Hello and Email from my companion

I don't have much time today because we sacrificed our pday to go to the temple. I'll see if I have time later to write, but I may not be able to since my companion keeps leaving my side and I need to be at the computer. Just know that I'm alive and doing well. Hopefully more to come soon

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This is Sister Turnbulls weekly email (again short, we have no time today) but on the plus side, I fixed my iPad! Yay! Here is her email:

Hello beautiful people,

Unfortunately, everything that could go wrong this week, it did. We were locked out of our flat, the boiler and the shower ceased to work, the lights surged, and our freezer randomly defrosts. Apart from these temporal distractions, it is mostly fine.

I don't have much time to email this week as we were privileged enough to attend the temple. I am so grateful for this opportunity as I always feel at peace and assured of the love of my Heavenly Father upon my attendance. I truly am grateful for the covenants I have made, and the predicated
blessings.

Doctrine and Covenants 105:12 For behold, I have prepared a great endowment and blessing to be poured out upon them, inasmuch as they are faithful and continue in humility before me.


Much love,
Sister Turnbull

Locked out of our flat

With wonderful Holly and Sister Turnbull

 Sushi with Sis. Turnbull's Aunt Cate, and cousin Ollie

CHESTER

Well, transfers have happened! Also, my 9 month mark happened - half way there!!! :) It's crazy how much I've learned already!

So, I'm now serving in Chester with Sister Turnbull. 

I'm so grateful for my time in Warrington with Sister Taumalolo. Warrington is a wonderful area, and I was able to find some of my eternal friends there. The members were also wonderful, and I didn't realize the effect that I had on some of them until I left. While I was there, I made an immediate connection with a less active sister named Sandra. She hadn't been to church in many years, and some missionaries would come see her, but she was known for cancelling appointments. But since we had made this connection, she started seeing us more often, and she then had us over for tea, and the past few weeks, she started to come to church again. I will always be grateful for the relationship I made with her. I also made good connections with a woman named Cara, who also came to church this Sunday, and our investigators, Lorna and Joe. I know that I was meant to meet these people and they all have a special place in my heart.

These past two transfers, I changed so much, and Sister Taumalolo helped me immensely. One of the Elders recent converts, Ben, was talking to me the other week and said that since I was with Sister Taumalolo, he noticed a big change in me. He said I was more of myself, and more confident. That really touched me because I had been trying so hard to feel comfortable in the work, and to feel more confident. I've noticed the change in me, and so have many others. 

Something that has also helped me this week is that I have been prayerfully reading the Book of Mormon whenever we would have a quiet moment. Doing this increased my spirit more than I could ever imagine! I'm definitely continuing this as I go into this transfer! There is a line in my patriarchal blessing that says that I will grow for my love of the Savior as I read the Book of Mormon. And that I would be blessed that as I read, there would be a sweet peace that settles in my heart that my Savior, Jesus Christ lives, and that he knows me personally. And this this love would be planted in the hearts of my future children. I'm seeing how that blessing is already being fulfilled. I have only read up to 1 Nephi 12, and already my entire view on the world, on my companion, on myself, on God has changed. Sister Taumalolo said that she noticed my entire countenance changed while I did this. I'm definitely more passionate about the Book of Mormon now and how much peace in can bring others. 

This upcoming transfer, I want it to be a really spiritual one. I'm going to focus on the Book of Mormon and Preach my gospel so much!

I am excited for this upcoming transfer! Love you all!

Sister Wilkinson

My cute little flat :)

  The Chester Chapel - I feel like I'm in a storybook!

 The most important part of serving in Chester - I knew this was a good area!

The flat in Warrington

the view from my flat 

 Me with the Welsh chapel sign

THE EMM EPISODE 37

Previously on the EMM.... Sister Wilkinson went to the Trafford Centre and had little time to email an update of the week. (SORRY)

This episode.... Stories from both last week and this week, including Elder Ballard speaking to the missionaries, and the musical production of the British Pageant. 

Next up... Transfers! A new possible change coming to the life of Sister Wilkinson with new people and places to see.

