November 24.... I may be a true blue, darn tootin, Star Spangled, burger eatin, tater pickin American... But, way down deep inside... I am an English Daisy.

I may be a true blue, darn tootin, Star Spangled, burger eatin, tater pickin American... But, way down deep inside... I am an English Daisy. <3

Hello, my beloveds!!!!
I am training... What?!?! Sister S is the absolute cutest!!!! She is soo Christ like and just sooo with it!!!

She has a testimony and a heart of gold!!! She served a mini mission before this, so I definitely feel like she doesn't need to be trained.. Officially, of course she needs to be, but spiritually, she was born trained and ready!!!

I love her to bits!!! I think she really is such a powerful and effective missionary!!!! :)

I asked her how she wants to change and she said with a huge smile on her face, "I want to be more humble!"

Just desiring to be humble is an act of humility!!! She is sooo teachable and so willing to learn!!! I love her ooodles and oooooodles!!!!! :)

I am so excited to experience miracles together with her!!!

And we already have!!!!!

Holy guacamole.... Last week was PHENOMONAL!!!!!

On Thursday, we met up with L!! (Oh, did I mention that she is a part time burlesque dancer? I forgot to mention that little detail... hahaha!!) We met up with her (we haven't seen her for about a month because she has been so busy with her... um... career?) So, we decided to meet with her one more time just to see if she actually is interested in meeting with the missionaries....

And guess what happened?!?!?!

SHE PRRRAYYYED!!!!!! For the first time ever, she prayed to her Heavenly Father and asked if He was there!!!! The Spirit was sooo strong!!! :)

Our next goal with her is to take her to the temple!!! Because we feel everything would completely change if she went!!!! :)

We also met up with M!!! :) We watched the General Conference talk given by Elder Bednar "Come and See." :)

M, afterwards, said, "I respect you so much for what you do..." I think it has finally clicked in his mind of who we actually are (representatives of Christ) and what we are here to do (help him come to true happiness through coming unto Christ by being helping him gain faith, guiding him to repentace, being baptized, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end....) He gets it!!!! He really really does!!!!

Oh, and then Friday... Oh, Friday... What a flipping amazing day....

So, we met up with M again and talked about enduring to the end and how the Atonement helps us in enduring to the end.... (M loves the Atonement!!!) We were talking to him about how much he has changed! And he said, "I used to think Jesus was just a person... But, I'm starting to realize He is waay more than that!" I was just like... AHHH!!!!! And then, he said the most genuine thank you for all that we have done for him.. I wanted to cry!!! I was thinking... "Thank YOU!!!!"
We asked him if he wanted to continue changing and he said yes... <3

So, for the last few weeks, M has said no to saying the prayer because he feels he is inadequate when it comes to saying prayers... Well, my dear brothers and sisters, he said the prayer on Friday!!!!

And this is what he said:

"Dear Heavenly Father. Thank you for this beautiful day. (For starters, Friday was gloomy and gray... He has changed so much he can call everything, even gloomy and gray days BEAUTIFUL!!!) Thank you for allowing me to learn. (THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING US TO TEACH YOU!!!) Thank you for teaching me. (AHHH!! He is sooo humble now!!!) Thank you for the sisters. (Shucks, M.. We love you!!) Thank you for giving me the freedom to believe in you and not brainwashing me to believe in you. (Hahahah!! M is amazing!!!) I'm sorry. Thank you for being there. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen."

AHHHHHH!!!!!! I was sooo happy!!!!! M really truly knows that Heavenly Father is there!!!!! <3

M then started going off of how our bubbly personalities and countenances have changed him.. He's so sweet!!!!

After the teach, we ended up being late for our train and our next appointment cancelled... :( So, we got on our train and ended up being on a coach al alone with these two men ( one of them had down syndrome. He was adorable!) We said hello. :) A couple minutes later, one of them came up to us and said, "Are you LDS?" "YES! Are you a Latter-day Saint?" "I'm inactive!"

We invited ourselves over, asked if we could say a prayer with him, and then asked why he stopped going to church. He said being sealed to his wife freaked him out.

We testified to him that being sealed to your family is one of the greatest gifts God could've given us!!!

We then committed him to pray about being sealed and start going to church again...

Unfortunately, he is in the Farnborough ward, so we can't check up on him... BUT, there are missionaries serving there, so we will make sure they follow up with
him!!!

Heavenly Father is most definitely looking out for us and wanting success for us!!!!

I can testify that He is and always will be our one true friend!!!

I LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!!!!!

