Southend on Sea

Hello everyone! This week has been good, and a bit crazy with
transfers. It was definitely sad to say goodbye to Ashford! I am going
to miss a lot of people there. But I am excited to be here in
Southend. I somehow managed to pack all my stuff in my suitcases, and
the next morning Sister  Swann and I left Ashford and met our new
companions in the Euston train station. We took more trains out to
Southend and managed to drag my suitcases up a gigantic hill. It
definitely gave us a good workout! Southend is a bus area, so it has
been confusing to figure out how buses work, as I have never taken
the public buses in Utah! The area here is quite a bit bigger here
than in Ashford. Luckily Sister Matthews is pro at the buses and
knows where to go!
So I guess it is natural to meet weird people on a mission, but I feel
like my first week here I have meet so many interesting people. One of
them is "Laughing John." He is a mad homeless man with long, white
hair and a big dark trench coat who walks around Rayleigh all day
laughing. Like, crazy 'evil scientist' kind of laughter. He doesn't
cause any harm or anything, he just laughs. Sometimes our
companionship study is interrupted by his crazy laughter as he is
coming up the street. I have been trying to get a video of him, but
every time I hear him laughing, I can't get my I pad fast enough to
record him before he is gone. Haha aw well. 

The ward here is really great! They are very supportive of missionary
work. Sunday I was getting a headache just trying to remember
everyone's names. I have to make notes of all the people I meet to
help me remember.
I am so excited to be with sister Matthews! She is from Durban, South
Africa. She is super sweet and kind. You would never guess that she is
only 12 weeks old, she is so good! I can tell that this transfer is
going to be amazing!
We had a really cool miracle with an investigator named Aldrin. Aldrin
has been investigating the church for a really long time, over a year
I think. We had a good lesson with him me we encouraged him to
pray.The next day he texted us to say that his friend who has been in
a coma for months just woke up! He had been praying for her. He said
that this really strengthened his testimony and he is excited to be
baptized at the end of this month.

I love you all! Have a great week!

Love,
Sister McFarland