Week 61! I'm a famous artist now

So I made these funny drawings of all the different types of sister missionaries in the emm and people like it.

Anyways this week was Amazing! We started the week with exchanges and that was really fun. I was with sister hemminger who is an amazing missionary. She's a spiritual giant. I think the exchange really helped me in making some good goals. After exchanges it was normal work and on Saturday, we had a street display with the stls and the Stockport elders. It was all fun and games until the born again attacked. Not really, but they set up a display right next to ours and started preaching with a microphone and everything so we had to leave. We did get to meet a lot of nice people though. This Sunday was the highlight of the week. Our friend Ethan came to church with us and he really enjoyed it! It's really nice to see how the gospel can bring so much hope into our lives. Especially for someone who has grown up never knowing what happens next. I had no idea how much security and courage the plan of salvation has given me until Ive seen someone learn it for the first time. We also saw Celia Sunday evening too and she enjoyed the lesson. Hopefully she'll give the gospel a shot.

The funny stuff:

When we came to district counsel, the first thing I saw was the zone leaders having a snowball fight. It's officially winter.
I was taking off my boots and I found a 10 pence coin in one. I have no idea how it got in there. Sister Simonson is convinced I have the spirit of president Gordon B Hinckley watching over me (see the lessons I learned as a boy video)
When we were having street display, a really weird man (and possibly high) was talking with sister Simonson and as he left, he yelled out 'that's a pretty dress'. At least he knew how to compliment a girl the right way.
Also during street display, the born again came by our stand, got out a microphone, and started telling people that their kids were going to h*ll (cmon guys). While they were doing their thing, a church of England dude came up to us and complimented us on how we would have our street displays and then bashed the born agains a bit. I guess they didn't like it much either.
Sister Simonson and I both have really intense morning voices. We both sound super gravelly. Also since we both like to sing, anything we try to sing in the morning sounds absolutely awful. We still try though.

Sister Simonson really knows how to bring in the fun people. She gave a card to this man and he later called and left a voice mail, and in the voice mail he said :'ill only speak to her (sister Simonsen). I will speak to no man' We were both Dying when we heard the voicemail! 

Week 60!This Girl is on Fiiirrreeee 🔥🔥(literally)

So I accidentally set my winter coat on fire this week. I'll explain in the funny moments

So this week was super busy. We are planning a street display with our district next week and so sister Simonson and I got a lot of street contacting done while we've been out and about. The best spot is an abandoned store right across from a marks and Spencer's (business and casual clothes store). We also had a few lessons with some of the people we found this (and last week). We also had our interviews with president which was pretty fun. This is his and Sister McReynolds last full year as mission president and wife. It definitely won't be the least year though. Next transfer 27 new missionaries are coming in and 17 of them are sisters, and like 20 missionaries (and half of them in leader positions) are going home. It's going to be intense and nobody will be left untouched. 

This week's spiritual thought is on testimony and mostly remembering your testimony. I'm sure everyone who joined the church has had some spiritual experiences that have changed them. There was this really great activity I was invited to do and what it is is you write down every gospel doctrine you to for sure to be true. Then you write down every time you can remember feeling the spirit, having a prayer answered, etc. Then afterwards you write down a promise of what you do with what you have learned from them. It helps to put things in perspective: no opposition can outweigh or take away what you have experienced and know to be true.

The funny stuff:

Sister Simonson and I were talking about hot chocolate and somehow the conversation went to McDonald's shamrock shakes, and apparently they don't make those in England. I'm going to miss 2 Years worth of shamrock shakes. :(

Sister Simonson took out a candy bar from her bag and it was frozen (almost). She said it hurt really bad biting into it.

So I almost accidentally burnt the flat down and I did burn my winter coat. So we were having our lunch and there's this really big lamp (I love that thing) (I use it for art and makeup). My coat was wet so I turned on the lamp and hung my coat on it. As I was eating my sandwich, sister Simonson rushed in and grabbed my coat just as it started smoking really bad. Now the dressing room smells really bad and I had to take the fur off my winter coat because I burnt it.

