Week 13! Black Death (Haley's words haha)

Hey y'all!

So this week, sister Poussard and I got the bubonic plague..... jk, it's just the flu. We caught it from the Elders in Wrekin ward, but didn't get it as bad as they did so blessings I guess. We were still able to work (except for Saturday, I died after street display). The weather this week was gorgeous! It was sunny all week. Next week we expect snow though, so I'm enjoying it while I can. We found a few new investigators, and two of them were given book of Mormons when they lived in New Zealand! God really puts us in the path of those who need it most! We also had a great time visiting a lot of the members and recent converts for tea. Wrekin ward really spoils us! I don't really have anything else to report so I'll move on to spiritual stuff.

In sacrament meeting this week, one of the speakers mentioned forgiveness in his talk, and the way he explained it was really interesting. When people think of forgiving someone, sometimes it feels like we are losing the fight, or that we are giving up. We might also feel like we let the other person receive no consequences for their actions. When we forgive with the help of Christ and his atonement, those feeling are washed away and the only thing left to fill that hole is charity. Holding a grudge may feel like justice, but in reality it is just a chain holding us down, keeping us from happiness, and hurting those we love and hold dear. As a missionary, I've seen the best and worst side of many people, and I had to forgive a few of them, and myself, for lots of things. Forgiveness is one of the best things you can do, because when you forgive, you can really feel the love that Christ has for you, and you are more free to make your own choices and opportunities without that weight on your chest. In Matthew 18:23-35 Jesus gives the parable of the two debtors, and in it, says that he who will not forgive, shall not receive forgiveness for himself. I know that if we forgive others, we will feel that joy and forgiveness that can only come through Christ. I love y'all and I will write next week! 

And now, the funny stuff

We had our district meeting in the Bishops office because the ward was making pancakes. It threw off our groove.
I had a coconut (shaved) and I spent like 30 minutes trying to open it. It was one of the most frustrating moments of my life
Later when we were going to district meeting, I chucked the coconut on the ground, because I figured I would throw it away anyways,  and it broke and spilled juice everywhere (on the sidewalk, not in the church)
I also spilled coconut juice on my bag so now it smells really good actually (mission perks)
We missed the bus to Lawley but forgot that it wasn't 6pm yet, so the bus was every half hour still. So basically we had tea at the McDonald's and realized halfway through that we wasted money because we could've taken the bus.
All the missionaries call McDonald's mackeys (It annoys me a bunch actually)
We both got sick this week and lost our voices. I tried singing a hymn in companionship study and sounded like a wounded racoon.
The star spangled banner, America the beautiful, and my country tis of thee are in the hymnbook, and sister Poussard is so fed up with my singing choices but this time I'm not breaking the rules (mwahahaha)
One of the members at church gave us the sign of the cross when we told her we were sick. I like her sense of humor.

* Haley's explanation of the pictures.. 

The blanket one was me when I was having chills, the scenic ones were in lightmoor. It's a neighborhood town that we go to a lot. It's one of the prettiest places and has a great view. The forrest tunnel is a path in Lawley that leads to a very posh neighborhood. And I took some pics there because you wanted cute pics (sorry I didn't take off my coat, it was too cold). The one of me in the kitchen was with the evil coconut that I couldn't open. I had to sit and stay quiet for like 10 minutes to calm down, I was that mad. 

And I did get to draw and decorate my tablet case. I got some metallic sharpies for when I label stuff and I used those. 

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Week 12!!

Hey y'all! This week was like being in the sand dunes on a dirt bike. Lots of ups and downs. We had a great time finding with the Wellington elders, and it made me realize how posh the sisters area is! (Finding in creepy neighborhood at night is so fun. I'm pretty sure one of the flats was abandoned). We also met a kind of mean couple who acted nice at first and invited us in, but they just wanted to bash the Mormons. The best thing you can do in a situation like this is to bear your testimony and say that you're really busy. Like the penguin of Madagascar say: just smile and wave boys. Haha. On a happier note, there was zone conference this week and the theme was being creative in street contacting and asking inspired questions. I'm good on having creative ideas, I just need to do them, haha. Also "parabolic" is really a word apparently. When pres McReynolds was speaking he asked if that was a word and I accidentally said 'no' out loud. Later when sister McReynolds was speaking, she mentioned that it was a word and pres McReynolds interrupted to tell me I was wrong (it was pretty embarrassing) (I think sister Poussard was more embarrassed than me though, sorry!) We also got to know a member of the ward better too! Sister Smith is lovely and she remembers a lot of the previous sister missionaries 

So the spiritual message for this week is to not be afraid to accept and enjoy God's blessings! There are so many times where we have opportunities to grow in life, but because of fear or unobservance we don't take them. Elder Uchtdorf had a video in Mormon messages of the man on the cruise. The man didn't want to spend too much money, so he brought his own meals. He still got to see the cities he was going too, but for most of the ride he spent in his room eating crackers and beans. At the end of the cruise,  he is told that all the parties and food on the cruise was included in the ticket. Like this man, a lot of people don't see the blessings and opportunities that God gives us. We can't let life become the same thing every day, we need to look for those chances that God has given us!