Alright, so... 

I actually don't have much time today either and the main thing on my mind is that my ipad is STILL not working and it's really frustrating me because I can't type fast and I also can't send any photos that I have on my ipad because I can't get them onto the computer... so I've been really annoyed with it, and its been this way for a month and a half now.... Anyway, I'll do my best to remember what happened these last few weeks.

Elder Ballard came to speak to us. It was really amazing and the main thing I got from it was that I am still needed in this mission and that Jesus Christ will lead my way. That as I rely on Him, He will direct my paths. I still have so much to change and to learn and I'm excited for all of it. He was also very funny and told us many jokes. I thought it was great! We also had the opportunity to shake his hand and say hello to him. When he walked in, he looked at us and said, "Alright, quickly, lets get this over with" and shook all our hands. He is so funny. I don't have my journal with me, or I could share more of his quotes, but it was great to hear from him!

Last week, we went to the Trafford centre with the elders recent convert, Ben. It was lots of fun! We went mini golfing, and ate at 5 guys, and it was just a crazy fun day! We also had to squish into his little car. After that day, we went with the elders to give a blessing to a less active member's wife. His name is Rodante. This was the first time we met him, but it was lots of fun. He gave us burgers, and pigs in a blanket, and even some Tang to drink. We had a full American day on Monday!

More highlights from the week... the British Pageant! So, we went to the pageant on Thursday night with the ward. We travelled there in a coach together. It was fun to have a coach ride with the members there and back! Then the actual pageant was INCREDIBLE!!!!! Like.... the best thing I've ever seen! The music is beautiful, the dancing was incredible, and the acting was great. They had a centre stage, and they had smoke going on, torches being lit, they went all out - I can't believe it was a free production. There were also really young children acting in it, and they had a full choir and I just cant even describe the greatness of it! I'll try to send a pic I have somehow. The music was beautiful and there was even a song sang in Welsh. I'm planning on coming back in 4 years to watch it once again! SOOOO GOOOD! :D

Well, that's about all that happened this week besides the fact that I can't eat gelatin for a while... it may take me a bit to eat Jell-O and fruit snacks and such... but yeah, probably a good idea not to ask why ;) also... don't ask what is in it.

Anyway, this week has been great!

Transfers is next week! We get our calls on Sunday! What are all your guesses? Am I staying? Leaving? What do you think?

Love you all! I'll try sending pics! :)

Sister Wilkinson

I was able to get photos (long process, but I've got them)! Hooray! Here are some pics :)

 Above the food court in the trafford centre

The theatre the pageant was in

The Pageant - a scene when the early saints were travelling on the ship to America

The temple all lit up that night

Trafford Centre

Mini golfing

In the car with Rodante

5 guys with Ben

Trafford Centre

3 Warrington 3:6

"And it came to pass that Sister Wilkinson and Sister Taumalolo did take their journey into Chorley and they did hear the words of their leaders. They had a different experience than they had before, nevertheless, they were uplifted and strengthened by the things which they did hear and see. They also received many blessings from the Elders to lighten and uplift their spirits. They did learn much and had a great desire to share these truths with their fellow brethren."

Like how I just made a scripture? It was something that Sister Taumalolo challenged us to do in one of our lessons. It's 3 Warrington because its my third transfer and it's 6 days into the 3rd week of the transfer. You're welcome - that's how my week went in scripture terms.

Now in modern English, this week has been one of learning for me. Our investigators have had little progressions, but the less active members are progressing well. On Sunday, our friend named Sandra came to church. She hasn't been to church for years! We have been working with her for a while, and she has never had an interest in coming back to church until now. We were very happy to see her come back! There is also a woman that we met this week named Cara who happens to be a less active. Unfortunately, she did not make it on Sunday, but we won't give up on her! The Elders ran into her on the street and she said she had been baptised in the Wigan ward. She needed help moving boxes to a house across town. So, the Elders arranged for us and a member to meet her and help her move. She told us that she wanted to come back and to have a fresh start. She had past addictions, but has now been fighting them. It will be very hard for her to have this fresh start, but we feel that she is determined. We will continue to visit her and help her out and hope that she will come to church once again.

