First Christmas From Across the Pond

Hello friends and FAM! I hope you all had an amazing Christmas.  My week was really good. Christmas in England is magical!

My Christmas started off a bit bitter sweet. On Christmas Eve, my Grandmother passed away peacefully. While this for me was a lot to take in, I'm happy to know that she was only separated from her eternal companion for 30 days and she is now reunited with him as well as all of her friends and family and of course, her Heavenly parents. I'm so grateful for the many things she taught me and all the things she did for me. My heart aches that I can't be with my family at this time but I know there's no better place for me to be than here.

Well other than that, my Christmas was still very special. On thursday, the ward got together and did caroling at a homeless shelter which was really fun. On Christmas Eve, our ward had a music program performed by the choir. Lol they had us 4 missionaries participate and sing Away In A Manger- so scary! (btw, none of us can sing!!). The ward was so giving to us and got us so many presents! So blessed! On Christmas day, we went to the Mckee family's house and it was so fun.  It was so good to see my family on skype! We had tons of yummy food and games too.

Today is Boxing Day which is just kinda like second Christmas! You get a yummy dinner, and you're usually around family. And theres tons of sales in stores. We are supposed to ge going shopping and then going to Bishops house for food and games but my companion is unfortunately feeling sick so we may be in the flat all day so that blows but hopefully we can be back at it tomorrow.

I hope all of you had an amazing Christmas! I'm sad that it's over! But I'm grateful that I have another Christmas out here in the field. It really has been an unforgettable Christmas for me. Love yall! Have a Happy New Year!

PS im so sorry if my emails have been coming more than once or not sending at all. I'm hoping I figure out this whole email thing at some point lol.

Sister Gilland 💕

1- mErRy ChRiStMaS!
2- our tree with tons of presents from the sweet ward!
3- the card table (our wards tadition- everyone receives a pile of Christmas cards)
4- Christmas morning
5- Christmas dinner 10/10
I'm such a rookie and I forgot to take the cliche screenshot of my Skype call with my fam. Oh well haha.

An EMM Christmas and Transfers

Well Hiya everybody! I forgot to mention in my last email that my pday for this week and next is gonna be on Tuesday because of the holidays. Well now ya know!

EMM Christmas Party
On Thursday, we got to go party with the half mission all day. It was so fun! We got there around 10 AM, mingled, sang Christmas songs, ate tons of amazing food, and took lots of pics! There was also a talent show and since I have zero talent I did not participate but it was fun to watch everyone! The end of the day was spent in the chapel where we got to hear from good ole President McReynolds, his wife, and the testimonies of the departing missionaries. Such a spiritual high!
This week we also had our ward Christmas party! My ward really knows how to party. We had super yummy food and lots of fun games. It's so fun being in this ward at Christmas. They treat me like family. I've gotten countless cards and gifts and I feel like I've been in the ward for years.

Gettin Chilly
Well I really shouldn't complain about my accommodations because we really are blessed with good homes. But this week unfortunately our heater BROKE so we've been super cold for the past few days. And they couldn't fix it til Monday so we were without heat for about 4 days. Lol don't worry we good now. The biggest struggle was the nutella freezing.

Casually Tried to Convert the Muslim Bus Driver
Lol so something really funny happened on Friday night. We went to tea at a members home and we started our hour long bus ride journey home. When I stepped on the bus, the Bus driver asked me what church I was from. Totally caught off guard, I proudly responded "I'm from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints!" My companion sat down on the bus and I then spent the entirety of the bus ride standing next to him sharing with him our beliefs.  His name is Asad and he's from Somalia but lives in Liverpool now. He was asking all sorts of questions. We literally bounced from Jesus Christ to Prophets to Joseph Smith to the Book of Mormon to the Plan of Salvation and then a bit of the word of wisdom lol. Basically touched on every single lesson. I also learned a lot about the Muslim faith. He told me to read the Karan (lol) and I explained as a missionary, I can't read it but I made a promise to him that when I go home, I'd take a look at it if he took a Book of Mormon from me and he agreed! Lol who even knows what will come from that but hey, I had fun. My companion later told me that the 6 or 7 people also taking the bus were super annoyed by me because I was distracting the bus driver. Lol #sorrynotsorry hahah I love being a missionary!