Well I love y'all a bunch and I'll write next week!

The funny stuff: 

The pigeons in England are massive! Seriously! The people here love to feed the birds (they like big birds and they cannot lie)
Also the seagulls here sound like screaming toddlers with strep throat.
Sister Poussard was playing football with a pebble and she accidentally knocked it down the gutter. Her sorrow was very great. My amusement was greater
We were at an investigators house and her dog was coughing on my bag. I moved it like two times bc I thought the dog might puke on it. (Never eat and bark at the same time)
We were walking to the bus station in the evening, and we passed by a man so I said hi because I'm a missionary, and the man asked us if we wanted to come with him to get a drink. Sister Poussard says that she gets to do the night street contacting from now on (Idk what she's so worried about, he wasn't that cute) haha
Sister Poussard keeps jump scaring me from around the corner. I hope this makes you laugh, mom.
I met Jacen Zunigas follow up trainee, elder Cottle!
The mission president came to our ward on Sunday without any warning. I was always told that if the mission president or the assistant presidents came over, it meant someone or the district was in trouble. It turns out it was just interviews
The new missionary (trainee) in our district looks eighteen but it turns out he's 22. His trainer is younger than him, lol

*Pictures-

-First few are from Zone conference that Sister McReynolds posted for us parents-

-Haley's muddy shoes.. she said she got stuck in the mud one day while taking a shortcut. 

-A valentine treat bag from the youth in her ward. 

-The two new Elders in her district. Elder Van Skeltema from South Africa (in the red tshirt) and Elder Artartes from the Philippines.

-7ft tall Elder Carlson next to Elder Artartes. Haley said she is taller than Elder Artartes, so Elder Carlson must seriously tower over him! 

Week 11!

Email Haley at hhawkins@myldsmail.net

So this week was amazing and exhausting! We found a lot of new people and visited some less actives. We had to give at least a third of the new friends to the Elders in our district though (they were single men or in the Wellington area). The members love to stuff us too! On Sunday we had a munch and mingle and then for tea we were with a family where the father is an amazing cook! I felt like I was going to pop after it! Especially when he brought out the Apple cobbler. I may or may not have gained weight after that meal. We also saw a miracle when a random lady came to church with her children and decided to meet the missionaries! Hopefully we'll be able to see her this week. I don't have a lot of time this week so I just want everyone to know that it doesn't matter what your situation in life is, or your skills or personality. God has calling for all of us and it is up to us whether or not we want to accept it. And I know, that if we accept his plan, there won't be room enough for all the blessings he will pour down on us. Elder Uchtdorf speaks in a Mormon message called the shower of blessings, and in it he talks about how God is constantly raining down blessings on us. How we receive them is our choice. I love all of y'all and hope you all have a great week

Love Sister Honkins 

The funny moments 

A lady asked us if we were God people, and when I said yes she deadpanned with no and slammed the door. If someone told me they were a god person I'd be curious. Idk what the thought process was.
The new elder in Wrekin ward is from the Philippines and he's so adorable that I almost hugged him. I'm not kidding.
When we were at a lesson, this dog would not leave sister Poussard alone. It was being super playful during the whole lesson including prayer. I tried getting it's attention, but it knew I was a dog person so I wasn't challenge enough apparently (kind of hurt my feelings)
I accidentally deleted our district leaders number
A lady that we were seeing was roasting French people the whole time and I was stuck between laughing at sister Poussard or being offended on her behalf.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
The lady also called Americans mongrels but it's kinda true tho (she's actually really nice and was teasing us, and we had a very spiritual lesson with her) (she does like to make fun of the French in ww2)
There was a munch and mingle after church and the members sent us home with TONS of food. We prob won't even need groceries for a while.
We broke the door handle in the Wellington building (it was already loose apparently)

*Pictures..

-Haley bought herself a cute new coat.

-Haley said the Sister Training leaders in Crewe wanted pictures of all the Newcastle zone sisters, so of course in true Haley style, those are the pictures she and Sister Poussard sent. ha!