I'm not sure if I've told you about my district yet - it is doing well. It's been good to get to know everyone, and we are all very unified. We have street displays often all together, and it's a very good group of missionaries. Elder Barney has been a good District leader so far. My district currently is Elder Barney from Los Vegas, Nevada and Elder Schoonover from Ceder Hills, Utah - they are the elders here in Warrington. And then there's us, and the sisters serving in Wigan. Which is Sister Magumela from Losoto, Africa, and Sister Arthur who is originally from Ghana. She just started her mission.

also, we had a multi zone in Chorley this week. It was very different than all of the other multi zone's since President McReynolds is more settled now. Although it was different, I learned a lot! We spoke about having a vision for our investigators and others we are working with, and then planning according to that vision. We applied this during weekly planning and it helped us have more well thought out plans as well as plans that have real meaning behind them. I think that this vision and planning exercise also helped us have more charity for the people we discussed. I want to continue doing this for the rest of my mission. 

Something else that stood out to me was when we were in Elder Shima's breakout and we were split into groups to discuss hard work and smart work. Elder Cooper shared some really good sayings with us. The one that stayed with me was "I don't want to kill any sheep". As a missionary, we are called to "Feed his sheep". We should take that into more consideration. Feeding is the spiritual nourishment. If we don't share this gospel or help those around us, we are failing to feed his sheep. If we don't feed them for a while, they will die. We don't want to let our Father in Heaven down and kill his sheep instead of feeding them. I think this will be Council that will stay with me for a long time. It was a very powerful analogy.

Other than the multi zone, I don't have too many other stories for you. I have laughed lots this week from all the times we were caught in the crazy English weather, and also all the dumb things the elders do, and also with the stories the members share with us. Warrington is a good area!

Well, I love you all! Hope you have a great week!!! :)

Sister Wilkinson

England Manchester Mission

Here are a couple pictures from our street displays this week. The girl that is with us is named Claudia. She is getting her mission call soon :) She reminds me so much of Lindy. Such a sweet girl! 

"I snatched you right out of the air"

(Emperor's New Groove) Okay, I used this title for one main reason - we were putting a note in a woman's postbox one day (they are just flaps in their door). So, we put it through their door, and the second we did, their dog jumped up and ate it out of my companion's hand! hahaha! It was sooo funny! and while that was happening, it was the end of the night and was raining HARD! So we ran home while laughing at singing primary songs really loudly. We've had a fun week ;)

Here are some more stories from this week:

1. We were having tea (dinner) at a member's home, and we were talking about Adam and Eve. Then, Sister Taumalolo said that her institute teacher taught her a good lesson. He said, "Adam and Eve were happy in the garden of Eden, but it was all part of God's plan for them to leave. They needed to have children, and in order to do that, they had to become mortal. They weren't mortal until they left the garden of Eden. Once they left, they became miserable and life became very difficult. They were also able to have children. So, this shows why having children makes you unhappy." We thought it would be this great analogy, but then it was just hilarious! So that was great!

2. An older woman (in her 80s) shared this poem/quote with us on Sunday.

"One night, I dreamt I died, I dreamt of a place of white.

There was a room filled with chairs - what a marvellous sight!

A man came towards me and asked where I was from.

I answered and said, "I'm from Warrington."

He was quite shocked, and gave me a good stare.

Then said, "Take a seat in the front, you're the first one from there!"

We thought it was pretty funny ;)

Also, I've now been out 8 months! Almost half way there! Woohoo!

And I don't really have too much time today to say much else, but I want to leave you all with something I learned this week.

