Christmas Happenings

Family,

It was SO nice to talk to you on Christmas day! 40 minutes really does go by so fast. I felt like I hadn't even talked to you for a minute. (I guess that means when I get home in November I'm going to have a lot of talking to catch up on).

My week has been really good. I guess I'm actually emailing for 2 weeks, but I'll just tell you what I remember of the past 2 weeks. So. Christmas. It was really good! We were so blessed because we were able to be with some really good members Christmas Eve and Christmas day. Christmas eve we were with the Daleys, a family from America. They are so cool. They have 4 kids (the cutest kids ever). Tender mercy: they have pretty much the exact same :Christmas Eve traditions as we do, including dinner, opening up pajamas and watching the animated Christmas story video. When we woke up Christmas morning that consensus was between the 2 of us that is didn't really feel like Christmas. On christmas day we spent time with 3 wonderful families that took us into their homes and pretty much helped us feel like we were family. It was great! and then... I GOT TO SEE YOUR SMILING FACES!! I'm glad that everyone is doing well. It was so fun to talk to you all. I also was blessed with some really sweet emails from friends and family that emailed me which I got to read today. Its like Christmas all over again!!!

As for the missionary work the past couple of weeks, we had an epic week 2 weeks ago and found new people to teach and were able to meet them several times. This past week the work slowed down a little bit because of Christmas and Christmas eve. But don't worry, it'll pick back up. New years is a great time to share the gospel while everyone is trying to be better. I'm excited to see the miracles start rolling in.

During my personal studies this week I read the Christmas story (classic) and I studied a lot in Preach My Gospel. I've also started reading Acts because its all about missionary work. It has been really good. I love filling spiritual hunger being satisfied as I study and learn more of the doctrines of the gospel and how to be a missionary. During combined Priesthood/ Relief Society meeting on Sunday the Bishop taught about hastening the work about the 4 areas that members of the church can help in the great work of salvation. I thought is was so cool. This work of salvation is a team effort between members and missionaries. I honestly believe there is no limit to what we can accomplish in finding, teaching, baptizing, activation and retention as the members and missionaries truly team up and work together in this work of Salvation.

These are two quotes I really liked from General Conference (I've been slowly reading through the talks again) :

"It is impossible for us to fail when we do our best when we are on the Lord’s errand." -M. Russell Ballard

"The most important part of your service will be your own daily spiritual preparation, including prayer, scripture study, and obedience to the commandments. We encourage you to dedicate yourself to living the gospel with greater purpose than ever before." I love this quote from the first presidency. It is really cool and I feel like it really applies to me as a missionary who is teaching all the time. It also applies to anyone who is teaching.

 

Now, for some pictures.

 Walking to the library.... its been like this a few days this week. Pouring rain with hurricane force winds. I have a pretty good coat though, it keeps me fairly dry :) Also, in that pic you can see my new boots.... got them for 17 pounds, over 50 percent off!!! (That's about 30 American dollars)

 District picture on Christmas Day! After our caroling service.

Its a tradition around here to have Christmas crackers (google it) basically you and one other person pull the cracker apart and whoever is holding the biggest part gets a joke, a tiny trinket and a crown. Its a tradition!!! This picture was from a DA last sunday. Best food ever, including homemade cheescake. I'm pretty sure I wobbled around for the next couple of hours.

 

I wore the pajamas you got me on Christmas eve ;)

Love you all! And Happy New Years :)

Sister Roscher

Merry Christmas!

Hello everyone! This is Allyson, Meghan's sister. We didn't get an email update from her this week (her p-day was moved) but we did get to talk to her on skype! She's doing fantastic and has been well taken care of over in England. Just goes to show there are incredible people everywhere. Next Monday there should be another email from her so check back then! And, just in case you've missed seeing her face this week, here's a picture or two :)

I Went by Coach (and Train) to....

SWINDON! Ok, you all might have known it was coming... I guess I didn't, or I was in denial. But it happened, it really happened! I'm out of my greenie (first) area!
You'll have to look it up on the map. It's pretty far away from where I was before. It is a 30 minute drive from being in the London mission. Crazy stuff!

Swindon is very different from Harborne. It feels a lot more like the suburbs. Some people work here in Swindon, but there is also a size-able population that commutes to London for work. The areas we are in are way more posh than Birmingham, but don't worry- we are still going to be able to find and teach plenty of people. There are 3 sets of missionaries here: 2 sets of Elders and one set of Sisters (us). These 3 sets consist of our district. Its weird having a smaller district, but I already love it. We already know each other well. 

