Christmas in the YSA (15/12 email)

Hi!

It's crazy how quick the days are going, I can hardly remember what we did this week! Our investigator Rebecca has progressed so quickly the past few weeks, and she is getting baptised this week! She actually lives in the same accomodation as Ted our recent convert, so has been a really good example to her.

Our investigator Cloud (Chinese students sometimes have the funniest names!) came to church! We will be setting a baptismal date with him soon. And we finally got to see Chris again! He was really not doing well, and we weren't sure what was wrong or how to help him... we asked if he wanted a blessing and he said yes so the Elders came and gave him one. The Spirit was so so strong in the room and I just couldn't stop crying! My heart just broke for him. He needed help beyond what we could do for him, and he is actually in hospital now getting the help he needs, so that makes me feel so much better.

Sometimes i just get this overwhelming feeling about the people I teach, that we were always meant to meet and that there are things that I specifically need to help them with. I know that God has a perfect plan... He knows the needs of his children so he sends people to help them, and I've seen how God has used me to help others and it is an amazing feeling.

Both Katarina and Ted go out teaching with us and it's so great because I can see how much their testimonies have grown and oh its just the best!

Sister Gjikaj is so wonderful, I love being her companion! She is also an amazing cook and makes the best Albanian food haha!

I can't wait for tomorrow cos we are going to the Temple! Then Rebecca gets baptised on Thursday and next week is Christmas! Even though it's cold and wet, I have so much to be grateful for and I love being here... I hope you all are doing well and hope to hear from you soon!

xoxo Sister Riley

Manchester Christmas markets

We had a munch 'n' mingle after Church, complete with Christmas crackers!

Our growing family (8/12 email)

Hi everyone!

We had transfers this week, and as you know I'm training again... my new companion is Sister Gjikaj from Albania. She is amazing, and I am so excited for this transfer :)

Last P-day the Pews (senior missionary couple) took us out to an American restaurant as a farewell to the missionaries that were leaving. It was fun... I had my first proper American hotdog and it was real good!

Wednesday was transfer meeting, and we took a family tree photo... our last one with Sister Martin cos she's going home! :(

Sister Gjikaj and I have been seeing miracles already, and we have met some amazing people on the streets of Manchester. She has a powerful testimony and I know it will truly bless the lives of the people here.

I'm so grateful for the opportunity to train right now... it is really helping me to be focused and to work hard. I know that there are many more miracles on the way, especially with it being the Christmas season. I encourage you all to share the "He is the gift" video with everyone! [ http://www.mormon.org.au/christmas ] It is not very long, but its powerful and I'm sure that those people who are prepared will watch it and will feel something stir within them and want to learn more about Christ. He truly is the most precious gift and we need to share it!

I just wanted to end with a quote I read this week that I thought was powerful:
"We become what we want to be by consistently being what we want to become each day." - Elder Scott.

It's never too late to be the person you've always wanted to be; we can start today by making small changes and I know that if we involve God, he can help us reach our potential.

I love you all!
xoxo Sister Riley

Family tree! Sister Martin, me, Sister Gjikaj, Sister Madsen and Sister Black

Tis the season (2/12 email)

Last P-day we went to the Christmas Markets in Piccadilly, and it was magical! Now I have the Christmas spirit haha! I also bought a cute christmas sweater and we put up a tiny little tree in our flat :D

Katarina got baptised this week! So happy for her! It was a great day, the elders also had a baptism, and after we had a thanksgiving dinner... ate way too much!

We got our transfer calls this week and I will be staying in Manchester and training a new missionary; Sister Chu is also training and moving to Lancaster. It will be sad to see her go, and I was kinda hoping for one last area but I'll most likely be here til the end. I'm excited to train again and can't wait to meet my new companion :)

So we taught Chris again this week, and the Spirit in that lesson was so strong! Probably one of the most powerful lessons I've ever taught. I felt the Spirit prompting me exactly what to say, and I was so bold with him, and I'm not normally very bold. I extended the invitation to be baptised, and we sat in silence for like a minute... it was intense! I thought for sure he was going to say yes... but at the moment he's a bit confused and conflicted. He committed to read the Book of Mormon and pray, but I am not sure what to do next... something's not clicking and it's frustrating cos now I feel like I've done everything I can do... there's only so much we can do, the rest is up to him and I just hope that he can do his part because I know that this gospel is the answer... what ever the question or problem, this Gospel has the answers, the peace and the purest form of happiness you will ever find.

