer the phone this time! lol. I will call on your cell phone Mama, but if you don't answer then I will try Daddy's phone, Grandma's phone, Sam's phone, the house phone, etc. I will even call Jen or Chris and tell them to call you if need be. Hopefully we won't need to do that though. I'm so glad to hear that Daddy's home so I can talk to him as well! Just a few more days! :D

So, this week we taught 33 lessons, have a few new investigators and also had a referral from a member! She gave out a Book of Mormon to a co-worker and then brought the co-worker and her young family to church yesterday, where we met them and after church we were able to teach them about the Restoration! It was great! Sister Oriaku and I were so excited! We have received a few small gifts from members, but we both agreed that the best gifts that any member could ever give missionaries is to find someone for them to teach! The best part of my week was the opportunity that I had to attend the Temple on December 19th! Oh my gosh, how I loved it! It was such an amazing experience! I have missed the temple SOOOO much, and I was so happy to be back there again! In our mission we now have 300 missionaries total (including the 28 single sisters/couple missionaries), so it was VERY difficult to get all of the missionaries there. We were blessed though, because President Millar said that he had no idea how it was going to be done, but it worked out in the end, and everyone in the mission got to go. We had to go on a couple of different days, but at least we all made it there. I am actually very close to the temple. I am a half hour away by train or car. The temple is actually in my zone (a zone as a missionary is the stake boundaries-so a zone is just like a stake) It was one of the best days that I have had on my mission so far! :D

Congrats on the baptisms and all of the other missionary news! That's always a wonderful thing to hear about! The work truly is hastening, and it's a wonderful time to be a missionary! Don't worry about the White Christmas-we're not having one either. We're having a Wet Christmas instead of a White Christmas too! haha! Also, in other news, the entire fingernail on my broken little finger came off! It's kinda strange looking, but the new nail is growing, so by the time I come home next year, it will be fixed! :)

So, other than all of that, there's not much to share. But there will be loads to talk about on Wednesday I'm sure! Can't wait to talk to all of you! Have a great few days, and I will talk to you on Christmas! Merry Christmas everyone!

Love,
Sister Connery

Christmas Dinner at the London Temple

Sister Oriaku and I outside the temple

 Me outside the temple!

My Soap Box

Hi guys,

More missionaries for your ward huh? You guys better work harder to get them more people to teach. When I get home, I definitely want to be a better member-missionary because I know just how important it is now. Missionaries and members need to work together as one to bring about the work of salvation. These are our brothers and sisters! We should want to save them and help them to get their salvation. It does require a lot of hard work, but when the Savior was atoning for all of us, that was the hardest job that anyone could ever do so the least that we can do is to help bring souls unto Him.

I'll get off my soap box now. lol. So, to clarify, we get to go to the temple this coming Thursday the 19th. I am super excited! I have been waiting for this, and I can't wait! :D I am also so excited to be able to call you guys on Christmas. Please answer the phone this time! haha! 

So, all is going pretty well here in Purley. Ya know how I used to get all excited about teaching 14 lessons, then 20, then 25, then 30, and then 32? Well, this last week Sister Oriaku and I taught 44 lessons! :D It was crazy! We literally just tried to talk to everyone! As many people as we could, and it worked! We taught lots and lots of people, and have a few new investigators, lots of potential investigators, and a new baptismal date for one of our current investigators. Things are going pretty well here I would say. I'm still loving every minute that I get to serve the Lord. It is such a great privilege and it makes me so happy! I love it! I would encourage anyone and everyone to serve a mission, because it will be the best time of your life! (Especially if you serve in the England London South Mission!) By the way, did you know that the Bahama's and the England London South Mission are the two most expensive missions in the world?! It's a good thing they decided to have all of us pay a set amount each month. lol. But it's all for the Lord, and every single pence is worth it!

Well, there's not much else going on right now, but this week is gonna be a good one and I should have lots of pictures to send this next week. Have a great week everyone! I love you all, and pray for you each day! Have a good one!

Love,
Sister Connery

Bold As A Lion

Hiya guys!

It sounds like this last week has been pretty exciting for all of you. Congrats, Adam on going to Regionals for wrestling. That's really cool. And Happy (late) Birthday! I meant to put that in my email last week, but I think I was so excited to tell you guys about everything else that I forgot. Oops. Sorry! Love you though! :) That's really cool for Sam as well, that he is the 1st Assistant. It's interesting how all of these seemingly small callings that we get as youth really help us to prepare for missions. I've come to realize since I have been on my mission that the callings of President and counselor when I was in YW has helped me to prepare to be a leader on my mission. Maybe on your mission, Sam, you will be the Assistant to the President! :) I'm glad that Daddy will be home for Christmas so that I can talk to all of you guys! By the way, because the time difference is like 8 hours, so if I call at 12pm your time on Christmas day, will that work for you guys? I am so excited to be able to actually talk to all of you on the phone! After Christmas I will only get to do that one more time! It's crazy how fast the time goes by.

Anyway, so I can't wait to go to the temple! I am so excited! It's been so long, and I really miss going! Luckily, next Thursday is the day!!! :) Our flat in Purley is nice. It has carpet instead of laminate like the Bracknell flat. They are about the same size, but they were both good. This is a newer missionary flat, so it doesn't have loads of stuff in it from the previous missionaries, so that is really nice. Thanks for sending the Christmas package! It should be waiting for me at the temple by the time I get there next week, so I am excited! :)

So, this past week in Purley has been average. We had a good teaching week, but once again, no investigators at church and no one is progressing. We are working on finding new people to teach the gospel to who are prepared to hear it. We are praying every day that Heavenly Father will help us to find the people that he has prepared to receive the message that we share. Since Isaac was baptized, we have fallen into a rut, and we need to get out of it. So, we are making plans and setting goals to be better missionaries and to be more BOLD! In the Bible, in Proverbs 28:1 it says, "The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion." We have to be bold and talk to as many people as we possibly can every single day in order to make the work hasten here in this area. It is a good area with a lot of potential, we just have to find it! And we will! But that scripture not only applies to us as missionaries but to the member missionaries as well. Don't be afraid. The worst they can do is say no. That's it. So just do it. :)

Not much happened this last week, so there isn't a lot to talk about, but next week will hopefully be full of things to tell you guys! I'm glad that you are all doing well, and it's great to hear from you. I'm excited to find out what this week holds for all of you. I love you all, and pray for you every day! Have a great week!

Love,
Sister Connery

Happy Thanksgiving

Hey everyone!

