Hello Family

Hello my dearest Family!

Holy Smokes! it sounds like it was the craziest week! Im so sorry that things were so crazy and that you are all still in utah instead of in the DR. Atleast it all worked out and things got refunded as well as it is rescheduled for May! That will be great. Im the type of person who loves to have things to look forwad too so now instead of your trip almost being over it is coming up still! Something exciting to look forward too! :) hopefully! Oh  man, so sorry about it all but glad you were able to have a fun easter all together! :)

Things here are great! Big news with moves... Sister England and I are staying together as STLs in Aldershot! YAY!! im so happy! I figured that would happen but all of friday I was a little anxious anytime the phone rang... but luckily nothing happened and we are staying here together for another  weeks! i am so excited and so grateful! Things are super great and she is just wonderful! So i am so grateful! 

We did end up moving though this week! Oh my goodness. It is so nice. I feel bad for saying it but I don't miss living with Grannie Annie at all. I love the sweet old woman to death but living with her is a little crazy. After almost 6 months of it i was ready to move out so things are wonderful! it was a little crazy with the moves though. We ended up getting the call wednesday night saying that we were moving Thursday morning... so we scrambled and spent the time trying to get everything ready. On thursday we got it all packed up and got up to the new flat (which is on the 4th floor without a lift... of course! :) it was the best lugging all of our luggage up those stairs! :) ) and got up there to see that all that we had were some curtains, a couple of plates and bowls they had left, and a rug. haha it was awesome! i have pictues that hopefully Ill be able to send.. the internet is being weird. But it was hilarious. All of our stuff was just EVERYWHERE. And we slept on possibly the most uncomfortable air beds BUT it was great! :) To top it off we moved all of our food as well to the new fridge and woke up in the morning to having the fridge not working and a lot of stinky food. haha so its been an adventure for sure! But the office elders came and brought beds and a couch for us yesterday and a new fridge should be delivered to us today! So bit by bit it will all come together! it is so fun though! Just all part of the adventure! :) 

But EASTER! it was wonderful! Even with all of the craziness, im glad that you were all able to spend it together! That will be the last one with ky for 2 years. pretty crazy. BUT it was great here. President Gubler sent out a list of scriptures to go through for the Savious last week and it was the greatest thing to go through them each day and get to learn a little bit more about what lead up to the resurrection. I loved being a missionary durring this easter and having the time to really just reflect on Jesus Christ and all that he has done for me. I love him and am forever in debt to him. Just the more I am here the more I get to know him and I just love it. it was a really special day to really reflect on Him and recommit all over to give everything I have to serve with all my heart might mind and strength because I LOVE HIM and I want to do my best for him! We also were able to go over to the spencers for a DA which was so wonderful! The food was incredible - especially since we have been living off of silly food since we dont have a fridge that works! and they made CRUMBLE! i've been meaning to tell you about that! Remember how I always wanted to make crisp at home because I loved the topping? WELL england is just ontop of things and Crumble is just like crisp! It has the YUMMIEST topping and they make it ALL THE TIME! No wonder I was sent here... ;) But it was really nice! It was a good easter holiday!  

We had a cool experience yesterday too where I just had another "im so grateful to be on a mission" moment! :) We were traveling to see a former and were talking to everyone we met along the way. We came to this man named steve who was super kind and had the GREATEST but good hard questions. He asked a lot about why the book of mormon was nessary and why we needed joseph smith? how it all came together to help him come closer to jesus christ. Sister England and I were able to answer all of his questions, he didn't agree :), but we were able to tesify about the reality of AUTHORITY and why we needed Joseph smith as a prophet to restore what Christ originally had here and how the Book of Mormon just testified of that! After we left I thought back to just 9 months ago how if anyone had ever asked me those questions I would have honestly had no idea what to say. I would have just stood there and probably questioned a little what I believed - he had points that could make sense. BUT I just said a prayer of gratitude to be here and to be so much more doctrinally sound. I just was able to see how much I have grown and how much solid my testimony is and how I can just answer questions and testify to anyone who wants to question it. Ha it sounds kinda silly but Im just so grateful to be here. It was a fun moment. 