My new companion is Sister Forbes. She is from Scotland! She is way cool. She has two transfers left of her mission so I will probably be the one to send her home. She is so sweet and kind and I already love her! Also, she's Scottish through and through, which is SO fun! Scottish people rock.

I was only in my new area for a day when we went back to Harborne for the Christmas conference! This should tell you how far away we are. We got up at 4:45, caught the bus to the train station at 6:10, caught the train  at 6:51 and then caught the coach with the rest of our Zone at 8:30. Its fun though. I love riding trains and coaches, its a hoot! At the Christmas conference I got to see everyone again. It was so fun!!! Sister Miller and Sister Sopi are both doing well and I got to see Sister Merrill (after only missing her for a day) . I also saw all of the other missionaries I have served around or was in the MTC with. There was a musical program, we ate homemade Cafe Rio (whoa!), caroled, and listened to President and Sister Rasmussen talk. It was fun! the conference went from 10 -4 then we all headed back to our areas. We made it back home at 8:45 pm full of Christmas joy, candy and Cafe Rio :) 

Getting to the mission home on transfer day was pretty easy, but getting from Sutton Coldfield to Swindon took a little more effort. Especially becuase I had my bike! All the missionaries being transferred to my new Zone (the Cheltenam Zone) took a coach down to Gloucester and then we all went our separate ways by train and bus. The coach was about 2 hours and then it was an hour train to Swindon. It was a fun adventure. English countryside is beautiful (I think that every time). Packing was also really fun because I had accumulated A LOT during the 7.5 months I was in Harborne. Sister Merrill just laughed at me as I started to pull stuff out and pack (and then she offered to help :))

It was sad to say good-bye to my recent converts and those in the ward I had grown close to, but it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. They are in good hands with Sister Merrill and her new companion Sister Williamson.

Sister Roscher

Oh, and on Monday we went caroling in the city centre with the YSAs. Here's a (blurry) picture!

My new companion, Sister Forbes!

Love and Laughter

This week sister Merrill and I have really enjoyed breaking out the Christmas music and singing ALL THE TIME. Christmas music is where its at! 

Also.... tonight we get transfer calls!!!!! AH! Except, I don't think I'm going to be transferred. I think I will stay here until the end of January (1 week away from my 9-month mark). There are a couple reasons Sister Merrill and I both think I am staying. You'll have to find out what happens from the mission blog or wait until we email next week :)  We'll find out tonight around 10:00. Strangely, the suspense isn't killing me. I really really think I will be here for another transfer. 

This week the weather was really pretty nice. We haven't had anything super eventful happen this week for me to tell about other than we are really excited for "Come unto Christ" month. This week should be an exciting one for us to find and teach new people! R was interviewed to receive the priesthood on Sunday, Wahoo! Z2 was taking a friend to the airport so he wasn't there this Sunday but will be interviewed next Sunday for the priesthood. Z is doing good as well. 

Also, L (you remember L) should be receiving a calling this Sunday so I am excited to see him get more and more integrated into the church. He still very diligently studies the scriptures and is doing well. Tony has been struggling a little bit but we have the YSA (Young Single Adult) ward on board and we are going to make sure that he stays strong in the faith. He has just been really swamped by school this semester. 

I am excited to see the miracles that come around this time of year and to be a part of this massive effort of bringing others to Christ. 

oh.I also got my hair cut!!! I got a bob. It was daring.... but turned our super cute!!!! I don't have a very good picture of it at the moment, but I'll take one this week and send it :) 

ooh, AND this week is the mission Christmas conference!!!! This is the only time each year the whole mission comes together. It is this Friday at our Chapel (because we have the biggest chapel in the mission). 300 missionaries, food, and Christmas fun. I'm excited! And I'll get to see Sister Miller and Sister Sopi and the sisters in my MTC group. 

I love you! Thank you for your love and support!!!!

Sister Roscher

NOEL

Happy thanksgiving! I am glad that it was filled with family, fun, and FOOD! I am so glad that everyone traveled safe and that you were able to have some quality bonding time. That is always good. It is hard to believe that it is already December and that Christmas is near approaching. We are in the last full week of the transfer and it feels like it went by in the blink of an eye!  

