'Til We Meet Again

Tomorrow I say my final goodbyes to Birmingham. I want to thank every one of my dear friends who have supported me on this journey. (British, American, and my companions around the world). You are my earth angels. 

It’s hard to believe it’s all over. 

18 months ago I stepped into completely unknown territory. I traveled thousands of miles away from everything I knew and everyone I loved. In these 18 months I have learned more about myself than in 20 years of life. I have loved people by initial contact, and I have strengthened weaknesses I never thought could be. All these things may seem beautiful in words, and they are. They are so precious to me. But what’s more precious is the work that got me to them. The pouring rain. The aching feet. Wanting nothing more than someone to enjoy the fruit the gospel has to offer, and then rejection. Missions are not easy. They are not glamorous. They are not what a lot of weekly emails make them to be. But oh how they are worth it. When it’s cold and it rains, i feel the happiest. When all I want to do is sleep, I feel the most accomplished. The bad makes the good so much better. I’m thankful for every hard day, and every good one that made them worth it. :) 

The United Kingdom will always be sacred ground to me. It has transformed me into someone I never dreamed I’d have the potential to be. 

“I do not boast in my own strength, nor in my own wisdom; but behold, my joy is full, yea, my heart is brim with joy, and I will rejoice in my God.

Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever.”

There is no way I could have done this without God. I owe every day of my mission to him. It is his. I have been reminded of his omnipotence daily, he truly does know his people. My testimony of this is absolutely unshakable. 

This is his work. This is his glory. How grateful I am to have played such a small part within it. 

I am forever changed. 

Cheers,

Sister Madeline Renee McEwan xxxx

Pictures:

1) go home to they friends 

2) our funeral service held at district meeting 

3) killing us! 

4) tearful goodbyes to a dear friend. 

5) my last fish n chips !!!! 

6) Cardiff by night 

7) Dinner with some recent converts from China! Lots of squid was eaten... 😳

8) Rosemary Robinson. The sweetest lady I’ve ever met. Saying goodbye was so hard :( 

9 and 10) the sweet rushworths have changed my life. They are forever family. 

11) the welsh goodbye song. The sweetest way to end my mission. 

Let not your ❤️ be troubled

This week I will hit my 18 month mark..... how crazy. 

It was an eventful week. We had multiple sleepovers with sisters because their flat heating and water was broken. So despite the lack of sleep things are still thrilling as ever in Cardiff 

Highlights 

- Tuesday sis fahl and I had a long day of visits. We decided together that Tuesday is the hardest day of the week because it’s the day after Monday haha. But we conquered and rewarded ourselves with a celebratory bucket of fried chicken at kfc. We still had about an hour left of the proselyting day and were exhausted from no sleep but instead of going back to sleep we told ourselves we would stop 10 people in Cardiff city centre then make our way home. We stopped a guy called Jay who had been released from jail 3 weeks prior from accidentally killing someone. Bless him... but he was so lost. Not lost in Cardiff haha but lost in his life. He said that Jesus Christ was what got him through 8 years in jail, that he owes everything to him but he hungers to know more and to find a church to join. GOD IS SO MINDFUL OF HIS CHILDREN. I think I say that in every email but it’s the biggest testimony I’ve gained out here. He kept saying over and over ‘it’s just crazy that I was just walking down Cardiff city centre looking for something, and you stopped me’ we are really excited to be working with him. 

- we taught our Chinese investigator Kang! Honestly some of my favourite lessons on my mission have been with him. This day we got to teach him about the atonement and what is available for him! What debt has already been paid for that is just waiting for him to find happiness in! He had never learned about it before. It was such a sweet and humbling experience for me. We are so blessed to have grown up with this knowledge. Something we can not take advantage of and god requires us to share. ‘Where much is given, much is required’ 

- dinner list went around in the ward and since I’m going home we have about 10 dinner appointments this week BLESS ME i wanted to lose some weight before I went home! Lol! That’s not happening. Man 3 transfer areas get to me! It’s going to be so hard leaving this ward! It feels like home! :(( worst part about missions is leaving those you have grown to love so much behind! Ahhhh I’m gonna cry. 

- sacrament meeting was one of the best I’ve been in! The area president, Paul v. Johnson, came to Cardiff to speak, and so did Joy Jones the general primary president!!!! It was their first time in Wales. I enjoyed every second listening to president jones. Her testimony made the whole room go quiet! Especially that of the prophet and the apostles whom she works so closely with. She told us over and over how firm her testimony is of them, their callings, and how they are chosen by God. 

She read in John 14: 27. This was something that really touched my heart and I know it can yours. Especially my sweet little sister I love so much in her return from serving so faithfully in Uruguay. 

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

She explained that the last sentence, let not your heart be troubled, is a commandment. The lord commands us to not be afraid. He so freely give us his piece and if we take his, and not the worlds, then our troubled hearts will not be so. 

He does not want us to be sad. He overcame it. So we can too :) 

The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose

I will not, I cannot, desert to his foes;

That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,

I’ll never, no never, I’ll never, no never,

I’ll never, no never, no never forsake!

And just like that, I have 1 week left. 

1 week of sister McEwan 

1 week of Great Britain. 

