Boxing day 🥊 (Dec 26th 2017)

Happy Boxing Day everyone!! I sure hope you all enjoyed your Christmas! Thank you for all of the mind letters and emails!

Not a ton happened this week but Saturday we had the chance to travel to Macclesfield (part of our district) for a baptism! We took the train there with Hannah and Heather and then Eli drove from work and met us there! ELI loved the baptism and was actually in tears at some points of it! He's the best and we are so excited for him!!! But Sunday morning, we got to the church and we had received a message from him that night saying that he wanted to postpone his baptism! He didn't drop us (thankfully!!!) He had compared himself to the gentleman getting baptized and thought that he just wasn't ready enough. Very true he's got a lot to learn still, but he is so much better than he gives himself credit for! In his message, he said, "I don't own a suit, I listen to metal music, and I don't like singing the hymns!". 

Christmas day was great!!! We were well taken care of and had a great time! I loved being able to see my family yesterday. Shout out to them because they're the best! Nothing super exciting happening today for p-day so that's a bummer. But I hope you all have a w/o fearful new year and stay safe!!!! 

Xx Sister Washburn 

PS- if you send me anything:

A) send it to 

Springwood Suite G5

Booths Park, Chelford Road 

Knutsford WA16 8GS 

United Kingdom 

B) be sure to add my first name or at least a "K" because we just got a new sister Washburn in the mission so it would be helpful haha. Don't want her stealing my mail lol.

Merry Christmas 🎄 (Dec 19th 2017)

Merry Christmas!!! So crazy that Christmas is 6 days away! Sorry that I forgot to maybe mention that this week, p-day is on Tuesday! Yesterday was transfer day so it got changed around. Sister Schulze and I are staying together another transfer! That means spending Christmas together!!!! We are so excited! 

This week we had a lot happen! ELI IS DATED FOR BAPTISM!!!!! Wednesday evening we had a lesson with him and it was super last minute to the zone leaders came and fellow-shipped with us at the church. We taught him the plan of Salvation and he loved it! As of right now, he is dated for the 20th of January! After that lesson, he was telling us that he just wants to learn everything, and quickly! He is so prepared! He has an issue with smoking, so we taught him the word of wisdom Friday evening with a member who also struggled with it before her baptism. He was really nervous at first and wasn't sure if he would be able to five it up, but he said Sunday at church that he is already down to smoking a quarter of what he used to. That's incredible!!! We are so excited for him!! 

Tuesday afternoon Sister Schulze and I felt prompted to tract a certain road in the dead of the afternoon. When we first got started, we got no answer after no answer at the doors. Then on the rare occasion that we did find someone in, the usual "I'm not interested" and the slamming of the door or they were rushing back to work from their lunch break. But we felt like we needed to stay. So we were getting towards the end and we were knocking on this door and suddenly a car pulls up. My first thoughts were that it was going to be super awkward when they got out of the car so I was bracing myself a little bit, but they quickly welcomed us into their home! We sat down and started talking and this woman, Angela, was going on how much she admires Mormon missionaries for all that we sacrifice to come out and to share the word of God! It turns out that in the previous transfer, the zone leaders had tracted into her parents and they loved the elders! She and her husband, Paul, also told us that they had just recently left the Catholic church and were praying for what they needed to do. Paul left to go run an errand but we kept talking and Angela said a prayer for us and the spirit was so strong!! We taught her the Restoration and she LOVED it!! She was so eager to learn all that we had to share! She is honestly so golden!! We walked out of her home and we were grinning from ear to ear for the longest time because it was such a blessing and a miracle!

Thursday we had a Christmas party for the South Zones of the mission here in Stockport. It was great!!!! Since we live across the street, we were kindly asked to wake up at like 6 and head over to the church to help clean everything and set it all up with President and Sister McReynolds. We ended up not leaving until like 8:30! Then we rushed home, showered and got ready then went right back. We just hung out all day and played games and we had a "talent show" that was more of a variety show but it was so good! My mission is the best I live them all so much. EMM for life!

Okay, so I'm going to keep this story short and censored because it was nasty! On Sunday we went to tea at a members house and we have all heard stories. It's not healthy there.... But she made us a nice roast dinner and I couldn't eat it. Like there was dirt and stuff in my good with like hair and I wanted to puke. Then she made this strawberry trifle dessert. It's normally my favorite thing ever....but not that day! As soon as we left her house and we were walking down the street, I made sick all over the road. I look back now and it's a hard pass next time she offers to feed us, but in the moment it was the worst thing in my life. I love members and the service they give us! 

