Chapter 30: Meagan's Companion is Famous

Hello everyone!

Yes, you saw that right. My companion is a celebrity on lds.org. Check her out in this awesome video about a Chinese guy (who she didn't really teach but worked with afterward as a recent convert!):

https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2014-04-017-unto-all-the-world-noahs-story?lang=eng

Man I am so lucky to be able to say I knew her. :)

In other news, Lionie and Ellie both got baptised on Sunday! They were so cute in their little white dresses. They both just kept smiling the whole time. It was really fun to teach them and get to know them. This past week we had lots of fun acting out scripture stories and the plan of salvation with them. They made us act out the whole Joseph Smith story, like until he finished translating the Book of Mormon. It was way fun.

We also went and saw one of our Chinese less actives, Jenny. We've been seeing her almost every week since I came to Hull. Every time we've always gone when her kids are asleep, but this week we went when they were awake. It was so fun to play with them, they are adorable. The little girl who's almost 2 just kept saying "xie xie!" (thank you) for everything: if you gave her something, she'd say it. If she gave you a toy, she'd say it. It was so cute to be with this wonderful family!

Speaking of families, I know that they can be together forever through the plan of salvation. This week the plan of salvation has been on my mind a lot, and it's really comforted me to know that life goes on and that I know that happens after this life. It is sad to lose someone we know and love, but I know I will see them all again one day and that I can be with my family forever.

I love you all! Have a fantastic first week of September! (Where has the time gone??)

Love,
Sister Larson

Chapter 29: A totally "aresome" week!

Hiya everyone!

Some of you might be thinking: "Wow, Sister Larson, your English spelling has gone downhill. Do you really not know how to spell awesome? I mean, come on." Well let me explain a bit. Our investigator, Lionie, who is 12, has been practicing her American accent with us. She automatically puts an "r" sound whenever there's an "ah" sound in any word ever. Therefore, "awesome" becomes "aresome," even though that's not actually how we say it. It was so cute though. :)

This week we've been working a lot with Lionie and Ellie, her sister. They are both getting baptised this Sunday, the 31st! We are so excited. It's been great teaching them because they know so much already (they've attended church for 3 years) and because they are younger, it's forced my companion and I to be really basic in our teaching.

That got me thinking about how the gospel is really quite a simple thing, and that oftentimes we try to think of something new, something clever, something different to learn that we don't know already in our study of the gospel. But really, we don't. Everything we need to know is in the basic principles of the gospel: faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism and renewal of our covenants, using the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. It is in a study of these basic principles that we get a deeper understanding of what the gospel means to us.

And on a fun note, we got to bake up a storm yesterday for p-day! We made so many snickerdoodles I lost count, some truffles, some no bake cookies, and a British favourite: banoffe pie. It's bananas and caramel and whipped cream in a cookie crust. It's quite delicious, and it is a favourite pudding, or dessert, over here.

Well I hope that this week has been good for everyone! Remember that Heavenly Father loves you and is willing to help you with anything if you just ask Him!! I love you too!

Love,
Sister Larson

Chapter 28: As the Weather Turns...

Hello everyone!

As you can see from the subject line, the weather here has taken a turn for the colder. Like, I've had to wear my winter coat out finding. Uh, what month is this? But at least this also means that there have been more Chinese students out and about that we can talk to! We have met lots of wonderful potentials and have talked to lots and lots of students. This week was filled with tons of finding, but it has been pretty great.

In other news, Ting Ting left for China yesterday very unexpectedly. She'll only be gone for a month and then she'll come back, but we will miss her so much! We always had lots of fun with her and she is doing so great in her spiritual progression. 

 This is me and Ting Ting and we both look super good in this photo

We also are teaching two investigators! Crazy, right? Probably because they're the adopted children of a member who are just now able to be baptised due to legal things, but still. They are so excited to be baptised they can hardly stand it and their enthusiasm is infectious! 

The one last bit of really exciting stuff is that last Tuesday was my companion's birthday! Yay! Sister Dahneke is now a big 22 year old. One of the Chinese members baked her a cake and we had a little party for her. She also got a package filled with exotic American treats, like pop tarts and tootsie rolls. :)

Happy Birthday Sister Dahneke!

Our district leader also made her a cake. It was chocolate and it was delicious.
The excitement I felt at being able to eat this cake is apparent in my facial expression.