But GENERAL CONFERENCE IS COMING UP!! Oh my heavens. Are you all just SO EXCITED??? I AM! not unil my mission have I truly understood how amazing conference is. A PROPHET OF THE LORD IS GOING TO SPEAK FOR HIM AND TELL US WHAT WE NEED TO KNOW TO BE HAPPY AND TO RETURN TO HIM! how amazing is that? So with that I hope you LOVE CONFERENCE! have questions and be prepared and REALLY LISTEN! Take notes, stay in your church clothes, avoid the temptation to lay on the couch... :) becuase really it is such a blessing and a privilege and we can get SO much out of it if we are ready and willing to listen! Oh im just giddy thinking about it! Cant wait to email you next week and get to talk about it! :) 

But besides that things here are pretty normal! Today we are having to spend the day in guildford with the missionaries going around we have to stay here with a sister so that she isn't alone while her companion is traveling here... so it will be fun! :) 

AND OH MY HECK! I didnt realize until just the other day that I get to talk to you on skype in like a MONTH! WHAT THE HECK? I had no idea it was so soon! What day is mothers day in america again? Oh my goodness. i am so excited. and now that I know THE COUNT DOWN BEGINS! 

Oh i just love you all! Sorry not too much to report on this week. Do you have any questions? Sometimes I feel like I just say the same things over and over... i feel like Im to the point where a lot of my weeks are the same now! Which is wondeful! I love it! And i love that weeks are just normal now, being a missionary is just normal and comfortable and WONDERFUL! So im really grateful! but yeah, if you have any specific question email them over and ill make sure to answer! :) 

BUT I LOVE YOU! so much! And miss you a lot. But so grateful that you are all happy and healthy and safe! Never forget how much I love you and keep me updated on everything!! 

Love you! Talk to you next week! :) 

Sister Gwilliam 

Candy Shops

We went into a town last week and I had to take this for Linds... They
have cute candy shops around over here in England. The whole time I
just thought of Linds going CRAZY!

I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!

Happy Easter!

Hello Wonderful Family!

I just love all of you! SO MUCH! incase you have forgotten in a week!

This week was super good in Jolly old England. Im getting to the point on my mission where weeks just seem to go by and I don't know what happened. At the begining it was definitely the opposite - they seemed ages long (sorry Ky! Just expect it! Promise it speeds up! :) ) But I guess its a good thing since being a missionary is just normal life now! I am happy and working hard and time just seems to speed by!

This last week had Zone Training and me and Sister England and the Zone Leaders got together and decided that we felt like it should all be focused on the Saviour. And oh my goodness. It was incredible. you cant go wrong with a whole day completely focused on him right!? :) It was so wonderful though, especially with easter coming up this week it was a perfect chance to really remember him before we celebrate! :) But YES! One of the coolest things is that we had everyone in the Zone prepare a 5 minute talk of their conversion to Jesus Christ - What experiences they had that really helped them to know that he was there/how they gained a testimony/why they came on a mission. It was SO neat to hear everyone's experiences and just see how different it is for everyone but we all ended up in the same place. That is something that I love about the gospel. It is so individual - It has always been about the "one" like when jesus blesses the children one by one or lets them touch the nail marks in his hands - it was all one by one. I really know that he knows us perfectly and loves us enough that he wants each of us to have that personal relationship with him! I think the neatest thing about it though was getting to write my own! I cried while writting it out - good thing I wasn't called to say it to everyone or I would have just been a mess. :) BUT with that... I had this brilliant Idea THAT YOU ALL SHOULD WRITE DOWN YOURS! Family. Im not kidding here. I know you have school and work and some of you are going to the DOMINICAN! BUT take time this week to write down a 5 minute talk about your conversion. How you have come to know that Jesus Christ really is there and that what he did is real. I have mine that I will send over! THis way too if you ever are having a hard day or a hard little stretch it really can help refocus us ad remember why we have a testimony as well as we can look back on it when things get tough in the future. So yes! WILL YOU DO IT? I will follow up! :) And would love to read them all if they aren't too personal! :) But that way we all can have them and can use them in the future to help remind each other if we ever need to! What do you think?

