THANK YOU!!!!!!

> Dearest Family!!
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> We have just gotten back from getting the BEST SUPRISE!! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE FUN GIFT!!!!!!! I got your email yesterday and was SO excited! This morning too I was just waiting for the flat bell to ring. and I was expecting a couple little things but HOLY SMOKES! You are just the best family EVER! Oh thank you! And sister England says thank you too and that you are the best! As we were looking at all of the stuff she kept saying in her cute brittish accent "Oh this kind is proper good!" (that means really good! :) ) So yes! THANK YOU! It has made my week! I really needed it too... this last week was GREAT but also just one of those long ones. I missed you all a lot as well so today has just been an answer to prayers and the little boost that I needed! I LOVE YOU!!!
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> So yeah. As we were walking to the chapel I was trying to think about what to tell you about my week.... and yeah. Both sister england and I were laughing becuase we are busy ALL day long but honestly I have no idea what to say about our week! It was a long one in that it was just a lot of days of finding. I feel like normally things are fine and I have been able to handle the long hours of knocking and finding with people telling me that they aren't interested or that they dont believe in God pretty well but this week I was kinda tired of it! I always feel bad too when I think things are long... I know that I should just be more focused on my saviour and that nothing should bring me greater happiness that getting to spread the gospel but on some days and some weeks its just kinda long and hard. BUT i think with that I am grateful to know that It is okay to have long days or hard weeks. We are definitely supposed to be happy and enjoy life but to have that happen we also need to have times that aren't as exciting or thrilling - it is all part of the plan. I am grateful to Heavenly Father who allows us to have longer weeks and harder days becuase that just makes the good weeks and the miracles even sweeter! So things are great! Im sorry I dont have more to update on... it was just a lot of finding and knocking.
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> I am also really learning about how WONDERFUL agency is - I get to teach that a lot :) - but also how frustrating it can be for missionaries!:) we are working with some wonderful people who I LOVE. I love the people we are working with SO MUCH! I just want them to embrace this and understand and accept it becuase I know that it will help them and it will make them happy! But Its the frustrating thing that they have their choice as well. As much as I know that this is what they need, they have to come for that themselves. I kinda think it goes back to How Heavenly Father must feel about us sometimes - as silly as we are. He knows the right way and the best plan but sometimes we use our agency thinking that we know what is better. Ha it must get a little frustrating for him too! :) So grateful that he always loves us though and is SO patient. But yeah. We are working with great people but we aren't really sure if they are really committed.
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> BUT besides that something that I just loved this week is durring studdies we have been going over the atonement as a mission. I was reading in 3 Nephi 11 when it talks about when christ came and how he let everyone come up "one by one" so they "could know of a surety" that he was the saviour. I LOVE that this gospel and the atonement is so personal - it is about the ONE. I am so grateful for a saviour who cares about each of us individually and wants US to know of him for ourselves. He doesn't want us to take anyones word for it - but wants us to be able to experience him and the power of his sacrifice for ourselves so that we can know of surety. Its just so individual and wonderful. I also loved though that for the people to be able to experience it they had to make the effort to go up to him. He had his arms out stretched but they had to go up and feel for themselves - make the effort to get to experience it and know. I know that is true for us as well. Our saviour is ALWAYS there for us - his hands outstretched and begging us to feel of his love and experience his atonement - but it is up to us to make that effort to really find him. I just loved that this week and the reminder it was for me. So grateful that the atonement and saviour is there for all of us but at the same time there for us so individually. Oh it is just the best.
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> something fun from this week though is that it was the queens BIRTHDAY!! She turned 90!! I found out and wanted SO BADLY to celebrate!! Sister England thought I was silly... apparently no one does anything. which is CRAZY! Im so grateful to be american where we always look for a reason to celebrate! Our ward mission leader took us out for a roast dinner (SO english - we eat it all the time here) for coorelation so I counted that as celebrating. Doesn't get much more enlgish than a roast dinner. But I am planning on getting crumpets so that I can say for the queens birthday we had crumpets! I havent had them yet...ill let you know how they are! :)
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> BUT ALSO! We have to figure out skyping!! Ill send it over in your email mom and dad... but yeah! OH I AM SO EXCITED!!!!!!! Just giddy at the thought of getting to talk to you all again! and heavens knows I need it!! So yes! We will get that all worked out! :)
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> BUT I JUST LOVE YOU SO SO MUCH!! Things here are great and wonderful! Sister England is still the best and the flat is kinda coming together... and I have all of you supporting me back home so things are just WONDERFUL! Thank you for being so great and always supporting me and just loving me. Im working hard to make you and my heavenly father proud!
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> I LOVE YOU!
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> Sister Gwililam