Love Always,

Sister Funky Fresh. :)

“If the person you are talking to doesn't appear to be listening, be patient. It may simply be that he has a small piece of fluff in his ear.” -Winnie the Pooh. <3


Hello people that I love a flipping ton!!!!!

As for the quote.... Missionaries.. Take this to heart!!!! <3 To be a missionary means to be patient!!!! <3

Soo, we got a call the other night from President Millar.... "Sister V, I would like you to train." All I said was, "Okay." Hahaha I was dumbfounded.... I said a silent prayer to Heavenly Father saying, "Um... You're trusting me with a new missionary?" ... I felt completely unqualified for this... But, then a very calming feeling came over me. Of course I'm not qualified for this. Because I haven't been called because I am qualified. I've been called to BECOME qualified... :)

I really am very excited to train! I really am! I just, at first, felt a little bit of pressure... Because I remember Sister Millar saying, "Being a trainer is the most important calling in the mission."

Ahhhh!!! Whaaattt!!? Don't tell me that!!

But, I have come to realize and accept that this is my time to let Heavenly Father take over and change both me and the wonderful sister I am training...

I feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude for her choice to serve the Lord. <3

I know she is meant to be in this mission at this time for a reason!!! I'm sooo excited to witness miracles with her!!! :)

Well, I will have you know that I am doing grrreat!!

I am going to miss Sister Y though... She is an absolute angel and really brings out the best in me!! She definitely is a miracle worker and such a wonderful companion... But, not only that, she is a good friend! :)

I looooove Aldershot!!! I really really do!!!

Aldershot is aaaaaaaaaaammmaaaazzzziiiiiiinnnnngggg!!!!

So, a veerrry cool finding activity we had last week........ Absolutely blew my mind!!!

A couple of weeks ago, Sister Y and I came up with the idea to give away free hot chocolate with our number and mormon.org on the cups!!! We told Elder T (our district leader) and he liked it so much, he wanted to join in!! So, we got our whole district together, including the zone leaders and a couple of other elders in the zone and planned a day to do hot chocolate!!

We asked if we could have it closer to Christmas so that we could have a Christmas theme to it!! So, we got some Christmas decorations together, planned it with all the missionaries, and waited until the day we planned for it (last Saturday.)

Sister Y and I dropped off the decorations for them to start finding and decorating while Sister Y and I made the hot chocolate! :)

We made the hot chocolate and went to the designated spot for finding... :) We turned the corner and were absolutely stunned!!
The missionaries had all brought chalk and there was chalk literally EVERYWHERE on the sidewalk on the high street!!!!

The missionaries were stopping people and asking them what made them happy and then would write it on the sidewalk... It was soooo cool!!!!

And we had some verry cool experiences from it!!!

But, one that was veryy cool was with a guy named O.... :)

So, Elder B was talking with these two black guys on high street and they looked very, "Waddup, mah homedog!" I was thinking, "That's cool, that's cool.." And then, Elder B called me over and said, "This guy was baptized three years ago in the Staines ward!!"

Oliah told his entire story of how he is originally from Nigeria and was living in Staines. He was taught by missionaries and was baptized.. Soon after he was baptized though, he joined the military.... Now the military is great!! I LOVE the military!!! I respect those who serve our country soooo much and wouldn't mind at all if I even married someone who served in the military because, let's be honest, when you serve a mission and then serve in the military and still hold to your faith, that is one heck of a person!! I give HUGE credit to Latter-day Saints in the military because, as I was about to say, being in the military as a Latter-day Saint is HARD. The military is a fantastic opportunity, but some of the people in the military can be a tough influence on ya....

O explained that he fell away from the church because of it's bad influence in some areas... I told him about a friend I have back at home who had been baptized two and a half months before he left for the military.. Sadly, he didn't stay active because he didn't have time enough to get to know who he was as a Latter-day Saint and strengthen his faith to endure the temptations and bad influences that some people have....

But, unlike my friend, O has an extreme desire to come back!! He said, and I quote, "I want to get my endowments. I want to go through the temple. I have my Aaronic priesthood... Now I want my Melchizedek priesthood."

I was seriously on cloud flipping nine!!!! I just started bursting out with, "That is sooo great!!" and "Can we please meet up soon!?!?" I was sooooo excited!!!!

Seeing someone with a pure desire to come closer to Christ is what makes me the most happy... Really... I love seeing that desire to change in others' eyes....

I feel sooo blessed for being able to stay in Aldershot!!! I looove it here!!!!! :)

Ta-ta for now!!! :) (To one of the families in the ward, I'm Sister Tigger because I apparently have the energy of Tigger from Winnie the Pooh hahahha)

Have a WONDERFUL week this week!!!!