It sounds like you guys had a fantastic Thanksgiving! Everyone had a lot of fun it seems, and there were big parties going on! We did have a really good Thanksgiving with the Tucker's (the American family). It was a lot of fun, and the food was great as well! It was a first for my companion as she has never even heard of Thanksgiving, so it was fun for her too. So, Temple Square at Thanksgiving! That's fun too! I actually met someone the other day who served her mission at temple square, and she loved it! But being in the field is such a privilege as well. I don't know which one I would rather do. They are both great options. We got to go to the temple last night with some investigators because they were turning on the Christmas lights and the Nativity at the London Temple Visitor's Centre on the temple grounds, and it was so lovely! Seeing the temple lit up at night was just beautiful! I can't wait to go inside this month for our Christmas visit! Just like you said, the Spirit is so strong at the temple! It's nearly impossible not to feel it there! It brings tears of joy to your eyes, Mama. My eyes too! :)

So, yes, Isaac got baptized and he was confirmed yesterday! It was great, and we are really happy! So is he! As a missionary, you worry a little about how well your converts will do after you go. You worry about them staying active, and it's hard, but I am not worried about Isaac. He is doing great! He loves the Church, he loves the gospel, and most importantly, he loves the Saviour, Jesus Christ. He has lots of good friends in the Church, and he is doing so well already! He will be just fine.

To answer your questions, we get to see President Millar at least once every transfer. Every other transfer we have interviews with him for a few minutes, but we don't see him a lot necessarily. I've seen him a lot this last transfer and this transfer so far as well, but once all the hustle and bustle is over then it will become less frequent that we see him. We had zone conference the other day, and Elder Tiexeira, the Europe Area President, was there and he spoke to us and gave us some more training! It was such a great conference! He shook hands and talked with us afterwards as well, so it was a great privilege.

Yes, we have started teaching the couple that came to church, and they actually were the investigators that we took to the temple lights last night, so they are doing good. She was really interested in the idea of eternal marriage, so we hope and pray that there will be good progress there!

Sister Oriaku and I are doing okay. (I have to be careful what I write because she is sitting next to me, and we can see each others' screens!) We still have fights (sometimes we can't go one day without fighting about something), but we are getting better at working it out, and it all comes together in the end so it's not too bad right now. We are okay.

So, I've already told you what has pretty much happened this week. Isaac got confirmed and we had zone conference, and that is most of the exciting news this week. We had 0 investigators at church yesterday, but we had 10 less actives there that we are currently working with so that was great! Not much else to report on this week so we'll see about next week.

I hope you guys have a great week and that everything  goes well! I pray for you all (by name) every day, and I love and miss you all! Have a wonderful week! Love you!

Love,
Sister Connery

Thanksgiving at the Tuckers

This is Elder Nielson (our district leader) and Elder Douglas; they're both from Utah

ISAAC GOT BAPTIZED YESTERDAY!!!

Hiya!

We are rejoicing here in Purley! I'll tell you why in a minute, but let me reply to the other stuff first. I am quite jealous of Grace as I am having to miss seeing Catching Fire. I keep seeing buses go by with the posters on it, and I want to see it so bad! But, this is a once in a lifetime experience, while Catching Fire will still be there when I get back, so I can wait. There is an American family here in the ward who is feeding all of the American missionaries for Thanksgiving, so that should be fun. :)

It's been absolutely crazy this week! We have been so busy with appointments and traveling, interviews, etc. We had interviews with President Millar, and it was great! I love interviews because they give you a chance to talk to him one on one and get advice and help with things. It's great! And we had four investigators at church yesterday! It was fantastic! Two of them have been to church before so it wasn't new to them, but a man we met on the street a few weeks ago came to church as well, and he brought his wife! It was a total surprise because he texted us on Saturday night and wanted to know the address of the church and the time. Then he actually came and brought his wife with him. They really enjoyed it and want to come again next week! We have never actually gotten to meet with him or see him since we met him back in October, but he came! We were pretty excited! And the most exciting news of the week...ISAAC GOT BAPTIZED YESTERDAY!!! It was Sister Oriaku's first baptism, and we were so happy! He was prepared to hear the gospel and accept the teachings. Now, he has been baptized and has entered the fold. I love being a missionary for this reason. Not to just have baptisms and baptize everyone in England but to see the people that you love and care about make changes in their lives that will bring about repentance and strengthen their faith in the Savior. Our faith is strengthened as well. We have helped someone come unto Jesus Christ and get on the path that will lead him back to live with his Father in Heaven. It is such a great blessing and privilege to be a missionary! I know it, I live it, I love it!

That's all the exciting news for this week, but it certainly was exciting! I'm glad that things are going well for all of you at home. I hope and pray that you guys have a great week! I miss you and love you guys lots!!!

Love,
Sister Connery

Sister Oriaku and I - we were really happy, can you tell?!

Brother William Poku-Obeng (from Ghana) who baptized Isaac and Isaac next to him with the crutches

My companion and I and Isaac (our first of hopefully many baptisms together!)

Christmas Mailing

Dear Family and Friends,

We are so excited to be serving here with your sons and daughters.  We love each and every one of them.  They are so amazing and are outstanding examples for the Church here in England.  Thank you for the wonderful job you have done in raising such wonderful young people.  We had a reporter ask us recently how you get young people like them, and we told them it was because they have such wonderful families at home who taught them to revere the gospel of Jesus Christ.

We are already anticipating the Christmas season.  We are hoping to have a wonderful celebration with our missionaries.  In addition, we know that you will want to send Christmas gifts to your children.  Could you please send all packages to the Mission Office?  In the past, some of our missionaries received their gifts at their apartment.  Unfortunately for some, once the postman left the package, someone came by and stole everything.  More than one returned to their flat to find an empty box sitting in front of their door.  By sending your parcels to the Mission Office, someone will always be there to receive it and place it in a secure location.  We shall distribute the packages throughout the mission, and they will receive them in their assigned areas sometime before Christmas. 

The office address is: 

England London South Mission

The London Temple

West Park Road,

Newchapel, Surrey 

RH7 6NB

England

When mailing a package from North America, please indicate the value of the package as less than $40.00.  This is so the missionaries won’t have to pay 20% Value Added plus custom charges.

Thank you so very much for all your sacrifices.  We love you very much and enjoy our association with you as parents.  May God bless you.

Sincerely,

England London South Mission Office Staff

Pretty Legit

Hi everyone!

