The Unthinkable

Happy Easter! I hope that everyone has had a wonderful Easter.

 

This week has been one of the craziest of my mission. We have been so busy, and also spent a surprising amount of time traveling, getting things sorted for Sister Smith to go to America. but despite the business and traveling a lot, we finished the transfer strong, and saw many miracles. 

Before Sister Smith leaves to America, she wanted to have as many English foods as possible. For dinner the other night we made one of her favourite English foods, Eggs and Soldiers. Which is half boiled eggs with toast cut into narrow strips to dip into the egg yolk. but when we peeled the eggs, we discovered that they were under cooked. So I just thought we could pop them into the microwave to finish them off. Bad idea! One of them exploded in the microwave, and the whole flat smelled of egg. the second egg exploded in my hand when I picked it up and poked it...covering us both with eggs. At least I didn't start another fire... haha! But lesson learned. 

We had an AMAZING week! We found so many prepared people and saw so many miracles. We have started working with two wonderful families, which is so exciting. We just found so many people who are so prepared to hear the gospel. We worked so hard for Sister Smith's last week in the England London mission. After a great day yesterday, we had a dinner appointment in a member's home. When we got there, I asked if I could use their toilet, where I took some moments to kneel down in their bathroom and say a prayer of gratitude for the miracles which we have seen. I was so excited for this next transfer because we had so much planned and so many people to work with.

But then the unthinkable happened... We got the news that not only will Sister Smith be leaving, but I am being transferred to Norwich! We are getting whitewashed. Something that usually happens when an area is struggling and needs some revival, which ours definitely hasn't. Quite the opposite, we have seen great success the past six weeks. Even worse, the new sisters will get here in 2 weeks time, so for two weeks the elders here will be taking over our area. I was absolutely heartbroken! I thought for sure I would be staying. After the call I just sat on the floor and cried. I am going to miss this place so much! It will be so hard to leave all these wonderful people, especially when things have been going so well. Gerry is going to be baptised next week, and I am devastated that I will miss that. I will just have to trust in God and take a leap of faith that everything here will be okay, even if I am not here to see it happen. 

So today has been really crazy, trying to pack and say goodbye to everyone. I'm still in denial about leaving... I don't want to go! I am going to miss this area terribly, and it will be so hard to not be able to see the people we have found progress. I am sure I will have lots of adventures in Norwich with Sister Cho. 

Have a wonderful week! 

Love, 

Sister McFarland 

Pictures: Buckingham Palace, Royal Albert Hall, giant chocolate Easter egg, Sister Smith and Sister McFarland

Puffy Baptism

Hello everyone! The reason I am emailing Tuesday is
because today we had to be in London for sister smith to get her visa
to America. So we got permission to switch our P- day to today
instead!

This week we had the amazing miracle of seeing Ella get baptised. We
have been working with their family for a long time, and it was so
great to see Ella take this important step in her life. We had a
pretty good turnout from the ward to support her, and like all Mormons
love to do, we had a 'munch and mingle' afterwards. But the best part
was being able to see Ella so happy. We stood with her mum in the
doorway to the bathroom, and when she came out of the water she had a
huge smile on her face and she just shone with the spirit. When we
talked with her afterwards she said she felt really 'puffy' and warm.
:) she was confirmed Sunday and her twin sisters were also
blessed. It was a really spiritual sacrament meeting. Ella got to be
confirmed twice because the first time they got some of the wording
wrong.

Yesterday we went to visit an elderly less active sister named Winnie
in hospital. She was in a room with 5 other patients and their
families. When we found her bed, she was surrounded by a loving
family, was unresponsive and couldn't open her eyes or talk. Most of
the family left the room so we could visit with her, but her daughter
who is also a member stayed with us. I sat down in the chair and held
her hand, but I honestly had no idea what to say to her. We told her
how much Heavenly Father loved her. Then Sister Smith had the idea to
show her the Easter initiative. I just stared at her like she was
crazy, I mean, this woman couldn't even open her eyes! But we held the
iPad close to her ear so she could hear. She nodded contently as she
listened to the words, and I really think it comforted her daughter as
well. It really hit me how inspired the Easter initiative is. We
visited with her daughter for a while then decided to sing to Winnie
before we left. For those of you who know me, you know that I am not
the most confident in singing in front of people. I held Winnie's hand
and wouldn't look up and felt so self conscious of all the other
nurses, patients and families in the room listening. But after singing
"Love One Another",  I looked up to see that there was not a single
dry eye in the room. Sister Smith and I looked at each other, both of
our eyes wet, amazed at the overpowering spirit that filled the room.
Then Winnie smiled, nodded, and put her hand to her heart.  The spirit
in that room was so strong, and I knew that Winnie felt it too. Today
we just received the news that Winnie had passed away later that
night.

