Would you love me if we took a bath together? (May 30th 2017)

Hiya everyone! It's going to be a little short today because we're about out of time! Big news today about transfers!!! My heart is shattered because Sister Menlove is leaving to be a sister training leader down in Oldham (pronounced oldum) so I have to say goodbye to her tomorrow!! 😭 My new companion is Sister Hunt and she's from California but that's all I know! Excited to meet her!! 

As always, a funny story from this week! Friday night we were walking to the bus station to head home and this drunk man stopped us on the street (what is up with us and drunk men!?) and he was just talking to us and then his friend calls and he goes "yeah I'm here with a sister Washburn and Sister Menlove... yeah it's here real name she's a real person and i think I love her!" And then he kept asking her if she loved him and we're trying to leave so we wouldn't miss our bus and then he just yells "IF WE TOOK A BATH TOGETHER WOULD YOU LOVE ME!?" I was dying..... and then we started walking away and he yells "Remember Jesus doesn't love you and he doesn't love me either!" Oh, it was so good! Made my day! I love drunk people... but I guess if you want to take something away from that pointless story, remember that Jesus DOES love you! 

I'm sure some of you have heard, but Monday evening here in Manchester there was a bombing and Tuesday we woke up and we got calls from all sorts of people checking if we were okay! I'm about and hour and a half drive from Manchester so I am okay and we know that all the missionaries serving in the city down there were unharmed as well! Sadly, there were people who lost their lives and many that barely walked away. But thank you all for your emails and prayers!! The world is crazy and it's getting crazier and we wonder why bad things like this happen, but never forget that Heavenly Father loves you! He loves each of us, and there is a much bigger plan than we even have the capacity to understand! Have faith in Him, love Him, follow Him, and your lives will be truly blessed because I know mine has! 

Sorry but I am all out of time! I hope you all have a fabulous week and I love you all so much! Stay classy my friends! Cheerio! 

Sister Washburn

Perry Family. They feed me my first-night ion the mission field and feed Sister Menlove and me our last week together

 

Sister Rae in the Lancaster Ward

Same Braid in our Hair. 

Pubs, drunk men, and a baptism! (May 22nd 2017)

Howdy, everybody! Another Monday, another email!! Woo hoo! Loads happened this week! Tuesday night, our four elders were on exchanges here in Lancaster so all 10 of us decided to go out to eat together because why not. The Elders kept talking about this really good place that has half priced burgers on Tuesday and you get loads of good food for under £5! So we all show up to the address and it’s a pub... people were really confused when they saw 10 Mormon missionaries walk into this pub, it was hilarious we totally did not fit in at all ha-ha! Then the next night on Wednesday we were catching a late bus home which normally gets us home like right on time. But we are going through town to the different stops and picking up people and then one really popular bus stop, this man who was carrying a guitar and was so drunk he could barely stand up straight tried to get on the bus but the driver said no because he had had too much to drink. But then this man yells "DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM!?" and runs up the stairs of this double decker bus and sits up there and plays his guitar! I'm actually really surprised on how he actually even made it up there he was so tipsy... So the bus driver turned off the bus and called the police but then the man runs back down the stairs, and the whole time is crashing into everything and keeps yelling the same thing over and over. I was cracking up this whole time and wishing that I had my phone to video it all because it was so funny. Then he ran off the bus and walked away so we went on our way. Don't drink, it's bad for you folks ha-ha! 

Chelsea was baptized on Friday night!!!!!! It was so incredible to be with her and then afterward to hear her really sweet and simple testimony that she shared with everyone. Definitely the best day of my mission so far ha-ha! She's so solid and I love her so much! The gospel is so true and it has brought so much happiness into my life, and to watch someone's life be completely changed by it is so incredible to me! She is so much happier and better off because of the gospel. Her faith is so much stronger now and her confidence just radiates!

Friday and Saturday two of our Elders had birthdays so sister Menlove and I found out their favorite kind of cakes and we baked them Friday night, and Saturday the district got together and went to dinner and then we showed up with the cakes and candles and sang them "Happy Birthday. It was so good and the cakes weren't that bad either hahaha! I love birthdays, they're seriously one of my favorite things!

