Windy Bracknell

Hi Everyone!
I'm so glad that it's finally P-Day and I can email you all! All is well here in Bracknell, England. My companion and I absolutely love each other, and we get along really well! We're trying really hard to get these investigators to commit to baptism, but we can't push it. They have their free agency so they get to choose still. It is raining a lot here! At least once a day, and it's usually pretty cold here. They call it "windy Bracknell" because it is so windy here every day! It's a struggle to keep our skirts from flying all over the place sometimes. We had hail the other day, and unfortunately my companion and I were caught in it because we were walking home. The hail really hurt, and we were soaked when we got home. It was huge chunks of hail too. It looked like it had just snowed, and then the sun came out 10 minutes later. Thankfully my companion and I had good spirits about the hail and walking in it, but the people that saw us probably thought we were insane because all we could do was laugh! It was just so funny to us, and we have a good time together. Summer is on its way for you! We have about two days of summer and that's it (at least that's what I'm told).

So, last P-Day, we got to take a field trip to Oxford (since it's in our zone)! So we got to see all the cool stuff there, which is actually where most of my pictures that I'm sending were taken. We got to see the University and take a free tour of Christ Church! We got to eat lunch with the whole zone too! We didn't go anywhere cool for lunch unfortunately; we just went to Pizza Hut. We meet a lot of Seventh Day Adventists here, and they are very difficult to teach but we are trying very hard! The members here are really nice too. We've seen a huge increase of members wanting to feed us throughout the month so that's good. Last Wednesday, we got to travel to Reading (pronounced Red-ing) for a district meeting which was interesting. Our area is so big that we have to take the train to a lot of places in order for Sister Ball and I to teach there because we are the only missionaries in this big area of Bracknell. But good news! We are going to be getting some Elders in this area soon! Yay! The work is hastening on! Except on some days… we had one day last week where every single one of our investigators flogged us (cancelled on us). So we went knocking, which requires a lot of walking! My feet are doing much better now though, but we walk between three to five miles (sometimes more) per day, and by the end of each day, we are absolutely exhausted! But we still get up at 6:30 every morning and keep working hard!

Last week we got invited to a member’s home for dinner. She lives in Crow Thorne, which is about ten minutes away from us by bus or car. While we were there, we went knocking, got doors slammed in our faces and got yelled at. But instead of being disheartened, my companion and I just got more motivated, which is good! When you have the truth and a strong testimony, no matter what anyone says to you, you know the truth and you need to hold tight to that testimony so that it is not shaken. After knocking in Crow Thorne, we got to drive by Broadmoor Hospital, which is a high security hospital/prison for the criminally insane! Sister Ball and I heard about this hospital and we really wanted to go see it! And we got to, and that was pretty cool. You can only see the outside, but it's still cool to look at.

I got to meet a less active who can't make it to church because he is disabled. His name is Jon, and he is physically and mentally handicapped but he is so sweet! He is actually one of the few people I feel completely comfortable around. We also got to try something called kebabs. They are so good! And they're huge! It's pita bread, some type of meat and vegetables. It's a Turkish meal, but they are very common here in England, and we went to the best truck to get them because the people who make it are actually Turkish! (Kebab trucks are kinda like taco trucks where they park on the street and people just come up to them and order). They are so good and so filling!

Anyway, in the last five days, Sister Ball and I have been able to find 13 potential investigators! And our goal is to find 50 by the end of this transfer which is the end of May, so we are off to a good start! I got to teach Gospel Principles at church yesterday, and I thought that I did a pretty good job. The lesson was The Fall of Adam and Eve and the discussion was really good, so it was a pretty good lesson I thought. We are hoping to get two of our investigators to commit to a baptism date this week, so wish us luck! Going on a mission is seriously one of the best opportunities, and such a great experience! I know that I have only been out for almost a month (four weeks on Thursday!) but I absolutely love it! I love being in the service of my Heavenly Father and teaching others what I know to be the truth about the Gospel of Jesus Christ! I'll write you all next week! I love all of you so much!

Love,

Sister Connery

Part of Oxford University

The view of Oxford (the city) from the top of Saint Mary's Tower

An outside view of Saint Mary's Tower

I don't remember what building this is, but it looks cool!

I don't remember what this building is either :)

This is a historical bridge (that's what Sister Ball said) so I took a picture!

Harry Potter! This is a shop that has basically everything to do with Harry Potter! I nearly cried at the sight of it! :)

This is part of the gardens outside of Christ Church

I know that this just looks like a picture of some stairs but it's not! These are the stairs that they filmed part of Harry Potter on! Do you remember in the Sorcerer's Stone when Neville lost his toad and he found at the top of the steps in Hogwarts? These are those stairs!!! :)

 

This is my companion (Sister Ball) and I standing in front of a fountain at Christ Church

 

 

I love this picture! This is what Sister Ball and I see every morning when we go jogging. It reminds me of that scene at the end of Pride and Prejudice (the new version) when Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy are walking toward each other through the field. I love that movie! And I love this view! :)