I hope you all have a very merry Christmas and a wonderful new year! I will talk to you next week! Keep the Christmas card coming I love them!!!! 

Springwood Suite G5

Booths Park, Chelford Road

Knutsford WA16 8GS 

United Kingdom 

Xx Sister Washburn

Baby It's Cold Outside (Dec 12th 2017)

Hey hey hey!!!! So two weeks until Christmas eh!? That is absolutely crazy! 

This week we had quite a bit happen! So the 6th of December is Saint Nikolaus Day in Germany so Sister Schulze and I celebrated by setting out our shoes the night before and then we woke up and they were filled with lots of chocolate and some incredible feet warmer things to go in our shoes. They're a blessing for sure! 

So, on the Isle of Man, I never went on exchanges because....ya know...I was on an island and all. So this week was my first exchange in 5 months!!!! But it was great! We went to Manchester and stayed with Sister Lewis and Sister Silva, our STL's and it was so fun! They're crazy but it was really good. 

Saturday was our mission "Day of Miracles". President McReynolds had sent a message earlier in the week saying that Saturday was our set apart time for finding and in the morning, the whole mission would start off with a special companionship study focused on Chapter 9 of PMG (it's on finding people to teach). It was so good!!!! Then after that, we stepped outside the door and we saw miracles all day long. We all prayed together as a mission for our companionship, as well as those in our district, zone, and across the mission to have Christmas miracles. The results were outstanding!!! Heavenly Father really does bless us and help us in His work! Amongst some of our miracles we saw was:

• getting in contact with a former investigator finally and getting an appt and having her come to church Sunday with her daughter and expressing her great desire to meet with us often!
• meeting a very less active member while doing some inspired tracting. She hasn't been to church for 20 years but has recently started her family history using the church's resources and has been thinking of coming back to church. None of her family are members and after being baptized at 21 she quickly went less active due to lack of support 
• finding two new friends to teach in town during our street display (Sunny and Samantha)
• we have an investigator named Margaret who would NEVER come to church due to concerns regarding the sacrament and other things. But we called her Saturday and invited her AND SHE SAID YES!!!! She came Sunday and had an amazing time! 

Those are just a few of the big ones but all day I saw Heavenly Father hand in everything! The song "Count Your Blessings" comes to mind! I love being a missionary! 

So next Monday is transfers so we are anxious to hear if Sister Schulze is moving or not...we have a feeling like she is leaving us but we'll find out this weekend! Today we are playing sports and making ginger bread houses with the elders but I'll put pictures next week! Love you all and hope you have a great week!!!!! 

Xx Sister Washburn

It's Bent (Dec 4th 2017)

It's officially Christmas time folks!! I am so excited for the Holidays! I do have to say though, it is pretty weird not jamming out to Michael Buble's Christmas album all day every day but there's always next year!!!! This week, with the beginning of December and the #LightTheWorld that the church is doing, we had a great week of doing some street displays in town and sharing the good word! People actually hate us but it's fine. No one ever wants to stop and listen. A woman the other day actually yelled at me because she doesn't believe in the religious part of Christmas (literally the whole reason we even celebrate) and just likes it so she can get expensive gifts. Then her like 10-year-old son jumped in and started going at me too. Gotta love people though ❤

On Thursday we had a great opportunity to have a multi-zone conference in Crewe with Elder De Feo of the seventy. It was incredible and I learned so much!! One of my favorite things that he talked about was that we are all given challenges. And sometimes those challenges are really hard! But they are always for our benefit and even the benefit of those around us. Through our hardships, we can all increase our testimonies of the Saviour Jesus Christ and His Atonement. He said it a lot better than I just did but I just want you all to know that I know that Christ lives and that He can and will help us and save us from all things! 

Moroni 10:32 " 32 Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God.

33 And again, if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, and deny not his power, then are ye sanctified in Christ by the grace of God, through the shedding of the blood of Christ, which is in the covenant of the Father unto the remission of your sins, that ye become holy, without spot"

WITHOUT SPOT! All of it.... completely gone! That is a pretty incredible promise!

So I've been so awful at taking pictures this transfer and I'm sorry! I want to try better this week so I actually have some things to send home. But I love you all so much! If you want to, mail me your Christmas cards!! I'll add my address to send them to at the bottom but that would honestly make my Christmas this year! Have a great week!! 

xx 

Sister Washburn 

Sister Washburn 

Springwood Suite G5

Booths Park, Chelford Road

Knutsford 

WA16 8GS

United Kingdom