Food and Stars

Hiya! Yalrigh?

Today I got a wonderful surprise! I got a letter from Aunt Lorene and Uncle Lamont with my family history! ! ! Thank you so so so much! I am so stoked to put all the info into my family booklet! :)

 

Remember the person we found from singing to her? K? Well we saw her again this week. I just love her so much. Their family is so similar to ours. The parents bedroom is the living room. We just go up there and sit on the end of her bed and chat.. I love seeing her. Her niece Chloe (ironic innit?) visited with us too. She is 16 years old and for reals she and Emily could be twins. But, I can't decide if they would be best friends or if they would kill each other. :) anyways they are so great. 

 

We had Sunday dinner last night with a family from India and Sri Lanka. IT WAS SO GOOD. I love my life. I told Sister Mahaffey the other day that my favourite word was food ... besides the word 'true'. I seem to use them most often. :) I also spent Chinese new year with a recent convert from China. I wish I remembered chinese! ugh. regrets. 

 

I just love Sister Mahaffey so much. On Saturday, we were having a hard day. We had been mocked and rejected earlier in the evening by a man who tried to tell us there is no God, and it was cold and we kept knocking on doors without any people willing to listen. We were on our way to see a less active member.  And there werent any clouds in the sky. We could see all of the stars, and the moon was shining so brightly. We decided to lay down on the pavement (this was around 8 o'clock pm) and look at the sky. It was stunning. I couldn't help but sing , "I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder, Thy power throu'out the universe displayed. then sings my soul my Saviour, God to thee. How Great Thou art, How Great Thou Art! Then sings my Soul! My Saviour God to thee, How Great Thou Art! How Great, Thou, Art." 

 

I know that there is a God. I know that He Lives. He really does. and He loves us. He sent His Son to die for us, so that we could live again. In Him I find hope. In Him I find Joy. I have been called by a prophet of God to preach His gospel. And I will not forsake Him even when the powers of hell strive to shake me and my testimony. He lives. He is not just a story, He is not just a hope. He is a real Being who cares about you and me.  

"33 Fear not to do good, my sons [and daughters] , for whatsoever ye sow, that shall ye also reap; therefore, if ye sow good ye shall also reap good for your reward.
34 Therefore, fear not, little flock; do good; let earth and hell combine against you, for if ye are built upon my rock, they cannot prevail.
35 Behold, I do not condemn you; go your ways and sin no more; perform with soberness the work which I have commanded you.
36 Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not.
37 Behold the wounds which pierced my side, and also the prints of the nails in my hands and feet; be faithful, keep my commandments, and ye shall inherit the kingdom of heaven. Amen."
-D&C 6:36
This is the truth. Truth will always Prevail.
Love, Sister Coleman

Sister Andersen with G and J:

Sis. Mahaffey and the U pipe

Hiya! 

So my new companion is Sister Mahaffey and I love her. She is from St. Louis Missouri and is just hilarious. We laugh all the time. everywhere. its so great. 

Miracle: So we had one appointment get hosed and we decided to go visit some less actives in the area. We knocked on the door and she didnt live there anymore. As we were walking away (I started to eat an apple) I had the thought: we should knock on the neighbours doors.

 Me: I dont want to do that. I just want to eat my apple. 

Thought: we really need to go knock on their neighbours

Me: I REALLy dont want to. 

Thought: we should knock on their neighbours

Me to Sister Mahaffey: 'We should knock on their neighbours'.

So we did. The first house an older lady who yelled at us to go away. The next few houses weren't in or weren't interested. Then we came to the next house and I had the idea that we should sing to them. Sister Mahaffey was like 'what?!' But she said we could do it. A teenage girl answered the door and I said, 'Hi my friend and I are in the neighbourhood just singing to people, can we sing for you?' she said sure. We proceeded to sing Nearer my God to thee. Which was a struggle since I have an obnoxious cough but Sister Mahaffey did a fantastic job. As we finished singing, the girl's mom came down the stairs and told us how much she loved the song. She invited us in. We were able to talk to her and her family for a long time about the Book of Mormon and we had a prayer.  She invited us to come back on Tuesday to sing (she wants to record it) and share more of the gospel with her. It was a miracle. It was amazing. This is Heavenly Father's work. 

Because we are missionaries, we went tracting on Valentines Day. That wasn't our plan. We planned to go see an Elderly member and share valentines with her. But as we were walking, we kept getting prompted to knock on certain doors. The number on the houses would just stick out in my brain, and wouldn't

(Sister Mahaffey)

 go away until we had knocked on that particular door. I learned a lot. We even have a few new potential investigators! :)

There is a zoo. in Colchester. and a castle. I can't wait to go. 