So, not much new here. We have entered the Christmas transfer! I am so excited to be able to go back to the temple! I miss it so much! Take note if you go on a mission: go to the temple as much as you possibly can before you leave because you will miss the temple so much! Just more advice for the future missionaries. Sister Ball returned home this last week. Her 18 months has come to an end, and she was so sad to be going home! I am going to miss her loads! Thankfully, she doesn't live too far so it won't be hard to see her when I get home. She was able to get permission to call and talk to me one last time before she left. I was so happy to hear from her!

Something cool happened last week that I forgot to tell you guys. Last week at church, I had to give a talk in Sacrament meeting and all of the missionaries sang in Sacrament meeting as well. That's not the cool part. The cool part was that out of the six missionaries that serve in the ward, we had three less actives and five non-members at church! That was super cool! Another cool thing was that Shawn Bradley came to church too! Shawn is a former NBA player who is over 7 feet tall and had a role in the movie Space Jam. Google him to learn more. It was pretty legit, though. The Elders' were all sorts of excited. haha.

Other than that, life as a missionary is normal. We're just preaching the gospel to the people of England! I love it! How great is my calling! (That's a statement, not a question!) It truly is a privilege to be here serving a mission for Heavenly Father. I am truly grateful for the opportunity that I have to serve a mission! Thank you for letting me be here!

I hope that this week brings less excitement for you guys. lol. I pray for you always, and I love you guys so much! Have a fantastic week! :)

Love,
Sister Connery

Quality Over Quantity

Hi everyone!

So transfers are this week (today actually), however, nothing has changed with us. Sister Oriaku and I are both staying here in Purley! It's good because there is a lot going on in the area, and we should be having a baptism in a week and a half! :) It's really exciting! The work is going forth super quick here! We're praying that this next transfer will be super successful!

We haven't been teaching as many lessons as usual this past week, but we feel that the quality of our teaching is a lot better. Quality over quantity is our motto! We're here to prepare people for baptism to be able to enter the kingdom of God! I really think that the best part of our week was Sunday. It was such a great day! First of all, I had to give a talk in sacrament meeting (about the wisdom of performing service as good citizens), and then all the missionaries in our ward sang 'Joseph Smith's First Prayer' (there are six of us, four Elders and us, all in one ward!). We also had three investigators and two less actives at church! It was great! They all really enjoyed it, and it was such a successful week for us! It's amazing what you can do when you have the Lord on your side!

We are currently still preparing Isaac for baptism. He is absolutely golden! He is doing so well, and he has definitely been prepared to receive the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. That is one of the best parts of being a missionary, being able to see these people make the steps to come unto Christ. It's such a testimony builder for me.

We also had a visit with a dentist on Tuesday. (It always seems that either me or my companions always have some type of medical problem...) Anyway, Sister Oriaku has been having a toothache for the past few weeks. It was really bad this last week, so we called our mission president and he said to go to the dentist. But before that, last week I took a look inside her mouth, and with the knowledge of the mouth that I have (from you, Mama), I was able to determine that her wisdom teeth were coming in. So, yesterday when we went to the dentist, they took a look and confirmed exactly what I had told her last week. Indeed her wisdom teeth are coming in. So, we'll see what President Millar wants us to do about that one.

But all is good here! Still loving it! My mission mum, Sister Ball, is going back to Idaho today! :( Her mission has ended, and she has to return now. I am really going to miss her, but thankfully she doesn't live too far from home and I'll see her in a year! Keep up the great work that you are all doing at work, school, play and especially at church! I love you guys lots, and I can't wait to hear what you've been up to! Have a great week!

Love,
Sister Connery

Exciting News

Hey everyone!

How's it going? It does sound like you have had a kinda boring week, but that's okay, because my week has been pretty exciting! We have a baptismal date! One of our investigators, Isaac, has a baptismal date for the 23rd of this month! He is progressing so well and has been prepared by the Lord! Hooray! That's the only exciting thing that happened this week but that's okay, because it is so exciting!

So, ideas for Christmas. I will need a new journal so you could send me one of those. It doesn't have to be the same one that I have now, so just pick one that you think I will like. I'm good on clothes so don't worry about that. I honestly can't think of things that I need. Part of the problem is that every time you move you have to haul around all of your stuff, and I already have a lot. But get creative! It'll be great!

Thanks for all of the love and prayers! Heavenly Father does answer them because I am feeling the blessings from your fervent prayers for me, so thank you so much! I love you guys and pray for you always!

Love,
Sister Connery

Mormon Champagne! haha! We had this at a dinner appointment with a member and she has dubbed it "Mormon Champagne". It's just sparkling juice though. lol. :)

A New Fun Family Tradition

Hey everyone!

So, the work moves forward at a rapid pace! Some really good things are happening in our area! We have some new investigators, some progressing, and lots of teaching and preaching the gospel! We are still teaching a lot of lessons (we had 31 this past week), and things are going good. I'm still learning the area, but luckily my companion is helping me out a lot. I still get a little lost sometimes, but it's all good.

Two of our investigators came to church yesterday! One is a long time investigator (about 3 months now), who comes pretty much every week and she is doing well. We have this other investigator, and he is fantastic! We met him about a week and half ago, and he came to church yesterday! He stayed for all three hours and ]really enjoyed it! I love seeing people be prepared by the Lord! It makes me so happy to see people come unto Christ, because that is the purpose of missionaries. It says so in Preach My Gospel. Look it up Sam! You should be studying that book, because it is so good! Study it now, and it will help so much when you go on your mission! I love Preach My Gospel, and I am constantly marking mine up. I'll give mine to you, Sam, when I get back and you can take it on your mission. Then it can go to Grace, and then Adam! A new, fun family tradition! haha!

So, as you can all see, everything is good here in jolly old England! I love it here, and I love my mission so much! Best thing ever! That's about it for now, but I hope you guys have a great week! I love you and pray for you all daily!

Love,
Sister Connery

The Lord Will Light The Way

Hi everyone!

