UEA Vacation

Oh wow.

 

One week you are just sitting at home, and the next week you are at Mt. Rushmore!  I can't believe it!  I've never been before and you went without me!  Oh well, I guess you can't postpone your whole life while I'm gone.  But you really should ;)  Just kidding.  I'm glad you had a good time.  I have wanted to see it before, it must be really neat.  I just keep thinking of National Treasure 2 and how there is like a massive treasure room underneath Mt. Rushmore.  I wish you had found it.  That would have been cool :)

 

I don't think I tried anything new to eat this week...  I did have something spicy again, but it was a bit better this time.  Although I would still really prefer to not eat spicy things.  I guess I did have English Chips from a real Chippy!  That was cool.  It was called Prospect Point Fish Bar.  But I didn't eat any fish.  That's gross.

 

I hope that Kade is okay.  That is really rough, not just physically, but will be rough emotionally.  Hopefully he gets feeling better soon.  I know he must have been a great missionary.  I hope he doesn't forget that.

Jordan and the shot glasses.  Haha.  I totally forgot about that.  I was like 7 or something, and I don't think that we knew what shots were.  But we thought those glasses were something else.  I can't believe that he is leaving so soon!  2 months!

 

I would like to send you a list of cool things to do at Staffordshire University:

 

1: Play video games.

2: Play football.

3: Go to Birmingham.

4: Get smashed on the weekend.

5: Listen to the Sister Missionaries.

 

It's so weird.  People just listen to us, they let us in.  I've realized that most of the time I don't know what to say at a normal doorstep approach anymore.  Because recently it's been like, 'Hey, Marco, we taught your friends the other day... do you want to let us in?'  Yeah, I already knew Marco's name.  But really, I basically started a conversation like that this week.  He let us in, and although we didn't teach him, we taught 3 of his friends.  There names were Kevin, Akelish (AK) and Sebastion.  Sebastion didn't really want to listen, but he was waiting for them to go to the library with him.  After we taught them, we were in another house (that we had just got through the door) and we got a text from AK saying, 'My friend at Portal 4 wants to know more about religion.  Go talk to him.'  We thought it might be a joke, but the next day I texted him back and said, 'Send us his name and phone number and we'll set up a time to meet with him.'  And he did.  I called him (his name is Sam) and he was like, 'I didn't really know what AK was talking about, but, sure, you can come over and talk about your book.'  Appointment.  Nonmember Referal.

 

They are all like, 'Oh yeah, Julian met with you last week!'  Appearently Julian is cool... so everyone wants to talk to us now.  Weird.

 

We met again with Alex and Lewis, whom I didn't think was sincere.  But Alex prayed!  And he looked in the Book of Mormon for something specific to pray about, which is amazing!  The thing he flipped open to happened to be about sexual sin, but he still prayed about it.  He said when he prayed he felt something... but he didn't know if it was just the window being left open.  Haha, jokster.  When we shared the 1st Vision we ask how they felt after it.  He was like, 'I felt nice, but not as good as when I prayed.'  WHAAAAA?  It was so awesome.  We invited them to be baptized (which I kept postponing because I didn't know if it was appropriate to invite someone when they were rolling a joint...), and they said when they know it is true.  They didn't want to be rushed.  But I think they will love the Plan of Salvation!

 

We also had someone come to church!  My very first investigator at church! (Well, Lee has come, but he is kind of like a perpetual investigator.)  His name is Maneesh, and he is a friend of Karthik and Shamanth.  We were going to teach all of them on Saturday, but the other two went to Stoke for the weekend.  So we taught him, pretty much just about baptism.  He is Hindu and prays to the God of Bachelors, because he is single.  Haha.  Although we had some Nickleback helping us out in the background, he still accepted a baptismal date, and came to church.  Therefore he is a dated investigator!  We aren't sure if he understands that, but it is our job to help him :)  He really liked meeting everyone in church, and the branch really welcomed him.  Hopefully he keeps coming, and his friends come as well!

 

Karthik also said that he read some of the Book of Mormon, and felt peace when he prayed in his heart about it.  I don't know what is going on, except that Moroni's Promise is true.

 

We are a bit worried of keeping track of everyone and making sure that we don't leave anyone behind, or let them get too busy for us.  It is going to be difficult, honestly.