I just struggle so much with so many things and its hilarious. Earlier in the week I was making pasta and chicken for dinner. But we didnt have a pasta strainer so I tried to use the lid, but I ended up dropping half of the pasta in the sink........... Instead of just scooping the pasta out like a normal human being and throwing it in the rubbish bin, I decided to try and shove it down the drain. ........... I ended up clogging the sink with pasta.... we had to untwist the U pipe and let all the pasta fall out.... and then we had to stick a stick in to fish out the rest..... :) I'm so special. 

AND THEN. 

A couple days later Sister Mahaffey was an angel and made me some Hot Chocolate. While she was in the W.C. I decided to return the favor and make her some. I thought it was funny that she had poured out the hot chocolate powder in a mug and then not cooked it, so I filled up the mug with water and put it in the microwave...........................................It was cinnamon and sugar. not. hot chocolate. the struggle is real. 

The members in Colchester are fantastic! I already have had 2 meal appointments! its only been a week! and there are 2 other missionary companionships in our ward. so awesome. I feel so spoiled :). 

We are teaching a little girl about the gospel. She is 8 years old. Her mom sits in on the lessons, but 'B' is the one who really wants to learn more. We got her a Book of Mormon stories book and she already has read about Joseph Smith and Lehi leaving Jerusalem. She is amazing. 

We helped a family in our ward move house the other day! it was cold! and I got to wear trousers! so that was sweet. It was fun to work and serve:)>

Is Valentines celebrated here? Yes.   Is it a big deal? yes. signs all over the place. 

There are so many single women with babies. soooo many. Its so similar to the Call the Midwife show. They aren't married and they usually have 2-3 children. But they have really cute baby prams. 

 In other News:

"G" Got BAPTISED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I haven't heard or seen if "J" did also, but I think she did. 

The church is true ladies and Gentlemen. the church is true. 

love, Sister Coleman

Hot Cross Buns, Change and Baby Prams

Hiya! 

:)

 

So this week Sister Andersen and I found Hot Cross Buns. The real deal. We saw them and then both of us began to sing the 'hot cross buns' song that you plunk out on the piano when you begin to learn. haha. We sat down on a bench in Faversham and ate hot cross buns. They werent really hot. and they made Sister Andersen cross because they had Sultana's in them (raiseny thingys). So there you go. Now you know :).

 

J is getting baptised this Sunday! She believes the Book of Mormon is the truth. Tonight she is praying to know that Thomas S. Monson is the living prophet, and she is ready to get baptised! She hangs out with all of the YSA and she bakes them cakes.  She lives the Word of Wisdom, and knows that Jesus Christ is her Saviour. It is truly amazing to see how Heavenly Father prepared her. If we hadn't had the courage to stop and talk to her that day outside of Asda, uh I don't want to even think about it. :) Also she totally understands the scriptures. She read Alma 32 the other day and completely accurately explained to us what it meant and how it applied to our lives. It. was. awesome. Unfortunately, I am not going to see her get baptised because I am getting transferred tomorrow toooo...... >insert drumroll<   Colchester! Sister Andersen and I both cried. But, we have been prayig so hard that we would reamin together for one more transfer, that I know this move really is necessary to Heavenly Father's plan for me, for her, for our areas, and our new companions. I have had some very selfish thoughts of 'why can't I stay here?' but I told the Lord before I came that I would 'go where you want me to go' not 'i'll go where I want to go and stay where I want to stay which is canterbury.' I know that there are people's hearts who are prepared for me to teach in Colchester, and one of them is probably my own. Another adventure is on its way :).

 

When I told some of the ward members that I was leaving, one of them said, 'no! not our angel!' which was very touching.

He told me, 'Sister Coleman, just sing. and they will love you.' On Sunday one of the YSA (Montana is her name) and I sang 'Gloria' from the Lamb of God together. It makes me happy. Music really does have a power all its own. 

We worked really hard this week. And because of that I noticed that I was able to be prompted and given a greater gift of discernment towards the people we taught. I 

 

Sister Andersen and I  tried to make peanut butter cookies this week to deliver to all of the members. I don't know if it is the difference in altitude or something, but they flopped, and we ended up not giving any of them away haha. Also we used the 'muggings' this week. So so good! 