So, things here are going pretty good. No, unfortunately no baptisms this transfer... yet! There is still hope! We just have to have faith and take a step into the darkness and then the Lord will light the way, but we have to show our faith first. Anyway, life hasn't changed. We still get up in the morning and then preach the gospel, all day, every day. That is my life, and I love it! It is such a good experience and I am really loving every minute - even the minutes when you are soaking wet and no one wants to talk to you. It's for our experience and shall be for our good. :)

The finger is doing well. I was finally able to wash it today! The doctor said I was allowed to now, and it looks pretty cool. I can't get a good enough pic of it to really show you guys what it looks like, but I'll send  the one I've got. I have another appointment this week sometime (hopefully), and it will be my last one. Yay! I broke a finger on my left hand. Which arm break are you talking about because I'm pretty sure I've broken both of them before! lol. The proselyting in our area is good. There is usually a lot of people to talk to, and we teach a lot. We have some new investigators, and we look forward to discussing the gospel with them. My new companion does speak English quite well. We still have to do language study because it is not her first language, but it's fun. :) It does rain pretty much every day here, and sometimes we are lucky enough to be inside when it happens. Like yesterday, it was raining with thunder and lightning but we were inside thankfully! :) We don't walk very much here, and I don't like it. I am integrating walking more into our routine, but we take the bus a lot, which is good, especially when it rains. :) No I have not had spotted dic, but I could buy it if I wanted to. However, I don't want to, so I won't buy it. lol. :)

There really isn't anything new to tell. Just living the mission life, preaching the gospel. It's great! :) Tell Sam to start studying Preach My Gospel now. It will be such a huge help to him! We practically count it as part of the standard works when you're a missionary. We did have zone conference this week and stake conference this weekend, and they were both great! I love conferences because you can always go with a question or concern and sometime during the conference it will be resolved for you. I love it! I love being here in England, and I love being a missionary! I love you guys and pray for you every single day! I hope you have a great week, and I can't wait to hear what you guys have been up to. Love you lots!

Love,
Sister Connery

Happy Birthday, London Style

Hiya!

Don't worry Mama, I am doing just fine. The finger doesn't even hurt unless I knock it around and stuff. Or if the doctor plays with it. :/ But it's all good! I am doing well anyway. I went back to the doctor on Thursday and he said that it looks really good. He was really pleased with it. I can take the splint off in one week, and then I need to moisturize the finger and the stitches will dissolve. Then the nail will come off, and a new one will grow. He wants to see me again in 2 weeks for one last appointment. So, it is all going well. :) And thank you so much for my birthday presents! I loved them! You guys are so amazing! I have the best family ever! :)

So, Purley is just south of a city called Croydon. Google it. :) This is a really good area, and I have a really good companion. I love being here so much! My mission has been such a great experience and I am loving absolutely every minute of it! :) I am not worried about the Sister Trainer Leader thing. Whatever Heavenly Father feels I am ready to take on, I will do it. If He thinks I can do it, then I know that He is right, and I can!

This week has been pretty good. Nothing super exciting happened except that we have a baptismal date for this transfer! Yay! :) And, a funny story. President and Sister Millar surprised us and showed up at our district meeting on Wednesday! Not only that, but they sang Happy Birthday to me, and our district leader asked us to practice teaching and he wanted my companion and I to practice teaching with President and Sister Millar! How many missionaries have had to teach their mission president the gospel?! We were so scared but we did it anyway. It was a good experience for us.

Anyway, it sounds like you all remain very busy! That's what life is like for you guys though. Always so busy! But it's good! You all sound like you are doing good and are having a lot of fun! So many missionaries going out! The work is definitely hastening! I can't believe that this time last year I was preparing for a mission, and now I'm here! And I'm loving every minute of it! :) I hope you guys have another great week, and I am praying for you always! Heavenly Father definitely answers them! I love you guys so much, and I am so thankful for the opportunity that I have to be here to serve the Lord! Thank you for all the love and prayers! Love you guys lots!

Love,
Sister Connery

The Best 18 Months

Hi everyone!

Thank you for the birthday wishes! I look forward to opening my presents tomorrow! It sounds like you are all doing really good and things are going well. Exciting stuff is happening at home. No, I do not have a British accent. The American accent is too strong. However, I am saying British words. There are words here that mean different things than at home or they call things by different names. I'm glad that everyone is doing so good at home! It's so scary that I only have one year left! :( I absolutely love my mission and I can see why they call it the best two years (or 18 months)! Anyway, so an update on everything here.

My finger is okay. What I didn't get to tell you last week was that I ended up having surgery on my finger last Monday afternoon. I didn't know until I got to the hospital for another appointment that I would need surgery. We had to go to Windsor to the Princess Margaret Hospital there (very posh!), and the doctor looked at it, made another appointment for me later that afternoon to see the plastic surgeon. So, I saw the plastic surgeon that afternoon who looked at it and said that he wanted to do surgery. So, then and there he did the surgery. He had to stitch up the ligament underneath my nail because there was a tear in it. So he stitched that up (after numbing my finger of course, but I was awake and got to watch a little bit of it), and then he stitched my nail back onto my finger, and burned a hole through my nail to let the blood continue to escape. So, I have another appointment with him this Thursday to see how it is doing. It was pretty interesting. So, that's the news  on the finger.

The other news is that I moved areas. I am now serving in Purley. It is a nice place here, and I have a great companion. Her name is Sister Oriaku, and she is from Nigeria. She has been on her mission for 3 months now. I really miss Bracknell, but apparently I am needed here now. So, a lot happened just after I emailed you last Monday. We also got a call from President Millar that day to confirm that I was moving. He also asked me to be a Sister Trainer Leader. That is a sister who gets to travel around the specific zone assigned, and go on exchanges with all the Sisters and help them out. How cool is that?! It was really cool at first, until that afternoon when I called President just after I had surgery. He called on Wednesday after I had been transferred and was in my new area and he told me that he wants to wait to make me the Sister Trainer Leader until my finger is better. :( Sad day. But hopefully that will happen next transfer. At least I will get to know my new area before I start other duties. Other than that, not much else has been going on, which I am grateful for because the last three weeks since I broke my finger have been absolutely crazy!!! But, it all happens for a reason.

Yes I did get to watch three out of four sessions of conference and it was great! I loved it so much! I really enjoyed all of the talks and I can't wait to get the ensign and read and study the words from the prophets, seers, and revelators. I agree with President Monson when he said that it has been one of the most inspiring conferences because it really has! I am glad you guys got to see it too because it was wonderful! I hope you guys have a great week, and thank you once again for everything! I love you all, and pray for you always!

Love,
Sister Connery 

Sister Connery and Sister Oriaku

Say Goodbye

Hi everyone!

Don't worry about the finger, it's doing fine. When I went to the doctor on Thursday he pulled off the bandage and in doing so, he made it bleed again. I thought Sister Cranfield was gonna pass out because there was a lot of blood (all for a little finger!). They re-bandaged it and put an actual splint on it. He wants to see me again in 5 weeks, and they want me to get the dressing changed every 3-4 days to avoid infection. Stupid finger. The only problem with all of that is: we had interviews with President Millar last Wednesday and he told me to say goodbye to the ward because I will be moving. He didn't say much more than that, but transfers are this Wednesday so I will be leaving Bracknell. I have really enjoyed my time here and I have absolutely loved the past 6 months, and I am going to love the next 12! I can't write much because it's not technically P-Day, but we have permission to write and tell you that transfers are upon us. I apologize for not being able to write anyone else, but as we are obedient to the rules, we receive blessings for doing so. I'm glad that everything is going so well at home, and I got my birthday package, so thank you very much! :) I hope that you guys have a good week, and I love you and pray for you always!

