Since when is it November?

Hello Family!!

 I hope you all have had the greatest week! I still have to read most of the emails you sent.... BUT I will after this is sent and respond to those! :)

 This week was so great! So many fun things going on and so many miracles! AH i just have so much to tell you all the time and so little time... This whole only 2 hours thing is just the greatest struggle.

 First off!! It looks like you had the greatest Halloween!!! THank you for the pictures. Cute linds and tyse looked great and I bet tyse just loved handing out the treats and I know linds loved eating them! :) Halloween is NOT the same here in England. I didn't realize it until I kept asking the members what they're plans were for Halloween and then they would all just give me a weird look... APPARENTLY Halloween is super dark and nasty here. Like the weirdo devil worshipers celebrate it and then just cause problems for everyone else on Halloween night - Like we had razor blades put on the playground by our house, bricks were thrown in members windows, and you have to be 18 or older to buy eggs at the grocery store because so many people go around egging houses. WHat the heck? Halloween is the greatest back in America but here people just close and lock their doors. I guess a couple people trick or treat but grannie annie only got 1 group. So yeah, its a lot different. SO sister stephenson and I stayed inside working on progress record and such and then took a late dinner so we weren't out walking around with the crazies! Plus we were fasting... so we didn't even eat candy. Haha definitely different than Halloween back home but it was great! We made cute treats and handed them out to Investigators and LA which was great! :)

 This last week I went on my first exchange too!! It was great. I was with a sister named Sister ROusetti - she is from australia. It was a little crazy since we stayed in Aldershot and I still feel like I don't know where anything... BUT it all went well. It was fun for me to see that Sister Stephenson and I chose who to go with based on how we thought we could help the Guildford Sisters but I quickly found out that Sister ROusetti was there to help me. It is so great how our Heavenly Father always has greater plans than we do. She was such a help to me. Her last area she was in the same situation as I was and could relate to everything I was feeling so well. So it was just great! I feel like she helped me a lot more than I helped her but hopefully I was able to say or do something that helped her!

 This week was also a fun surprise when I ran into district meeting - a little late... whoopsies :) - and I walked in and guess who was there? President and SIster Gubler!!! It was the greatest suprise!! THey just sat in on our district meeting. I just felt spoiled having them there. THey were just able to give so much council and we had them all to ourselves! It was so great.

 And you know how I told you I was singing in Zone Conference on the 10th!? Well its a confusing story but the district leader really wanted to sing as well so we decided we would just sing it as a district. But we were going to practice after the district meeting that president was at and I brought all the sheet music that you sent mom! (THANK YOU!) And president and sister Gubler heard... so guess what? WE are singing that "Saviour Redeemer/Called to serve" Missionary medley WITH president and Sister Gubler! Because they loved it so much! How fun is that? So thank you mom!! Definitely got some extra brownie points with president for having such an incredible arrangement! ;)

 This next week will be CRAZINESS though! TOmorrow I have my first MLC - where president and all of the ZL and STLs meet together and discuss the mission. Apparently that goes from 9-5. Then on Wednesday it is bonfire night - I guess it is something that they celebrate here in england? It sounds like our 4th of july! So we are having a party with the members and bringing our investigators to have food and roast marshmellows and then they set off fireworks! So it should be fun! And freezing! :) THen we will have DLC with the district leaders at some point and then... drum roll please... HOLLY JACK AND FERN ARE GETTING BAPTIZED ON SATURDAY! I know I said last week we were hoping for this week but after a crazy week and getting things set out it all set and ready to go. It was the craziest thing too - Up to yesterday Holly still was in the air on things and had told us that she was going to wait until we were sitting in Relief Society with her and they announced jack and fern were getting baptised and then she just raised her hand and said that she was too!! AHHH!! it was crazy. So yeah, THeir mom met with bishop yesterday, we announced it at church, and IM JUST SO EXCITED!! Please pray for them and for everything to go well! I can't wait though! And then sunday is Remembrance Sunday - Its when all of england celebrates their troops and the wars that have been fought. And aldershot is a military town SO it will be a party here! Everyone wears read poppies all of November too to honor the troops so we are going to go get ours this afternoon! It should be great! So yes! This next week will be great! It will be busy but that's when they are the greatest! :)

 Last night we went to this DA with this family who have an 11 year old son and then a 3 year old little girl. I guess they really struggled getting pregnant, finally did, and then they just found out a little bit ago their little girl has autism. As I was sitting there and seeing her have little melt downs and the parents trying their best to calm her down and talk about her schedule and the struggles that happen at times and how much research she had done on the computer and just everything. I just wanted to hug them all. I just felt SO MUCH LOVE for them and was able to relate so well. I talked to them about tyse a little bit and just some things that we have done and mostly what you - mom and dad - had done and how there were crazy times but that tyse has been one of our families BIGGEST blessings and how much I loved him. After dinner Sister Stephenson mentioned how the wife had NEVER opened up to the missionaries like that before. I just feel SO GRATEFUL that Heavenly Father gives us blessings and experiences that help us relate to others so that we can help them!

 I hope you all have the greatest week though! I know that our Heavenly Fathers plan is PERFECT that our Saviour is always there and that they love us unconditionally. I am so grateful for the testimony I have and for the chance to grow closer to my Saviour EVERYDAY!

 He who was lifted up will never let me down! :)

 I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!! Have the very best week!! and I will talk to you soon! :)
 Sister Gwilliam