-more Haley drawings..

-I'm assuming the door handle they broke. lol

-My favorite of course is any videos Haley sends me. Funny thing too.. Notice how she calls me mama. I've always hated being called Mama and prefer mom.. Haley started calling me mama as a joke and to be a stinker way back.. now of course I love to hear her voice calling me mama. She is the only one who can get away with that too!

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Week 10!

Hey y'all!

This week was pretty crazy. I had first five weeks, which is basically a training for all the baby missionaries at the mission home. It was pretty great seeing all of my district from the mtc! President McReynolds is pretty amazing too. He doesn't beat around the bush. After that, it was finding, and call bys. On Saturday we had a service project though. An investigator needed help removing the wallpaper from her home. It was good work, and my arms were pretty tired after all that scraping and reaching upward (I'm short, and the walls were high). Another thing that happened was transfers! The results for this month are......(drumroll please) nothing! Sister Poussard and I will remain in Wiccan ward together. Elder Devonport (the district leader) and elder Mazutinec (Telford area, Canadian) are leaving though. Elder Carlson is the new district leader and I heard he's training. Can't wait to meet the two new missionaries!

Now here's a spiritual thought for everyone. In alma 32, it talks about faith and how faith is like a seed. If you don't encourage your faith, it will eventually wither away. We need to make a bit of time each day to grow our faith! Sorry if this is a bit short, but I don't have much time this pday. I love everyone, and hope you all have a great week!

Love Sister Honkins 

And now the funny stuff

During first five weeks, somebody thought that missionaries aren't allowed to play uno. I believed them and was devastated for 2 minutes.
We were super scared that we would be late to 5 weeks, but all our trains ended up early, and we were a whole hour early.
On the walk to the mission home, sister Poussard convinced me that her tablet died and that we were lost. I almost had a panic attack, we were in Manchester city. That place is massive!
The Morrison near our flat ran out of pomegranates (cry)
We still haven't taken down our Christmas decorations. Now I just want to see how long they'll stay up.
We were at a members house, and the dog licked my hands for like 5 minutes straight. I made a friend.
The member also had homade cake and it made sister Poussard homesick because it was the closest she had to French cake here. (Not as much sugar)
Sister Poussard doesn't like crows because apparently they were used as a part of mediaeval torture. The more you learn.
It was hailing without any clouds again. Idk how that's possible, but it happened.
King David came from the tribe of Judah, so Jesus is of the tribe of Judah. (Here's a fun fact for yall)
I was popping my gum really loud (to annoy sister Poussard) (I'm such a jerk hehehe) and she threw 3 mini highlighters at me.
Any time I do something unladylike, sister Poussard calls me porkus (pig in french)

Pictures*

 More of Haley's drawings.

I think the white bldg is her church bldg. She told me she was taking a picture of the sunset.

Haley with the 2 Elders who were transferred. 

The rest of the pictures are from the FB mission page. Thank goodness for the Mission President's wife Sister McReynolds who posts pictures for us parents!! My favorite picture is the one of Haley raising her hand in the background. I asked Sister McReynolds what Haley was doing because I could tell from her mischievous smile that she was up to something. Sister McReynolds said that Haley was sneaking a Hi in from her table.. the other table was the focus of that picture. Definitely my girl! ​

Week 9!

Hey y'all! 

This week I had exchanges and it made me very grateful for the area I've been put in! Exchanges were in Runcorn and it's basically a large industrial city (not on the same scale as Manchester though). It made me very grateful to be in quiet, green, Telford! Sister Sutherland (my companion during exchanges) was absolutely lovely and she could walk FAST! It's a sign that I need to walk faster on my mission. After exchanges, it was back to the grind. We are really focusing on the less actives and finding new friends for the rest of this transfer. It's so important that we share what we know with everyone. You can tell that spring is on its way, because the spiders are getting bigger. The spiders here are massive! Way bigger than California spiders. It also was windy and rainy most of the week so I'm sure next week will be sunny (this will require a lot of faith)(haha). We also met this lovely lady who I'll call Sonia. She is very sensitive to the spirit and feels like her current church is missing something. She promised to read and pray about the book of Mormon and wants to meet again! Talking with her really made me realize how much having the authority in our church makes a difference. You can really feel when something is accepted by God. Like Moroni said, that anything good comes from God, we can see the good works of The Book of Mormon, and teachings of our prophets. By their fruits you shall know them. Don't let yourself become stagnant in the Gospel, keep looking for that feeling of peace and love you so much can feel! I love all of y'all and hope you all stay true to what you believe!