Love,

Sister Connery

For the Sake of the Church

Hiya everyone!

 

You alright? I'm doing alright. It's been a crazy weekend for us! But I'll explain that later. So, about you guys! That really is too bad about Grandpa Gilman, but he is happily resting with Grandma Gilman in the Spirit World. May I just say that I love the Plan of Salvation! It gives me so much comfort, peace, and happiness to know where I came from, why I'm here, and where I'm going. I love being able to share that particular subject with others. I did hear about the BYU game from an American member of our ward. That truly is sad. And good job about the missionary work! It is so important that the members help as well. It is kind of scary to do, but it's so worth it to see people accept the gospel of Jesus Christ. It's truly an amazing experience. 

 

So, about our week. Nothing much happened until Saturday. Before I start, you (Mama) are not allowed to freak out! Just know that everything is taken care of. Okay? Now, on Saturday we went to clean the chapel (nothing new there-it's good stuff to do), and I accidently left my hand in the crack of the hinges on a door. The door shut on my finger, and needless to say, it hurt, and I had to go to hospital. We called a member who drove us to the hospital and after waiting 2 hours to see a doctor, she ordered an X-ray. Another hour later I actually got the X-ray done, and another hour later she came to tell me that I have broken the little finger on my left hand. So, we left the hospital after 5 hours of being there with my finger splinted and bandaged up. I will lose the nail; it came completely out of the skin and is only holding on with dried blood. It kept bleeding for about 24 hours after I originally smashed it, but it has stopped now, and I am doing fine. They gave me some antibiotics, and I have another appointment at the fracture clinic on Thursday. It certainly was a long, exhausting day. Later that night though, my district leader (Elder Grachev), and his companion (Elder White-who asked if I wanted a blessing) gave me a blessing, and it was really good. I seriously have the best district and the best zone! There must be something that I need to learn from this experience, and now I just have to trust Heavenly Father and find out what I am supposed to learn. There is a scripture in Mark 8:35 that says "For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it." I have lost the use of my little finger for the sake of keeping the chapel clean. There is always something that we can and need to learn from every experience that we go through. We just have to trust in the Lord, and He will help us.

 

I hope you all have a fantastic week, and I love you guys, and pray for you all daily! Keep up the good work!

 

Love,

Sister Connery

 

P.S.-It's kinda hard to type without your little finger. So I apologize that this email is a little short. Oh well. C'est la vie!

 

Broken

Ew!

 At Hospital

A Day of Miracles

Hi everyone!

 

Sorry but I will have to be quicker today with my emails. We only have one hour today, so I will make the most of it. Yes, Sister Cranfield's blisters were pretty bad but they are doing so much better now! No new bruises, but we played football in the rain on Saturday and I slipped and fell, so now the right side of my body is pretty sore and beat up. Oh well, moving on. We do get fed very often by the members so that is really good.

 

So, this week there wasn't really a whole lot that happened. Except for on Thursday! Thursday was a day full of miracles. We make it a point to identify at least one miracle each day, and on Thursday we had six miracles! So, for our day of miracles. Our miracle day was on Thursday, and our first miracle was that we didn't die. The grass was wet because it was raining, and I slipped and fell into the road, pulling Sister Cranfield along with me. There was a car coming, but Heavenly Father blessed us by keeping us safe. We had time to get out of the road, and the car was going slow enough that it had time to slow down even more. We are safe thanks to Heavenly Father! Our second miracle was when we stopped by a less active that we had never met. We knocked, he answered and chatted to us, we taught him some principles, said a prayer with him, and he said that we could come back anytime. The strange thing was, he had requested from the church that no one visit, but he was okay with us visiting and invited us back. Our third miracle was when we stopped by an investigator, who wasn't home. So we took just a minute to look at our planners and see what we had planned to do next. As we were walking away, our investigator was coming towards us, and we chatted to her, and got a return appointment with her. Our fourth miracle was when we stopped by another less active who came to church last week with her two daughters, and is progressing really well. We taught her and her two young girls a lesson. Before we left, the less active had a friend show up, and we were able to teach her as well. And, the less active says she is trying to bring one of her other friends to church with her. Our fifth miracle was having a dinner appointment with some members, who the father is less active. Every time a member (any member, us, and the Elders) go over there, he is polite but he never eats with us or is there for the spiritual thought. However, he chatted to us, and then ate dinner with us, and was there for our spiritual thought! He also tried to give us a referral for someone. And finally, our sixth miracle was when we stopped by another less active that we visit and to get in we have to push the button and it rings him and then we tell him who is there and he pushes the button to let us in. When we got there, there was a lady outside smoking who just pushed a button (she lived there) and let us in right away. We went up and the less active had company. His brother was there but they let us teach them both anyway. That was a miracle because if that lady hadn't let us in, then the less active probably would have told us that he was busy and to come back, but we then were able to have another lesson with the brother who is a non member.

 

What a day Thursday was! It was absolutely incredible and Heavenly Father blessed us so much! Thanks to Him, we are able to do this work. Without Him, it couldn't happen. And thank you all so much for everything that you have done and continue to do. I pray for you all each day, and I hope you have a great week! I love you guys lots!

 

Love,

Sister Connery

The Work Goes Forth At A Blistering Pace

Hiya!

 

How is everyone doing? Great, I hope! It sounds like you guys are really enjoying life! I am enjoying my life as well! It's not missionary work, it's missionary fun! :) So, about the bruise, yes I did get it from playing football (soccer). I think Elder Grachev kicked me two weeks ago when we played with them. It was a lot of fun though! So worth the bruise. It doesn't actually hurt, it just looks like it should. Anyway, about the referrals, we don't get very many at all here. Maybe one a week, if we're lucky. So we do have to do a lot of tracting. However, no one in our ward has seen the leadership training so we are working on changing that. Congratulations to Sam for giving out his first Book of Mormon! It's an amazing feeling isn't it? You are helping someone else come unto Christ. That is part of the first line of "Our Purpose", the missionary purpose in Preach My Gospel that we recite each morning. All I can say before your mission is really study it. Don't just read it, but study it. It should become your best friend, along with the Book of Mormon. Read it every day! Familiarize yourself with it, and you will be set! The work of the Lord is hastening, and we are all part of it! 