We also did Personal Interviews with the saviour! that was so neat too. They took us each individually to a room where there was a big picture of christ and then in front of us was a sheet of paper with questions on it that we could ponder and act as if we were actually talking to the saviour. It was so amazing. There were a lot of things that I realized I could improve to better show my Love for him but ultimately I got the strong impression too that he Loves me. And I know that that is true for everyone. With easter coming up this week PLEASE just take a minute to remember how much he loves you! He performed the atonement for YOU becuase he loves you. OH its just so great. Everyone needs to know about him!!!!

DAD! I have decided too that I don't konw enough about your mission. will you send stories or experiences? I feel like I don't know anything... and I want to! :)

BUT other exciting news is that this week is moves call. I honestly have NO IDEA how the heck it is already the end of another transfer.. but yes! It ends next week! SO I will be emailing on Tuesday next week - not monday! Im really nervous about moves. AH! i want to stay in ALdershot SO BADLY! THings are so wonderful and we have met so many FAMILIES!! Not just people but families who we have return appointments with this week! OH it just makes me giddy! So there are just so many of our investigators that I am super excited to teach, sister england is just simply wonderful, and i LOVE this ward. They have become family. So oh man. Im nervous becuase I am so happy that I will probably end up moving... no growth in the comfort zone... but we will see! Im excited to let you know what happends! :)

With that we also should be physically moving this week! It is scheduled for Thrusday but they are having problems getting a set date.. so we will see! but the new flat will be so nice - another perk of staying in Aldershot! :) So yes! That might happen this week! I am SUPER excited! I have been really getting to learn the value of Patience this week with our wonderful Grannie Annie. love the sweet old lady but she sometimes can be a bit demanding when there is a lot to do - LIKE GO OUT AND PREACH THE GOSPEL. But thats okay. I obviously just need to be more christlike so I will work on it! :) So i'll let you know about both moves next week! Ive decided if we do move on Thursday I might as well not unpack my bags until moves calls on friday. just incase! :)

AND family! Conference is less than 2 weeks away! YAYYY!! So excited! How is your book of mormon reading going?:) HOpefully really well! And if you aren't finished yet KEEP GOING! It will be so cool to finish by conference! And the book of mormon is just amazing. So double bonus! I have to read lots of pages a day to do it... but Im determined to get there! :) AND have you seen the new easter video the church has put out? Its the best! I love having Ipads becuase we just go around the streets and in peoples homes and try and share it with everyone! Its the best finding tool! Im guessing ky wont have one... right? But its great! Definitely watch it if you havent already and then share it on FB or Insta! :)

And mom! I am the WORST daughter ever! We were at coorelation on Thursday and our Ward Mission leader asked the date and only then did it hit that it was St Patricks day and we did NOTHING! I wansn't even wearing green. What kind of daughter am i? I had such good plans too but it creeped up on me as well... Next year lets have a party! :) We can make up for it! And we will send you a fun green package ky! but yeah, everyone there just laughed at me. No one celebrates it here expect for the Irish and apparently all they do is use is as an excuse to get incredibly drunk so everyone though I was crazy for being so upset about not celebrating! THey just dont understand how fun it can be! :)

The last thing that I really gained a testimony of this week was that when things seem to be falling apart they really are just falling into place. I know that God has a plan and that his plan is THE VERY BEST! There were SO many experiences this week that we saw incredible miracles - found families and new investigators - only because our original plans (teaches we had, places we had planned to go, ect) fell through. And we were so sad about them falling through because WE thought that we knew what was best but we were oh so wrong. Becuase of those things falling through it lead to better things! So i just really know that that is true! Heavenly Fathers plan is ALWAYS best! And we are so silly most of the time to think that we have things figured out, that we know what the plans are and what is best and sometimes get really upset when things aren't going our way but I know that he knows what the best way is and that when we put the gospel first that EVERYTHING falls into palce perfectly! Just continue to have faith in Him and our Saviour. It always works out in the end.

BUT I JUST LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH! I hope you ahve the most wonderful week and Mom and Dad! Send pictures and soak up extra sun for me! Im super jealous! But be safe and have the BEST time! you both deserve it!