Cheers my dears,

Sister McEwan xxxx

Pictures sorry not many mum

1) Pontypridd 

2) church in ponty 

3) blurry Croeso a Caerdydd 

4) We go to visit rosemary every week. Every time she sees me in the window she makes the HAPPIEST face ever it’s soooo cute. I am going to bawl when I have to say goodbye to her. 

5) I know I put a pic of them last week but. This is my family in Cardiff! Man I love the bakers. They have let us over the past few Sundays after church and it just feels like home. We laugh until we cry and eat the best food it’s amazing. :) 

6) little daisy the rushworths baby. Love love love this family too man I’m going to miss Cardiff. 

More Fully Disciples

My peopllleeee! 

The weeks are going by faster and faster I can’t believe it. We had a good week in Cardiff. :) I love wales....... Hate the rain ;) ☔️ ☔️☔️☔️☔️

Some highlights 

- Taught Paul at a dinner appointment with some members. It was so great just being able to sit around the members table and all talk about our conversion stories. It was really good for Paul to hear all of our stories. He’s had so many experience that just make him scream PREPARED but the Mormon lifestyle scares him. He’s not sure if he’s ready to commit to it. I think it’s the word of wisdom that has got him the most.. at the end of the dinner we asked if we could share a ‘spiritual thought’ we all moved to the living room... Paul got so nervous thought we were gonna be doing some weird ritual or something Hahahaha bless our Mormon language we had to clarify what a spiritual thought was. 

- found a new investigator called Kang Chi!! We had a lesson with him at the library on Saturday morning. I can honestly say it was the best lesson sister fahl and I ever taught! (They did say you finally get good at being a missionary right at the end) Teaching Chinese people about God is really so special. Kang didn’t know anything about God, or Jesus Christ, he has literally had 0 religious exposure his entire life. It was a foreign concept to him. We read Alma 32 with him and he had the BEST QUESTIONS. He was concerned that his seed had to be a tree before he could know if God was there! A big thing in our mission is using the Book of Mormon to answer questions. #LETTHEBOOKSPEAK So we flipped to it! In alma 32 27 it says “But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words.” This verse answered his question and he committed to read the Book of Mormon and meet again :):)

- Saturday night was the Wales vs Scotland Rugby Game so Cardiff city centre was full of Drunk men in kilts. It was soooo weird... literally it was exactly what I expected the U.K. to be haha it was madness.. People staggering everywhere singing and yelling crazy things and cussing every other word. we quickly ran through because it was super scaryyyyy. While we were going through there was this guy attacking this girl and a whole fight broke out and ya it just was really sad and scary and my testimony of the word of wisdom sky rocketed. I love that commandment. God knows what he’s doin. 

- I love Cardiff ward. There are a couple families here I just am going to miss soooo much 😭😭😭😭 they feel like my own. I have served exactly where I was meant to be. Not because of the effect I’ve had on people, but because of their effect on ME. The United Kingdom has changed me into a Madeline I never thought I could be. 

I’ve been thinking a lot about people and how sometimes we change to our environment and community and culture and how that is something I feel I have gained a greater power to control while being a missionary, but I really hope I don’t go back to someone who just conforms. I read an incredible talk by Jeffrey r holland that just hit home for me while I’ve been preparing to return home. He says: “may we declare ourselves to be more fully disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, not in word only and not only in the flush of comfortable times but in deed and in courage and in faith, including when the path is lonely and when our cross is difficult to bear.” 

I LOVE WHEN HE SAYS ‘not only in the flush of comfortable times’ do you ever recognise yourself following him only when it’s convenient for you? When you feel secure, but not when insecure? This is not how it should be! The end bit of his talk is so powerful.....

“may we stand by Jesus Christ “at all times and in all things, and in all places that [we] may be in, even until death,” for surely that is how He stood by us when it was unto death and when He had to stand entirely and utterly alone.”

Chills. 

My invitation to me, and to you, is the same as his. Jesus Christ stood for us UNTIL DEATH. He does not expect that of us. But at home, with our friends, when in a conversation where he clearly is not present, when we are tired, or angry, he asks that we stand by him. That we stand FOR him. We are disciples of his church, it is essential we represent it as such. Something I can definitely work on. :) 

2 weeks people. 

Love you love you love you. 

Cheers,

Sister McEwan xxxxxx

Pictures:

1) every week we visit our friend Laura in the hospital. She is such a dedicated member and it breaks her that she hasn’t been able to be to church for several years. Her testimony doesn’t fade because of her weaknesses. Her weaknesses became STRONG! Ether 12 27

2) doing some cleaning and ironing service:):) 

3) sister fahl and I treating ourselves to some ICE CREAM 

4) I was really excited heheheheh 

5) my new ride for when I get home. (Jk dad pls let me still have the car) 

6) Wales VS Scotland!!!!!

7) goooooo Wales? Gooooo Scotland? (Serving in wales but McEwan is Scottish idk which side to choose probably wales though because they won) 

8) had to take a picture of this Sunday because I didn’t get 1 word out of sacrament meeting Hahahaha babies crying everywhere! This is one of the families I have become so close with. The rushworths will definitely be life long friends to me. I just love them to bits. 

9) THE BAKERS! the other family I’ve become so close to. They’re our parents here in Cardiff. They always make sure we take good care of ourselves and are healthy and warm:) love them. 

Walked around a little welsh village.