 

Sister Andersen loves the movie Swan princess! Just like me. and this week whenever we were feeling a little down, we would quote from the movie and make each other laugh. I love Sister Andersen so much. It is so hard to say goodbye. At least I know that her house in Utah is only 15 minutes away from mine. When we get home and get married and have babies we are going to buy cute British baby prams and walk around our country estates together :). #favouritecompanion #wearegoingtobefriendsforlife. 

 

We have had so many cool teaching moments this week. We have an investigator, who we just didn't know what else to say to help with a concern. We would pray in our planning and not get any clear answer for what we would teach, so we did our best to prepare, and then we just went in and silently prayed the whole time. The result was that the spirit really guided us. He really gave us words to say and new ideas that would cometo us at the same time. It was amazing. We are not the teachers, He is. He just lets us participate so that we can learn and grow too. 

 

Change is hard. But I have yet to have a change in my life that has not resulted in me becoming a better person. I know that God is directing the path of my life. And because of that knowledge, I have peace in my heart. I have greater courage to say, 'Come what may and love it.' As Moroni said: "know ye not that ye are in the hands of God?" -Moroni 5:23. I am in His hands. All is well. 

 

Love, Sister Coleman.

Flaming popcorn, the smell of freedom and the church is true.

Hiya yalrigh?

 

:)

 

This week we cleaned out the relief society cupboard  for Sister Collis -now it looks so beautiful! 

 

We have a new investigator named J! She is from England and is a University student at Christ Church University.  She is so funny! She gave us a lift in her car the other day and there was Mcdonalds over the seat. She apologised for it but I said, 

'no worries it just smells like America.'

 Elder Convey and Sister Andersen

Elder Mongelli and Faggs

Then J said, 'YA! It smells like FREEDOM!' 

hahaha. It made my day. She is so fantastic. When we taught her about the fall of Adam and Eve and how Heavenly Father knew this was going to happen she said, 'That makes so much sense! I like that way more than what I was taught before!'. 

 

We had a miracle this week. We went to go see a potential investigator named Z and she was home! She invited us in to her home to teach her. As we sat down, her mother, her auntie, AND her Nan also came in to hear our message. The spirit was so strong as we testified, and they all agreed to read the book of Mormon and pray to know if it is true. 

 

This week Sister Andersen and I tried to make peanut butter cookies to take to the members in our area, they are decent haha. The fact that we are in England and not Utah has had a large impact on our success haha. 

 

We met with a member named N. She is from Bulgaria and has a physical handicap in her hands and legs. She is a Vegan and is writing a paper on persuading people to be vegan. She invited us over to help her make a vegan Bulgarian dish with her friend S. It was soya milk with sugar and some Bulgarian sauce. It tasted like porridge without the oats. - So yummy! 

 

Our microwave caught on fire! ahh! haha. We finally had found some popcorn, but when we tried to cook it our microwave caught fire! I was trying to put it out and Sister Andersen just watched for a second. it was rather funny. So the Senior Missionary couple, the Jones, bought us a new one! Its so nice! I also figured out that if you can cook popcorn over the stove :)

I also experimented with guacamole! (it wasnt as good as daddy's)

 

I tried to mail Andrew a birthday card 2 weeks ago but it just came back to me (I gave the wrong stamp) so  I will mail that out shortly once again, and no Andrew I did not forget your birthday! 

 

I loved my letter from Nater with his pictures and his story of the mouse and the motorcycle! It made me so so happy. Thank you for your letters! I am getting a transfer call next week so please send all mail to the mission home address in case I move and never get the letter:

 

64-68 Princes Gate

Exhibition Road

London 

SW7-2PA

England

 

thanks :)

 

I have remembered this week that we really are children of God. I am a daughter of God, created in similitude of His Only Begotten Son. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ and I fear no man. I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me. In Ether chapter 12 we learn that it is AFTER the trial of our faith that we see miracles. And then BY our faith God exercises His power in our behalf. 

 

 

I love you! 

love, Sister Coleman

pictures are of Elder Convey and Sister Andersen, Elder Mongelli and Faggs. 

Snow, Bad pick up lines and a cute french midwife.

Hiya!! Yalrigh?

This week is snowed!! ! It was only for about 10 minutes and it didn't stick, but it was BEAUTIFUL! ahh I loved it! 