Hope you all have a great week! If you're ever bored or anything feel free to drop me an email ;) love you all!!!! Cheerio!

Sister Washburn

Everyone knows Grandpa Washburn! Pic was taken in 1983!!!

Rain, rain, and more rain! (amy 15th 2017)

It is Monday my dudes which mean another rubbish email from Sister Washburn! Yay!!!! Another week in Lancaster and I'm still loving life! Sadly, the good weather ended today and it is pouring rain outside! But there is sunshine in my soul 😉 This week was really good! Chelsea had her baptismal interview on Wednesday and passed with flying colors, and today marks ONE WEEK since she last had a cigarette! Woo hoo!!! Friday is going to be such a good day for her, and I am so excited that she has decided to get baptized! Her life has changed so much because of the gospel and it just makes me so happy to see her so happy now! She is a totally different person than when we first started meeting with her; she's so much more happy and confident and the amount of faith she has is incredible! Love her to pieces and I wish you could all just fly over here and meet her yourself!

So on Saturdays, we (all 6 missionaries in Lancaster) get together and do a street display in the town center. And recently we have had a really big problem with bashers. So Saturday morning, some of the elders got a random call from the AP's telling us that we shouldn't go into town today and do a street display. But we all met up in town to go tract some roads together, and when we got into town, the bashers had like picket signs and were all over the place and sort of harassing the people in town!! If we had been there who knows what would have happened! Heavenly Father was looking out for us that day and I'm so grateful how the Holy Ghost leads and guides us in our lives, and I'm also so thankful for people who follow those promptings!

Yesterday was so good being able to see and talk to my family and I called at the perfect time and got to see Elder Washburn too!!!!!! Blessings blessings blessings! I love my family, and a big shout out to my super legit, perfect, beautiful, caring, thoughtful, and selfless mother. I couldn't do this without you!!!! Hope you all have a great week and you find joy in the little things :) 

British word of the week: posh - rich, nice, wealthy, fancy

EX: "wow look at that posh car/home" "they're a pretty posh family"

Cheerio!!

Sister Washburn

I'm so sorry (May 8th 2017)

Okay, how is it already Monday again!? Time is just flying by!! I have like 10 minutes to type this because time is super short today. We went down to Preston to do a bbq and sports with our zone.... and I GOT A SUNBURN! In England!? I love it... reminds me of home ❤ 

I get to skype home on Sunday and I am so excited to see my family! Chelsea is still doing good but we found out she has a really bad habit of smoking but she has been doing so good! 

I really feel so bad that this email is so rubbish but we didn't manage our time very wisely. Hopefully, I will get to send a better one next week. Happy early Mothers day to all the beautiful moms out there that make the world go round. You da best ❤❤ 

Have a great week and have fun! Love you all so much! Cheerio!

Sister Washburn

Someone is getting dunked! (May 1st 2017)

HOLY GUACAMOLE!!!! This week.... AMAZING!! I have some pretty great and exciting news to share with yall! This week on Wednesday we started meeting with this super sweet girl named Chelsea, and on Friday we invited her to be baptized and she said YES!!! So now we are working towards May 20th as her date!!! Insanity! She is so amazing and she helps my testimony grow so much each and every day! She comes from very humble circumstances and she doesn't have much so it makes me really appreciate everything that I have! I can't wait to tell you more of how it goes with her!

And this week not a ton of stuff happened besides that... but there are some funny things going on. Sister Menlove and I have realized that when we are tracting, there are like 20 cats that come. I don't know if it’s a sign or something but its super weird. We always know that we're in the right place when we see random cats roaming around. And then last night Sister Menlove and I had a hard time settling down to go to bed and I was doing a handstand against the wall and I fell over and smacked against my metal bed frame. Now I have two massive bruises on my shin and on my hip. Love it. I'm such a doof sometimes, i hate it ha-ha! And then the other night we were knocking doors and this man was yelling at us for "harassing" people. And then told us we don't have the permission to be knocking doors (but we do) so he kept harassing us about harassing people. It was a lot funnier in the moment, but i love English people! We nicknamed him Harry! Harry the Harasser.

