Fw:

 

Every time we teach we have a lesson and then a treat (they love
treats- skittles are the favourite so far) and then play a game.
Aren't they so cute? And gibberel? Oh it takes everything in me to not
just hold him and cuddle the cute thing.

Fw:

Love the decorations so much! Thank you!! We love Halloween!:)

I love you!

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Jolly Old England

Hope you are so excited to hear about all the exciting things happening here in London! things are still so great! Just really blessed.

FIRST OFF THOUGH silly Ky didn't give me anything either! Ill send over what I got but it was only a couple paragraphs and then he would come back later... sounds like they might have been doing something fun for Preparation day and I'm guessing they didn't have any time after to come back and email again. THAT BETTER BE IT! So help me if he spent the time emailing other people.... But I'm still so glad he seems to be doing so well! Miss him but glad he is so happy! Hopefully he loved conference as well and it just motivated him. I remember my first conference  I LOVED it but It can also tug at your heart a little bit seeing Utah on the screen and realizing thats where all of you are! But hopefully he just loved it! 

I loved conference! There was so so much that just stood out to me.  I love that God is so merciful and wonderful in knowing that we need reminders. That we forget and need little pick me ups and so having these every 6 months is that way to help us reevaluate and get back on track! I also loved all of the talks and how so many questions were answered.

 I think the thing I loved most was the theme of JOY that seemed to come from all of the talks. I loved President Nelsons talk on how the gospel is joy! How we are here to be happy! How wonderful is that? I feel like I reference it a lot but I really do love that and have gained an even stronger testimony of that while being a missionary - that when we put the gospel first we are HAPPY! It doesn't matter if we sin - we can be happy we can repent. Doesn't matter if we have a hard day - we can be happy because the saviour understands. With death and loss - the saviour made it possible to live with those we love forever and all of our losses will be made up! Its just so wonderful the peace that comes into our loves when we trust and rely on our saviour. I also loved president Uchdorf's talk - it related to the same thing. I went into conference with the question of how I can stay focused and continue to work hard through the last few months and I loved how his talk was all about just what we have been given because of our saviour - all that is possible because of him - and when we remember that we are always focused and serving him is a joy and privledge. I know that to be true. It was such a great reminder to always just focus on him and remember all that he has done for me and for our family and I wont struggle at all staying focused these last few months - when I think of those things It just makes me want to work as hard as I can to thank him for everything he has blessed me with. I also loved the emphasis on prayer - I felt that was a huge theme the Saturday morning. it is something I really want to work on. Really MEANINGFUL prayer - taking time to talk with him and counseling with him with all of the big decisions and just thoughts from the day. I am going to work on it! And it is going to be AWESOME! Ive started it and already seen the difference - so great how the gospel is all about the little things. But how the little things like study and prayer make all the difference! BUT YES! I loved conference! LOVED that god has put us here TO BE HAPPY! he has commanded us to BE OF GOOD CHEER! And I fully intend to be obedient to that! :) Just like President Hinkley's talk on it... I Love that idea of not taking things to seriously, not getting overwhelmed with things we can't control, but just trusting God and enjoying the journey of it! I thought that was a beautiful message as the world is in complete CRAZINESS right now! Realizing to just trust him and be happy and realize that things will work out perfectly as long as we are anchored to him! 

BUT funny story with conference.... So Zasha and her family came! YAY!! THey LOVED IT! We taught zasha on monday after and she said how she just loved it and has been watching all of them after becuase she found them on lds.org. Apparently has been getting up even in the night to watch them. OH SHE IS AMAZING. we are so blessed. BUT yes! They came to conference! So we were all in the chapel watching but Gibberel (her 1 year old) was making a lot of noise so she went to the primary room and that left Sister Steed and I with the 3 kids. a 12, 8, and 6 year old for A WHOLE SESSION OF CONFERENCE. Goodness sakes. MOm and dad I now understand why church - and especially conference - was so crazy for you when we were younger. All of the sessions on my mission have FLOWN by but when I was trying to entertain 3 kids the whole time it was the longest 2 hours ever. Ricardo did really well - he actually got his answer that the book of mormon was true from watching the preisthood session! How incredible is that?? AH i love them - but isha and especially ishmael struggled. We brought skittles becuase he loves them and were prepared with paper to draw on and that entertained him for all of.. oh i dont know... 2 seconds. So then sweet Ishmael got bored of drawing so he decided instead it was a good idea to start ripping up the paper and then throwing it on the ground. It was great. We then gave him some gum thinking that was a good idea becuase it lasted a lot longer than skittles. good idea right? WRONG! He chewed it for a minute but then started getting tired of it so he started taking it out of his mouth - I was sitting by him and was trying to whisper to tell him to keep it in his mouth - when he takes it all out and THROWS THE GUM BEHIND HIS SHOULDER! TENDER MERCY is that it hit the pew behind us which then meant it got all over the bench and his suit jacket though - but it was a tender mercy because guess who was sitting right behind us. the stake president. SO we were grateful it hit the bench over the stake presidents face. So we spent a lot of Saturday afternoon in the bathroom scrubbing gum off of ishmael and his jacket. Oh my goodness. We just laughed at the whole thing. After they left we also jsut laughed as the pew we were sitting on looked like a WAR ZONE! Gum in the carpet, shredded paper everywhere, oh it was awesome. SO with it all I just want to THANK the both of you! I have so much more respect now for both of you and any parent who has little kids and has to keep them entertained for church or conference or anything. So with the insights I actually have no idea what was said during the saturday afternoon session and we didn't get to watch the sunday afternoon with the time difference SO like you mom i can't wait for them to come out and I can read them all! :) 