Investigators
The holidays are an amazing time but they are also very busy. Our investigators have been super booked so we haven't been able to see Craig, Jeff, or Callam...and the rest have pretty much dropped us lol it's fine!

Transfers!!
Also this transfer is over?! What?! Granted it was a 5 week transfer instead if 6 but oh my heck it's gone so fast. My Zone Leader thought it'd be funny to tell me I was moving before Christmas and I literally started tearing up, but he then told me that I'll be staying in Birkenhead with my companion, Sister Gaugau. But I'm super happy to be staying in the Chester Zone and in the beloved Birkenhead for Christmas!

Spiritual Thought
Something that stuck out to me was in one of the departing missionaries' testimonies, a Sister from Lesotho (somewhere in Africa) said, "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is our home away from home." She went on saying that as far away from home we are, we have common ground when it comes to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is the same yesterday, today, and forever. I just love that because that  gospel to me means home. This season, may we all remember the amazing gift of the Gospel that we are so blessed to have.

As much as I miss you all, I miss my family the most! I'm excited to see them on Skype in just 6 days! I hope you all have an amazing Christmas! You'll hear from me next Tuesday and then I'll go back to Mondays. Merry Christmas!


Sister Gilland 💕

1- Christmas Tree and PJ's
2- Sister Dunlavy and I before she got transferred
3- Sister Turnbull and I! she went home to Australia today!
4- 4 Americans, 2 Canadians, 2 Brits, and an Aussie in one pic #diversity​

So You're Looking For a Miracle Are Ya?

Hi yall! I hope you're all doing amazing! So my week was insane. It probably started off as the worst/hardest week of my mission not gonna lie but, "has the day if miracles ceased???? I say unto you NAY!!!!" 

Well this week started out crazy! On monday, Family Home Evening got a little out of control and an older lady in our ward, Sister Denson took a tumble and actually broke her hip... so that was an interesting start to the week. 

At the beginning of the week, my Mission President sent out a mass text to the whole mission advising us to specifically pray for a miracle in every prayer.  As we did this, our week just seemed to keep getting worse and worse. 

On Sunday, I felt sick so after church we stayed in the flat for half the day.  Monday was zone pday at a trampoline park and I really didn't feel up for it but I didn't want to miss it so I pushed through and it turns out trampoline parks and McDonald's don't do well on a sick stomach....lol I was in the flat the entire next day. I pretty much just felt miserable until Friday. 

MIRACLE
As we continued to pray for a miracle, Friday morning it literally started snowing. Now for me, this was the complete opposite of a miracle, but for my Aussie companion (snow virgin), this was the greatest day of her life.  We continued in the freezing cold and started street contacting and ran into a man called Craig. 
Craig hardly gave us the time of day but said he would take one of our passalong cards as a 'good luck charm'.  We put our number, the post code for the church, and our facebooks on the cards we give out.  But really didn't expect anything from it.  About an hour later, during our companionship study, we received a call from CRAIG. He said that he wanted to come to church with us sunday and he's been "looking for a miracle".
Sunday, he came to church and had the biggest smile on his face. During second hour, we taught him the first lesson. It feels like it's been ages since I've taught but I was able to take the lead and really just teach from the heart.  We gave him a Book of Mormon and he said he'd start reading that day.  Ahhh I just know he's prepared!

From this week I've learned that miracles seem to come at the exact point that we want to give up. Ive realized on my mission that God really likes to test us and push us to the very point that we feel like we can't go any further.  And then He reminds us that He's been there all along by slapping us in the face with a giant miracle. I think in our world today, it's so easy to point out the imperfections of life. There's a lot of horrible things that happen, but I challenge you all to sincerely look for those miracles that really do happen because I testify that they still happen.  My scripture is Moroni 7: 35 & 37
 35 And now, my beloved brethren, if this be the case that these things are true which I have spoken unto you, and God will show unto you, with power and great glory at the last day, that they are true, and if they are true has the day of miracles ceased?
37 Behold I say unto you, Nay; for it is by faith that miracles are wrought; and it is by faith that angels appear and minister unto men; wherefore, if these things have ceased wo be unto the children of men, for it is because of unbelief, and all is vain.