I was studying in Preach my Gospel, and all it said was that the Atonement of Jesus Christ was central to Gods plan and that it included both his suffering in the garden of Gethsemane and also his death on the cross. But it then made me think about what the "Atonement" really means. And it's talking about how Christ suffered in order to save us. Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we can be cleansed, we can be forgiven of our sins. Why is this? Because the Atonement means what he did for us. He knows exactly how we feel, and that is why he can forgive us and provide us with a clean slate. It reminded me of a scripture that is one of my favourites about the Atonement. It is Alma chapter 7 verses 11 and 12. It talks about how Christ took upon himself all of our pains, sicknesses, sorrows, temptations, and how he also took upon himself death. It then says, "according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities". He came into the world with a human body in order to feel exactly how we feel. He is the only one who can provide us with such mercy because He is the only one who knows how we feel. He is able to mourn with us, to rejoice with us, he is always there for us through the good and the bad. I always find it incredible to think about how much He cares for us. I think about those I love most and then it amazes me to think that he loves them more then we can even imagine. He has a perfect love for all of us, and that is why we can be healed through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

Well, I've had a wonderful week! Hope you are all well!

Love you!

Sister Wilkinson

England Manchester Mission

Just my luck

Alright, first off, my ipad is having technical difficulties due to user error... so I'll try to think of everything I can while typing on the computer... hope you enjoy! ;)

So, My week? Well, its been basically the longest week ever.... but its been good as well :)

Its the first week of the transfer, which means my District Leader, Elder Thelier went back home. Before he went home, we asked him to give us blessings. It was a wonderful blessing and I'll never forget it! He said one phrase that helped me get through the week, and I feel will help me through the rest of the mission. That phrase is "Because He lives, and I love Him". Everything we do on the mission should be done because we love Jesus Christ. 

I feel that I have grown closer to Jesus Christ this week as I have more fully recognize his presence in my life. As a missionary, I am constantly blessed with miracles and when I open my eyes to see them, I am always amazed at how many there are. We talk to so many people each and every day and help them in any way they need. In a country like England, this is such a good thing to do.

This week, my companion and I have been thinking a lot about families and how important they are in your life. We have ran into SO MANY broken families here that have ended up in pretty tough situations. We walked this drunk man to town and he was telling us his story of why he was as drunk as he was, and it all based around his family and how he was abandoned. There is also this married couple we talk to in town that have 4 children, but they are homeless and aren't allowed to see any of them. There have been some seriously sad stories this week, and we have emphasized our teaching around families.

I am so grateful that I have been raised the way I have, and I know it was that way because of the gospel. The times we have said family prayer, read scriptures, had bonding time, and just based our lives around the teachings and standards of the gospel, the more our family grew together. I know that when we put the Lord first in our lives, that everything else will fall into place. 

I have honestly learned so much this week, and I feel that it is a new start in my mission and my attitude towards it. I know there is still so much to learn in these 11 months to come!

Sorry for the short one this week, but I love you all!!!

Sister Wilkinson

We went to Toby Carvery

There is a great place here that's kind of like an all you can eat buffet, and we went there today. It was GREAT!

Us with our food :)

Us after our food... ;)

Yup.... I'm a fattie ;) 7 months in!

President McReynolds + transfers

Hello everyone! So this week, I met my new mission President and its also transfers tomorrow! But I will send them in a separate email because I STILL haven't been informed if I'm leaving or going to stay.... so I'll update you once I can! I feel like I might stay here one more transfer. Not too sure...

But, In the meantime, I'll tell you about my week:
So, first off, I'll tell a funny story. So, we live across the street from a pub. And all the past week, there has been this man there (maybe he works there?) but anyway, every time we pass, he yells at us something like, "Come on girls, don't you want a drink?" The first few days we were annoyed, and then after that we just figured he was drunk so we would look over and wave a "no" and say "Never!" We had a bit of fun with it. Then one day, we got off the bus, and the bus stop is on the same side as the pub. He saw us and pointed at us and said, "Hey! Don't you girls go anywhere! Stay there! Stay there!" And then ran into the pub. A part of me just wanted to leave in case he forced us into some beer, but Sister Taumalolo wanted to find out what he was going to do. So we waited, and then he ran out with two cans of Coca Cola 😂 he then gave them to us and opened them for us and said, "Now there's a drink no Christian can refuse," Haha! 😂 I thought it was so funny! So then we just had a normal discussion with him, and gave him a Mormon.org card and it was great. He's a good man.