But the whole situation was just funny and SO worth it becuase Zasha loved it. It is incredible to me how prepared she is. She just loves it and believes it all! PLEASE PRAY FOR THEM! Zasha. Ricardo. and Isha! THey are set to be baptised next weekend as a family! OH its every missionaries dream and they are just so wonderful. I just love them so much. But i know satan always works the hardest right before. Please pray for them and that they will continue to progress and make it to next weekend! So excited. 

Another thing I was going to ask for your advice on is with Zasha. We found out that she is going through a divorce. It sounds like her husband has abused her for years... and maybe even the kids at some point. its been really hard for her. She has a restraining order against him and everything... we weren't supposed to know all of it but while walking the kids home from an activity the other night we ran into him on accident. He went off saying how she was ruining everything and telling lies... it was awful and scary. But yes. The last lesson we were with her on she asked us for advice on how to forgive. OH she is so wonderful. But she said it is just really hard when he has hurt her and she does't know how to do it. Do you have any good conference talks on it or scirptures? We are teaching her tonight so if you have any ideas please send them over asap. Something about the saviour and how the atonement is there to help us with not only sin but for pains as well? I would appreciate it so much!!

The rest of the week has been great as well! We had the conference on thursday! And it was actually a tri zone conference... so we dont have that many in our actual zone! OUr zones are about 20 missionaries in them! And then yesterday we had MLC! I love getting to be with president and sister gubler! IT was a great day! We also have another miracle of meeting our friend Joe the night before conference. He is SO prepared as well! Taught the restoration - he ate it up. said he has been praying to know what is right and felt like this all made sense. He came to conference with us! Said it answered a lot of his questions and then taught him the plan of salvation which he loved as well! We are meeting him again tonight! It is so neat how god is preparing people. And how just 5 seconds changes someones eternity! Just stopping to talk to him for just a little bit has changed everything for him now! ITs just so great to be a missionary and I really recognise the value of using every minute I can! You send the quote over one time mom but the idea that just a single phrase of testimony can affect someone for eternity. Just 5 seconds can do that! OH its so great to be apart of something so important. 

And You got sumans video! Isn't he the best! He has been trying to figure out how to send that over! I dont have his email... but if you go on Facebook you can message him that way and he will see it for sure! If not I will go and try and get it! But im so glad you got it!! 

 I got a cute email from Emma Carver last week! It will be weird going home and having everyone get bigger. It is funny how being here you just feel like time stops for all of you..And I got a cute birthday card from Greg and Jess! Will you tell them thank you! It made my day! Gregs comments were so funny... Goodness. I
think he was trying to sound English? But yeah tell them I love them!!

And wanna hear a crazy story? We were emailing and got a call from a
guy sister steed met on exchange. He wanted to meet and learn more so
we ran down and met him - he wants to be baptised - wanted to know if
our church did that. OH DO WE EVER! So we taught the RESTO and he is
now on date for the 29th! HOW AMAZING IS THAT? Oh Peckham is just on
fire. Heavenly father is so kind.

Also transfers are the 18th... Ahh!! I'm so nervous! I, hoping I will
stay! I would LOVE to stay with sister steed. Elder Rivera is an AP
and I was trying to get it out of him... We will see though! I would
love to finish in Peckham.

But oh i just love all of you! I love the pictures and your emails! They help me so much. So so much. So grateful for your support and encouragement and help! IT really is the biggest motivator for me. I couldn't do it without you. 

Miss you so much. Grateful for this time to be here but can't wait for the biggest hugs!! Have the best week!!

I Love you! 

Sister Gwilliam 

My MTC group at MLC. Elder persike, elder Rivera, me and sister England. Look at us. From the MTC and now almost 15 months later.... So so crazy. Love them though. Some of my best friends.

Package from mace and Davis's!!! They are the BEST! Tell them thank you thank you thank you!! Made my day. Love them.

Sent from my iPad

 

Sister fromgren (Norway), sister Deighton (English) and then us! 2 of
the sisters I go on exchange with! :)

Oh SO BLESSED.