I was looking at the lamp because I thought it had burnt out (the power switch was off) (I'm so stupid sometimes) and when I looked in the light, I saw it was filled with fried moths. That gave me a pretty good scare. I'm too grossed out to clean it too.

Every time I put on my hood (from the burnt coat) it smells like burnt sugarless smores and it makes me weirdly hungry even though it smells really bad.

Sister Simonson favorite hobby: singing songs out of tune to annoy me (she has a good voice and is perfectly capable of singing the songs properly) (she just chooses not to)

I have an important question for everyone who loves their deep doctrine. So when we get resurrected, any scar, blemish, injury, etc is fixed. So does that mean that we won't have belly buttons because those are scars. Also did Adam and eve have belly buttons. I hope someone answers me back on this. My testimony hangs on the balance here.

So we got a letter from some random company about how they will be sending an officer to check if we have a TV license. We don't have a TV, radio, computer, internet, or access to Google. I Really hope that they'll actually send someone because that will make my day.

We were at an Australian family for tea (it was lovely, if ya'll are reading this, I say thank you!) and right before we left, they showed us a video of this dude Decking a Kangaroo!!? The kangaroo had his dog in a headlock (they can do that apparently) and so the man ran over and just punched it in the face. The kangaroo was so shocked. Definitely one of the top 100 funniest things I've ever seen.

Apparently there's another sister Hawkins coming to the mission. Im being replaced. (gonna have to fight her) (ThEre CAn oNlY Be ONE) (jk I'm sure we'll get on just fine) 

Pictures-  The first snow, Haley's burnt coat hood, their flat (before they cleaned it Haley said) , cooking in their flat.

Week 59! I'm gonna get so fit in Macclesfield

In Macclesfield, we walk everywhere. Basically everywhere. I got a weekly bus pass (biggest one available) but the busses don't go to many places and they're all like every hour so walking is our main mode of transport. I was also a master chef this week and taught myself how to make pork stir fry. There weren't a lot of spices left for cooking when sister Simonson and I moved in, so I've been getting creative. I found that cooking is really stress relieving so I'm always wanting to cook at least one nice meal a week. We also received a referral from a member in another part of England. He wanted us to visit his great aunt as she is struggling with her health, and when we did she was super nice and interested! She'll be getting surgery soon though, so keep her in your prayers. 

One thing I wanted to talk about this week was humility. It's basically the opposite of pride, and some qualities of humility are being teachable, patient, and willing to change. Humility and pride are a choice. Nobody can force you to learn, you chose to do so yourself. There's lots of examples of that in the scriptures too: like Alma and the priests of Noah. All of them had the opportunity to hear Abinidi but the difference between them and Alma, was that Alma was humble enough to listen. Because he listened, he was able to, with God's help, lead a group of people away before their city was destroyed. When he was listening to Abinidi he could've easily said 'this isn't for me' or 'what does he know' but he Chose to be humble. What are some choices we can make to be more humble? 

The funny stuff:

I was on the phone for a Whole Hour with this basher. He wouldn't stop talking. To be fair, the dude was really smart, but every time he was explaining his side of the argument, he would go off on a loonnggg tangent and I would get lost in what he was saying so it was really hard to understand him. Anyways I need to learn Hebrew or else I'll go to outer darkness apparently.

So in Macclesfield, normally the missionaries have cars, but because sister Simonson and I have both been in England for over a year, neither of us can legally drive. We did the math and found that we were walking an average of 6 miles a day in this area. I better come look like wonder woman by the end of my time in Macclesfield or else I want my money back.

When sister Simonson sings a song, she'll sing it on repeat the whole day. I had the privilege of listening to her sing cotton eye Joe on repeat all of Thursday evening. 

picture..Sister Simonsen saw a truck with hay and made me pose for a picture because my name is Haley 

Week 58!! Hello Macclesfield!!!

