Sister McEwan in England: Wow What a Week in England!

WOW WHAT A WEEK IN ENGLAND!!!!!!

It all started very stressful. Tuesday we had a tie breaker for challenge week. So there were 3 challenges per day the previous week such as invite 100 people to learn about the gospel, put 2 on a baptism date, have 3 investigators at church, visit 3 new part member families etc. So me and sis ohanyan being super competitive got every point that week and tied with 4 other teams in the mission!!! Our district was so proud of us and said so many prayers on our behalf to win the final challenge hahaha.

The final challenge was to give away 3 leaflets, 1 Book of Mormon, and invite 50 people to learn more about the church, and the first person to text the APs that they did it won. (Prize was a dinner with Sis and Pres Leppard). The APs were going to text at a random time of the day to tell us to start. We were blessed because we were in Birmingham for interviews so after interviews we went into city centre and just street contacted for hours until they texted!!!! Unfortunately....... we lost....... but out of 200 missionaries we got 3rd place so I'm pretty proud:) AND BIRMINGHAM ZONE WON out of all 8 zones!!!!! so today we are at the mission home and get EBM t-shirts and a zone p-day which is totally not allowed except for today:):):)

We stayed in brum that night and had a sleepova with the STLs. Got to be on exchange with sister belnap which was so fun she goes home next transfer. :( The next day they took us to Cheltenham for zone conference which was Ssoooo good!!!!! It was fun seeing that beautiful side of England as well because I've been STUCK IN BIRMINGHAM MY WHOLE MISSION. It's okay tho I love it haha :) but ya it was so much fun seeing all my friends who were serving in Wales and Cheltenham and it was a very spiritually uplifting meeting:)

Thursday we finally got to work in our area.... woot woot!!!! Sarah had to have another baptismal interview by the 1st counsellor of our mission. He was so impressed by her!!! Oh my goodness she is the cutest person in the world. She texts us every day about her Book of Mormon reading and how excited she was to get baptised.

Liam, the cutie he is CHANGING!!!!! Big time. He said that going to Sarah's baptism changed everything for him. He used to be on 20 cigarettes a day, but now he's down to 5. He said after the baptism he lit one and it didn't even taste good to him. He said that he felt something indescribable and he is going to work hard toward his baptism. He didn't even go out this weekend and get drunk for the first time in years because he wanted to make sure he was at church and the baptism. He's a legend!!!!!!

A less active (the Betts family) we've been working with for ages CAME TO CHURCH ON SUNDAY!!!!!! The whole branch was shocked. Please keep this sweet family in your prayers. The branch needs this!!!! It's insane. In January there were only about 15-20 people at church. Yesterday there were 48!!!!!!

We had a family history workshop on Friday with Sarah and Ailsa. It was so sweet how excited they were to take their names to the temple.

Friday night we were STRESSED TO THE MAX putting together the baptism. (Still a last minute person, mission doesn't change everything......) anyways our cute kiddie elders and zone leaders brought us chocolate and ice cream..... what the heck!!!! I love them!!!! Seriously gonna die when I leave this district.

OKAY NOW THE BEST BIT:) SARAH WAS BAPTISED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It is impossible to accurately describe the feeling when they walk out of the font with the biggest smile on their faces. She came out of the water and looked at us saying "I am cleansed!!!!" She is so excited to go to the temple and do the work for her ancestors and her husband. :) She said she could feel that her husband was there, and was proud of her. She always tells us "the best thing I ever did was run into you two." Oh my gosh I don't want to leave kiddie.

The closing hymn in sacrament yesterday was the spirit of God. "We'll sing, and we'll shout, with the armies of heaven hosanna, hosanna, to god and the lamb!!" Oh how great the plan of our God!!!! May we teach it, and may we live it, with "a sound of rejoicing!!!" It is something to sing, and something to shout about. We are apart of the greatest work in the history of mankind. I know that this is true. I have seen the change it brings in others, and in myself. Let the gospel change you. :) "Come as you are, but don't expect to stay as you are."

I love you all. Very very very very much.

Cheers,
Sister McEwan xxx