I AM SOOO EXCITED FOR CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!

I LOVE YOU ALLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

With love to the moon and back,
Sister Tigger. <3

"Do not try to perfect an already perfect plan." -President Spencer W. Kimball. <3

HELLO ALLL!!!!!! <3<3<

This week has been amazing!!!!

We met a really good guy named C!!! We were going through the parking lot of Lidl's on our way to an appointment and he was going to his car and we stopped him!!

We started talking and having a great conversation and then all of a sudden, he started talking about all the amazing, spiritual experiences he has had in his lifetime!! It was amazing!!!

Well, we prayed about what member we should bring to the teach with him and we thought about J... She is sooo friendly and soooo good with people...

So, we asked her to come on the teach with us... We get to C's house and J all of a sudden screams, "C!!! Is that you!?!?!"

They have been friends since they were kids!!!!! What?!?!?! :)

How cool is that!!! Well, Sister Y and I feel this is no mere coincidence!! :) We know Heavenly Father wants it to be this way because it will help C come closer to baptism with J along side with him!!!!

Well, in my mom's weekly email to me this week, she included a story that was told in a talk given at the YSA Stake Conference my dad serves as a bishop in...

It's called The Summer of the Lambs by Jayne B. Malan

"The day school was out at the beginning of each summer, our family went to our ranch in Wyoming. It was there with my parents and brothers and sisters, and a few cousins mixed in, that I learned about family loyalty; love and concern; birth and death; that one must finish a job once it is started; and, to quote my father, “There are only two things important—the family and the Church.”

One year my father was waiting for us as we arrived. He said he had a big job for my brother Clay and me to do that summer. I was about twelve at the time, and my brother was two years older. Pointing to the field by the side of the house, my father said, “Do you see all of these lambs in that field? I’ll share the money we get for the ones you raise when we sell them in the fall.” Well, we were excited. Not only did we have a significant job to do, but we were going to be rich! There were a lot of lambs in that field—about 350 of them. And all we had to do was feed them.

However, there was one thing that my father hadn’t mentioned. None of the lambs had mothers. Just after shearing, there was a violent storm that chilled the newly shorn sheep. Dad lost a thousand ewes that year. The mothers of our lambs were among them.

To feed one or two baby animals is one thing, but to feed 350 is something else! It was hard. There was plenty of grass, but the lambs couldn’t eat the grass. They didn’t have teeth. They needed milk. So we made some long, V-shaped feeding troughs out of some boards. Then we got a great big tin washtub, ground up some grain, and added milk to make a thin mash. While my brother poured the mash into the troughs, I rounded up the lambs, herded them to the troughs, and said, “Eat!” Well, they just stood there looking at me. Although they were hungry and there was food in front of them, they still wouldn’t eat. No one had taught them to drink milk out of a trough. So I tried pushing them toward the troughs. Do you know what happens when you try to push sheep? They run the other way. And when you lose one, you could lose them all because others will follow. That’s the way with sheep.

We tried lining up the lambs along the troughs and pushing their noses down in the milk, hoping they’d get a taste and want some more. We tried wiggling our fingers in the milk to get them to suck on our fingers. Some of them would drink, but most of them ran away.

Many of the lambs were slowly starving to death. The only way we could be sure they were being fed was to pick them up in our arms, two at a time, and feed them like babies.

And then there were the coyotes. At night the coyotes would sit up on the hill, and they’d howl. The next morning we would see the results of their night’s work, and we would have two or three more lambs to bury. The coyotes would sneak up on the lambs, scatter the herd, and then pick out the ones they wanted and go after them. The first were those that were weak or separated from the flock. Often in the night when the coyotes came and the lambs were restless, my dad would take out his rifle and shoot in the air to scare them away. We felt secure when my dad was home because we knew our lambs were safe when he was there to watch over them.

Clay and I soon forgot about being rich. All we wanted to do was save our lambs. The hardest part was seeing them die. Every morning we would find five, seven, ten lambs that had died during the night. Some the coyotes got, and others starved to death surrounded by food they couldn’t or wouldn’t eat.

Part of our job was to gather up the dead lambs and help dispose of them. I got used to that, and it really wasn’t so bad until I named one of the lambs. It was an awkward little thing with a black spot on its nose. It was always under my feet, and it knew my voice. I loved my lamb. It was one I held in my arms and fed with a bottle like a baby.

