February 5, 2019
My companion talks more than I ever have in my whole life and if you aren't scared by that statement...then well, lets just say you should be.
This week has been just as good as the last one. Learned a ton. Ate a ton. Testified a ton. I even hopped onto "Find Relatives Near Me" on the FamilySearch app and found another descendant of John Tanner! Sister Kemri Buck and I are sixth cousins, haha. Pretty neat actually. We both come from the line that is through John Tanner's son, Nathan. If you ever have a second and want to know a little more about John Tanner, pull up lds.org or the gospel library app and watch "Treasure in Heaven. The John Tanner Story". You won't regret it.
Last Friday the MTC went on a Church history tour around Preston, England and it was gorgeous. So neat to be able to stand at the River Ribble and know that is where the first Saints in England were baptized. Along the River they have rows of trees called "The Civil War Trees," which were put in after the American Civil War. I guess England is just too obsessed with us still. When will they ever move on...ha! We also got to stand in front of the house that Gordon B. Hinckley lived in on his mission. I love the message he received there: "Forget yourself and go to work." Words to live by for sure!
Sunday was a good day, as per usual. Fast & Testimony meeting was nice. The three devotionals we participated in were nice. The first one was with Elder Mark Gilmour of the Seventy. Friendly guy, had lots of good words to say. That devotional was especially good because I got to participate in a musical number before it started. I played the EFY Medley while a couple sisters and the Elders learning German sang. So cool to hear both English and German singing Armies of Helamen. A good reminder we're all children of God. The Second devo was nice simply for the fact it just stated simple truth. We watched one from 2009 in which Elder Bednar spoke about the Holy Ghost. For any who are wondering whether it's your own thoughts or the promptings of the Holy Ghost, don't worry about it. If it's a thought to do good, then just know it's from Heavenly Father, and you should probably go for it (Trust me. Go read the last few chapters in Moroni. He makes it pretty clear that good thoughts are of God.) The last devotional was given by all new members in the Manchester Mission area. We headed over to the stake center, and got to listen to 10 different stories, and hear how the gospel completely changed their lives. Really gave a good feeling of hope to me. Having a face to the people and seeing the missionaries here are able to actually reach them, gave me all the encouragement I needed to make "Finding" out in Manchester yesterday successful.
Which leads into this part of my marathon-long email.
Yesterday was the exact opposite of last week. We showed up in the heart of Manchester, said a prayer, and headed out on the busy streets determined to find those who would listen. Sister Clarke and I were walking down the street and I noticed a man sitting down, assumed he was eating, and kept walking. As we passed him, I noticed he was drawing a picture of Christ, and my mind instantly went- YOU need to go talk to him. I grabbed Sis. Clarke's arm and told her, "We're going back." We said hi to him, and asked him why he had chosen to draw Christ. He launched into this whole story about how he knows Christ saved him in this life, and he had faith in Him to do the same in the next. We left him with a pamphlet about the Plan of Salvation, wished him the best and moved on. That might sound like a small interaction to you, but it had a huge impact on me. It's not as scary as I was thinking to actually just talk with people.
Then, Sister Clarke and I saw this huge building that looked like Hogwarts, so what happened? Yep, you guessed it. We bee-lined it over to go have a look. Little did we know going over there would lead us to find the sweetest Muslim woman from Saudi Arabia. Her name is Wid, which means love in Arabic, and she is here in England studying English at Uni. Neatest experience. We just sat down on the bench next to her and started getting to know her. I'm happy to say it was an amazing conversation. We were able to learn so much about her religion and culture, and in turn, we were able to teach her about ours. Due to the language barrier- Wid couldn't speak english very well- we were really forced to simplify everything. Telling her about Christ was also interesting because she'd only ever heard his name a handful of times. Sister Clarke did a ton of the talking (refer back to the opening statement from this email) but I was able to really testify to her of these simple truths. I loved sharing my testimony of the Book of Mormon with her, and then see her eyes light up when we handed one to her for her to keep. After about 45 minutes of talking with her, she had to go (and we did too!), but she thanked us for being the highlight of her day, and for making her feel happy. Wid told us there was just something about the both of us that she liked. She couldn't quite find the English word for it, so she just went with, "Your spirits seem... cute?" We happily nodded, knowing it was really the happiness from the gospel shining through. We took a quick pic with her, gave her the mission phone number (since SHE asked for it!), and then we went on our way back to the bus. It's amazing to see what we have shows. I know the spirit was with us, testifying to Wid of these truths, and I hope if anything, whether she remembers what we said or not, I hope she remembers how she felt. I really felt I saw her through the Savior's eyes: a beautiful daughter of God.
I think I really needed to experience both the rejection of last week's trip, and what happened this week. Last week was humbling, realizing not everyone will accept this happy message. This week was encouraging. There are people out in this world who are seeking out answers. It may take a second to find them, but they're there. Whether they're sitting in front of a coffee shop drawing a picture of Christ, or sitting and eating lunch in front of what looked like Hogwarts, they're there.
Finally, last night my district had a very sweet and tender testimony meeting about Jesus Christ's Atonement. Oh boy was it lovely. It is so important we learn to use Christ's Atonement in our day to day lives. He suffered for YOU. He bled for YOU. He died for YOU. He did all of this so YOU will be able to return to your Loving Father in Heaven again. This gift has had such an impact on my life and I thank my Heavenly Father for it every day. That's why I'm here. To bring those who will listen the blessings and knowledge of the Savior's infinite Atonement. I hope they're listening, because he didn't sacrifice all for nothing.
Anyway, this email is getting a little long? Haha, sorry, I'm just so excited to share everything that is going on!
If you're ever bored, please send me a quick email! I love hearing all that is going on. So far the best thing I've heard about back home is that Nate fractured his knee cap. Is that not such a Nate thing to do? Haha, typical Nate. Who even does that? Fracturing their knee cap... Also it was his birthday and he's big boy now! Quick shout out to Nate, haha.
Love you all! Now go read your scriptures! I promise it'll only do good for ya!
Love,
Sister Sellick
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