The American package filled with American candy. And poptarts.

Well this week we have been working so hard, I come home every night exhausted. But I know that our hard work will pay off and that we will see miracles because of it! I have learned that you can't just sit around and expect awesome things to happen - you have to go make them happen! The Lord will help those who trust Him and then go get to work.

The four flatmates

 Humber Bridge with the epic full moon in the back

I love my mission, I love England despite its interesting weather patterns, I love the Lord, and I love all of you guys! Have a crazy amazing week!!

Love,

Sister Larson

Chapter 27: New Investigators and New Superpowers!

Meagan needs a superhero name in honor of her new powers... please leave a comment here or on Facebook if you have a contribution...

Hey everyone!

This week has been pretty great. First off, we have a new investigator! She's one of the friends Ting Ting brought to FHE last week. Her name is Lina, she's Chinese, and she lives in the same flat as Ting Ting. She's living with her son, who's a student at the Uni, so she's an older woman. She's great though, we've taught her a bit of lesson 1 and she's excited to read the Book of Mormon. When we asked her if she'd read it, she said, "If it gets me closer to Jesus Christ, then of course I will!" So she's doing pretty good.

Other than that, we've just done a lot of finding this week. Of course, there was one other exciting highlight of the week: I GOT MY CAST OFF!!! Finally! It's pretty weird walking around without a boot, but it's doing okay. Not only that, but because I broke it, I have a new superpower: my foot gets achey when it's going to rain. So, I can finally predict the English weather that is notoriously unpredictable. I need a superhero name... I'll have to think of one. If anyone has any ideas, let me know.

My companion and I have also had fun this week rewriting the lyrics to classic hits. We make the lyrics more applicable to missionary life. Like, "Finding in the Rain," a rewrite of "I Set Fire to the Rain," or "What Makes You Spiritual," a rewrite of "What Makes You Beautiful". We'll get the full album out eventually. :)

Well this week has been full of little miracles and hard work to make them happen! I know that miracles are a part of the gospel of Jesus Christ, but that it is only through faith and hard work that they come about. So be faithful, work hard, and watch those miracles happen! I love you all! Have a super awesome week!

Love,
Sister Larson

Meagan also sent some pictures this week but they didn't come through the ether properly... hopefully we'll have lots next week!

Chapter 26: "Thanks For Holding My Slobbery Apple, Mate"

Hiya!

So this week was really fun and had lots of learning opportunities. The first exciting thing was my new companion, Sister Dahneke! She's from the exotic land of Provo, Utah, did martial arts when she was younger, and likes to eat food. So basically, we get along really great. We both discovered one day while finding that we both love Les Miserables, and so now we sing that all the time and just have a blast together.

Sister Larson and Sister Dahneke, "in bad internet cafe lighting."

The majority of this week was spent street contacting. We have been looking and looking and talking and talking and walking and just trying to find someone interested in the gospel. It's been a rough week for finding new investigators, but last night a huge miracle happened! We had asked Ting Ting to invite some friends to FHE. She said she would try. Last night she calls us and asks, "So, four people want to come. Is that too many?" And of course we replied, "Uh, no, that is perfect, that is awesome, you are wonderful!" So now we have new faces coming to FHE and we are praying that at least one of them will be interested in learning more. It was so wonderful to see that after working and praying and trying to stay positive we had this wonderful miracle happen. Even if nothing happens with those four people tonight, it has been a testimony builder to me that Heavenly Father answers our prayers, even if it's not right away.

Funny story of the week: We were sitting in sacrament meeting yesterday, close to the end, when a little three-year-old boy in the ward walked by us, stuck his half-eaten apple in my companion's hand, and then walked away to go play with someone else. We were cracking up because it was pretty gross but really cute at the same time. And then five minutes later he came and got it back from her, like "Hey thanks for holding my slobbery apple, mate."

That might have been a you-had-to-be-there moment. But it made my day.

Well family and friends, this week has been fun, it's been tough, it's been tiring. But I know that I am learning, I am experiencing, and that I came here for a reason! Alma says it better than I ever could:

"And this is the blessing which hath been bestowed upon us, that we have been made instruments in the hands of God to bring about this great work."

This doesn't just apply to me, it applies to all of us! We all have the great blessing and potential to be instruments in the hands of God. So pray for missionary opportunities and go and serve others! I love you all and I'm so proud of all the missionary work you do. Have a fantastic week!