If I could describe this week in one word I would say FUNNY. I think we have the funniest investigators and recent converts ever! They are just so charismatic and unique. I have oodles of funny things to tell you! But first before I do that, I just have to tell you a cool food story.... This Sunday after church and the baptisms there was a 'hot pot'. Its a Chinese thing. Click here to read about hot pots! The YSA chinese recent converts put it on to get more involved in the ward and because they love to display and show us more of their culture. At the hot pot I ate..... FISH BALLS! I felt pretty neutral about them. It was like a whole bunch of fish pureed then put back together in a ball and then fried. It was pretty cool though. And I ate some delicious fried tofu with Udon noodles (Japanese) and fried beef slices. It was pretty tasty! 

Other big news, last P-day we got to go to the Birmingham-Frankfurt Christmas market! I pretty much died and went to heaven. It was just so fun to be a part of. I'm sure there are pictures online that you can look up if you want to see it. We walked up and down New Street to see all the stands and what they had and it was fantastic! They also had a craft market going at the same time at the end of the Christmas market. Totally up my alley! At  the Christmas market there are loads of places to eat, there are stands with little Christmas trinkets, German food etc. I really enjoyed seeing everything. I didn't really feel like I was in England for a few second;, I felt like I was in Germany! Its really funny- alcohol is huge here, and they had a pub set up in the street as part of the Christmas market. For lunch we bought a monster bratwurst with some onions and sauce on it and we got crepes for dessert. Then we sat in Victoria square and ate them and people watched. I spilled onions and sauce on my skirt, the ground, and all over my face. Typical haha Sister Merrill thought it was hilarious, but I think she was also a little embarrassed she was sitting next to me :) To close our fun day, we rode the Ferris wheel!!! It was so fun! The Ferris wheel workers spun us around each time we got to the base too. Then we walked around the new library of Birmingham. You should google it and look at pictures of it online! They also had coolest library I've EVER been to! It just opened 3ish months ago. It cost a few billion dollars to build. It has light up escalators spiral bookcases and is basically the coolest thing ever. We're actually emailing from there because we wanted to go back. I can proudly say I have a library card from it too :)

Sister Merrill and Sister Roscher

The pub in the middle of the square

"Happy Christmas Birmingham"

   

With their brawtwursts

On the Ferris Wheel

 Z, R and Z2 are all doing really well and were able to receive the Holy Ghost this Sunday.

When we met with R this week, he shared his testimony with us about the word of wisdom. He had to stop drinking alcohol, coffee and tea before baptism. He is rock solid. He explained that he had given up all those things but had still been cooking with a lot of alcohol and that he had found and new better method to cook his food. He told us he had a testimony of keeping God's commandments and he wanted to keep them well. 

Z is doing really well. She has set such a good example for her friends and has touched them with the happiness and peace she has found through the gospel of Jesus Christ. We're now teaching 2 of her housemates! Funny story about Z, it was Sunday school time (Sacrament Meeting is last) and she still wasn't at church so we called her and got no answer. Then we called her again and she told us she was at the hospital. Turns out, when she woke up in the morning she was really sleepy and stubbed her pinky toe on her bed and hurt it, so she went into the ER to get her stubbed toe checked out HAHAHA She still made it to Sacrament Meeting but it was after the other 6 confirmations took place and so she had to be confirmed by herself after the sacrament. Although we had a baby heart attack that she wasn't going to to make it, she did! Stubbed pinky toe and all! It was just SO SO funny!  

Z2 is awesome I don't think I've ever seen anyone so excited to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost! We saw him the night before and he was just SO excited.

On Thanksgiving, we were reminded by an investigator that it was Thanksgiving because we had totally forgotten!! It was just a regular day here, no classes canceled or anything. For our Thanksgiving feast we ate pizza and cheesecake. It was pretty fun, and delicious! But I did think about all of you and hoped that you were having a wonderful feast with the roast beast! Apparently she's already forgotten we eat turkey on Thanksgiving ;)  

At the start of the Christmas season, we are doing a "December to Remember" in the mission with a Come unto Christ month. We each choose at least one thing to give as an offering to Christ this season and to dedicate our efforts to Him. It will be an exciting month in the EBM. 