 

Yesterday, a girl the elders have been teaching got baptised, and that morning they asked us to sing at the baptism! So we had to run over to the church and pull together a musical number. It all worked out through prayer and practising a million times. It wasn't perfect but the spirit was still there. whew! I sang ,"Make me Whole" from the 'Lamb of God' by Rob Gardner. Which I just love. It goes with my theme this transfer of the woman with the issue of blood. When we have faith, and we ACT on our faith, He will make us whole. 

 

We met this cute little old French Lady named Colette on the street. She is a retired MIDWIFE! She had so many cool stories of being a nurse/midwife in the 40s and 50s (I was totally imaging the show Call the Midwife the whole time). She is so cute and has such a cute french accent! She and her sister are 19 months apart! Her sister is in January and she is in June. She was absolutely delighted when I told her that Emily and I are also 19 months apart in February and July! She told me that we are bonded now because of this haha. 

 

Funny Story:

We  were walking down the street the other day when this university student approached us and siad, 'excuse me can you help me?' 

us: 'uhhhhhh what do you need help with?'

crazy guy: 'Well I tried christiansingles.com and muslimsingles.com and I just can't get a girlfriend, so will you two be my girlfriend?'

(at this point we are trying not to bust up laughing)

us: uhh no.

Then this single guy turns to sister Andersen and says:" you look like a nerd, I'm a nerd too, do you like romantic comedies?"

(we are trying to keep it together)

us: uhhhhhhh no. (then we proceed to explain that we are missionaries, but he still tries to get our number and then we said goodbye and walked away.)

sooooooooooo funny. 

 

Miracle:

This week we taught our investigator G about the Holy Ghost, how he can guide us and testify to us. While we taught, the Holy Ghost burned in our hearts. I testified to G that Heavenly Father really loves him. G wanted to know how I knew, and I was able to explain about promptings from the spirit. He then asked other times I had recieved promptings regarding him, and he was able to tell us that the time I had called him, when we had taught a specific lesson, had been exactly what he needed. He then shared with us an experience he had on Tuesday. 

On Tuesday, we taught G about eternal marriage and talked about some of the temptations he is having. We asked him if he would like a priesthood blessing. He was really nervous about it, but we explained what would happen and he agreed. Elder Mongelli came in and gave him a beautiful blessing of comfort and guidance. Us missionaries left, and then G decided to pray, he really spoke to Heavenly Father about what he was worried about, and stuggling with. Just as he finished his prayer, his mom called him (not usual) and spoke to him the words he needed to hear. 

I know that God lives. I know that the power of God, the authority of his priesthood, has been restoted to the earth. It is real. I know that God hears and answers our prayers. If we will have patience and wait for his timing, as we continually work to do what he has asked us to do (keep his commandments, pray, read our scriptures, come to church), HE. WILL. ANSWER. It is all a matter of our hearts being prepared to hear, and trusting God to answer at the time He knows it will help us most. 

 

This week I went on an exchange to the London North area. It was so posh. And so diverse! I only talked to one English person! 

 

Answers to Mum's Questions:

 How many wards or branches are in your zone?  In my area there is one ward which covers 3 cities. The stake boundries covers about 7 wards all about the same size. 

 Do you attend the same ward every Sunday? Yep! Canterbury ward!! woot woot! 

 What else do you do on Sundays?  Sunday is a working day, so after church we have appointments or tract, or whatever else we plan

Are you wiping your boots down with that boot thingy I sent?  YES! its great :)

Sister Andersen and I have so much fun together. I love working with her. She is so obedient and really inspires me to be more obedient. 

I love you all! I love your letters! The letter from Bethany about robotic births made me laugh so hard!!( Bethany is on a rotation in nursing school for labor and delivery )    I love you! 

 

Love, Sister Coleman

Family History I am doing it.

Hiya!! 

This week I got rained on :). But Heavenly Father blesses us when it rains:) 

Last week I pulled up the tiles of someones kitchen. It was a lot of work, but it was funny at the same time. Just us sisters pulling up tile. haha :)

I have learned how to make Cottage Pie (cottage pie is shepherds pie in the U.S. with beef. Shepherds pie has lamb). But it was REALLY good. It was an adventure. :)

 

last p-day we went to Herne bay to see the ocean. It was dandy! haha. The elders think my camera is really cool (hence the picture of them staring in awe) ;)

 

Im already having ideas and plans for Oakcrest when I get home haha. 

 

Sister Andersen and I had so many cool experiences this week.  

1. We taught the first lesson to a new investigator named B. The spirit was SO strong as we testified. I know that Joseph Smith really was a prophet of God. 