I LOVE YOU ALL!! So so much! Thanks for being the very best! So grateful I get you all forever!

Sister Gwilliam

 What I found after teaching the Gelders... I love these kids!
Missionaries for 8 months!! Do you see the 8?:) and the cookies from BOB!

I LOVE ARGENTINA!!!!!!!!

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> Dearest Family,
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> OH MY HECK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I AM SO EXCITED!!!! KY! Argentina! Are you kidding me!? AHH! I just cant even believe it!! oh my good heavens. you have to send me ALL THE INFO! LIke pictures! Keep looking for them ky! And you have a temple!? OH MY! That is the BEST! You will be able to go for sure! KY! A temple on your mission is the BEST! Biggest blessing! AHHH! Its just so neat! I am SO EXCITED FOR YOU! And you and dad will get to speak spanish together and probably have a lot of similar experiences because you will be so close. Oh ky. The people of argentina are SO LUCKY TO HAVE YOU! you will be amazing! and OH I AM JUST SO HAPPY YOU ARE HAPPY!!! I have been praying and praying and fasting that you would just feel good about it wherever you are called and it seems like you are! OH! AHH! I just can't even focus im so excited!
>
> So yesterday the video did go through! ITs kinda a funny story... so i was at district meeting when I got the first picture you sent saying that the call had been mailed - oh my. I was freaking out! I showed sister england and all of my district... :) Ive been talking about it for weeks so they all knew! :) Then we got to church yesterday and I got all the pictures and then emails SHOWING THE CALL and saying how you were in vegas! OH my goodness. I would have been dying! KY! How did you handle it? I would have been a mess with it just sitting at home! But i was so excited! I figured you weren't going to drive home until sunday though and so with the time difference i was guessing that I wouldn't find out until this morning So i just went through church and everything was great! THEN we were out knocking and we had a road that we had prayed about and felt good to knock but we couldn;t remember exactly how to get there so I got out my ipad to check the map AND WHAT DID I SEE??? THE VIDEO!!! Oh. my. goodness. I SCREAMED! And then started running around and yeah. all sorts of crazy things! I was just screaming with sister england on some random road in england. It was awesome! I just couldn't even contain it. it was the HARDEST thing to stay focused but i tried to stay calm and we went out and finished knocking and then stopping by our friends! THen after planning I WATCHED IT AND WAS JUST SO HAPPY!!!!!! AHH!! I sent over the video we took! I hope it was an okay reaction! :) Oh i am just so happy! Argentina is PERFECT! KY! YOURE FREAKING GOING TO ARGENTINA! I just can't believe it! So yeah mom and dad, 2018 trip to england and then lets head over to argentina and stop by chile as well! Mission trips here we come! :) Oh im just so happy! It was the greatest night! Sweet sister england was so excited too! We celebrated the night by eating brownies in a mug (the one you sent over for christmas :) ) And i definitely told president about it in my letter today! I am just so excited fo ryou ky! Can not even wait to hear all about the prep and then the amazing things that happen in Argentina!
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> I feel like I can't even focus on anything else that happened this week because ky getting his call is just all i can think about! :) But it was a great week! We had LOADS of meetings! It was the MLC, DLC, and then district meeting week so I spent a lot of time sitting and talking but it was so fun! I was able to sing at MLC! I tried to send over the video as well... hopefully it went through! It was so great though! I love being a Sister Training leader! I also was able to go on exchange with the sweetest sister, Sister Fleuren from Germany. She is incredible. I learned SO MUCH from her and jsut had a BLAST! She is hardworking and funny - the perfect combo! So it was great! A super fun week!
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> THe weather here has been SO NICE lately too! I hope i didn't just jinx myself... BUT it has been so great. It just finally feels like spring and its like magic - the english people are SO affected by the weather so with it being so nice outside everyone we talk to just seems to be super nice as well! Its is the BIGGEST blessing! Everyone is just so much happier and willig to talk to us! So it is so great! It just makes me happy to see the sun again! After 5 months of being in rain and clouds the sunshine just makes all the difference! :)