We had the Stake Christmas program last night and we were able to invite the spirit of the season in to members and non-members alike.One of the speakers gave us an acronym that I really liked. NOEL. N-Name. Take Christ's name upon us this season. O- Obedience. Show our love for Christ by being obedient to his commandments. E- Emulate. Emulate Christ this season. Do what he would do. L- Love. Show love for all those around us and our Savior. So this Christmas, think of NOEL! 

At the end of this Thanksgiving season, I also want to say how grateful I am for the gospel of Jesus Christ. I am so grateful for the many tender mercies I have in my life and the wonderful experiences I am having here in England! 

The message we share with the world is life changing. It changes us and helps us be better the more we serve, pray and read our scriptures, try to emulate Christ, and learn about Him and be better! If you don't feel like you personally know your Savior, now is the time! Don't delay!!! 

I LOVE YOU ALL! 

Sister Roscher

Chinese Book of Mormon and Name Tag

With a map :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

This week has been somethin' else, that is for sure. It ended on the best note ever!!! There were 7 people baptized in our ward this Sunday. Talk about a cool sight. 12 people all dressed in white (between the baptizees and baptizers). 

Before I talk more about that though, some of my favorite quotes from this week: 

Z- She chose to wear white, because in all the pictures she had seen of God, He was wearing white and she wanted to please God extra today. 

She also said, as we were walking home from her baptismal interview on Thursday that she felt very good and that she loved that she could repent every day and that God loves her so much that He cares to listen to and answer her prayers. Also, Z didn't have any problems with the commandments. She is so sweet. Probably one of the sweetest people alive! We showed her a picture of the temple and she thought it was SO pretty. Then she asked why our church building isn't prettier and doesn't have a steeple haha

Sister Merrill and I with Z.

Z2- After his baptism he said (in a chinese accent)." I am Z2- a whole new man!!!" and then when we were talking to him later and he said " When I go home and look in the mirror, its going to be a whole new me!"  He was just SO happy to be baptized. 

Sister Merrill and I with Z2.

R- R is a champ. He had to be baptized close to 15 times.... it is a funny story, but R didn't seem too bothered. He was just happy to be baptized!  He'd been baptized 5 times and didn't go under (it was D's first time baptizing anyone and his elbow came up each time) so then the Elders closed the curtain and they 'practiced' going all the way under without the prayer 7 more times ( R finally went all the way under on the 7th time). Then it took two more times after that because D kept on forgetting the prayer; . He was so focused on making sure R went all the way under. *We believe in baptism by immersion. This means that when a person is baptized every part of their body- even the tiniest hair- must go completely under the water. If not, the baptism must be redone. The baptismal prayer must also be word for word correct; any errors result in the baptism being repeated as well. If you have any questions about baptism, click here or feel free to comment and we'll make sure to answer them :)

Sister Merrill and I with R.

The other 4 baptisms were really cool to watch too! J, one of the Elder's investigators, did a "slam dunk" baptism where he almost rammed his head against the wall because he's tall. But don't worry, he just barely missed it haha

Q- We had a total miracle with her! She came to church!!! She had told us she couldn't, but we called her this morning and she changed her mind. She has such a rock solid testimony and has a lot of real  intent, but she was having a hard time acting on it to come to church. She reads and prays regularly though. Now she is truly progressing towards her baptismal date- December 8th. She was really well fellow-shipped by the ward when she came today. LOVE IT! 

The work will go forward. This week I have really enjoyed thinking more about my Savior and how I can show my love for him.  I have been able to read several good talks this week on the Atonement. One of them is "The Atonement" by Russell M Nelson from the 1996 General Conference. I highly recommend it if you're looking for something really powerful to read! 

I love you all. Have a VERY happy thanksgiving and travel safe!!! Enjoy the kazillion pictures I sent you :)

Sister Roscher

All 12 people in white- 7 baptizees, 5 baptizers.

The missionaries with the people in white.

The people in white, the missionaries, and some members of the ward.

Z2 and R with T (You remember T right? He baptized Z) and D (He is a recent convert who baptized R)

This is a picture Sister Merrill and Sister Roscher drew of their Zone leaders :) They're quite the artists!

We Love Ben & Jerry's!

