: "It's best to take it at a bit of a run if you're nervous"- Molly Weasley

Hello Youalrigh? I'malrigh youalrigh?
So I'm in England. IM IN ENGLAND. I cant even believe it. Where to start? Airplane?

Journal entry from November 18:
"The sun is rising and I'm getting my first view of England....Either there are no mountains or we are very high up. I hope it is the latter. The clouds below us are so thick it looks like it snowed on the air. I can't even see any land beneath them.
There is no way the sun gets through that. Well I guess I will have to be the sunshine ;) and just enjoy the rain. My Motto for the week as Mrs. Molly Weasley so perfectly put, is: Its best to take it at a bit of a run if you're nervous. Now the sun is turning the clouds pink. I feel like I've been swallowed by cotton candy... wow... they're gold now.. Clouds are parting...the land is SO GREEN."

Got off the plane, past customs, and guess what? the airline broke the slidy up handle on my largest suitcase making it nearly impossible to pull along. but My trainer made it happen. She is amazing.. more on her later.

So Basically all through the training meetings I kept falling asleep. I knew I was doing it, so I stood up at the back, but I was still falling asleep and I was worried I was going to fall over. It was a struggle and a haze. Wednesday night I finally met my trainer' Sister Griffith. SHE IS AMAZING. I love her so so much. She hails from the blessed land of Provo, Utah. She plays the violin, piano, organ (Oh I totally can play the organ now. BTW), and she has a lovely singing voice. SHE KNOWS CAROL OF JOY so we came up with a duet version and we are going to sing it in Sacrament meeting. YAY! She teaches by example, guides me around and keeps me from getting lost.


Its a truth universally acknowledged that if a missionary wishes to have her dreams fulfilled of England, she must serve her first transfer in Canterbury. Canterbury, Kent is exactly how I pictured England. There are quaint houses and apartments, with a HUGE old Cathedral, its all green, and our flat looks like it is something out of a Jane Austen or Louisa May Alcott Novel. (pictures to come). I love it. so so much. Town center, where the Cathedral is located, looks like Diagon Alley. I am not exaggerating. it is astounding. I love it.

We have a cute Senior Missionary Couple in our area. Elder and Sister Jones. They are both English and they are making Thanksgiving dinner for us missionaries and some of the YSA on thursday.(We have a lot of YSA because we are right next to Kent University).

We had one teaching appointment on friday that ended with the Man yelling at us, which was very scary, but the Relief Society President was with us so it all turned out all right. On Thursday we got on a bus to go to Whistable and I sat down next to a YSA girl (B) and started talking to her. Ended up giving her a Book of Mormon and she took our phone number. Got off the bus and Sister Griffith asked if I got her phone number. .... uh no. whoops. So I prayed all day that she would call or text us. That evening we were having dinner with two YSAs from our Ward Meg (an american) and Becky (English who can't speak with an american accent to save her life and its hilarious.) we got a text from B telling us that she wanted to meet to know more about mormonism. It was a total Best Two Years moment.. "It's HeR!". On Saturday we met a friend of B's tracting and Im hoping we can bring them both into the church.
Today we had our first lesson with B in a Starbucks. The music was loud, but we testified and taught to our best ability and I think she felt the spirit. She agreed to read the Book of Mormon and pray about it. She works for the Evangelical church so we shall see how it goes :).

Yesterday, as we were leaving the church a man walked in wanting to know more about God. One lesson later, we committed him to be baptized on December 21. We shall see how the actual lessons and preparing him goes, but I am optimistic! The field is white and ready to harvest even in England. The key to missionary work really is referrals from the Members. knocking on doors is not a very effective way to find people who are ready for the truth.


Heavenly Father loves us. I can feel his love for me. I am so happy. I want to know how all of you are!! Please email me :)

Love, Sister Coleman

England, HERE I COME

Hello world! Greetings from the MTC!
So biggest piece of news: MY VISA CAME! I was suppose to fly out to
Las Vegas today for a temporary assignment but my visa came instead
and I will be in England this week!!

Mommy and daddy: flight plans: flying delta flight twelve SLC to
London. Departing at 9:55 am tomorrow and arriving at 8:25am on
Wednesday! I have to be at the mtc travel office at 4:35 am.