 

We went on exchange again this week.  Sister Allison came here with me.  I always think her name must be Allision, even though it is her surname.  Huh.  Anyway, she is from Lester, so she is English!  She served in Stafford when Sister Low first got to the area, so she's knows all the members and things.  She is also really hard core about missionary work.  I swear she has no fear.  Except we all do.  But she is amazing at just talking to people and in a instant they are her friends. I learned a lot from our exchange, it was good.  While we were on exchange we met a boy named Camroy who is from the British Virgin Islands.  He doesn't have a copy of the bible, because he believes it has been changed over time.  WHAAAA???  Sister Low and I were able to teach him.

 

I tried tinned macaroni and cheese.  I would love if you sent me some easy mac for Christmas ;)

 

Quote.  Karthik (When invited to come to church with us...): 'Yeah!  First church in UK!!!!'  To bad he was unable to come.

 

There is this one boy that everytime we are talking to an angry person seems to ride by and say things like 'Religion is the cause of all wars!'  Guess who tracted into the angry bike boy.  Yup.  We did.  He wasn't very happy.  Probably best to avoid that home for a while.

 

I love riding trains.  I want to go on a train trip someday.  If I ever travel around England or Europe, trains are definitely the way to go.  They are just so exciting!  Maybe they wouldn't be if I had grown up my whole life riding them, but I just get so excited everytime I get to ride a train.  I always wish it could last longer :)  We take the train everywhere, now that they took the car back (a senior couple came), and I love it.  I also don't understand, however, how stateside missionaries get to district meetings and zone conferences.  I suppose it can't be that difficult to work out, but the bus system just doesn't work like the train system. Somedays I wish that we could just take a break and grab a train to London. Everybody else is doin' it ;) 

 

You know what else is great?  District Meetings.  I'm not even sure I knew they existed before I left (like I knew that Brendan and Sam were District Leaders, but I don't think I knew what they led...), but they are one of my favorite things ever.  We get together with all these other missionaries and get to talk about how we can improve and be better, and really build each other up.  Plus we get to have district lunch afterwards and just share funny stories and things.  Plus you get great quotes like this. 'Go tell them to read Harry Potter and pray about it.  Then ask them if they felt the same they feel when they read the Book of Mormon.'- Elder Neilson (current District Leader).  And the best part is when you get to use it.  Like yesterday this man was like, 'How do you know the Koran isn't true?' Well, go read the Koran and pray about it.  While your at it, read some Harry Potter.

 

Speaking of HP.  The other day on the way home there was this hill lit up exactly like Harry Potter.  Sister Low and I may or may not have ran over the hill yelling 'EXPELLIARMUS!' and 'STUPIFY!'  and going psh psh psh, to make the wand sound.  And when I say that we may or may not have, I mean that we did.  It was awesome.

 

I got a card from Grandma Carol and Grandpa Danny on the same day!  It was really great.  Grandpa said that you all went over and sat around the fire and things.  I love that.  Mom, you and Grandpa write really similarly.  It's kind of weird, but you find the same type of things important, and share the same kind of details.  I don't think I would have ever noticed it before.  Like father like daughter, I guess.

 

Sometimes I feel like England isn't actually a country.  It is actually like a time warp or alternate universe.  You know how in the new Star Trek the timeline completly changed?  I feel like my life did the same thing when I got on the plane to head out to the UK.  It's weird.  But in the alternate reality Spock and Uhura end up together, whereas before they wouldn't have.  I mean, of course we also happened to lose the planet Vulcan, but the Spock/Uhura romance was worth that right?  So it seems to be with England.  I have lost Hyde Park, and everything I love, but in this alternate reality I'm learning all kinds of new things and meeting new people and growing up.  But the best part about this timeline is it is running parallel to yours, and eventually it will meet up again.  So I'll have this alternate reality in addition to everything else.

 

I guess that was really complicated.  Alternate realities seem easier for me to imagine than thousands of miles.  Huh.  Good thing I'm taking a break from sci fi, I guess.

 

Well.  I love you all.  I hope you know that.

 

Sister Jasmine Hull

 

PS  Sometimes I really miss being called Jasmine!  We met this mum and her little girl was named Jasmine and I like yelled/screached... 'Her name is JASMINE?!'  Sister Low was like, 'Oh, that is such a pretty name...'  I'm a bit jealous of that little girl.  I want to be Jasmine.  But I guess I'll be Sister Hull for a while longer.  Maybe I'll get use to it.