Love sister Honkins 

The funny stuff:

On exchanges, Sister Sutherland accidentally dropped the phone in her spaghetti! Luckily the phone, spaghetti, and carpet all survived.
While sister Poussard and I were on the train, every time another train went by in the window, I had a mini heart attack. The train was more stressful than bus contacting.
This cat literally followed us for an hour and a half while we were tracting (pictures will be included) I didn't hold it bc I'm allergic
We found the cats house too (it had a collar) it led us to a new area to tract!
We had to go down this scary road to go to a tea appointment. It was one of those country roads surrounded by trees with no lights, and it was completely dark out. I kept on thinking of slenderman
These kids thast sister Poussard gives French classes too, gave her a mini flower plant. I thought the leaves were plastic at first. Seriously, those leaves look so fake but  they're not??? Genetic unfairness I guess
It's been really windy lately, and at night it makes everything super creepy so I'm a bundle of nerves. Sister Poussard noticed that and decided to grab my back while I was knocking on a door, thus making me shriek. It's like living with mom all over again. (*Gwen here..this made me laugh so much! I totally miss scaring Haley all the time!)
Sister Poussard tries to hold every cat she sees! I only held one, but that's because I knew I'd be able to wash my hands in like five minutes.
The spiders are getting bigger. Soon I'll be the ultimate spider killer. Better watch out Spiderman, you can't run from the gospel! Lol 

*Haleys companion Sister Poussard and then Haley with the cat

*Haley said the lady with her is ​Anmarie Wilson who knew Sister Poussards dad while he was on his mission. I didn't get from Haley if her dad served in England also, or somewhere else.

Week 8!

Hey y'all! 

This week was my first zone conference! Is was great to hear the news from the mission president and to meet all the other missionaries! I also got to see my mtc companion, Sister Terry! It's amazing how everyone is so invested in the gospel. To any future missionaries reading this, don't worry about the experience or lack of that you have when you go out, because once you get set apart and as you're obedient, the spirit will guide you through your whole mission. There's never going to be a perfect area, companion, or investigator!, but there is the potential to have a good attitude. I talked to missionaries who were in the hardest areas, and who were pretty much glowing with the spirit! 

After zone conference, we met some new friends (investigators) And some less actives. A lot of these people really need a friend and it's so important that we remember them. It's easy to stay in your own group of friends where it's comfortable, but is that the best thing to do? One of the ladies we met knew sister Poussards dad when he was on his mission! It was so fun hearing stories about him. 

As for the weather, it rained the first half of the week, snowed for two days, and rained again. Now it's sunny though. Sister Poussard loves the snow and was having the time of her life in it. (To each their own I guess. I'll stay loyal to my desert) the snow didn't go too deep though, so that's nice I guess. The elders we blitzed with were constantly chucking snowballs at each other! Well I don't have anything else to say, so until next week! 

Love, Sister Honkins 

And now the funny stuff: 

one of the elders accidentally called sister poussard fat. she was pretending to be super offended and he was so scared
we saw some deer while we were on the bus. I wouldn't have noticed if the bus driver hadn't pointed them out
at zone conference there was pizza and one elder ate like seven slices. I want to know his secret.
everyone also got all their mail. it was like late christmas! thanks for the keyboard and new tablet case mom. thank you Oyler family for the  Christmas cards!
one elder literally got his christmas presents late, it was funny seeing him carry around festively wrapped packages
everyone has the flu including the members and investigators. one member told me about how a teenager in england died of the flu this year. luckily sister poussard and I are very healthy right now.
Sister Poussard was teaching a French man on messenger and she forgot how to speak French. the gift of tongues is real
It was snowing all morning and during church. Amazingly about half the members came. (In England when it snows everything shuts down) 
One of our single young adult investigators came to church and the gospel principles lesson was on temple marriage. Yep. 

*Haley sent me lots of pictures this week, so I'm one happy mom!! 

-In the picture with the sour face... Haley is showing me how much she loves the snow. ha! 

-The lady in the picture Haley said is a member in her ward (Sister Marshall)

-Haley bought herself some slytherin pajamas with some of her Christmas money. 

-Haley and the other missionaries went to a pizza place on their p-day. 

-The pictures of them all in front of the Telford sign are my favorite! It's great to see Haley happy working hard, and having a little fun too! 

-Haley's mission Presidents wife posted a few pictures from the Zone conference, so I was able to have the ones with Haley in them also! I love that she wore a bright yellow sweater that day. Made it very easy for me so see her!