Cherry Morgan- I used you as an example of ministering to someone in
class today. All of those bowls of ice cream and the time you spent
with me meant a lot :) thank you for your love and time.

A thought on members of the church from Elder Bednar: "We properly
pray for the safety and success of the full-time missionaries
throughout the world. And a common element in many of our prayers is a
request that the missionaries will be led to individuals and families
who are prepared to receive the message of the Restoration. But
ultimately it is my responsibility and your responsibility to find
people for the missionaries to teach. Missionaries are full-time
teachers; you and I are full-time finders. And you and I as lifelong
missionaries should not be praying for the full-time missionaries to
do our work!"
From "Ask in Faith"
http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2008/04/ask-in-faith?lang=eng

Missionaries need members help to hasten the work. I encourage all of
you to pray and ask Heavenly Father for someone you can introduce the
missionaries to. :)

I got to teach two real investigators this week! Ones name was
B and the other A . B is a BYU student who knows the
bible front to back to sideways to upward to downward. She knows the
scriptures and she knows Christ but there were certain doctrines of
the church and scriptures in the Book of Mormon she could not agree
with. She generally just wanted to have a religious discussion with us
than talk about the gospel. But she was great I gave her my email so
hopefully I can keep talking to her.

'A' is a member of the church who is from Latvia but she lives in
Ireland so we taught her via Skype. We started talking with her and
she told us that she served a mission 8 years ago in Russia and she
absolutely loved it. We shared with her John 11:35 "Jesus wept". And
discussed why it was such an important verse.

The context of this verse is that Lazarus has died and Jesus Wept. It
is so cool because who knows better than the savior the plan of
salvation? And yet he still wept. This teaches us how much the savior
truly does love us and that mourning is okay. Stifling feelings is not
the way to deal with emotions. It is okay to weep.

After our discussion we asked A  if there was anything she was
struggling with that we could help her with. She told us that she
actually was inactive in the church and her testimony of the Book of
Mormon was failing. I told her of how when I was 12 my brother was
diagnosed with cancer. And the way I comforted myself was by reading
books. One of the books I also began to study was the Book of Mormon.
As I read it I was filled with comfort and peace. I got to the end of
the book and I read Moroni's promise:

 3 Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if
it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember
how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the
creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these
things, and ponder it in your hearts.
4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye
would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these
things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with
real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it
unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.
5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.
Moroni 10:3-5
http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/moro/10?lang=eng

I decided I when I read this that I was going to find out for myself.
So when I finished reading, it was a late December night, I was all by
myself in my room, the house was quiet, and I decided to ask God if
the Book of Mormon is true. I began to pray, essentially saying,
"Heavenly Father I want to know if the Book of Mormon is true. Please
tell me if it is". I prayed and prayed and prayed begging Heavenly
Father to give me a witness and I started to get upset because I
wasn't feeling anything. But I calmed myself down and in that quiet
moment a feeling of peace and calm and clarity washed over me and I
had the thought: "you already know. You already know it's true." And
it caught me off guard because it was not at all the feeling I had
been expecting but it was still undeniable.

'A ' told us after the lesson that she had felt the spirit burn in
her heart. Isn't that amazing? We were teaching her via Skype. We were
sitting at a computer in Utah and she was at a computer in Ireland and
the spirit transcended the distance between us. Heavenly Father is
amazing. I got her email too. Maybe she'll come visit me in England:)

There is a price to pay to receive a witness if the Book of Mormon is
true. You can't just read it and halfheartedly ask God if it's true
and expect a confirmation. You must study and pray with a desire to
really really know if it's true. And then after you have received a
witness you must continue to apply it and abide by its precepts in
order for that testimony to continue to burn. Following the fire
analogy, if there's one thing I learned from being a camp counselor
this summer is that if you don't feed a fire, it dies. It must be
consistently fueled.

I know the Book of Mormon is true. I know it because I have studied it
for myself and have received a personal witness from God of the truth
of it. "We invite all men (and women) everywhere to read the Book of
Mormon, to ponder in their hearts the message it contains, and then to
ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ if the book is
true. Those who pursue this course and ask in faith will gain a
testimony of its truth and divinity by the power of the Holy Ghost.
(See Moroni 10:3–5.) Those who gain this divine witness from the Holy
Spirit will also come to know by the same power that Jesus Christ is
the Savior of the world, that Joseph Smith is His revelator and
prophet in these last days, and that The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints is the Lord’s kingdom once again established on the
earth, preparatory to the Second Coming of the Messiah."