Hope you're all having an amazing Christmas season. And I hope you're all participating in #LightTheWorld ! I'd love to hear from you all! Have a good week! 

Sister Gilland 💕

Pic- We got a lil creative with our street display and wrapped up books of Mormon in christmas wrapping paper. #SHARETHEGIFT 

Time is Flying By!

Hello friends and fam! Wow I can't believe another week as flown by. Time seems to fly when you stay busy and that's all we are as missionaries, especially this week!

Exchanges!
On Tuesday after district meeting and a district street display, we headed to Wrexham (Wales) for exchanges! I was pumped because I got to be with the one and only, Sister Dunlavy. She amazing and I love her so much and we are going to party together at UVU one day. She's from Grantsville, Utah.  So it was so fun to be with her. We came to the MTC together and are so similar, it's not even funny. Hoping President puts us together at some point in our missions!

Zone Conference #2
On Thursday, we got up at 5:30 AM to travel to Crewe. Soooo early but SOOO worth it. We got to hear from an area seventy, Elder Massimo De Feo from Italy. With all the stuff going on, it was such a breath if fresh air getting to hear someone so knowledgeable and passionate about the gospel. He was amazing. And it was so packed. We had 4 zones there so half my mission.

Investigators!
Well our friend from Texas, Jeff, kinda fell off the board for a sec. He's been working a lot and moving in to his new home so really busy. But we aren't giving up on him.
On a better note, Callam is back! We got to meet with him on Wednesday and had a good lesson. It's hard to see how he feels and if he wants to continue meeting with us. He's going on a trip but when he gets back we are really going to crack down and get him dated for baptism.

Well the that's pretty much it for this week. Lots of fun. The thought I want to leave yall with is a quote by Thomas S. Monson that was brought up at zone conf as well as a scripture.

"When you're on the Lord's errand, you're entitled to the Lord's help."
Alma 37:36- "Yea, and cry unto God for all thy support; yea, let all thy doings be unto the Lord, and whithersoever thou goest let it be in the Lord; yea, let all thy thoughts be directed unto the Lord; yea, let the affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever."

I'm so grateful for a God that loves me and knows me personally and my individual struggles. I'm also grateful for Jesus Christ that he can empathize with anything we are going through.  I promise yall, if you cry unto God, he will give you the support you need to carry on.

Thanks for all the love and prayers! I'd love to hear from you all, have a good week!

Sister Gilland 💕


Pics
1&2- Me and Sister Dunlavy! (Check out the Welsh church in the background)
3- Christmas tree in wrexham

Roller Coaster Week

Hi friends and fam. My week was a bunch of ups and downs. I received the news that my Granddad passed away peacefully early Saturday morning. My Granddad was an amazing man and I was so lucky to have such a close relationship with him my whole life.  He is one of the biggest reasons I am serving a mission. He himself was converted by missionaries and has one of the strongest testimonies.  I will always be grateful for the role he has played in my life. For the love that he showed me and my family. I know that he is having an amazing reunion in heaven and I take such comfort in the fact that I will see him again.  One of my favorite scriptures is found in Alma 22:14 and has helped me through the past few days.

“And since man had fallen he could not merit anything of himself; but the sufferings and death of Christ atone for their sins, through faith and repentance, and so forth; and that he breaketh the bands of death, that the grave shall have no victory, and that the sting of death should be swallowed up in the hopes of glory;”

I'm so grateful for the atoning sacrifice that Jesus Christ made for us. How comforting it is that we will all be able to see each other again. The grave will have no victory and death will have no sting. I just love that.

Investigators!

Our friend, Callam has reached back to us and has agreed to meet with us Wednesday. I think it'll be a good time to get a feel for where he's at and what he wants to get from meeting with us. 

Also our friend Jeff (from Texas) came to church! Such a tender mercy. He stayed for sacrament and agreed to meet with us again Sunday. He received the warmest welcome from our ward. He's been reading the Book of Mormon and wants to further discuss it. I'm so excited for him.

Since my week was a little slow, I just want to share a story about a man named Mckay that I met on a bus.  