So, yeah that was funny! And now let me tell you about a miracle! (And then another funny story that topped it off perfectly).

So, on our way to the multi-zone, the train from Preston to Chorley was trying to connect with another train, and they wouldn't connect properly. They tried a few times until we had about a half hour delay, and still nothing worked. One of the missionaries had an idea to say a prayer. So, my district leader, Elder Thelier, said a prayer, and in that prayer, he used the power of the Priesthood and in the name of Jesus Christ, and also described why we wanted the trains to connect, and then asked very specifically that they would connect in the next 5-10 minutes. I thought that that was a very bold prayer, and I wasn't sure if it was going to work. Then I thought, "all prayers are answered according to our faith", so I asked myself if I had enough faith to witness this miracle, and for some reason, this feeling came over me, and my faith wasn't shaken. About 8 minutes later, there was an announcement that said the trains had connected successfully and that we would be on our way shortly! I thought that was such an amazing miracle! We all said a prayer of gratitude and we were able to make it to Chorley on time.

And now the funny side of this one was that since the trains were so delayed, another train came on the other platform. So a man on the train decided to get off our train (this was after they said we connected successfully) and we watched him sprint all the way to the other platform and he made it into that train! We all cheered for him! While he was running there, Elder Thelier said, "Now watch, ours will leave first!" Then as soon as we watched him get on his train, our tein left the station 😂 with the timing of when things were said, I just thought it was so funny! His train left only a few minutes after ours, so he still got there quickly, it was just so funny to see!

Also, our mission President is great! I think he will be perfect for the EMM! There was already lots that He said that really touched me. I'm excited to get to know him even more! I learned so much at the multi-zone! It was good to hear a new perspective on everything, and I think this mission will benefit a lot from President and Sister McReynolds. Something that stood out to me was that President said, "Jesus Christ is more important than your family" and then we discussed that a bit. At first I thought, "Well, my family is pretty important to me! So it's a bit hard to see that!" But the more we discussed it, the more I found that it was true. We teach people that "the gospel blesses families" and how when we put Christ first, that our family will grow even stronger together. Jesus Christ is more important because it is only through His power that we can be with our families for eternity. On a mission, if we give our all to Christ, then He will bless our families. This upcoming transfer, I want to do everything I can to forget myself and go to work and to be fully engaged in my service. The first presidency have promised, "More happiness awaits you than you have ever experienced as you labour among His children" (intro in Preach My Gospel). I have had some pretty happy moments in my life, but if I am promised more happiness than any of those days, you bet I'm willing to give everything I have to the Lord. 

Well, I love you all! Can't wait to tell you all the miracles we witness as we begin our new transfer (wherever I may be!)

Sister Wilkinson

WARNING WARNING - This email contains transfer news! ⚠️

Sorry if the title sacred anyone ;)

Guess what?? TRANSFERS HAPPENED!!!

And I'm going to be really annoying in this email just for YOU (sorry) :P

Sister Wilkinson, you are hereby called to serve in the....


England Manchester Mission!

In the...

Liverpool zone!!

In the....

Warrington area!!!

With....

Sister Taumalolo!!!!

Well, there you have it! I guessed right! Staying for one more
transfer - guess I have some time to help this area even more! I
thought I'd have a bit of fun with my transfer announcements ;) Also,
I'm a bit bored ;)

Love you all!
Sister Wilkinson

Our investigators at church :) Lorna and Joe. These are my pre-existent best friends! I have such a strong love for them!

Cute desk creatures I've collected in this transfer ;)

I found red white and blue lights so I decided to take a 4th of July photo ;)

Not sure how well you can see it, but I have a great tan line from this English sun ;) that's where my watch usually goes.

 Aldi had "American Style" food.... yeah, except we don't put our hot dogs in cans... game over, you lost England, but thanks for trying! ;)