There's so much going on in my mind right now but at the same time I'm not sure what else to write. Just want you all to know that I love you and miss you and hope you are all doing great! I love being a missionary, I am so grateful heavenly father guided me here :)

xoxo Sister Riley

The streets in Manchester are getting Christmassy!

Katarina and Andy's baptism

Our tree!

Baptisms! (25/11 email)

Ted got baptised this past week! Oh I just love baptisms! The spirit is always so strong. Katarina is getting baptised this week! Both of them came with us to Stake Conference and enjoyed it. My favourite part of Stake Conference was a musical item the choir performed. It was a beautiful arrangement of 'Come thou fount', and I had tears in my eyes as I listened and the Spirit touched my heart. I am so grateful for music. I think that beautiful music can be one of the quickest ways to feel the Spirit and I just love it.

The weather is getting a lot colder and wetter which makes finding new investigators more of a challenge, but we just keep going! We met some great people on the street yesterday who will hopefully become new investigators. One thing I love about Manchester is how diverse it is here! I've met people from all over the world! I know that God is bringing people here to hear the Gospel!

We are teaching a boy called Chris, and he has been investigating the church for quite a while, and is pretty much living everything but for some reason won't commit to being baptised. He says its something that he wants, but something is holding him back and we just can't figure it out. So I've been praying a lot, to know what we need to share with him that will help him, and I had an amazing experience in my personal study where I was completely guided by the Spirit to know what to share with him. I can't wait for our next lesson to see how it goes!

I've really noticed this week how God helps me to know the right things to say as I teach, and it's such an amazing thing to be a part of. God knows our investigators personally, and as we prepare each morning, God promises to reveal to us by the Spirit what we need to share with them. I love how I feel when I teach. I am just filled with love from God.It's the best feeling in the world.

I am determined to make this week the best of my mission... time is going by so quickly and I want to make the most of it!

Also we found out that we get to go to the Temple next month and I am beyond excited! More excited than Christmas! Those of you reading this who have the opportunity to go to the Temple often, you are so lucky! I miss it so much! It is in the temple where I feel closest to God. It's my most favourite place to be. I invite you to go as much as you can!

xoxo Sister Riley

Ted's baptism

Lego Harry

Sister Chu's new ride

Happy are we (17/11 email)

Hi everyone!

Thanks for the birthday wishes :) I had a great day. Sister Chu surprised me when I came out the shower with balloons and chocolate and goodies. She is the sweetest most happy person I know and I love being her companion :)

We went to Nandos for lunch as a district. I love nandos! It's more expensive here though, but still... Nandos! In the evening Melody and Brogan had us round for tea and they had a cake for me with our picture on it... I found it very amusing as I bit sister chu's head off hahaha!

I am so excited for this coming week! Ted is getting baptised! There aren't many things that compare to the joy of bapisms on your mission. :D

I wanted to share an experience I had this week that really strengthened my faith. Something that I haven't been the best at on my mission is planning. I have heard from so many people how important planning is but I just haven't been able to master it yet. This week I was so determined to put my whole heart into planning and see miracles! And we did! Sister Chu and I went out with our planners filled up, with specific goals for every hour and we achieved them all! It was like a dream. I actually feel pretty dumb that it's taken me this long to figure it out but hey... better late than never right? I know that God saw the effort we put into planning, he saw the faith that we had as we went out, expecting to achieve our goals and the miracles didn't happen straight away, we had to work hard! We talked to everyone! And then, and only then did we see the miracles. We met a man on the street that was so prepared! He had a lot of questions, but he sincerely wanted to know the truth. We gave him a Book of Mormon and bore our testimonies, and I know that he will read it. Some people just say that they will and never do, but this man was ready. It was amazing.