Talk to you soon from England!!
Love, Sister Coleman

First photo with missionary name tag and first companions.

Damnation, cucumbers, and baldness, my first week as a missionary

 GOoooood Moooornning Neverland!!! (Good morning Sister Coleman!!!!)
(name that movie Andrew!!)

Well I'm am absolutely fantastic. Like seriously. I'm so great. (In a
status way not a prideful way). ;) thank you all for the sweet
dearelder letters and cards :) Ms. Sue you are amazing. :)

1. I really love the mtc. It's hard work but it's good. My companion
is Sister Steenson from Walnut creek California and the other sisters
in my district are Sister Muavae from Sydney Australia, and Sister
Hamilton from Cisco Texas. Sister Hamilton is leaving tomorrow for her
mission in Fortworth Texas tomorrow so then sis. S. Sis m. And I will
be a trio.

2. I have an iPad! I am in the first group of missionaries to have
iPads at the mtc. They didn't tell us really what to do with them they
just gave them to us and said "have at it!" So we basically use them
for the gospel library app and taking pictures

3. I have been assigned as a Sister Training Leader which means I'm
basically in charge of "awkward Wednesday" (...oakcresties I have
named it thus in your honor) for all the new sisters in my district.
So basically I'm their mama while we're here and I help them adjust
and not be homesick. Speaking of which, I love you all but, I'm
actually not feeling homesick. :)

4.  I know what it means to be damned. I have usually never thought
about damnation because it's a downer but I totally get it now and my
mind is blown. When the scriptures talk about being "damned" they
literally mean like a beaver dam. What does a beaver dam do? It stops
the water from moving down stream or progressing. This is the same
with us. If we are not doing the things we need to do (ex. Be
baptized, repent, keep the commandments, etc.) we are spiritually
damned or in other words we are spiritually stopped from progressing
until we act to remove the "dam" in our lives. So there you go.

5. Never pray for patience.
Ever.
Unless you want your prayers answered by being tested.

6. My visa hasn't arrived. My name has been submitted for a temporary
assignment. Please please please pray that my visa will come quickly.
Momma check my old email address for emails from the uk bureau please.

7. I received a note from the mailing room letting me know I had a
package waiting. My first thought "MY VISA IS HERE!" So happy so
joyful. Mailroom was closed all weekend. Finally get to the mailroom
this morning and my package was a box with a cucumber, carrots, orange
marmalade, knives, green apples, and Oreos. Thanks mama. It made me
laugh:). And there aren't any cucumbers here so I'm grateful for the
one you sent. Did I mention that I'm super stressed that my visa isn't
here yet? The struggle is real.

8. Sister Steensen and I got to do an endowment session today and it
was wonderful. 

9. Sister Muavae is "owesome" I love her "heaps". She has a totally
legit Australian accent. She also speaks Samoan ( Soa means
companion). I was brushing my hair last night after we had turned off
the light and sister m started freaking out "sister Coleman! Sister
Coleman! Are you brushing your hair in the dark?!" Me, "yes..." Sis m,
"you should stop its superstition that if you brush your hair in the
dark that your hair will all fall out!" So I stopped brushing, but if
you get a picture of me bald don't be surprised ;).

10. Tender mercies of the Provo mtc; so I was called to the England
mtc right? I was slightly sad about not going there but being at Provo
is a tender mercy. I have run into SOOO many high school, elementary
school, middle school, and BYU friends. Would not have happened in
England. Boom. Tender mercy.

11. One of the counsellors in my branch presidency (who I work with
all the time) is the dean of BYU college of life sciences. Totally had
a bear denning conversation with him. It was owesome. ;)

12. I'm teaching investigators (my teachers role playing but it's
totally legitimate) and it's so cool and amazing and hard but
important and I'm learning so much.

13. Sister oscarson taught relief society yesterday (YW General
president. So awesome.) pilgrim song was the opening number to music
and the spoken word and I totally cried.

I love you all! Please pray for me to have courage to accept the
Lord's will and that my visa will come this week.

Love,
Sister Coleman