 

I'm glad that you are all loving school and everything so much, and that it is all going so well. By the way, can you email me the recipe for Taffy Apple Pizza? I wanna make it for our district. :) That's great that Josh is speaking in sacrament. He shouldn't be nervous, because even as a missionary you are scared to give talks. It's not an easy thing to do.

 

This week really hasn't been super exciting for us. But there have been a few exciting bits. First off, Sister Cranfield has giant blisters on her feet! They are bigger than a one pound coin (which is about the size of a quarter, but a little smaller) They are so huge! We finally had to call President Millar about them and email him some pictures. He called us back later and said that I had to pop them. So, I sterilized a needle, we washed her feet, and I popped the blisters and drained all of the stuff inside them out. It was really interesting. I have to admit that I was totally in my element. I really don't like feet, but I just didn't think about it. I just thought about what I had to do and then did it. It was actually kinda fun. Her blisters are doing much better now, and they are looking good so far. So that was pretty interesting. The best part of our week though was when a less active came to church yesterday and brought her two adorable daughters with her! It was such a good Sunday, and they really enjoyed themselves and want to come back next week! Hooray! Exciting things are happening! I still can't believe that I have already been out for five months! It's crazy how fast the time goes! Before I know it, it will be my six-month mark! Scary, but exciting! :) 

 

Thank you all so much for everything that you have done and are doing! I couldn't do this without you, and I am so grateful for each one of you! I hope you have a great week! I love and pray for you always, and I know that Heavenly Father is watching over you all for me! I love you all!

 

Love,

Sister Connery 

 

 

 These are the blisters that I had to pop for Sister Cranfield. This is a two pound coin that is bigger than a quarter! They were giant blisters! But they look so much better now.

Kiwi Anyone?

Hiya!

It's so good to hear from you guys and find out what you are all up to this week. Poor Grace. Tell her I'm sorry that everyone keeps calling her by my names. She'll understand when she goes on her mission someday (no pressure Grace-it really is something that the Spirit has to confirm to you is right for you) but it makes me happy, cuz I know you guys are all thinking about me. :) Thank you for the message from Amanda. It sounds like she is doing great! I knew she would and I knew that she would love it! It really isn't missionary work, but it's missionary fun! I really can't tell you what to get me for my birthday. I honestly don't know. I don't need any shoes, but I could use some of those sock type things that you find at Payless. I hope you guys know what I'm talking about. I'm sure Grace knows. (They are generally used when you wear flats.) I bought some and within three days both pairs I bought had giant holes in them. :/ So that would be helpful. Honestly though, you guys really don't have to send me anything. Just a Happy Birthday will do.

So, Sister Cranfield has been on her mission for six months now. She came out the transfer (six weeks) before I did. I still can't believe that on Wednesday will be my five-month mark! It's crazy how fast the time is going by! The TimTams were delicious! (I hope Jordan is jealous! hahaha!) I have yet to go inside the London Temple unfortunately. We should be able to go at Christmas, but other than that, missionaries don't get to go often unless you are at the temple visitors center or in the office. Also, the temple is closed from now into November anyway. :/ The place we live is really nice. We have a really posh flat compared to a lot of other flats in the mission. So I am also attaching a picture of the bruise that I got on Monday. Sister Cranfield says it looks like a Kiwi bird? (You guys might wanna look that one up) This week wasn't too exciting. We got 30 lessons, so not our best, but still really good! We also are a little scared of the chapel now. Earlier this week we had a dinner appointment at our ward mission leader's house. Afterwards we went to walk home and really had to use the bathroom, so we stopped by the chapel to use it (we have a key). The gate to the car park was open, but there was no cars. The lights were on, the door was locked, but the alarm was off. We went inside and looked around a bit. Then we heard a deep cough-a man's cough. We ran outside and phoned our ward mission leader who got to the chapel in less than two minutes and went inside and did find a man in there. It was a member from another ward (I think he said it was some higher authority because he had a key and the alarm code), and he was doing a conference call or something. So, better safe than sorry, but we still are a little wary about going to chapel now. Anyway, that was our funny story for the week. We laughed about it later.

So that was our week. Like I said, missionary fun. :) It really is amazing how much a mission increases and strengthens your testimony. I can't wait to share mine with all of you when I return home and speak in Sacrament meeting. I hope you guys have a great week, and I will continue to pray for you always. I love you guys so much! Thank you for everything that you do! Love you!

Love,
Sister Connery

Kiwi Bruise

Dare To Be a Mormon

Hi guys!

Another week here in England has come and gone! Transfers were good. Sister Ball left, but I will still see her once a week as she is still in the zone. She is the new Sister Trainer Leader so I will get to go on some exchanges with her! :) So, my new companion. Her name is Sister Cranfield, and she is from Sydney, Australia. My first foreign companion, who (thankfully) speaks English. ;) She is really cool, and we have had a good week so far. Last week, we beat the amount of teaches from the previous week by one. So we had 33 teaches, which is the most either one of us has ever taught. She was in Weymouth before and the highest they had ever taught was 16 lessons, so Bracknell is a good change for her. We played more football (soccer) for P-Day yesterday (long story-short: It was a bank holiday yesterday so the library was closed, so we are emailing today and then going to work). We went to Farnborough and had a district P-Day together at the Farnborough ward picnic. I have this awesome bruise on my leg! It's HUGE! That's what I get for playing rough with fourteen men and only two girls (my companion and I). The highlight of our week though was being able to take one of our investigators, Jim, to the temple to the visitors center there. It was so much fun! I loved just being able to be there on the temple grounds! It was amazing! I can't wait to go inside one day! And Abu, unfortunately we haven't been able to get ahold of him this week. We are still trying; he just works a lot and is having some housing issues. But hopefully we can see him again soon. My testimony of this gospel and this church just gets stronger and stronger every single day! I love being able to see people change their lives for the better and seeing the blessings that come from being a member of this church. A mission is an incredible experience!

So, that's what is going on here. Not too much stuff, but it's great being able to be here to teach the gospel and stand up for what I believe in. There is a Mormon Message for Youth by President Monson, and he recites a poem that he learned in primary. I really enjoyed it and want to share it with you guys. It says,

Dare to be a Mormon,
Dare to stand alone.
Dare to have a purpose firm,
Dare to make it known!

I really like that, and I hope you guys do as well. It's a great reminder to stand up for what we believe in and let people know that we are Mormons! It may be difficult and uncomfortable sometimes, but there's a great quote about the Savior that I heard. "We are uncomfortable for Him, because He was first uncomfortable for us." The Lord needs us to stand up and be witnesses of Him, and Jesus Christ, at all times, and in all things, and in all places that we may be in Him even until death. (See Mosiah 18:9) Dare to be a Mormon, and dare to make it known!