This week we have been focusing mostly on making sure our investigators our ready for their baptisms this upcoming week. We met with Z on Monday night, after our fast on Sunday, and guess what!?!?! She talked to her parents again and they had a change of heart. They said if she wanted to be baptized she could be. She was an adult and could make up her mind. When she told us she was glowing. She said she could hardly wait all day to tell us the news, she wanted to call and tell us, but then decided she wanted to tell us in person. 

Z2- he is the man! He committed to live the word of wisdom and hasn't looked back since. He was an avid coffee drinker before but he's gone cold turkey now! He says he drinks a lot of juice and milk now haha We also go exciting news from him too. He is going to be baptized this upcoming Sunday just as Z is, and he called his parents to ask for permission. They said yes! He explained to us that he was shocked because his parents aren't advocates for religion at all. That is a huge miracle because sometimes people will be baptized without their parents approval, but having it sure does make it easier! He is so excited to be baptized. 

Especially in Chinese culture honoring your parents is so important so with Z and Z2 it is a huge blessing. 

R is so cool, and he is also getting ready for his baptism this week. Ryan has also been really well fellowshipped by the YSA which is such a blessing. He is committed through and through to the gospel and rarely misses a Sunday. 

We have had some disappointments this week, but the work will go forward. H2 wasn't baptized this Sunday. He completely fell off the face of the planet, which is really sad. I hope and pray we will be able to contact him to find out what happened and what we can do to help. H2 is a very special person. 

This week should be an exciting week! 

Sorry this is short!

Love, 

Sister Roscher 

Happy November!

Family- 

This week has been so good! We saw miracles each and everyday. It was cool because we write down a miracle each night during planning and every this week night we had 3 or 4. We had a hard time choosing which one was the most important or biggest. What a good problem to have! 

The past couple weeks there have been poppies everywhere (poppie=a patriotic sign) in honour of the Royal British Legion and in honour of Remembrance Sunday (England's 4th of July). We were volunteered for community service to stand with a box and help sell small paper poppies with a donation box that goes to military veterans. It was actually really fun! All of the missionaries in the ward took shifts.  I just thought it was really funny because it was a whole bunch of Americans holding English things. It was a fun chance to serve though :) 

We were also on bikes this week! It was super funny :) And to be perfectly honest, I almost cried walking up a hill one day because my quads hurt so bad... but they are getting stronger. I actually really enjoy biking though, I think it is something that I will do for the rest of my life. 

Some of the miracles we saw this week: 

1)  We were able to commit 4 of the people we have been teaching to baptismal dates! What is so cool is that each time it was such a miracle and the spirit was SO strong. Q we've been teaching for 2 months now and she just really wasn't ready. We had extended a couple of times, had powerful lessons with her etc. but she just wasn't quite there, and this week it happened!! It was such a blessing :)

2) Z2 has a baptismal date now too, for 2 weeks from today! He's the one who said "I think I just made a new friend" after his first prayer. 

3) We have been able to meet with Z and we fasted with her this Sunday. Although there is still some conflict with her parents she has so much faith and is willing to overcome it and really find the truth. 

4) We taught the Word of Wisdom to 3 different investigators who were each breaking the Word of Wisdom in some form or fashion. All 3 of them committed to live it without the blink of an eye! It was seriously so cool. they know the church is true, and they will do what it takes :) 

5) Sister Merrill and I both love to laugh. We were caught by a few rainstorms while we were biking and finding this week and we just both laughed and worked our way through it. Attitude really is everything. It made me think more about the saying "Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it is about learning to dance in the rain." In England, if you don't live that way, you're in trouble, that's for sure :) 

6) H2! We had our first lesson with him 2 weeks ago and he is getting baptized next week! He is from Indonesia and is a university student here. He is also one of the nicest people I have ever met! Basically HE is a miracle in and of himself just for being so amazing! It is honestly an honour too meet with him several times a week. He has SO MUCH FAITH! I need to be more like him :)

There were so many more, but I can't list or remember all of them. 

Something I really liked this week that our district leader did at district meeting is that he had us all bring a shoe (Ibrought my boots) :P  and talk about why we chose it and how. Everyone brought different shoes, and they were all good! The lesson was that we are all good shoes. We all had different shoes, but they all got the job done and they were all good for each one of us. Each one of us is different. We have different strengths , weaknesses, etc. but we can all use them to build the kingdom of God.

The church is true! I know it will all my heart :) 

I love you all so much!

Sister Roscher

On the train! The train station seriously looked like platform 9 3/4....I don't have a picture to prove it though because we were going to miss our train.