2. The Zone Leaders challenged us to a 'duel' the other night to see who could find a new investigator first. We won :). We found a lovely girl named J who we are meeting again this coming week. We called them up and they said, 'well double or nothing!' and we said okie dokie! So then we found another investigator named P. HAHA! Victory! :) 

3. As we were planning for our week we really needed inspiration for which lessons we should teach a certain investigator. We prayed individually and together, and then just pondered. As we continued to plan, Sister Andersen and I would think of the same thing at the same time of what we should teach. Heavenly Father poured the Holy Ghost upon us and the result was 3 lessons we could teach this investigator that will help him overcome a trial. Heavenly Father cares about each of us, and will be able to help us when we seek him out. He answers our prayers. 

 

Oh, one thing I am working on is my 'My Family' Booklet. I need stories of Grand-Daddy and Grandma Coleman and their parents, Grandma and Grandpa Tippets, and their parents. If you have any pictures of them I would LOVE them! (cough cough Noel Maxfield) :). I also need a picture of Mommy and Daddy to put in the book. Also I need a list of Daddy's siblings and their birthdays :). 

Family History is a great finding tool. I can ask people, "do you know where your ancestors are from? do you want to find out? we have free workshops at our family history center..' and I can show them my book. Its in progress :) I also discovered that most of my ancestors come from Germany, with only a few lines that are from England, (I thought it was the other way around). Also don't I have american Indian ancestors? What are their names? The farthest back I could go on the actual 'coleman' name was a Captain John Coleman who was from the American Colonies. Does anyone know where he was from?  I love familysearch.com :)

 

I taught Primary yesterday. It was all about how Heavenly Father and Jesus love us. and they do! What a blessing to know that the creator of the whole universe cares about each of us. :)

 

My theme for the transfer is the story of the woman with the issue of blood, who had the faith to be healed by just touching Jesus's clothing. When she touched Him, He knew someone had touched him. He went to her and said to her, 'Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole.' -Matthew 9:22. I know that He can heal us. I know that He knows when we are seeking him. He is real. and He loves us. The best way we can reach him is through prayer, scripture study and church attendance!

The Church is True! The Book of Mormon is True! Joseph Smith was a Prophet! Jesus Christ Lives! 

I love you all! 

love sister Coleman

 

p.s. how is the puppy? :)

It's NOT the Water

Hiya! Yalrigh?

So this week I got a lovely surprise! A letter from my fellow Oakcresties!! It made me so so so happy!! My heart is with you, just so you know! I wear my blue 'Sunshine' shirt and oakcrest sweats ALLL the time. Thank you so so much for the letters :) You are the best. 

This week I learned more about 'finding'. I learned that I never have to 'find' anyone. They are already there. I walk past them allll the time, I just need to open my mouth. and because I have been 'set apart' to do just that, if I will just open my mouth Heavenly Father will help me with the rest. But the trick is getting people just to stop and talk, cause if they will just talk with us and have a gospel conversation, and their heart is prepared, they will feel the spirit.

One woman we stopped, talked with her for a while and then said, we have a message about happiness in this life through the gospel of Jesus Christ, is there a time we could share it with you? 

And she said, "Is that your chapel up the road?"

 Us: yes

Her: sure lets go right now! 

Us :um okay! ya! (totally surprised us!) so we discussed with her the restoration of the gospel! right then! It was amazing. Too many miricales this week to even count. 

Funny Story:

We knocked on a womans door, she wasnt interested, so we knocked on the next door and it was the same house! ! ! haha she was like, "uh hi?" and I said oh sorry!" turned around started to walk away and then I said, "love you bye!" .................................... SO embarrassing. did not mean to say that. It was Studio C ( local tv show in Utah )reincarnated. so so bad. and yet SOOO funny. :)

The reason I'm emailing today instead of Monday is because yesterday my Zone had Interviews with President Jordan. They were so great. I learned SO much and we watched the new movie  Meet the Mormons (I barely managed not to cry during the missionary mom). One of the crucial concepts I came to understand yesterday was Baptism. 