We were travelling across our area on a train when there was an accident somewhere ahead of us so they booted us off the train and had us wait for a rail replacement bus in the freezing cold and pouring hail (yes hail). I luckily brought my umbrella and walked over to an old man getting soaked and offered to share my umbrella. He was so nice and talked with me and being the sneaky missionary I am, we got on the topic of religion and he talked all about how his son had  committed suicide and through that, he himself became close to God. What incredible faith! Mckay and I got on the bus and sat together. He talked my ear off about religion but he was so nice and asked about the Book of Mormon in my hand. I shared my testimony and told him that the book has an amazing promise. I shared with him Moroni 10:3-5. Before we went our separate ways, I offered him the book and he gladly accepted it. He lives in the Liverpool zone so I gave him the number of some missionaries in his area. I don’t know what will come of it (if anything). It's totally a long shot. But I just loved sharing my testimony with someone so kind! It's so amazing to be literally set apart and given the authority to share the gospel with anyone. I'm definitely not the best with words so I'm grateful for the handful of times when people listen to me stumble out my amateur testimony on the bus.

Lastly, I wanna to encourage you all to participate in the church’s #LightTheWorld campaign. No season of the year shines as bright as Christmas—and the brightest light is Jesus Christ, the Light of the World. Once again we celebrate His birth by making Christmastime a season of service. Join us this year as we learn His teachings and follow His example to #LightTheWorld. 25 ways in 25 days, we will do various forms of service leading up to this sacred, special time of the year. It starts Friday the 1st so get ready!! For more info, go to lds.org

I love you all so much! I can't believe it's nearly December. I'd love to hear from you all. Have a good week!

Sister Gilland 💕

1-My Comp & I 

2-Birkenhead missionaries aka- The nursery

3-proud of the banana bread I made 

I Came All the Way to England to Meet a Texan!

Hi y'all! What a crazy week! New companion! New Elder in my area! New investigator!

Birkenhead aka the Nursery
So Birkenhead now has the nickname for of 'the nursery' of the mission because Elder Risk and my companion Sister Gaugau are the oldest missionaries here and are 3 months in on their mission, I'm 2 months, and we just got Elder Bellasai who's only a week... so we are babies! Hence, the Nursery;)

New Companion
So my companion is 19 from Sydney, Australia. She's Samoan and she's so fun! We are both getting along great! The first few days are weird with a new companion but now that I can understand her super strong Aussie accent,  we are having a blast! Sometimes its hard because since Ive been here, I know the area pretty well and she doesn't at all haha but we are makin it work! The new Elder in the area Elder Bellasai is also great, he's from Italy. Its just so nice not being the newbie anymore lol.
The first week of the transfer is always a little boring because you're just trying to figure it all out.  Still just finding/tracting a lot and building the teaching pool. We are struggling with our investigator Callam because he's starting to lose interest so we are doing our best to keep him coming to church and lessons. Still dated for mid December!

¡¡¡The Kenny's!!!
Something super special happened at church. Two people not from our ward walked in and I got my hopes up a little because I thought it was maybe some self referrals (if only). Turns out it was the Kenny Family that my dad converted back in '81!  They came down from Liverpool! When I realized who they were, I totally forgot I was a missionary and gave Brother Kenny the biggest hug (oops). According to them, my dad still has the record for most baptisms in a month for the mission. They made my dad sound like the best missionary in the world. Jeeze dad, now everyone has all these expectations of me!  But it definitely boosted my enthusiasm about the work. I better go to Liverpool at some point on my mission!

New Friend, Jeff!

While tracting in a town called Hoylake, my companion and I met Jeff! As soon as Jeff opened his mouth, I immediately knew where he was from. Jeff and his wife moved here from Austin, Texas on October 3 (same day as me!!)to be closer to his wife's family. He is a Born Again Christian which scared me because in the past, they tend to bash us...lol. He shared an experience of when he felt the holy spirit one time at a Glenn Beck Rally (lol). But he was nice as can be and accepted a Book of Mormon and told us to come back the next Sunday. We taught the Restoration and read the introduction to the Book of Mormon with him and he seemed very interested. He was so sweet and even invited us to Thanksgiving with his family. (We have plans with members but we are gonna try to go to both lol).  Normally i struggle so much when it comes to teaching.  But something was different.  It was such an amazing feeling to feel the holy ghost literally working through me.  I just have so much faith in him already.  I have the strongest gut feeling that he is prepared! And he has friends he wants us to meet!!