After that experience, we found out that another one of our
investigators had had her baby, and was in the same hospital!
Coincidence? I think not. Her name is Souyma and she is from India.
She is so sweet and Sister Smith and I gush about her all the time.
Her English is pretty good, but she still struggles with my name. So
she calls us Mac and The Smith. :) We stopped by to see her and help
her carry her bags out to the car so they could go home. Oh my
goodness, her baby was so adorable and it took all my willpower to not
pick her up and cuddle her right there. Sometimes missionary rules are
difficult.

I love you all! Thank you so much for your love and support. Have a great week!
Love,
Sister Mac

Pictures
1. Ella's baptism
2. Yes, Sister Smith and I got matching pyjama trousers. :)

A Child's Prayer

Hello everyone! I hope you have all had a nice week and have enjoyed the sunshine.

 It is amazing to see how quickly the weeks are flying by. I can't believe that this past week I passed my 8 month mark! Sometimes being on a mission feels like a treadmill. When you start out it is really slow and doesn't feel like it is moving at all. Then as you increase the speed, it gradually gets faster and faster until your legs can't keep up anymore as you frantically try to slow it down.

We have been working with a lovely family, the Comptons. The mum is less active, and has 3 little girls. The oldest, Ella, is 9 and is going to be baptized this Saturday! She also has 6 year old twin girls, Anna and Eva. I love teaching this family; they are so sweet and so fun. We usually feel extra blessed after we leave because all of the girls want to say the closing prayer, so we have at least 3 prayers before we go. Last week, Eva said one of the closing prayers, and she prayed that we would find lots and lots of people to teach. Both Sister Smith and I felt the spirit so strongly as we listened to her pure and childlike faith. There really is such a power in a child's prayer. This past week we have really felt that, as we found so many people who had been prepared to hear the gospel. We are so excited for the coming week to be able to start teaching these people. We were excited to go back and tell Eva how much her prayer helped us this week.

On Wednesday we traveled to London for zone conference. We felt very lucky because that was the day it just chucked it down with rain, and we got to be in the nice, dry chapel most of the day. We talked a lot about the atonement, and the real meaning of Easter. The spirit was so strong during the conference. As a missionary, I have grown to love and understand the atonement so much more, and this Easter time is the perfect time to reflect on the atonement. There is a new Easter initiative called #hallelujah. It really brings the true spirit of Easter, I would really encourage all of you to watch it and share it! 

While at the conference, the dreaded news came... The visa came through! Sister Smith will be leaving me at the end of the month.  I'm sad to see her go, but know she will do great in the blessed land of Arizona. So to all my friends in Arizona: watch out! Your getting one of the best missionaries ever! I am really going to miss her when she goes.

Every Wednesday evening we have a sports night at the church. It is a great way for investigators, members, and less actives to get to know each other better and to have fun. This last week however, we didn't have our sports clothes because we had just come back from London. We played football (soccer) and volleyball in our skirts, which actually ended up not being too bad. It was heaps of fun.

I love you all so much! I hope you have an amazing week.

Love,

Sister McFarland 

Pictures 

1. Making an all American breakfast to celebrate the visa

2. Today for P-day we got ice creams and walked along the sea front :)
3. This is part of our district (left to right) Elder Nelson from Texas, Elder Lapi from Albania, Elder Nakaima from Japan, Sister Smith from England, Elder Isaksen from Norway, and me from the 'Cuse.

Happy Mother's Day!

Hello Everyone!

It was mothers day in England yesterday, so happy mothers day! Our investigator Gerry told me to tell you all happy mothers day from him. Haha, I thought that was very sweet.