I have been DYING to email you updates from this last week. SO much happened and we have been SO BLESSED! Honestly the best week of my mission so far I would say. Oh my goodness... things are going so well. Im just honestly overwhelmed with how wonderful things are, how our friends are doing, the ward, being in London, Sister Steed, OUR FAMILY, just everything. Ive just been really overwhelmed with how blessed I am this week. Heavenly Father is just so kind. 

BUT OH MY! Before I get into all of it as well I just CANT BELIEVE how amazing ky is. He honestly loves his mission. Mom you were saying it in your email but I just read his emails and am amazed. I was so so worried. Honestly fasted and prayed that he would be okay - I just REALLY struggled when I first came out and that was after living away from home for a year. Just knowing ky I was so worried as well but FLIPPIN HECK he is the best! He loves it. It has been the BIGGEST blessing to me. I just read his emails and am just even more motivated to go out and work hard and have a great attitude like he does. Its incredible. HUGE tender mercy.  And he is looking THIN! Its crazy. Its so funny. ANy email I have, all he talks about is when we come home he wants to eat, or for his birthday all he is doing is eating a huge cake, or how hungry he is. Poor kid. He looks great though and is so happy! It is just the biggest blessing! 

But turning 21 in London was the BEST! Last preparation day sister steed and I went down to the water and just had a blast. It is so fun to be here in London. Honestly the biggest blessing to be somewhere so cool. We went down to the Tate Modern Art museum -  it was so funny. We just laughed. I dont understand modern art. Then we went over to Shakespears Globe and walked around there. Super cool. You will love it when we come! and then we headed over to Zizi's - it was yummy!:) And just fun to get to splurg a little bit. I really love sister steed. So grateful that she loves doing fun things but is super focused as well. Its been the biggest blessing to get to be her companion. BUT i have pictures of our fun day. I will send them over! I tried to reenact some of the pictures from when I turned 20 last year HERE IN PECKHAM as well. It is CRAZY! I didn't feel like i had changed very much but I feel like I looked like a baby last year now... You'll have to see them! But it was pretty funny - you will have to let me know what you think! But then on my actual Birthday it was the BEST SUPRISE EVER to get the basket of fruit! OH I LOVED IT!! Made me so so happy! Sister Steed laughed when she saw it. She said that you all knew me so well. Poor sister steed LOVES chocolate. Loves it. And poor thing is always stuck with me who loves fruit. BUT OH it was the best ever! We can't afford a lot of the fancy fruit (fancy fruit being anything other than apples and bananas!:) ) so it has been the best ever eating all of the fun things in the basket. Its hasn't even been a week and it is almost all gone. It has been the best! But cute suman threw me a little suprise party as well. We went to go teach him and then he showed up with cake and a present (a portable speaker for the ipad - So helpful!) and then we had a little party at sister rays! It was so great. We were on exchange as well so we had a blast getting to have alittle party that night with the spanish sisters. Overall it was the best day! I just thought over and over how lucky I was to be here! And how old it is to officially be 21... isn't that weird. I just think its super old. But thank you again for the gift and the emails and just all of it! 