In other religions, many believe that in order to recieve salvation, the priest must wave his hands over you and you are made clean. Some say you merely need to profess 'Jesus' and you are saved. But in both of those theologies neither of those ordinances of 'saving' require the choices of the individual being 'saved'. They just have saving thrust upon them regardless of what they may do in their lives. Sometimes as missionaries we teach incorrect doctrine that is similar to these theologies. That through the ordinance of baptism, the being buried in the water and coming back up, we are made clean from sin. That is incorrect. To quote Elder Nelson, " The act of baptism itself does not wash sin away. Thanks to the Atonement, the effects of sin depart when one faithfully keeps the baptismal covenant to follow the Lord Jesus Christ." Its not the water. It is the covenant (promise we make with God) and the ordinance together that allow the atonement of Jesus Christ to make us clean. So what is the Baptismal covenant? When we are baptised we promise to take upon us the name of Jesus Christ (strive to become like he is and do what he would do), always remember Him, and  keep His commandments. When we do these things in harmony with the ordinance (the water part or later partaking of the sacrament), we will be blessed with a remission of our sins, the Holy Ghost will always be with us, and as we faithfully keep our covenants, be able to live with God again.

I love how the phrase is 'remission' of sins. In my life I associate 'remission' with cancer.  'remission' for cancer, means you previously had cancer, overcame it and are now cancer free. Sin is the same. we make mistakes, make poor choices and regret those actions, we then can overcome those through the power of the atonement, and can be sin free. We can put our sins in remission. It then is up to us if they stay in remission based on our actions and thoughts. 

 Keeping our covenants means that we choose to make changes (repenting) in our behaviours that will make us more like Jesus Christ. When we make these changes, the Saviour then can apply the power of the Atonement to our lives and change our natures. As we work on these things, one behaviour and nature at a time, we will eventually Become men and women that are worthy to live in Gods presence and recieve exaltation. 

I know that the church is true! I know that God lives! I know that Jesus Christ lives and loves us and through Him we really can do all things! The Atonement is real! I love you all! When in doubt go back to what you DO know! 

Love, Sister Coleman

P.S.  Here is some Elder Holland brilliancy:

"Anyone who does any kind of missionary work will have occasion to ask, Why is this so hard? Why doesn’t it go better? Why can’t our success be more rapid? Why aren’t there more people joining the Church? It is the truth. We believe in angels. We trust in miracles. Why don’t people just flock to the font? Why isn’t the only risk in missionary work that of pneumonia from being soaking wet all day and all night in the baptismal font?

You will have occasion to ask those questions. I have thought about this a great deal. I offer this as my personal feeling. I am convinced that missionary work is not easy because salvation is not a cheap experience. Salvation neverwas easy. We are The Church of Jesus Christ, this is the truth, and He is our Great Eternal Head. How could we believe it would be easy for us when it was never, ever easy for Him? It seems to me that missionaries and mission leaders have to spend at least a few moments in Gethsemane. Missionaries and mission leaders have to take at least a step or two toward the summit of Calvary.

Now, please don’t misunderstand. I’m not talking about anything anywhere near what Christ experienced. That would be presumptuous and sacrilegious. But I believe that missionaries and investigators, to come to the truth, to come to salvation, to know something of this price that has been paid, will have to pay a token of that same price.

For that reason I don’t believe missionary work has ever been easy, nor that conversion is, nor that retention is, nor that continued faithfulness is. I believe it is supposed to require some effort, something from the depths of our soul.

If He could come forward in the night, kneel down, fall on His face, bleed from every pore, and cry, “Abba, Father (Papa), if this cup can pass, let it pass,” ¹⁶ then little wonder that salvation is not a whimsical or easy thing for us. If you wonder if there isn’t an easier way, you should remember you are not the first one to ask that. Someone a lot greater and a lot grander asked a long time ago if there wasn’t an easier way.

The Atonement will carry the missionaries perhaps even more importantly than it will carry the investigators. When you struggle, when you are rejected, when you are spit upon and cast out and made a hiss and a byword, you are standing with the best life this world has ever known, the only pure and perfect life ever lived. You have reason to stand tall and be grateful that the Living Son of the Living God knows all about your sorrows and afflictions. The only way to salvation is through Gethsemane and on to Calvary. The only way to eternity is through Him—the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

I testify that the living God is our Eternal Father and that Jesus Christ is His living and Only Begotten Son in the flesh. I testify that this Jesus, who was slain and hanged on a tree, ¹⁷ was the chief Apostle then and is the chief Apostle now, the Great High Priest, the chief cornerstone of His Church in this last and greatest of all dispensations. I testify that He lives, that the whole triumph of the gospel is that He lives, and because He does, so will we" -

https://www.lds.org/ensign/2001/03/missionary-work-and-the-atonement?lang=eng

Herne Bay

Sister Coleman and Sister Andersen at the Library

Sister Coleman and Sister Andersen

Whomping Willow look a likes

Ceiling of Cathedral

Letters from fellow Oakcrest counselors