Well, I did get your package, Ali, and we did not get the food from Tesco, so you might have to call and find out what went wrong. I wish we would have gotten it! I didn't get any post this week from anyone--I got 1 letter from Mom on Saturday, so it was a rough week!
The week really has seemed very long. We had to say goodbye to our beloved President and Sister Swinton, which was very hard. But we got to go to our meeting with President Shamo! He is a very cool guy--he has done all the audio/visual in the movies for the Church for the last 27 years, and he has worked with Spencer W. Kimball and Gordon B. Hinckley as well as Thomas S. Monson. He is very nice, a spiritually uplifting teacher. The Shamos have eight kids, which reminds me of my big family. I am so excited to get to serve with them, and I truly do look forward to it--they are going to do amazing things here in England!
Well, let's tell you a little about our week: it has been a very rough week, with stress and fatigue. We have not had the best teaching pool, and we have had to weed out a lot of people who are not prepared, which has been tough, but it has made me want to try even harder to find new people. President Shamo shared a story of a little girl in Utah, and I think it will change my outlook on my mission and truly make me try so much harder--it brought me to tears and strengthened my testimony. In Utah, on one of the busiest roads in the middle of the day, a little girl who was three years old was attempting to cross the road. People kept honking as she tried to cross and she would step back on the curb. Then she attempted a second time, and someone stopped and honked at the little girl and yelled at her to get back on the sidewalk. Then she decided to make a third attempt and she got no farther then about five steps in the road when she was struck by a garbage truck!
President Shamo shared this story to explain how important our call is. Those people who just rushed by that 3-year-old girl and did not get out to help her will always have to live with the fact that they did not stop and help her. SO NOW I, and all of you back home, have a solemn duty to help those in need, so we will not have to live with knowing that we did not try our best. Look for opportunities to serve in all that you do. Please remember this story, 'cause it truly has changed the outlook of my calling, and my life. I know I have the calling to do this every day, but you have the calling to help others at all time and in all places as members of the church . . . so find those people or friends who need the gospel!
Even though it was hard, I loved this week and I love the trials I have to go through--they continue to help me grow in faith and to lean unto the Lord with all my heart, might, mind, and strength. We truly are nothing without the Lord in our lives. Knowing this brings me down to humility and teaches me so much more as I admit this to myself. I know that many more blessings will come when we are humble.
Thanks for all that you do! Thanks for all the support and all the prayers! I love you all so much, and I care about you all as individuals and as brothers and sisters. I know that the work will go forward and I am going to try even harder than I have been. I am so happy to be here and I have learned so much and will continue to learn and to grow in faith. I love the Lord with all my heart, and I say these things humbly, in the name of Jesus Christ. AMEN!
Me with President and Sister Swinton
Me and Elder Hanks goofin' off
This is a ward barbecue they had on the Fourth of July--haha, I thought it was funny to celebrate the independence of the United States from Great Britain . . . in Great Britain.
Me and Hanks doing some service with machetes!
Working hard
Me and Paulo--he is Lorena's son, the lady from Chile that we've been teaching
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