BUT along with those blessings this last week was probably the BEST week of my entire mission. It was SO GOOD. So good because Heavenly Father has been so kind. Zasha and Ricardo and Isha are ALL on date and are so solid. I have never taught someone who just understands it so much and just loves it. And i know it is ONLY through the holy ghost. So much of the time I just walk out of lessons so thankful that I am not the one teaching but that He is - they are just so great. THey came to church again and loved it, we see them everyday, they just love it. Im so sad we did't get a picture this week. WE WILL DO IT so I can show you them. OH i just love them so much. So much that its so wonderful but I am also so terrified everyday - being with them has motivated me to step up my game even more. I NEED to be dilligent all the time and obedient so I am worthy of the spirit so I can be worthy to have him in the lessons so he can keep helping them. Oh they are just so good. Its so so fun getting to have them as a huge miracle everday. BUT ready for this - one of, if not the best moment of my mission so far - On sunday Zasha and her kids, AND SAM (a LA) and her son Harry (12 year old we are teaching and preparing for baptism) AND our other friend Norman were all at church. It was Psychotic. we were running around like crazy trying to make sure everyone was taken care of and happy and yeah. it was crazy. This last week at church during sunday school and relief society the stake decided to braodcast the womans conference so all of the woman stayed together in the chapel to watch it. We had zasha there who didn't really understand what was going on so we quickly explained the idea of general conference and this meeting. She sat there and just loved it. I was listening to Elder Utchdorfs and just LOVED it. One of those "I love my mission" hit me moments where I just realise how wonderful and how much of a privilege it is to be here. The braodcast ended a little early so they just opened it up for testimonies. I was just sitting and thinking to myself when zasha said that her heart was pounding and she wanted to go up - but she wanted us to go with her - we told her we would love that! She got up the nerves and walked to the front and had us just stand by her. She then started telling the whole experience with us. She said how all growing up she had gone to churches but never really felt at peace and then one day she was walking home with her kids and sister steed and I came up. She said normally when people come up to her about church she just pushes them away saying she already believes in God and has a church but something was different when we talked to her - she felt something - and even though she was busy she decided to give us her address so we could come back. She said that when we came back and told her about the church she has just been so happy. She said it has helped her to find peace and she knows that it is true. Apparently there are a lot of hard things going in her life right now and the week before she was struggling and not knowing what to do - She was talking to ricardo about it (the 12 year old) and apparently ricardo said "Mom, dont you remember the story the sisters told us. Joseph smith didn't know what to do either but he went and prayed about it and god answered his prayer. You should do that too." She said that as soon as she said that she just got this overwhelming sense of peace and happiness. SHe said how it was so weird becuase she was so sad before and overwhelmed and then instantly she was so happy. She went on to say how she just knew that this church was right and that the book of mormon was true. And while she is saying this sister steed and I are standing right there with her. I honestly was one of those fight back the tears, jaw wide open not believeing what she is saying, and just oh the spirit was so strong. I just could have cried. Heavenly Father is just SO KIND. I just have been so humbled. NONE of this is me or sister steed. It is all becuase of him. I feel so unworthly honestly of these blessings - he blessed me so much more than i deserve but OH i am just so grateful. So yeah. They just get it. She udnerstands authority, ricardo loves it, isha is the cutest little almost 8 year old, and then her 2 little kids love us as well! I just can't believe it. I can't wait for you to meet them! Ricardo LOVES basketball too! I have showed him all of the pictures of kys games that you sent over. He loves it. I told him ky will have to come play him when we come back! :) 

BUT YES! So things are going so well! We had 5 friends at church. we have 4 friends who are progressing towards baptism (zasha and her kids and our other friend freddie) and the highest member presents Ive ever had - the ward is just so willing to help us - MIRACLES ARE JUST EVERYWHERE! Its just a party over here in Peckham. Im so grateful to be here. Time seems to be going quick too - its just all crazy crazy but so wonderful. 

And that is so fun about the Englands, right! I will see Sister England next tuesday for MLC again and tell her how excited we are! I CAN"T WAIT! I think it will be the best! And yeah, if you can find tickets thats amazing! i have actually heard they save some for people coming from out of the country so it might be easier for them to get them... But you should look and if you can find them WE should go! I dont think I have ever been to the conference center and seen one of the main 4 sessions. I would LOVE that! And OH MY GOODNESS! LIke ky I am literally GIDDY about conference this weekend! OH i CAN NOT WAIT! Last conference on the mission and I am just going to SOAK IT ALL UP!! Can't wait to hear your insights on things!!! OH i just love general conference. AND sorry i will go all missionary on you! BUT i have noticed on my mission how much I have gotten out of conference. Part of it is that I am a missionary so I think just having that makes me a little more sensitive to the spirit BUT ALSO i go to a chapel where I have to be in church clothes and sitting up and taking notes... and it has been AMAZING experiences every time. SO cutest family that I love so much! I JUST WANT YOU to have that as well! So I would really encourage you all to take all you can out of conference. Sitting down and watching all of the sessions - not just listening if you can - being prepared with questions (like how on earth will I cope another 3 months with meg gone?;) ) - and then taking notes to listen. I also think being dressed in church clothes on the sunday just helps us to be focused and less likely to fall asleep.... :) SO avoid those blankets and laying down and just LOVE listening to a LIVING PROPHET today! its amazing. God will be speaking to us! I just can't wait to hear what he has to say and then act on it. So yes, be prepared iwth questions, take notes, and be dressed as if the lord was there himself. I know if we do that we will gain SO MUCH from it and you will be able to get even more revelation and help with things in the future! 

Love the sciprutre of the week as well. And i love Jack and Kathy. I feel like they are both great examples of faith- they just know it will be okay. So grateful for such great examples in our friends and neighbours. OH goodness... I know I keep saying it but we really are just so blessed! 

I JUST LOVE YOU BOTH SO MUCH! MOstly with all of these blessings I am just SO BLESSED to have the worlds greatest parents and the worlds best family. I just love you all so much. SO MUCH! THank you for being so wonderful and my best friends. I can't thank my Heavenly Father enough and saviour for making it possible to be with you all eternally! 

I LOVE YOU! 

Talk to you soon!:) 

Love,

Sister Gwilliam 

20 vs 21: Pictures in Peckham on my 20th birthday and again on my 21st birthday (tried to take some in the same poses)

Sent from my iPad

 

Birthday adventures

Modern art?

The globe!

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