Thanksgiving
Well I'm a little sad because for the first time ever, I won't be home for Thanksgiving! But I'm totes blessed because the Beisly Family in my ward are Americans and invited us to their Thanksgiving! Me and the other American Missionary are pumped. Hopefully our foreign companions love it as much as we do!

Challenge!
This time of the year, we often think about what we are thankful for. I challenge you all this week to take it 1 step further and to be the reason someone is thankful.  Whether that's simply helping someone out, making someone else's burdens lighter, or just doing good.  If we do as Elder Holland suggested last conference and "give our help to anyone trying to walk the road back to God", I know that we will lose ourselves in the service of others.

I hope you all have a smashing Thanksgiving and eat tons of food and gain a stone (14 lbs) or two! I love and miss you all! The church is true!

Xx

Sister Gilland 💕

Pictures!
1-New Comp
2-The Kennys!

Trips to Manchester, Liverpool, & Rochdale + New Companion

Hello all! This week flew by because I literally bounced from city to city! It was the last week of my first  transfer! I'm two months old today! I have officially killed my trainer, Sister Menlove.  We got our transfer calls and I will be remaining in my area and getting a new companion, Sister Gaugau (pronounced Gow Gow) from Australia!  I met her at the Missionary Fireside. She's 1 transfer older than me so she just got done training.

Here's some of the fun things that happened this week!

Priesthood Miracles
On Tuesday, something a little crazy happened! My companion and I were at district meeting and all of a sudden my companion got super sick to the point that she couldn't even stand. She received a blessing from one of the elders and then we went back to our flat for a couple hours. She slept and then later that day, felt good enough to get back to work! Miracles happen!

Manchester
Wednesday was AMAZING. I went to First 5 Weeks which is a meeting with all the people who came into the mission the same week as me and our trainers. We were at the mission home in Altrincham (close to Manchester) and we learned so much and got to share the miracles we've already seen. It was good to see my MTC friends. I cant express how much I love my Mission President.  He always shows so much love to us and pretty much every time He bears his testimony, he cries and then everyone in the room cries. He came up to me and showed me a page in the EMM scrapbook with my dad's picture! (I'll include a pic) It was so neat to see that! It's amazing being in my dad's mission! I've got quite a legacy to live up to!
After First 5 Weeks, Sister Menlove and I got to explore Manchester a bit. Such a crazy city! Way different from my area. We actually walked through the arena that hosted Ariana Grande's concert that got bombed last May so that was fun!

Liverpool
Friday, Sister Menlove and all the missionaries going home this week had their departing temple trip with the President and his wife. I got to go on splits with Sister Wamsley (from St George, Utah)  in the blessed land of Liverpool! It was so much fun to be in an area so near and dear to my dad's heart. We got to teach a couple lessons and have dinner with some members. Super fun!

Rochdale
Sunday we had the missionary fireside. This is a monthly fireside that's for missionaries but you can only go if you bring an investigator. We had plans to take Callam and then he cancelled on us right before. Luckily the Elders had two investigators so we still got to go haha!  Anyways, at the Fireside, recent converts share their conversion story and oh my gosh it was so amazing. A lot of times I feel so discouraged that those 'prepared children' are nonexistent but after hearing the stories of so many, it gave me so much confidence and excitement to FIND those elect!

I read a quote from our prophet the other day,
"You will one day stand aside and look at your difficult times and you will realize that HE was always there beside you."
I can't put into word how much I love being a missionary. In just one transfer, I've fallen in love with the work! There's no place I'd rather be.  There's definitely hard times but as I look for the tender mercies, I realize that God is so aware of me. I know he's aware of all of us.

I hope you're all doing well! I'd love to hear from you! Thanks for the prayers and continuous support! I love this gospel and I'm so grateful to be here sharing it with others! Have a good week!