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> THis week we had the COOLEST miracle too! A couple weeks ago sister england and I met this man named Ricardo on the street. We told him about the book of mormon and he was super interested! He was excited to learn more and we had a great discussion - even prayed with him! :) And sister england being the wonderful and organized missionary she is got all of his details - his address - and wrote it in her planner. And me being the silly missionary just though "oh my companion wrote it down. We will just look in her planner for it!" well a couple days later after she had sent a package to go home to her family we realized she had packed the planner and then we didn't have any of ricardos info! We were so sad! BUT when we were at MLC this week the ZL had all of our post and had her box! They had been confused and thought it was to her instead of going out to her family! we were so happy though becuase we had the planner back so that next night we found his address and went over to see him. After craziness of having to bus his flat to have the bussers not working and then knocking and no one answering we gave it one last chance and decided to buz one more time ( it is ALWAYS the last ky! Always that last little bit of faith, knocking the extra door, or talking to that ONE extra person - tha tis when you see the miracles! :) ) but we buzed and he answered and said he would come down! He ended up letting us come up with his family and when we got up there not only was his family there but also their preacher of the christian congregation they attend. When he said his preacher was there my heart sunk - i thought we were walking into a man who was just going to bash us with all the stuff about the bible and all that good stuff so I was worried BUT it ended up being amazing! We were able to teach the full restoration and not only did Ricardo love it and understand but so did his preacher. The preacher (this man had just started his own church 2 years ago) asked incredible questions about the book of mormon and by the end was saying how he was so grateful he had been there becuase now he understood why we had it and how important it was - he also asked if there was any way that our churches could merge... :) which of course there is... once we baptise the preacher and all of his congregation! :) It was so cool! He was even telling Ricardo to meet with us again! How neat is that? So We are seeing ricardo again this week! It was amazing! So its just a matter of time before Ricardo and all of his friends and their preachers will be filling the aldershot chapel! I can't wait! :)
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> I also got the sweetest Post from all of you! I LOVED the valentines card! THANK YOU! And those blow up hearts are my favorite! oh it was so fun! And I got the CUTEST PACKAGE from Bob and Tyse! I don't have bobs email but please tell him THANK YOU a million times over! Oh i coul dhave cried when I read it and saw who it was from - and then a huge basket of cookies! It was the sweetest thing! i;ll send over the little card with it so you can read it. But oh I am just so thankful! Bob is amazing! Please let him know how much I appreciated it and how much we appreciate him! :)
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> We also got approved to put an exercise app on our ipads! YAYY!! Oh it has made the world of difference! Now i actually know what to do with myself in the mornings... its the BEST!
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> And we were also knocking this week in this nice neighborhood and guess what I walked across! Pooh bridge! I guess it is the actual bride that the author of Winnie the Pooh wrote about! I was in the hundred acre forest! HOW NEAT IS THAT? Ah england is so cool.
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> But that was it for my week! This next week we have Zone Training that we are plnaning and it is all going to be focused on the Saviour! I AM SO EXCITED! I'll let you know how it goes next week! :)
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> AND OH! I still am just so happy about Kys call! AHH!! KY! You are amazing! Being a missionary is the BEST! Just be so excited!
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> I just love you all SO MUCH!!!!! Hope you have the most wonderful week! I love you and miss you but will talk to you soon!!
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> I love you,
> Sister Gwilliam