I hope you guys have a great week! I am so proud of the things that you are all doing and I wish you all the best. I am praying for you constantly and I love you guys so much! Have a great week! Love you!

Love,
Sister Connery

 The building where our flat is

The building is called Debden House

Sister Cranfield and I at the London Temple

 Just for Jordan :)

An Exciting Time

Hi everyone!

So, the past transfer has been super exciting for us! Lot's of cool stuff has happened to us. Obviously the baptisms are amazing! It is such an exciting time to be a missionary. So, transfers are this week and Sister Ball is moving! She is moving the next area over, in the same zone, to be a Sister Trainer Leader (they go on exchanges with the other sisters and help them out and stuff)! She's not moving too far, and I will still get to see her a lot so I am happy about that. So I will be getting a new companion on Wednesday. President didn't say who or anything, but he told me that I have to be strong. Not quite sure what that means yet, but I will certainly do my best to do it! Some other exciting stuff that happened this week is that we reached 32 lessons this week! Yay! We are getting more and more, and we hope to keep it up! As a district (Bracknell-us, Crowthorne-Elder Grachyov and Elder Treadway, and Farnborough-Elder Davies and Elder Rogers), we taught a grand total of 107 lessons this last week! Crazy!!! The work is definitely progressing and hastening onward! I got to go on exchanges with Sister Hurst to her area in Earley this week too, and that was fun. We went to KFC for dinner with a member this week too. His name is Joff, and he is single so we couldn't go to his house, so he just took us out. We finally got to see Abu again, after almost two months of no contact and he still wants to meet with us and learn more, so that's good. We play football (soccer) every Thursday night, and I am getting better I think. I made two goals and a few assists last time. But I keep getting headaches from hitting the ball off my head. Maybe not such a good idea but still fun. I have found that I am really competitive, and some of the guys think I'm kinda rough when I play. It's not my fault if they get in the way when I'm going for the ball. Haha! We have been so tired lately as well! It's terrible! We both actually almost fell asleep while teaching a lesson to a less active. She noticed and even said, "Oi, you two must be tired, I can see your eyes going!" That woke us up for sure. There was also this cute Italian market in town for a few days selling some yummy food. It was so good! And Italian guys like to flirt! Oh my gosh, one was so persistent about getting my number. It was hilarious! Yes, my allergies act up, yes my shoulder acts up, but that's normal. It happens at home too, so what can you do? It's not too bad anyway. I will send a picture of our flat building. It's a really nice flat, but we're not really allowed to take pictures of the inside, but I can show you the outside. Yes, I was wearing a pink skirt. Sister Ball and I share clothes all the time, and I just pretend that it's red :)

This week has been so amazing and so full of miracles! Heavenly Father is hastening His work, and we are just the vessels that He uses to do it. Being a missionary is so much fun! A lot of hard work, but it's a blast! My testimony has grown so much since I have been here, and Heavenly Father answers our prayers and shows us miracles every day! He is a God of miracles, and miracles have not ceased! Miracles are wrought by faith, so have faith and believe, and miracles will happen! I hope you guys have a great week, and I can't wait to hear about what you are all up to next week. I love you guys so much! Thank you for everything!

Love,
Sister Connery

Here are some pictures of Windsor Castle and the River Thames

A Short Report

Hi Ya'll

So some good things and some not so good things have happened this past week. A good thing was that we broke our record and we taught 30 lessons this last week!!! It was hard to get so many, but we managed to do it. Some not so good things are that we are struggling a little to find new investigators, and we lost our baptismal date that we had for this coming Saturday. Our investigator isn't ready for it so we have to push it back. Not much else exciting has been going on around here. So, that means this is going to be a super short email! Oh, there is one more exciting thing that happened this week. As a mission, we taught a total of 2,038 lessons! The work here is definitely hastening! The area seventy here has told us repeatedly that if the work in Europe is going to increase, it will start in the England London, and England London South Missions. What a huge responsibility we have here! I just hope and pray that we can do it! However, we know that with the help of Heavenly Father we will be able to accomplish anything. In the Bible there is a scripture that talks about how with men it may be impossible, but with God all things are possible. That is such a true statement! Well, I don't really have a lot else to tell you guys this week. Sorry it's so short and kinda boring. I hope to hear from you guys again soon! I love you guys tons and I hope that you have a great week! I love you!

Love,
Sister Connery

Windsor Castle

Hiya everyone!

We had an amazing week this last week and the week before. It really was a miracle that Penny got baptized, but it just shows that Heavenly Father is hastening His work and changing the hearts of people. So, last P-Day, Penny took us to Windsor Castle! It's where the Queen lives part of the time and it is only like 20 minutes away from us, but it's out of our zone so we couldn't go normally. We had to get special permission from President Millar to go, and he said yes so we got to go to Windsor! We had so much fun! I took lots of pictures, and it was so fun! We even had lunch on the banks of the River Thames! It was so much fun! The rest of our week was good too. We saw lots of people, and sometimes our plans changed and things didn't go the way we planned, but we know that everything happens for a reason, and we just have to trust Heavenly Father. We were able to teach 26 lessons this week, which is the highest that we have ever gotten. We now have a goal next week to get 30 lessons! Pray hard for us! The power of prayer definitely works! That's how Penny got baptized, through our prayers and the prayers of others, and that is how Alma the Younger was converted to the gospel, through the prayers of his father and the church members. Don't ever doubt the power of prayer! So, a high point of our week happened on Saturday, when one of our investigators, Vicky, got baptized! Yay! Another baptism and confirmation! We are really trying hard, and Heavenly Father is really blessing us! It has been such a great week for us! It has also been a good week for our mission as well. A few months ago, (March to be precise) this mission was teaching under 1,000 lessons a week, but ever since April when the huge increase in missionaries started to happen, our mission has consistently been teaching over 1,000 a week. And we found out this morning that this last week, our entire mission taught 1,960 lessons! Heavenly Father is helping all of us so much and is working very hard to help us bring others unto the Savior Jesus Christ. The past few weeks have been so amazing!!!

As of yesterday, I have been on my mission for 4 whole months now! Crazy!!! It's gone by so fast, but yet so slow. I guess when you dive into the work and just work hard, the time passes and you don't even notice. I'm glad y'all had such a great week, and I can't wait to read about all of your fun adventures next Monday. Say hello to all the family for me. That includes: Miltie, Shayna, Cy, Mimi, Angelina, Hailee, Phoenix, Jen, Jordan, Maddie, McKinley, Chris, Wendy, Clara, Adam, Paul, Matt, Peyton, Lincoln, Sam, Grace, Adam, Grandma, Daddy, and Mama.

