Sister Jasmine Hull--England Manchester Mission: My Life is so Blessed

Dear Mom,

Before I forget, thanks for telling me about Mitt Romney. I'm really surprised he took Iowa, I remember Brendan telling me ages ago that it didn't seem likely. Usually whoever takes Iowa gets through. Oh. I miss politics.... sooo bad. All the church members keep talking about Romney, and I really can't join in. I'm just like, 'Oh yeah, I heard he was running.' The other day, though, was the hardest. Someone was watching a speech by Obama, and at first I thought it was State of the Union, and I was staring at the screen, until I realized that I could watch tele, nor was SoftheU on yet... :( The political race is going to be a bit hard for one American girl living in the UK. Remember 2008 I made you record all the debates, and then my friends had a party the night of elections. I didn't think I would miss politics as much as I do... but thankfully the Lord compensates and I don't think about it much. Although my ears do perk up when someone talks about David Camren, just because I want to know.

Jordan's first email... haha. I'm glad he is settling in and that the food is so amazing :p The food in Preston was amazing, made by a chef everyday, and since he was only cooking for 50 people instead of like 3000, it was pretty good. I hope he settles in well and that his journey to Peru goes nicely. I can't believe it. Jordan is on a mission. I'm on a mission. And everyone else is coming home from their missions.

What exactly is going on with his suitcases?

The ugly sweater pictures... haha. Dad is so silly. And your sweater is pretty 'rad' itself. What a fun party. Mary and Bob are so clever. I had to tell Sister Suaybaguio that I had Phillipino friends... she asked if they spoke Tagalog... and I said, 'Nope, I don't think so...' I think Mary moved when she was only like 3 or something, right?

I'm so glad you got the cards. I was worried they were lost in post space.

Swinton is getting a lot better. The members are very kind here. I got an email from President today saying that I should miss Stafford, and he was glad that I do... and that I'm probably going to miss all of my areas. Then he asked me what I need to learn from that. So that will be something I will ponder for a while. It's so weird, before I left I was like, 'I'm going on a mission so I never have to say goodbye again!' Win-ner. And I thought I was educated. I was saying goodbye to people I would see again. Now I'm saying goodbye to people I may never see again...in this life... and that is not so fun. But, yes, Swinton is lovely. And it is huge. It isn't an actual town, it is like a suburb of Manchester. They call them Estates, I think. Also in our area is Salford, Clifton, and some others I can't remember. So, yeah, you probably won't find it on the map. I'm not even sure what side of Manchester I'm on, but I think it is the North side. Meh. Not sure.

Speaking of... I would love it if you sent me some family temple names as well :D... and I did recieve all the Christmas cards, and the one of our family is hanging on my wall. It is bigger than the one I brought with me, which was funny. I'm glad you chose to print that picture on the card, though, I didn't like how I looked in some of the other ones. And on the note you made me sound all cool. Stop. Ever since I was with Sister Low I've been working on my pride... ;)

Hm.... the new 10th ward. It only effects 3rd and 6th ward. I hope Andrea is in my ward when I get home! Yay! Well, dream come true, because I'll be in the YSA ward again. Excepting if she is married when I get home. Who else in in 6th ward... Heather. But I doubt it will combine with us, because we aren't very near to them. We'll probably be with all the new subdivisions, so our ward will probably have to split again. Here's a guess. The Randall family will still be in our ward. 10 pound on that. Just kidding. Missionaries don't bet.

We have progressing investigators! I can't believe it, I never saw this in Stafford. Her name is Prisca, she is originally from Congo, so she speaks French as her first language, and her and two of her children are dated to be baptised on the 21st of January. It has been such a blessing for me to teach them, because honestly I'm teaching lessons that I've never taught before... no one ever progressed that much. It is such a blessing. Her children are adorable. Her youngest son, Louise, is 1 and soooo cute. I love him, and he loves the bubbles I got for Christmas. And hand sanitizer. And my camera. This family is such a blessing in my life, and for my mission. I'm starting to see that change can happen. If something is good Prisca tells her children, 'It's good for God.' She amazing. And a member referal and former investigator. Miracles happen.

I've also been able to meet a recent convert named Patrick. He is amazing. He was bus contacted (a holy grail in the EMM... bus contacting is hard), but was really interested. He is in the military, and he realized he needed the church when he found out that his wife was killed in Afghanistan (she was also in the military). He has such an amazing testimony, and has already been tried a lot since he joined the church, but is coming up strong. Wow. He amazes me. He went to walk around the Temple one day, and on the way home gave a lady working at KFC a pass along card with his phone number on the back. She rang him recently and said she is getting baptised soon. It will be right before he goes back to Afghanistan for his final tour (it will be 9 times, and he has been to Iraq 5 times... he is a medic and helicopter pilot, and they are rare, so he goes a lot) so he will be able to go. He is going with an American unit this time, so there are going to be a lot of members with him... like 40 or something, so that is really good. When he comes home, he is going to visit his missionary in Utah. I told him that he should go and visit all of you as well... he is entertaining the idea.

My life is so blessed because of my mission. I feel discouraged sometimes, but I know that God is there for me. President Hinckley said that every good thing that happened in his life could be traced back to the decisions he made on his mission. I really feel like my mission will be the same for him.

I love the Lord.

Loves,

Sister Hull