I love you!!

Hey Family!!

OH MY GOODNESS I just love you all! I LOVE MONDAYS because I can e-mail you and get updated on everything! In my prayers this morning I really just said thank you a million times OH i just love you and LOVE getting to hear from you!

BUT this week was craziness. I feel like all of Peckham was just a dream and I just left the MTC to come here. Lots to adjust to but its so good!

First off, there are SO MANY WHITE PEOPLE. I almost don't even know how to handle myself. Haha. That was one of the first things I noticed being here. In Aldershot there are a lot of nepalese people - but they don't speak english so we rarely get the change to talk to them. BUT everywhere else in our area is just full of english people. Its taking me some getting used to. I feel like I am finally in England - based on the people actually being english and the fact that everyone here is atheist and don't want anything to do with us! :) Which is just SO different than Peckham. If I said Jesus Christ all the africans LOVED me. Even if they didn't want to join the church they respected what we were doing and loved to talk about him! I felt like most of my time there wasn't defending Christ but was defending Joseph Smith. Im learning very quickly though that isn't the case here... So its been a good week of evaluating and trying to figure out the best way to approach people on the street and with knocking. WE KNOCKED FOR YEARS THIS WEEK! So lots different but a good learning experience!:)

Another crazy thing about this area is that it is so big! The ward we serve in only has us in it - where Peckham has 1 set of sisters and 2 elders! But without having other missionaries we have to cover a lot of area - Ive struggled feeling like most of my time is traveling rather than talking to people. A lot of places we have to take a 30 minute bus ride to get to the train station and then take an hour train ride from there. And then with that we walk. Forever. and ever. I thought I walked a lot before but I truly had no idea. This week we got up to 30,000 steps one day! IT WAS CRAZINESS!! Its probably for the best since I can hopefully start walking off the pounds of fufu and rice that I was fed the past three months but it is a lot! Im thinking my shoes might not last as long as I hoped! :) 

BUT the area is beautiful! It is fun to actually see trees and grass! :) Aldershot itself isn't the prettiest but when we get out into the other areas it is just amazing! So many trees and its just so green! It reminds me SO MUCH of Lafayette CA! and I LOVE LAFAYETTE so its another tender mercy heavenly Father has given! I'll send a picture I snapped while we were walking the other day! Its not the best but I wasn't very good at taking pictures this week... so forgive me and I'll be better next week! :)

Another fun thing is that is FREEZING! Its so cold. It hasn't been too rainy which is nice (probably just jinxed myself) But its just so cold. Ive started wearing tights and then leggings and then a jacket under my rain coat. And apparently it is only Fall here - the real winter hasn't even set in yet. umm.. what? Im pretty sure i'll freeze this winter. Next week Sister Stephenson and I are going to go shopping and I'll hopefully find the thickest tights and some good boots that I can wear when its not raining. we'll see. Pray for sunshine here is lovely old Aldershot!

Sister Stephenson is great! She really is super sweet and wants to work hard so we have gotten along really well. I hope that we can become the best of friends! It seems like her trainer - this is her first transfer without her - was very controlling with things. So she was trained but wasn't really able to teach anything or anyone. A lot of the door approaches and such she tells me how she just doesn't feel confident because she's never been the one talking for the 4.5 months together!! So I just realized even more how grateful I am for the worlds greatest trainer. Sister Barnes was the best and hopefully I can help Sister Stephenson feel more confident in herself.

But besides that it is great! We are getting along well and excited to get to know her better! And Granny Annie is the spunkiest most random old lady. She is so funny! I meant to get a picture of her before so I could send it but she is just this little old english lady. Her husband passed away about 10 years ago so she has had missionaries living with her since! She seems to LOVE to company. I feel like I'm a little on my toes still because she has a lot of rules to keep the house clean and such so I'm just hoping Im doing everything right! She is sweet though and it is fun to have a grandma here!

BUT this next week will be super busy! With being STL Me and Sister Stephenson and the Zone Leaders are in charge of the Zone training on Wednesday - it will be from like 10 - 4 of us teaching and carrying out things taught by President Gubler and the Mission Training plan. We have a lot of calls including a sisters call where we help the sisters at nights and then on Saturday we are going to do splits with the Guildford Sisters - they seem to be really struggling so we are going to their area to help them find as well as split them up and hopefully be able to offer some advice and encouragement! Hopefully we can help them! Then exchanges will start next week so that will be exciting! I feel like I'm not really sure what is going on still but it is great! :) I have also been asked to sing which will be so fun and KY - I play the piano ALL THE TIME here! So keep practicing! The ward needs a pianist a lot as well as people will ask you all the time in District meetings/ Zone trainings and conferences! SO keep practicing! :) 

Something that I loved this week while reading the Book of Mormon was in Alma 12:14. its talking about how we will be judged according to our works on this earth. Ive been studying the BOM with the BOM study guide in the Gospel LIbrary and there was a quote from Elder Oaks that talked about how he doesn't believe we will be judged according to our works but what we have BECOME because of what we chose to do. So our good deeds definitely help us but also our bad decision but then how we took those - applied the atonement - and then BECAME better! I loved that so much! I am so grateful for this gospel and a Saviour who cares so little about where we've been or what we done or who we currently are but is only concerned with who we will BECOME! This gospel is about becoming and I am doing my best everyday to become the greatest person I can be. And that is only possible through our Saviour. I need him everyday. So grateful for the sacrifice he made that makes it possible for me to change and to become better!!

I hope you all have the greatest week! I LOVE YOU! And miss you lots and lots! looks like it was a fun week with goblin valley and everything! Thank you for the pictures! I LOVE THEM! 

Thanks for all of your love and support!! Talk to soon! :) 

Sister Gwilliam