We are going to go to Hadleigh Castle again today. I am very excited and it feels so good to wear trousers! 

I am feeling much much better, although I am still coughing. Uncle Fong is an old Chinese man who was baptized last April. He speaks no English. He was really worried about my cough and kept telling me to go get medicine. He is so cute! You can tell how much we love him because we call him uncle. In fact, the whole ward calls him Uncle Fong. 

Sorry it is such a short email this week. Everything is going great!

I hope you have a really good week! 

love,

Sister McFarland

Sick and Afflicted: a reprise

The damp cold and dirty germy busses of Southend are finally getting
to me. I had just shaken off a head cold when I got sick again, but
this time it feels like I have been repeatedly kicked in the chest by
a kangaroo. I have been coughing up my lungs and being in the cold
wind feels like I'm trying to breathe out of a plastic tube.
Thankfully today is Pday and we are going to relax and take it easy
today so we can attack this next week with enthusiasm.

One day Sister Smith and I were walking down the street when we saw a
full length mirror on the side of the road with a sign that said
"free". We talked it over and decided we needed a mirror, so we picked
it up and carried it home. It was very heavy, and we got some really
weird looks as we tried to pull it onto the bus to get it home. But it
was totally worth it.

Most English people have no sense of USA geography. One man thought he
was being very clever and decided to tell me, not ask me, where I was
from based on my accent. He said , "Your from the east, north coast,
probably around Washington state." It was really hard not to laugh out
loud, but I still answered that he was close, but I was from the
opposite side of the country from Utah. As many people have no idea
where Utah is, I usually have to describe it as being "close" to
California.

On Tuesday we came home to our flat and realized that none of our
sockets were working. We had heat and electricity but that was it.
With horror we realized all of our food in the fridge was going bad,
and that we were completely out of money so we couldn't buy anymore
food. We had no dinner appointments for the week, and for the first
time in my life I wondered what I would eat the next day. We called
some members to see if they could help us out. Brother Barron came to
save the day by showing us how to flip the switch on the circuit
breaker. Haha we felt so stupid that the solution was so simple,
although we did lose quite a bit of food. The next day we were able to
get reimbursed for some things and had enough to buy stuff. Whew! What
a relief! :)

We had a lesson with a man named Ed who we met on the street. He
seemed really flakey, especially because he wasn't willing to give us
his phone number. But we decided to go to our appointment anyways. I
was pretty sure that he wasn't going to come, but Sister Smith wanted
to wait a little longer. We decided to give him 5 more minutes. At the
end of that 5 minutes he actually came! A whole 25 minutes late, but
he came and had a great lesson with him.

Sunday the bishop approached me and told me that the speaker
hadn't shown up, and asked if I could help out. I felt terrified about
giving a talk with such short notice. But this lovely sister had
emailed her talk to the bishop and all I had to do was read it out to
the congregation. I think it was by far one of the weirdest things I
have done in a sacrament meeting.

I love you all and hope you have a stupendous week!

Love,
Sister McFarland

Childhood Dreams Fulfilled!

Sadly, transfer calls came, and Sister Matthews is leaving! I will be
staying here, but we have 3 new missionaries, as the elders in our
area are getting whitewashed. ( which means both missionaries
transferred and 2 new ones came in). It's going to be a bit crazy as
we all try to figure out the area together! I don't seem to get to
stay with my companions for very long, as I am starting my 6th
transfer with my 5th companion.  Maybe I'm too crazy?

Earlier in the week before Sister Matthews left we had a crazy
experience. We were heading home on the bus when we suddenly realized
we were at our stop. We quickly jumped up and got off, but as soon as
the bus started rolling away, we realized that Sister Matthews had
left her iPad on the bus! We knew that the  final destination
was the train station about half a mile away, so we took off to chase
this thing down. ( Luckily Sister Matthews knee has been feeling much
better). We chased the bus for ages, and finally caught up with it at
the station. I ran and jumped onto the bus while gasping:"Excuse me
sir! My friend left her iPad!" To which the bus driver held up the
iPad without saying a word. He did compliment us on our running
though. I came off that bus holding the iPad like a trophy in the air.
We were exhausted but it was so worth it!