Today for p-day we got to go to the temple again and that was so great! And sister Menlove and I took a few minutes to stop by the MTC and say hi to President and Sister Bunker. Love them!! It was so fun being back there and sharing stories with them from my time so far here in Lancaster! And we are getting ready to go play sports with the elders which is going to be super fun! But the weather is totally rubbish. We may just do something inside! Whatever I can get I'll take!! 

I hope you all have a great week and enjoy the month of May! I can't even believe that it’s May already!!! Where has the time gone!? Love you all and I love hearing from you and how your lives are back home! 

Cheerio!!

Sister Washburn

Still getting used to this. Driving on the other side of the road. 

Pizza!!!

Rugby

Party in the UK (April 24th 2017)

Hello, everyone! I hope you have all had a great week! So last week I sent that really short email because we didn’t have a ton of time to email last week, and I just found out on Wednesday that it didn’t actually send because my Wi-Fi signal wasn’t strong enough, so when I turned it back on for something it sent then! Whoops!! Oh well, it eventually sent and that’s all that matters :)

Well, it’s been another week in paradise here in Lancaster! Rain, freezing cold wind, and no one wants to listen to us. But I'm honestly so happy! I wouldn't have it any other way because I know that it is through our trials and our challenges that we are strengthened the most!! "Nevertheless, I know in whom I have trusted. My God hath been my support" (2 Nephi 4: 19, 20). I can promise you that no matter what you are going through, no matter how big or small it may seem, that we have a loving Heavenly Father who is there to support us through it all! Trust in Him!!! 

Not a lot is happening in Lancaster at the moment, but we are working our tails off! 

On Saturday we had a street display in the town center and right as we were getting ready to pack up and leave, some lovely gentlemen from another religion which shall not be named came over and started bashing us. We see them pretty often and they are just so rude and ruthless. Our mission president just tells us to treat them with love and not to engage in arguments with them, but they just don’t know how to stop!! It’s okay though, it builds character!! 

Oh yeah, not that it’s a big deal or anything but Saturday was also my 2-month mark on the mission! Crazy! I seriously feel like I've been here for like a week and already two months have zipped past! And someone reminded me yesterday that mother’s day is in 3 weeks so I'll be skyping home! What the flip!? Like time just needs to take a chill pill, seriously! I'm having too great of time, I don't want it to end!

That's about it folks... today for p-day we are going with a super nice elderly couple, the Collins, in our ward to go to this scarecrow festival that is supposed to be pretty neat so be on the lookout next week for pics! Have a great week!!! Love you all!

Cheerio!!

Sister Washburn

It's an Easter Miracle!!! (April 17th 2017)

Hello everyone! I don't really have any time this week to write a proper email. We have so much going on today! We got transfer calls last night and sister Menlove and I are both staying, so we are both really excited!! Easter miracle for sure ;) 

Today is a bank holiday here in England so the temple is open, so we got to come today! We are currently waiting to catch a train back to Lancaster to get back to do our shopping and stuff. Since it's transfers we are required to clean for two hours (kill me). Just kidding!!!!! I love cleaning and even though our flat is pretty much kept spotless it will be a great time to maybe reorganize my things... I don't know I'll figure it out! 

Easter was so great yesterday and I hope you all took a moment to reflect why we celebrate it! The Easter bunny and chocolate and egg hunts are all great things, but they always overshadow the actual reason for celebrating. 

I'm grateful for my Savior Jesus Christ and all that he has done for me! I love being a missionary and getting to wear his name on my chest! Have a great week everyone and I will try and send a better email next week when I have a little more time!! Love you lots!!! Cheerio!

Sister Kaelyn Washburn

Sister Menlove on the train to Preston to the temple.

Pictures from the train (Lancaster to Preston).