We need to be better about taking pictures.... But we took these really quick before emailing you so we had something! I'll be better this week and send more!:)

Hello my Favorites!

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> FAMILY!
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> Oh i just love getting to hear from you on Mondays! It is the best! And there is just so much to always update you on!
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> So first off! Sister England and I are moving!! They found us a new flat that we are moving into so that things aren't so crazy tight when we have exchanges. We had another exchange this last week and oh my goodness... its just a mess. The poor sisters sleep on awful air matresses and there just insnt any room for anyone. SO the new flat will be SO nice! We are moving into it a week from Saturday and im so excited! It has 2 bedrooms, a big living room, a super nice kitchen, and the best - 2 BATHROOMS!! Oh my. It will be so great! We find out the week after though about moves. I will be so sad if I leave after all of this... haha but we will see! :) But yes! So with all of the letters and packages I am SURE you are just waiting to send... ;) just send them to the mission home for a while until I get the new address of the place we will be living! I will get pictures of it to show you once we are there! :) I will miss cute grannie annie. She is so wonderful and It has been fun having a grandma around all the time. This will also be the first time that I live in a flat just with my companion! In peckham we lived with the Hermanas and here I have been with grannie annie so it will be different but im super excited about it all!
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> This week we saw SO MANY miracles! Oh my goodness. It was crazy! Sister England and I are still doing so well! Oh i am just so happy and praying that we just finish our missions together here in aldershot! ;) Speaking of which! This week we hit 8 months! 8 MONTHS? What the heck? Where has the time gone? But yes! Things are just so wonderful! We have been working hard and having a lot of fun! THis week though we have been praying and praying for 5 new investigators (people we have at least one lesson with and then a set return appointment to come back) and we have been praying for families and OH how the lord has been so merciful! I have been blown away at how God truly does answer our prayers. We have found so many people - 4 new I and all of those are families! 2 of them are the sweetest couple that I am just giddy about teaching! It was just a little bit of a light bulb moment this week as I looked back and saw how God truly does hear our prayers and wants to answer them - he wants us to be happy! We have been trying to get new Investigators and families for WEEKS but we finally had this wonderful Idea that we should jsut pray for it and ask for his help and it was like MAGIC! I really do know that Heavenly Father is there and that he hears and answers our prayers. I LOVE PRAYER. It has become not just a thing to do here but crucial for me while being on my mission. I just feel so close to heavenly father because I really do just talk to him all the time. Oh i love it! PLEASE please please make sure you are praying and really doing it sincerely. Just talk to him like you talk to anyone else and just tell him what is going on and what you are worried about, what is good, struggles you are having. All of it. It makes ALL THE DIFFERENCE! So yeah. Do it! :) AND i hope you all are also reading the book of mormon! Conference is next month! (again... i have NO idea how that came around again so fast!) But I KNOW that we can finish the book of mormon together by then and then we will get blown away with everything the Prophet tells us! I just can't wait!
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> So yes! This week has been wonderful! I am loving being here. I really do just LOVE aldershot. I love the people and the ward and my companion. Things are just so good. They are still definitely hard and really challenging a lot of the time but just so good!
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> This next week is the crazy meetings week again where I have MLC and DLC and then all that kind of stuff. We also have exchange, sister England has a dr. appointment, and yeah. Its going to be a busy one! but i love them - busy weeks are the best! And I was asked by the AP's to sing tomorrow too for MLC! Ah! Im excited! Im still trying to decide what I will do... BUT it will be great! Hopefully I wont be too nervous! :)
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> But OH MY. When I got the emails about Corner loosing on monday i was SO SAD! AHH i know it is over, and it is just basketball, so I shouldn't let it bug me... but oh. Im just so sad! Im so glad that it was such a great season though! Even though I wasn't there to watch it i can just tell from all the emails how great it was and how well you played KY! So im just so glad that it was such a great season!!
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> And what the heck is this whole Donald trump thing?? I went over to a members the other night and they were talking about it. WHAT IS HAPPENING?
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> But yes! THings are just wonderful! I LOVE being a missionary! And england is beautiful! THe flowers have started to come out a little bit and spring here is going to be amazing!! I can't wait! And i'll send lots of pictures! :) But yes, it is beutiful, I am so happy and the work is really progressing. I have come to just LOVE getting to go out everyday and share my testimony all day long. It is the best feeling too when I am standing there and someone is telling me that I am crazy or brainwashed or how all of it just can't possibly be true that I can just stand there and realize for myself all over again that I KNOW for myself that it is true. that what I am doing is right. IT doesn't matter what they think or whatever facts or history about our faith they throw at me becuase I KNOW FOR MYSELF That this truly is the true church. Our saviour is at the head of this church and he is so close to us. I just love it!
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> I hope you all have the most wonderful week! Thank you for always being there for me and all of your love and support! i truly couldn't do this without you! I am working my very hardest and praying that the blessings go your way!
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> OH and go to LDS.org and read the talk - it isn't a sin to be weak! I LOVED IT! I think you would all love it too! And need it! :)
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> I LOVE YOU!
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> Sister Gwilliam