I miss you all tons, but Heavenly Father will bless us for the work that myself and you all do for Him. I pray for you all each day, and I pray that the Lord will bless you in your daily lives. I hope you have a great week, and I love you all so much! :)

Love,
Sister Connery

Sis. Ball and I and Sister Aslett and her daughter Bethany (she is going on a mission to Fairfax Canada and leaves on the 27th of August)

Us and the Thairs family consisting of Brother and Sister Thairs, Charlotte, Michael, Elianna, Matthew, and James (Bro. Thairs is our ward mission leader)

Us and Lynne, who is a convert who was baptized just before I came

Us and one of our favorite couples, Brother and Sister Hamilton who we love! They are so good to us! 

This is a picture of us and Penny, my first convert! :)

AMAZING

Hi everyone!

Oh my goodness, so this last week was the most stressful, but also the most AMAZING week that I have had on my mission so far! So, in the beginning of the week it was all normal and going well. At accounting last night we had 3 new investigators this week, and 24 lessons. It was a good solid week! We also had zone conference on Thursday which was so good, and we learned so much! Also, we have an investigator named Vicky, who has a baptism date for August 3rd, passed her baptismal interview so we are all set for her baptism on Saturday! We also got to go on exchanges! My first exchange and it was so good! With so many more missionaries coming in, Sisters are now able to go on exchanges like the Elders do. So, I got to go on an exchange with Sister Grosso to the Woodley area. Sister Grosso is the Sister Training Leader, so her job is to go on exchanges with all of the Sisters' in the zone. She is such a good missionary! I learned so much from spending just 24 hours with her. That is all really good stuff, but the most amazing part of the week came on Wednesday. We had gone to see one of our investigators. Her name is Penny and we just love her! She has been investigating the Church for about a year and half now. She comes to Church every Sunday and believes everything about it. She just didn't feel ready for baptism. She has a fear of water, lots of health problems (mostly with her legs), and she wanted to know everything about the Church, and she didn't feel like she knew enough. So we have continued to work with her and when we went to see her on Wednesday she asked us what she would have to do to be baptized. She said she was considering getting baptized (she didn't say when), but she wanted to look into it more. So we told her that she would need an interview. Later that night she sent us a text, it said, "If you can make my baptism happen for tomorrow..." (Thursday the 25th-which happened to be the same day as zone conference). AMAZING!!! So we got all the kinks worked out about who would do the baptism, the witnesses, etc. On Thursday right after zone conference, we rushed off to the chapel to have Penny get baptized and she did!!! And I got to be in the font with her! She has health problems in her legs like I mentioned before so Brother Boyle, the patriarch who baptized her, asked me to get in a jumpsuit and stand in the font with them in case anything happened. So, I got to be in the font too! Nothing happened, it all went fine, but it was still fun! So that was our AMAZING  week!!! What miracles we have seen!!! Heavenly Father is definitely helping us to hasten His work! We know that without Him, none of this would be possible!

But it sounds like you all had a great week as well. We do get the monthly Ensigns, so that is really nice, and that talk that I mentioned is super good! The birth of Prince George, actually wasn't a  big deal here. I was so surprised that we didn't hear about it. We heard about it from a member about two days after he had been born, so it didn't affect anything that we did this week. This is actually a very strange summer for England. They usually have about a week or two of summer and then it cools off again, but this summer has been really wierd for them. But I like it. :) You all only have one more month of summer vacation left, but you are lucky because here in England they only get about 6 weeks of summer vacation, but they do have some more days off during the school year than we do. Anyway, I am glad that you are all doing so well!

I am praying for you every single day! And trust me, Heavenly Father does answer prayers, you just never know when. We have been praying for Penny to get baptized for a long time now, and she finally did. Everything happens in the Lord's time, we just have to trust Him. He knows best. Have a great week everyone! I love you guys so much and thank you for all that you have done and continue to do for me! Love you!

Love,
Sister Connery

A Good, Solid Week

Hi everyone!

It sounds like you have all had a great week! The investigators are doing well this week. We're in the process of trying to find more, and we haven't been doing too well with that but we are working on it. We taught 22 lessons this week, so we are doing better than we did last week. Throughout our zone we taught 312 lessons! And throughout the mission we taught 1,890 lessons last week! The work is hastening! And, yes, I'm tired. I get up at 6:20 every morning, go running, then work all day (walking usually about 5-6 miles every day), in the hot weather, and then add the stress of things, and not going to bed until 10:30, etc. It tires you out really well. But, the Lord gives us the strength to go on each day and to continue to work hard, despite things that may deter us. Now, about the weather, yes I mean celsius. They use it here and I am still trying to figure out how it works, but we have a converter on our phone that tells us what it is in fahrenheit. So 28 degrees celsius here is about 82 degrees fahrenheit. Nobody here is used to this weather because they haven't had a summer like this since 2006 they said. This weather has lasted for about 4 weeks now. But it's kinda muggy so we could use a day or two where it rains pretty good. I never thought that I would see burnt/dry grass in England!

So, this past week was a good one. We taught some good lessons, and talked to lots of people. On Tuesday we had a DA (dinner appointment) with a member. Her husband and all of her children were working so they couldn't be there but it was good anyway. She is struggling a little bit with wayward children, and we were able to be there at the right time to say just what she needed to hear. I quoted a talk from the (June?) Ensign entitled "Dear Are the Sheep That Have Wandered" (I think that's what it's called), and it is a really good talk that anyone should read. I know that I enjoyed it and it really helped this particular sister out. We had a proper thunder/lightning storm last week as well. It only lasted for about a half hour so it wasn't enough to clear the muggy air or bring the grass back to life but it was still nice after all this hot weather. The raindrops were just huge! They were probably about the size of a 1 pound coin! (a little smaller-but thicker-than a quarter). We also walked (missionaries shouldn't run in public in skirts-it's not good for our image) about 3 miles in 40 minutes in order to get to an appointment on time and we still were ten minutes late. But it was still a good, solid week!

I really love being here, and I do miss home and all of you a lot, but this is where I am supposed to be and Heavenly Father will bless us all for our obedience, and sacrifice. He was willing to sacrifice His son, Jesus Christ, for us, so we should always be willing to sacrifice whatever we can for Him. I hope that this letter is inspiring to you all, and that your faith will continue to remain strong and immovable! Have a great week everyone! I love you guys so much!

Love,
Sister Connery