One morning my lamb didn’t come when I called. I found it later that day under the willows by the creek. It was dead. With tears streaming down my face, I picked up my lamb and went to find my father. Looking up at him, I said, “Dad, isn’t there someone who can help us feed our lambs?”

After a long moment he said, “Jayne, once a long, long time ago, someone else said almost those same words. He said, ‘Feed my lambs. … Feed my sheep. … Feed my sheep.’” (John 21:15–17.) Dad put his arms around me and let me cry for a time, then went with me to bury my lamb.

It wasn’t until many years later that I fully realized the meaning of my father’s words. I was pondering the scripture in Moses that says, “For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of [all mankind].” (Moses 1:39.) As I thought about the mission of the Savior, I remembered the summer of the lambs, and, for a few brief moments, I thought I could sense how the Savior must feel with so many lambs to feed, so many souls to save. And I knew in my heart that he needed my help.

You wonderful young people, from what we’ve observed, you’re not unlike our lambs. You, too, are hungry—hungry for things of the Spirit that will make you grow strong and keep you safe from the coyotes that are out to destroy you. You are capable and willing to do your part in building the kingdom when you are taught how. And we want to help you.

We know that you need someone to love you, someone to listen and understand. You need to be needed. You need opportunities to come together in a safe environment, a safe fold so to speak, where you can share with one another and develop wholesome friendships based on brother-sister relationships rather than romantic involvement. You need opportunities to experience the joy of sacrifice and service, of caring for and loving one another as our Savior loves us. Within the gospel we have what you need, but you will need to reach out and accept it.

It would have been far easier to save our lambs if the mothers had been there to feed them. Young women, you are the mothers of tomorrow. Young men, you are the fathers. Together, you are the parents, the teachers, and the advisers who will help nurture and feed young lambs and lead them home. Prepare yourselves now for that sacred responsibility. Study the scriptures. Develop your God-given talents. Learn all you can about the world around you that is clean and good. Prepare yourselves to enter the temple of the Lord and be worthy to receive the ordinances and blessings by living, teaching, and sharing the gospel.

Your Heavenly Father knows you and cares about what you are doing. He wants you to fulfill your divine mission, then come home and bring your family and friends with you. He wants you to be happy. Be on your knees daily and talk to your Heavenly Father. Share the happy times. Talk about what’s hard for you. Like my father, your Heavenly Father will understand. He’ll be there to walk with you, and to comfort and protect you, for he has promised to those who seek him, “I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up.” (D&C 84:88.)

Our prophet, President Benson, has said, “The symbolism of the Good Shepherd is not without significant parallel in the Church today.” The sheep need to be led by watchful shepherds. “With a shepherd’s loving care, our young people, our young lambs, will not be as inclined to wander. And if they do, the crook of the shepherd’s staff, a loving arm, and an understanding heart will help to retrieve them.” (Regional Representatives’ Seminar, 3 Apr. 1987.)

Parents, priesthood leaders, teachers, advisers, be “watchful shepherds”; and you, our noble youth, band together in the strength of the Lord and lead out in righteousness. Reach out with loving arms and understanding hearts to those who are weak or wandering. Help bring them back to the fold, where they can learn of the Good Shepherd and grow close to him. And please choose carefully the paths you walk, for others will follow. That’s the way with sheep.

Of our little flock, we saved only one-third. And what of the Savior’s flock? He has said, “Feed my lambs. … Feed my sheep.”

This I know: He needs our help. With more people to help, more lambs will be saved. A simple fact, but true. Of this I can bear testimony in the name of Jesus Christ, amen."

I bawled when I read that...

The Savior NEEDS us... How amazing is that?!?!?

The greatest, grandest being ever to walk this Earth NEEDS you and me....

How humbling is that???

WAAAAAY humbling....

I know that this work is not just for missionaries, but for all men and women. For all children of God. <3

I love this work. And I love my Redeemer. <3

Have a wonderful week this week!!

I love you allllll!!!!!!!!

Love Always,

Your Sister AllyBoBally. <3

Definition of consecration: To make sacred.