Well, today we are going to the Trafford centre which is a huge shopping mall in Manchester! I am super excited!

I hope you all have the best day ever! 
Our attitudes make ALL the difference!
Love you! xoxox Sister Riley

Birthday lunch at Nandos

Customised cake

Just a quick one (11/11 email)

Sorry I'm outta time, but I want you all to know I'm doing well and I am so excited for this week.

We are going to work so hard, and I know that miracles will happen! Katarina and Ted are doing really well and should hopefully both be baptised this month :) I had an interview with President this week, and he said a lot of things that I needed to hear. He really is inspired and receives revelation for this mission.

I just want you all to know that the power of prayer is real. Prayer can change our hearts, prayer can change our lives and as we come closer to God we find greater peace and happiness.

I invite you all to pray more. The more we pray the more guidance we receive and the more we will become like our Heavenly Father.

Love you all so much!
xoxo Sister Riley

Be Still and know that I am God (3/11 email)

We had a baptism in the YSA ward this week! It was so wonderful :) Two of our investigators came, and I think that it really helped them to see that it is something they want too. Our investigators Ted and Katarina are progressing really well. Ted now has a baptismal date for the 20th of Nov and Katarina is really close! She is so amazing!

Remember how a few weeks back I told you about a lady we met on the street who had some mental health problems, and we were able to help her out... well this week we got a call from her, she is doing much better, and she wanted to thank us for helping her that night. She said that she was in a very bad place and was thinking about taking her own life, but that we had saved her. After that phonecall I just sat in silence for a while. I thought back to that night and how Sister Chu and i had initially walked past her but both felt we needed to turn back and talk to her. I am so grateful we followed the prompting. God answers prayers! He knew that this lady needed help so He sent us to her. My heart is just so full of love right now, I can't explain it. I know that each of us can make a huge difference in the lives of others if we will live worthy of, and follow the promptings of the spirit... we can literally save lives!

Sister Chu and I had some amazing experiences this week while we went out finding. We would go out with a prayer in our hearts, we would ask each other... what are you praying for right now? And it would be something like... someone who will accept a Book of Mormon... and then we would find them! It was crazy! the church is true!

I have been studying about the enabling power of the Atonement this week, and the things that I have read have helped me so much! If you have the opportunity, I recommend reading the talk "In the strength of the Lord" by Elder Bednar. Here is a great quote from it:

"There is no physical pain, no anguish of soul, no suffering of spirit, no infirmity or weakness that you or I ever experience during our mortal journey that the Savior did not experience first. You and I in a moment of weakness may cry out, 'No one understands. No one knows.' No human being, perhaps, knows. But the Son of God perfectly knows and understands, for He felt and bore our burdens before we ever did. And because He paid the ultimate price and bore that burden, He has perfect empathy and can extend to us His arm of mercy in so many phases of our life. He can reach out, touch, and succor—literally run to us—and strengthen us to be more than we could ever be and help us to do that which we could never do through relying only upon our own power."

I have come to know the Saviour on a much more personal level because of the trials I've had on my mission. I have come to see for myself that the enabling power of the Atonement is real. It is so real, and it is there waiting for us to access it. Don't let Christ's suffering be in vain! You don't have to suffer through life on your own. He has already been through it. Let him comfort you, let him carry the load with you. I am so grateful for Him and His perfect love. It means everything to me. I never thought I would be someone to say "I'm grateful for my trials," but I really am. I know that God will never give us a trial that we can't get through. Sometimes we forget the most important thing though, that the Saviour is there to help us and we don't have to do it alone. So if you are struggling right now, if you are hurting and you feel alone... turn to the Saviour! let him help you! He has helped me so much, and his love is endless, don't feel like you are asking too much of Him, he will always be there.

I love you all, and I hope that you all are doing well.

Love, Sister Riley