Love,
Sister Larson

Chapter 25: A New Companion and Return of the Pictures

Dajia hao!

Well, as you might have seen, this week is transfer week. And to explain what has happened, I will use a scripture found in Alma 22:4, with just a few alterations:

And I said unto my friends and family: Behold, the Spirit of the Lord has called Sister Huang another way, she has gone to the land of Newcastle, to teach the people of China.

Yes, sadly, my mom (trainer) is leaving me. But she is going to the promised land of Newcastle for her last six weeks! And I am getting a new companion (of course) whose name is Sister Dahneke and land of origin is good old 'Merica. She is also a Chinese speaker and is dying soon. Sorry, I mean going home soon. So we will be together starting tomorrow! I'm excited to meet her and show her around Hull!

The Wilemans, aka our favorite family, threw Sister Huang a surprise dinner party yesterday. They decorated with Frozen characters and snow (we each had a Frozen character-- I was Anna, she was Elsa. of course!!) , because she's never seen snow but she really wants to. The table was all fancy and they gave her a gift of a t-shirt with some of the inside jokes we have with them. It was so cute, she was so happy!  I don't think anyone's ever really done that for her before. 

In other news, this past week we had a field trip! Kind of. We went to Huddersfield for a zone conference, which is where Sister Huang worked for 9 months on her mission! It was fun for her to point out all the places she'd been and where she lived and the university she walked around all the time. The actual meeting was good too, we learned lots of wonderful things, especially how to make these cute little cards that look like white shirts. We've been using them a lot with members and potentials, like if we have a meal appointment we sneakily leave one behind or drop them in people's mail slots if they're not in when we drop by. So that's been very fun.

Half of the mission.  Sister Larson is in the lower right corner.

Other than that, this week we got back into the normal missionary schedule where we're out all day. Yay!! I only have two and a half weeks left in my cast, which I'm very excited for, and we're still looking for some new investigators. We've got a couple potentials and the Chinese students are very slowly coming back. 

I hope you all had a wonderful week, Happy Pioneer Day for those who celebrate it, keep reading your scriptures and praying and looking for opportunities to serve! I know we are at our happiest when we are serving other people. Love you all!

Love,
Sister Larson

Chapter 24: On her feet again!

Hiya!

Well this week we have been picking up our work a little bit more. Yay! We've gone out every day and been out almost the whole day, just like normal missionaries. It's been great. My foot is getting better and I can walk on it a lot more now, which is just fantastic.

So this week we have focused a lot on working with our less actives and recent converts, since we still are searching for investigators. One of them that we went and visited was a Chinese family. The dad works at a Chinese restaurant and so he makes really good food. When we went and visited him, he made us baozi, which are basically bun things with stuff inside. My favourite one he made had butter and coconut in it, or so he said. It tasted like tropical heaven and I wish I could eat it all the time.

We also went and visited lots of members. One of them that we visit quite regularly is a Lithuanian woman. She has two little kids who just are starting school and they are quite the picky eaters, so whenever we go over there she loves to make us food. This week's dish was cold cucumber, beetroot, boiled egg soup. It was quite interesting. Not bad, but a little bit weird.

Aside from the interesting international food I've eaten, I have also had the time to think on trials. Especially since being on a mission I've seen the harsh trials people are put through and sometimes it makes me wonder why such things happen to good people. Then this morning I was flipping through the hymn book and found the fifth verse of Hymn No. 85, "How Firm a Foundation." It goes:

"When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie
My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply.
The flame shall not hurt thee, I only design
Thy dross to consume ... and thy gold to refine."

So basically, trials aren't given to us to hurt us - they're there to help our strengths get even better and our weaknesses to either become strengths or go away. I know that it is through the grace of Jesus Christ that this can happen. I've seen it in my life and in the lives of others. So if your pathway is going through some fiery trials right now, know that when you rely on Jesus Christ, His grace is always in supply for you!

I hope you have all had a great week! Lots of love from 'Ull*!

Love,
Sister Larson

*Here in Yorkshire, the accent is to drop all "h" sounds at the beginning of a word. So Hull is pronounced 'Ull. If it's hard to imagine, just picture Hagrid saying it. I'm pretty sure he's originally from Yorkshire.