So if you haven't guessed, I've been transferred to Macclesfield, but that's not the big news. So Swinton no longer has sister missionaries! And Macclesfield no longer has elders! I'm whitewashing (when a new set of missionaries replace the old ones) Macclesfield with sister Simonson from Florida. It's a big job and it's kinda scary but we'll both be fine. All of the members we met so far have been super nice and they're all related somehow too (not all of them of course, but there are two extended families that make up like 90% of the ward).

So if I had to describe Macclesfield, I would would say posh.... Lots of big houses and fancy cars, and the not posh areas are still a lot nicer than most places in England. It's also really far, and since we don't have bikes or a car (and the busses here suck) sister Simonson are going to get Really fit. (that's what I'm hoping at least) (the members have already threatened to fatten us up). 

Sorry I don't have a lot of time to mail more, but here's the funny stuff:

So we wait like all night (not really, but it felt like that) for transfer calls and the first person to call us is PRESIDENT MCflippingREYNOLDS!!! We were both on the edge of our seats, because a call from president mcreynolds either meant you were training or becoming stl (sister training leader aka female zone leader). Unfortunately (or luckily, depends on how you see it) neither of us had those callings. Instead he was just calling to tell us that we'll be getting replaced with elders and I will be whitewashing with sister Simonson in Macclesfield (Manchester zone). No biggie

President also told us that he and sister Mcreynolds hung up the temple painting I made. (I had to study humility again after hearing that one) 

We were calling members to say goodbye and let them know the news and every time the reaction is the same. They're super excited to hear Swinton is getting elders and then they're devastated when the hear that the sisters are leaving. My favorite so far was sister Ashtons reaction after she heard about us leaving (noooo that's not what we wanted!!) 

On new years day, the family we had tea with had a turkey me and my stupid appetite asked for a leg. I always forget how big turkey legs actually are. I only managed half of it so I got to take the other half home and then we learned we were both leaving so I ate it for breakfast. 

So sister Tavares and I thought it would be funny to leave a bunch of cheeky notes around the flat for the elders to find. For example: the post it note I left on the mirror says 'warning! Objects in mirror appear taller than they actually are'. Classic 

Things I have found in Macclesfield flat: a massive bowl of candy (Christmas leftovers), barbie fruit snacks, weights (elders were here first), a photos hopped picture of the previous Macclesfield elders on a bus (it was pretty funny), a tin of homemade cookies, lots of protein powder (lots) (who needs that much protein powder), a world map, a closet full of suits (flat finds), and an American dad DVD (dodgy)

When sister Simonson and I checked out our beds, of course the first thing I do is flop on mine, and it Broke!!! I swear I saw my life flash before my eyes as I fell with the mattress. (luckily it just had some loose parts so we fixed it.

We also had two extra mattresses in he bedroom and we felt like they were taking up too much space so we put them on or beds. Now our beds are super tall. The two mattresses don't make the bed any more comfortable though.

So there is a saying in the mission that we all use. 'That's bad' the only difference is when you say it you have to pronounce it like this 'that's bay-yad'. Anyways I found out who started it. It was elder malpge, he's the culprit. He had a companion who had a really strong accent so he copied how the companion said it, and elder malpge is one of those missionaries who all the other missionaries look up to, so everyone started copying him. I love the dumb mission slang, its really fun.

Today we had a tea appointment and were expecting to teach a short lesson but the lady (grandma) we were with basically taught us a big lesson instead. It was a really nice change from the usual and I think I learned a lot.

We almost locked ourselves INSIDE the flat and we had to call elder van scheltema (he was one of the elders we replaced) to help us figure out how to get out. So apparently there's this lever above the lock that if you push it, it will make it so that you can't unlock the door with the key. Elder van scheltema had to guide us through (on phone) how to put the lever back in place. The whole process was  super stressful and the whole time I was freaking out because I thought we were going to have to call mission office and explain how we somehow managed to lock ourselves Inside the flat.