 

Eating Chinese food. It was better than Panda Express!

SURPRISE!!!

Family,

Surprise! I am still in Harborne! It was completely unexpected but I am excited to be here! When we got the call on Monday it was a huge shock, and I felt bad because Sister Sopi wasn't prepared to leave Harborne. 

My new companion is Sister Merrill. I was in the MTC with her, and she is seriously so cool and she is an amazing missionary! I am excited for this transfer and the miracles I know will happen.  We have already been finding and teaching like crazy and I have learned SO much. Sister Sopi was transferred to another area and is companions with one of the sisters in Sister Miller's group. It was unusual that she left and I stayed, but Heavenly Father wants Sister Merrill and I here in Harborne together right now and I think there are some pretty big things expected from us (no pressure right? haha). Now I'll get to see Birmingham decked out in Christmas decorations! I won't be here for Christmas, but I'll still get to participate in some of the festivities here. 

This week we were able to see many miracles. One of them was S4. He is from Iran and we met with him a couple of weeks ago. He was out of town though, so the next time we could meet with him was this Friday. He has been reading the Book of Mormon, and he believes it's true! And he came to church on Sunday. He is so strong.  He is solid on his baptismal date too.

We also got 2 amazing new investigators this week! One is from Indonesia, the other from China. They are so full of faith! I am excited to see the work go forward in this area. 

This week I have had some inner struggles, but in the end I gained a greater conviction that I am supposed to be here serving a mission. I am needed in England and Heavenly Father has things He needs me to do here. Of course I am not a perfect missionary and I don't do everything perfectly, but what matters is that I recognize it and keep on pushing forward to be better. The more humble I am the more I can be an instrument in his hands. 

Also, cool thing. Sister Merrill and I are BIKING! Its going to be an adventure, but we honestly need to in order to make it to all our appointments on time and consistently. I'll send you a cheesy picture of me on a bike next week hahahahaha 

It feels really weird that I hit my 6 month mark on Saturday... time is so weird! I hope that calendar on the wall is filling up :) 

Now for some pictures!

One last picture of Sister Sopi and I at the mission office. It was hard to say goodbye. 

5 of the 11 girls in my group at transfers. Good times!

Sister Merrill and I ate Ben&Jerry's ice cream in honour of our 6 month mark on the mission.

Family, I love you! Thank you for your support and stories! Keep me posted on life :)

Sister Roscher

Fall (or Winter) is Here (Again)

Family!

What a week. I have learned so much and am so grateful to be here on the mission. It is so weird that I have been out for 6 months! 

This week it rained a lot and it was impossible to stay dry, but we had such an amazing, fun week. We had zone p-day and that was really fun. We did a scavenger hunt, a team building activity and played ping-pong, Foosball, and Futbol. We also had a district lunch on Wednesday after district meeting since about half the people in our district will probably be transferred this week. I love my district here so much! I love the ward too. I feel like I am part of the ward, to some extent, since after being here for 6 months I know pretty much everyone now. 

We taught loads of our Chinese investigators this week and it is really exciting to see their faith grow. R, a Chinese investigator we have been teaching for about a month now committed to baptism! (November 17). He is a champ. He rarely misses a Sunday at church and is so cool. M2 and S3 are amazing and we read in the Book of Mormon with the intent of teaching them how to learn and receive revelation from the Book of Mormon. We read the story of Nephi's bow with them and it was so cool. Every time we meet them they amaze me, and the Spirit is so strong in the lesson because they are so willing to learn. 

Z, another Chinese student, committed to be baptized this week too. I was a little bit apprehensive about extending the invitation but I did it with faith knowing that I should and she said yes straight away! It was a testimony builder that when we try to be obedient and when we just take the step of faith and invite people to change and make commitments we can be surprised! 

We met S this week to see how he was doing since we dropped him and see if he was ready to fully commit to the gospel; he isn't ready yet. It was pretty frustrating because the first thing he said is that he knows he will be baptized eventually and that there is happiness to be found here, but he is being overcome by his vices right now and is fairly content to be where he is.... All I can say is that we did our part as missionaries and invited him. We taught him the principles, got him to church and helped him feel the Spirit and continued to invite him. The rest is up to him though. I hope that a year from now he will see the light and realize that the gospel of Jesus Christ is worth EVERYTHING. 

