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