18,975 steps (March 29th 2017)

Hello everyone!!!!! Sorry that this is so late and randomly in the middle of the week! My p-day got moved around because we went on the church history tour yesterday as a mission and we got back so late and didn't have time to email so we have permission to quickly send one out today! And the subject is just a fun fact, I wear my Fitbit occasionally and yesterday I walked 18,975 steps!!! Trying to gain weight is so hard on the mission hahaha!!! 

I promise my emails will eventually get better, my mind is just so flustered because we are starting to get so busy here in Lancaster!!! Which is so great! We have and few people we are working with and still trying to get some more! We have a family that the husband is a less active member and his wife and 10-year-old son are not members. Ian and his son Jacob came to church on Sunday (even though it was Mothers day in England) which was a huge blessing that they even showed. Suzy, the mom, isn't too interested, but we are still trying and praying for a miracle!! We have another investigator who is a little more complicated, but still Good! Her name is Natasha and we actually found her while trying to find another less active member who had moved. She invited us back and we have been teaching her and she's so solid and is really perfect, but she is married to another woman so we are trying to find a way to work with her on that! I know God loves all his children, and that through the gospel, our lives can be changed for the good!!

Life is great and the work is good!! This past week there was actually sunshine for like the whole day almost every day here! My companion and I went a whole week without leggings/tights on and for most of the day, I didn't even have to wear my jacket!!! Blessings! They all say it's supposed to start warming up now so keep praying for good weather! 

I don't have a ton of time today but I love you all! And I'm so thankful for your emails every week and the love and prayers you send my way! Just want to share my quick testimony that I know the church is true! I know that Jesus Christ lives and that the gospel brings so much happiness and peace into your life!! I'm grateful for every day that I get to spend sharing the wonderful message of the gospel with people!!! It really does change lives, and I know because it has completely changed mine! Hope you all have a great week and you work hard and you learn to laugh every day! 

Cheers!!!!

Sister Kaelyn Washburn 

Lancaster and white washing (March 20th 2017)

Hello everyone!!!!!! It is a wonderful p-day here in Lancaster England! The area is stunning and exactly what you imagine when you think of England!!! So much good stuff has happened in the past week! I didn't email last week because I was leaving the MTC to come out to the mission field so sorry about that! Leaving the MTC was rough... I had to say goodbye to a lot of really amazing people but I am so excited to finally be out and working! Like the title says... my companion and I were whitewashed (which just means that we are both brand new to the area, rather than having one who has been here and knows the way around) so it has made for a pretty exciting and eventful week!!! My companion is Sister Menlove from Payson UT and she's been on her mission for about 10 months and she is AMAZING!!! We get along great and we work well together. I am just having the best time! 

So many things have happened. I like don't even know where to begin!! There are a few rules here in my mission that make me pretty sad and two of them being that I am not allowed to email back until the following week, which actually isn't that bad, but sorry mom and dad! And the second one being that we are only allowed to take pictures on Monday!! So sad because this place is breathtaking and I know pictures can't even do it justice but I'd like to try!!! So next week I'll try and send all my pictures home from today! I only cover one ward and it has about 80-90 active members that attend every Sunday so that's pretty different from back home! 

I feel so bad because I really don't even know what to say except that I am just having the time of my life. The work is slowly building up as we've been here a few days and been able to actually get some investigators and stuff. But I have two very special people to tell you about! Helen..... Oh, Helen! She's this super nice lady we met in the park one night my first day here and she said we could come by on Friday and share a message with her! Yay!!!! BUT we get to her flat (apartment) and it seriously looks like a prison and we find out she is mentally handicap and has some real issues... like she related Jesus Christ and God to Santa and his reindeer and how they deliver presents. SO WEIRD! You kind of just had to be there. But despite all of her issues, she is so kind and loving and I know that our Heavenly Father loves her and that’s all that matters. It was pretty great... my first real lesson with someone and it was totally NOT what we were expecting! Bless her hahaha. The next very special someone is Jerry. Jerry the jerk. We don't actually know if this is his real name but we were knocking doors one very cold and rainy day and this big bald man opens his door and before we even say anything he starts just going off and saying some really awful things about Christians and how "women like you guys need to be slaughtered" and just kept going. Then he slammed his door so we were walking away and he opens is back up and yells super loud "AND GO BACK TO AMERICA" along with some other not very pleasant things. It was great I was actually laughing really hard because I don't even know where it came from!!! Oh well, maybe he was just having a bad day or something.... 