We had a stake Relief Society service workshop and dinner which we were allowed to go to since it was a service activity. It was so good. There are many women here that struggle with their testimonies and living the gospel but there are also many that have consecrated all that they have to building the kingdom, serving others and being true to their baptismal covenants at all times. It was so nice to chat with some of them and learn from them and hear their conversion stories. As I have come to know people more I have learned that most of the leadership families in the ward and stake are all converts to the church! Either they are first generation members or their parents are. It is so cool to see how the gospel enables people to fulfill callings and build the kingdom regardless of how long they have been in the church. 

I will find out tonight after nightly planning if I am being transferred out of the area and then will leave Wednesday morning. And let me say- its killing me! I just want to know what is going to happen to me! I have said my good-byes to everyone and have taken pictures with members and investigators. It just all comes down to where Heavenly Father needs me the most! 

I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY! Oh- and I finished my journal last week! All 208 pages :) Now I'm on to fill up a new one with the amazing experiences I am having. Sorry the email is shorter today- we have lots of things to get done today since I'm probably leaving the area! Today we are going to a free, famous art museum right in the dead centre of Birmingham. We have put off going, but I would kick myself if I was in this area for 6 months and didn't go! I'm going boot shopping today too! I gotta find some good boots just in case I transferred to a biking area in wales where there isn't as good of shopping haha

With R. 

Best. District. Ever!

It's fall! I just had to take a picture with all of the leaves.

A cute picture with me sporting my new waterproof down coat. 

I LOVE YOU ALL!! 

Sister Roscher

Solihull

This week has been good! Time has gone by SO fast! We have seen several miracles this week in finding new people to teach and helping those we teach feel the Spirit. 

On Monday we had district P-day, which was so fun! We have an an obedient, hard-working district but it was fun to do some fun things too. Monday night we taught M2 and S3. They are really epic. They are from China and I love them! They read Alma 32 and said like 5 times in the lesson they were so grateful for us being patient with them and teaching them about God and Christ, because they "know so little," in their words. The whole time I was thinking how easy it was for me to be patient because I love them and I see they care and want to know. 

We had the opportunity to do a lot of service this week, which was actually really nice! Its only the 4th or 5th time I have been able to get into my trousers during proselyting time. SCORE! We did service for a non-member who is friends with a member of the ward. It was cool because the member is going to give her a Book of Mormon and we are going back to do more service this week too! You never know what can happen with service, love and the Spirit! 

We handed Q over to the elders this week, because she lives in their area. It was really sad, but she will not be hurt from us being obedient to the area boundaries. During the handover lesson her answers were SO good. We team taught the plan of salvation, and it was so cool. We talked about how the plan of salvation helps us realize there is more than just this life and it was really cool because after we went through it she asked "What are the most important things then?" I LOVE it when investigators ask good questions like that. Her mind was blown at the end of the lesson. She said if it is true, which she believes it is, then she needs to rethink her life. She is so good. The elders will take good care of her; they are really good missionaries.

We had a first lesson with Sa this week. He is a masters student from Iran, although he's been in England for 14 years. He is really cool, and he committed to reading the Book of Mormon. He is so dedicated too. We committed him to be baptized on Nov 17 and he said yes, I should give him time to read though the whole Book of Mormon and know if it is true haha what a champ :)

The weather keeps alternating between being really cold and just nice. Having some nice weather days makes me so grateful!

On Saturday we had a "work over" in one of the areas in our Zone. This is when missionaries leave their areas to help the missionaries in a specific area find more people to teach. There were 16 missionaries that went in for the work over. It was in Solihull (you can look it up on the map). It is a really hard area because it is pretty posh and the missionaries get shut down all day every day. It taught me a lot about how different areas are and I feel so grateful to have served in Harborne for 6 months! The dynamics of the areas were very different, because we work mostly with University students and they are very receptive to the gospel. After the work-over, the members of the ward had prepared a thanksgiving feast for us to eat. I love ward members! These ward members really really want to see the missionary work improve in their area which is so touching. The first step of member missionary work is to actually care, and then to act. This ward is doing both! There are people to find there although right now it is hard, but with the members and missionaries working together, things will take off.

I love you and hope you are all well!  Thank for your continued prayers and support.

sorry, no pictures today, I forgot my cord! 

LOVE YOU ALL!
Sister Roscher