Oh, wow... This consecration week... My body is shattered... But, my testimony is soooo much stronger than it was before... :)
I HAVE LOVED THIS WEEK!!!!!!
I really have!!!!
And to sum up the miracles we have experienced this week (which there are aaaa looooot) I'll talk about my favorite one...
LIIIIZZZZIIIIEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So, Sister Y and I decided to do a lot of bus contacting... :) Because we take the bus for about an hour to get to our actual area (mainly Bordon and Farnham.) So, what we did was Sister Y sit on one side and I sit on the other. And we start talking to people! :)
So, Sister Y was in the backish talking to a woman from Thailand and I was towards the front talking to a woman from Brazil... Now, the woman from Brazil wasn't all that interested... But, I noticed a woman on the other side of me listening to everything I had been saying! The woman from Brazil exited the bus and I turned to the woman on the other side of me.
We started to talk and I noticed our bus stop was next... I wanted to have just a quick gospel conversation with her and I was about to start and then she asked, "Are you a nun?"
I said that I was a sister missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, otherwise known as the Mormons.
She asked, "What is a Mormon?" right when we stopped at our bus stop... :(
I gave her a pass along card with our number on it and told her to call us so that we could give her more information...
Most missionaries know that when you leave a card without any contact information from them, you most likely will never hear from them... :(
I prayed and prayed in my mind that we would hear from her!
Well, that night, it was freezing and a member refused to let us go home on the bus. We asked her if we could go finding for one more hour and then she could come pick us up!
It was 8 o clock at night, absolutely freezing, and we were in a sketchy part of Bordon....
We kept knocking and talking to people and about half an hour in, we got a missed call from an unknown number...
Sister Y and I were freaking out.... We prayed and prayed as we called her back.....
A woman answered and we said that we had gotten a missed call from this number and were missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
She said, "I'm that woman from the bus you talked to!"
AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I silently squealed and jumped up and down!! :)
She started asking questions like, "Do you believe in eternal marriage?" and "Do you believe in having children?" and "Do you believe in eternal families?" and "What is a Mormon?"
We were ecstatic!!!!!!!!!!!
We made a return appointment with her for Thursday and then hung up the phone...
Sister Y and I knelt down right there in the middle of the street at 8:30 in the evening in a dodgy part of town and said a prayer of thanks with absolute tears streaming down our faces....
WE FELT SOOO BLESSED!!!!!!!!!
Well, then on Thursday morning, we give her a call to confirm our appointment. She doesn't answer, so we sent her a text!
We get a text shortly after from her saying, "Good morning I won't be meeting you today as I have read up about what you believe in and unfortunately it does not appeal to me as I love coffee, my best friend is gay and I have used drugs in the past. I wish you both well on your missions. Xxx"
WE WERE SHOCKED AND HEARTBROKEN.
So, we sent back pleading with her to meet up with us so that we could clear up any misunderstanding...
We knelt down and said another prayer, and right as we said 'amen,' our phone vibrated...
IT WAS LIZZIE!!!!! All she said was, "Ok. :)"
AHHHH!!!!!!!
If Satan is trying this hard with her this early in her learning process, that must mean she has a haa-uge part to play in Heavenly Father's plan.... <3 !!!!!!!!!!!!
Life is great!!!
Of course, there were mannnny more miracles worked by our gracious Lord... And some of them, I felt we didn't deserve, simply because of their miracularity!!
But, I KNOW that our loving Father in Heaven, His Beloved Son and our Redeemer Jesus Christ, and the Comforting Spirit of the Holy Ghost have made this week the way it has been..... <3
The tender mercies of the Lord are unimaginable!!!!! <3
One of my favorite songs about the Savior is "I Can Only Imagine..." <3
"I can only imagine what it will be like, when I walk by Your side...
I can only imagine, what my eyes will see, when Your Face is before me!
I can only imagine. I can only imagine.
Surrounded by Your Glory, what will my heart feel?
Will I dance for you, Jesus? Or in awe of You, be still?
Will I stand in Your presence, or to my knees will I fall?
Will I sing 'Hallelujah! '? Will I be able to speak at all?
I can only imagine! I can only imagine!

I can only imagine, when that day comes, when I find myself standing in the Son!
I can only imagine, when all I will do, is forever, forever worship You!
I can only imagine! I can only imagine!

Surrounded by Your Glory, what will my heart feel?
Will I dance for you, Jesus? Or in awe of You, be still?
Will I stand in Your presence, or to my knees will I fall?
Will I sing 'Hallelujah! '? Will I be able to speak at all?
I can only imagine! I can only imagine!
I can only imagine! I can only imagine!! Only imagine!!!
I can only imagine.

I can only imagine, when all I do is forever, forever worship You!
I can only imagine."
I can only imagine that when we are at our Savior's feet, we will be able to fully recognize the things He did for us in the past life, this life, and the next life... <3
What He did for us is and should be everything to us because we are everything to Him.
He loves us.
Or else He would not have died for us. <3
He didn't do it because it was expected of Him or because He was asked to.
He did it because He wanted to. <3
Have a wonderful week!!!
-Sister Vande Merwe