Ladies and gentlemen, this week my childhood dreams were finally
fulfilled. We were sadly heading to kings cross, St. Pancras train
station for transfers. We were really sad and just trying not to think
about it. When we got to the meeting spot early, we decided to have
one last hoorah together and go and see platform 9 3/4! Yep, I'm
definitely a nerd but I could not have been more excited.

My new companion is Sister Smith from Sussex England! She actually has
been called to serve in Arizona, but is serving here while she waits
for her visa. We have no idea how long this will be. She has already served
3 months of her mission here in England. So maybe now I will finally
be able to pick up on the accent! I tell her all about America and she
tells me all about England.

We had an amazing miracle this week with a new investigator named Su.
She is from China and is Christian. She has gone to a lot of different
christian churches and feels like they all have something missing. She
is so lovely, and accepted a date for March 20! We are so excited for
her. Then she ran upstairs to see if her 15 year old daughter and 6
year old son would like to come to church with her Sunday. They both
said they would like to, and all three of them came to church and
enjoyed it. :)

One of our investigators Gerry has been doing really well, but is
still struggling with some things. He feels like he needs until April
10 to be baptized. It is such a long time away, especially because we
have been teaching him since January. The zone leaders and even the
assistants to the president called to ask why his date was so far
back. I felt terrible about it, and thought I might have made a
mistake to put him so far back. After I stayed up all night worrying
about it, we decided to discuss it again with Gerry. We talked about
taking a 'leap of faith' and testified that he was ready and could be
baptized by March.  But then it suddenly dawned on me that I could not
expect him to take a leap of faith without taking one myself. I felt
very strongly that what he needed was time, and so we decided to give
him that. I felt so much better after just handing the situation over
to the Lord and letting Him take control. I do however, still have
full confidence that he can be ready by March. We will see!
I love you all and hope you have a magical week!

Love,

Sister McFarland

Jilted at the Font

Hello all! And Happy Valentine's Day! I hope you all had a great one.
So as you may have guessed from the title of this email, our baptism
didn't happen on Sunday. We tried to call our investigator on Saturday
to see how he was doing and he wouldn't answer the phone. We were
super stressed but had to wait until Sunday to see what would happen.
It was weird getting ready for church and not really knowing whether
or not we would be having a baptism. We went to church early to make
the programs, but we weren't even sure if Aldrin was still coming. But
he never showed up to church and wasn't answering his phone. So we
cancelled the baptism and had to tell the ward that it wasn't
happening anymore. We were so upset! We did eventually get a hold of
him, and he had some last minute concerns about baptism. We were so
disappointed! He was so close to making this important step in his
life, and it was so hard to see him choose not to.

Serving in London, I get to experience so many different cultures.
There are people from all over the world! We go from teaching someone
from Scotland, to someone from the Philippines, or India, or Poland,
or basically any other country you can imagine all in one day. It is
so fun to pick up things from all of these cultures. I'm not only
learning the English culture, but cultures from all around the world!

We had dinner with a family from the Philippines. They are so lovely!
It was their daughter's birthday, so there was a lot of extended family
there as well, all speaking fluent Tagalog and Sister Matthews and I
had no idea what to do. But they fed us so much food! Sister Pardo
kept telling me every time my bowl was empty "Sister! Eat more!" When
we left, by skirt was way too tight and I wasn't even sure what I had
been eating. But it was really good.

I can't believe that it is transfers again! These past 6 weeks have
just flown by. But we were shocked to find out that Sister Matthews is
leaving to Thetford! I will be here with Sister Smith. I don't seem to
get to stay with my companions for very long. I'm just starting my
sixth transfer with my fifth companion. I will miss Sister Matthews so
much! She is so amazing and such a great example to me. From being
goofy and wrestling each other and having many ups and downs we have
had a great transfer. The elders in the ward are both leaving, so we
will have 2 new elders here. One is elder Isaksen who I served with in
my first area in Ashford! I am nervous about taking over the area
after just 6 weeks, again, especially because we will have 3 new
missionaries here. But I know that it will work out!
I love you all, thank you so much for your love and support!

Love,
Sister McFarland