Preston Temple

Sister Menlove and I at the Preston temple

This sister is a real missionary!!! (April 10th 2017)

Hello everyone! It was actually a pretty rubbish week here in Lancaster. P-day last week was really good we did some shopping and hung out with the elders and played sports which are always super fun. Tuesday I went on my very first exchange so Sister Menlove and I traveled down to South Ribble and went with Sister Fernandez and Carle. It was really great and I learned so much from them and they're just the sweetest! We had to come back early on Wednesday though because our zone had interviews with President Ulrich. That was sooooo good, just being able to sit down with him and chat about things that are happening (or not happening in our case ha-ha). He's incredible! 

Super funny and very embarrassing story from this week that I'm reluctant to share but why not! There is a thing here in the EMM that if you pee your pants while out tracting, you're a real missionary. Well, folks.....sister Washburn is a real missionary! Yay! We were getting ready to stop by a less-actives home to say hi and stuff and we were laughing so hard about something and I had to pee really bad and it just happened. Thankfully it was at the very end of our night so we could just go home! Oh well! Gives me something to laugh at!

The rest of the week was pretty boring... we did a few street displays in town and those are always a lot of fun! Just being out and talking to people is really nice and refreshing rather than going door to door and having everyone yell at you and slam the door in your face. Gotta love missionary work!!!! If you're reading this email today, if you're a member of the church or not, just always be kind to the missionaries if you see them. It seriously means the world to me when I come across decent people who respect me as a person. Even if they're not interested in hearing a message about the gospel, just being shown kindness is enough for me! 

The good weather didn't last here in England... surprise, surprise! It’s cold, rainy, and windy today and it's supposed to just get worse throughout the week! Yay!!!!!! This AZ girl is freezing cold! Hot chocolate helps though hahaha and we have a fireplace in our flat that we like to turn on whenever we're home! Pray for me and that I stay warm and dry ha-ha!

Transfer calls come on Sunday so I'll know if I'm staying with Sister Menlove (praying I do!!) so I will definitely let you know what happens next week! Love you all and hope you have a great week. Sorry that my life in Lancaster isn't super exciting. But I can say that even though the work is hard, it's all worth it. The gospel has blessed my life in so many ways and I know that it's true! This Sunday is Easter and I encourage all of you to think of how Jesus Christ has affected your life. And if you aren't sure, take a look at the church's video this year that’s on mormon.org! It's amazing! I know my Savior lives and that He loves each and every one of us!!!! And know that I love you all ❤

Cheerio!

Sister Washburn

April fools and shedding tears (April 3rd 2017)

Well, folks, it's been a pleasant week here in Lancaster. The weather is getting better and better each day. Most days I can go without my coat and I haven't worn leggings in a long time! My poor legs though are so white it's nasty, but it is what it is! 

Nothing super exciting this week... Saturday for April fools we got a text in the morning during our personal study from our zone leaders saying that we couldn't attend the sessions of General Conference at the church building unless we had an investigator with us. They made it seem like it was from the AP’s (assistants to the president) so I was so sad because I have been looking forward to conference for such a long time and they said we couldn't go. I literally shed tears (completely forgetting it was April 1st)! It was hilarious!! Then they sent out another text saying April fools and I was dying. Don't take conference for granted! 

It's so hard to pick a favorite talk because they were all so amazing. President Thomas s Monson gave an amazing testimony of the importance of the book of Mormon and gaining your own testimony and I could not agree more! We were able to watch the morning sessions live, but everything else we had to watch delayed since we're 7 hours ahead. So while you were all waking up and having a great morning, lounging around and eating breakfast and watching conference, I was just finishing my tea (dinner) and watching conference. It was kind of weird to think about... time change is whack. 

Last night I got super sick and was toppled over in pain when we got back to our flat at night and so the elders came over and gave me a blessing and it was amazing. The power of the priesthood is real and I'm so thankful for that because I don't trust hospitals here in the UK hahaha. I'm kidding, but at the same time not really. 

I hope you all have a wonderful week and enjoy life! I love getting emails so keep me updated on your lives!!!! I love you all and I feel your love and support each and every day! 

CHEERIO!

Sister Kaelyn Washburn

Johnson Family from Utah on vacation in Lancaster England took this picture of Sister Washburn and Menlove and sent this to us. It is great getting these pictures as parents. 

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