That's about it! Sorry, I don't have more but I love you all and I am so thankful for all of you guys and your love and support! Have a jolly good week and I'll catch ya later! 

Cheerio!!!

Sister Washburn

Our Flat

Riding the Bus

First Dinner in Lancaster (March 15th 2017)

Dear Washburn family!

Just a quick message to let you know that we had your daughter and her brand new companion round for dinner today.

They are settling in great and got in their first door today. We are excited to have them in our congregation (Lancaster Ward).

Below is a photograph of your daughter, and her companion, with their new friend, our daughter Leah.

Today we had 'bangers and mash', a quintessential English meal, which was their first time. 

Best wishes,
James, Debs, and Leah Perry
😀

Sister Washburn Arrived at the Manchester Mission Home (March 14th 2017)

Dear Parents of Sister Washburn,

Your daughter has arrived in the England Manchester Mission (EMM) safely and is ready to go to work as a missionary. We held a training session today (Tuesday morning) where we covered many things including their mission finances, their first three-month training schedule, becoming a “Christ-like Missionary” and the EMM vision and guiding principles. We concluded with a testimony meeting and afterward, they had lunch. I held a personal interview with Sister Washburn, and we transported her to meet her companions in Lancaster. 

Attached you will find a picture of your daughter with Sister Ulrich and me in front of the mission home and also a picture of her first companion and trainer. Please know that we love the missionaries in the England Manchester Mission and we watch over them with great care. May the Lord bless you during this time of sacrifice in the lives of both you and your daughter.

With warm regards,

President Mark D. Ulrich

England Manchester Mission

Time flies when you're having fun! (March 7th 2017)

It feels like just yesterday I was emailing home!!! I miss you all and I'm grateful for all of your love and support! Wednesday we had a devotional with Elder Charles of the Seventy and that was incredible!! He was so cool and I learned a lot of great stuff from him about being obedient. One of the things that he said that I really liked was "Almost obedient, almost blessed!" So that is what I've been really focusing on this past week because I need all the blessings I can get! The MTC is still great and I'm still having an awesome time!! 

Kind of a funny story for ya... We'll it's actually not super funny it's just me being dumb but here at the MTC you have to turn on the outlet so you can use it and so one morning I was curling my hair and when I finished, I turned off the iron and went to unplug it (completely forgetting to turn off the outlet). So I pull my plug out of the wall and was slightly electrocuted and man that does not feel good. My arm felt weird until about lunch time but it’s okay! I didn't blow up or anything so all is well! But I definitely learned my lesson and haven't really wanted to do my hair since hahaha!

On Thursday we got to go into the city of Manchester and walk around the streets for a few hours and talk to people! A lot of people were really rude and didn't want to talk to us, but it’s okay! Every time we got yelled at my companion and I would just walk away laughing! You can't focus on all the bad things in life when Heavenly Father has given us so much to be thankful for!! Yes, I did get yelled at and called some very mean things, but there were some people who were so kind, and one guy even accepted a book of Mormon and said he would read it!!!! So I encourage all of you to count your blessings. Life is hard, and it can really get you down at times, but there is ALWAYS something to be grateful for!

This whole time difference thing is weird because I'll be crawling into bed at night and my family might just be eating lunch back home! So just a little side note... my p-day ends at 6:00 my time (7 hours ahead of AZ) so after that, I'm not allowed to email you back! I can read your emails any day of the week, but I can only write back on Tuesday for right now... that will soon change to Monday's. Next Tuesday I leave the MTC to head to the mission field so I'll either get to email home Sunday or Monday! Love you all!!!!! And I know our Heavenly Father loves you and knows you are and what you're going through! Hope you all have a great week and I would love to hear how you all are doing! 

Cheerio!!! 

Sister Kaelyn Washburn 

Food at the Preston MTC. The food is GREAT!!!

Laundry Bag is big enough for a missionary.

Walking to the MTC

Going to the Temple

District in front of the Preston England Temple

Twins.