Tara' loves!

Sister Gilland 💕

Pics:
1-The fam- Runcorn District! Half of us got transferred but we got a cute pic together
2- First 5 Weeks at the mission home-President came and sat by me so we are pretty much bffs
3- Elder Gilland setting the EMM standards high since 1980.(My President showed me this)
4- My cute trainer, Sister Menlove that goes home Wednesday!

Miracle on Devonshire Street

Hello friends and fam! Ok first off, I'M SORRY some of y'all can't see my pictures. Technology is wack. If you want to see some from past weeks, here is a link to my blog Sisterlorennicolegilland.blogspot.com 
Shout out to the blogmaster, (my mom lol)

I hope you're all well! This week was AMAZING. 

Lol Funny District Meeting 
Ok so we had district meeting which is normally pretty chill. My comp and I were assigned to lead a training for Preach My Gospel and I wasn't too nervous until I found out my Mission President (super intimidating man) , and the Zone Leaders would be attending.  And since I'm a noob,  I totally didn't know what I was doing lol but it all went ok haha. The Holy Ghost really does put words in our mouths #blessed. 

Interview with Prezo 
After said District Meeting, I got to have my transfer interview with my President which went well. I can't believe transfers are in two weeks. I'm sure I'll be staying in Birkenhead but I'll be getting a new trainer.  I absolutely LOVE my President. He's so intimidating but his sense of humor kills me. He very subtly roasts me and it cracks me up and I just laugh at myself all the time. Love him.

Update on Roger
He continues to come to church and he's still progressing. He has some struggles with word of wisdom but the Lord is helping him through it. Still dated for November 11!

BIGGEST MIRACLE OF MY LIFE
On Wednesday afternoon, I experienced the greatest miracle so far. Just some background info: Two weeks ago, an older Sister in the ward introduced us to her neighbour, Kallum. He's 21 and he was somewhat interested in the church but he told us to not come to his house because his family would be super mad, so he didn't give us his address. 
**Fast forward two weeks**
We took a bus to a town called Pensby. Previously, we had met 3 potential investigators all in the same area that we wanted to visit. Well one of them was sick, one wasn't home and one told us never to come back. So we were pretty bummed. We decided to tract Devonshire Street until our tea appointment. On the third door we knocked, KALLUM ANSWERED. When he answered the door, all three of our jaws dropped. And he looked up to the sky and said "thank you". He told us that we came at the perfect time because his family wasn't home. ALSO- He was wearing a primary CTR ring on his pinky!! 
Our area covers over half a million people. We didn't have his address, we weren't even planning on tracting that day and somehow the Lord led us to him. 
He recognized that this was for sure a sign and agreed to meet with us. We met again on Saturday and he seems super interested and is coming to church on Saturday and a SECOND LESSON on Monday. 

Accidentally tracted a Convent 
Also, while tracting we stumbled into a convent (house for nuns) and had a lovely chat with a cute nun and we are having Dinner with them next week! (casual) I'll update y'all on how that goes! I'm so excited!

One last thought. 
Jacob 6:
5 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, I beseech of you in words of soberness that ye would repent, and come with full purpose of heart, and cleave unto God as he cleaveth unto you. And while his arm of mercy is extended towards you in the light of the day, harden not your 
hearts.
This is what I want all the people who slam doors in my faces to read!!! There's so many people here that don't believe in God.  It hurts my heart that they are so lost and in the crazy world we live in, they have nothing to hang onto with assurance. But GOD IS REAL. I know it. God is our father and we are his children. His arm of mercy is extended towards us! Remember that!

Vocab word: Squash means juice , so when people offer me a cup of squash I always say yes because it's soooo good!

For Pday today we went to the docs that Heber C Kimbal & his associates arrived at 180 years ago to begin the first overseas mission. (EMM)


Pretty sure Liverpool's changed a lot in the last 35 years, Dad. 

Happy Halloween! Love y'all!
Tara' til next week

Sister Gilland 

Cold Hands; Warm Heart

It's been getting SUPER cold already here. It's really windy and of course rainy. Every time I shake someone's hands they're like, "WOW your hands are super cold."  And then almost every time they follow with, "must mean you have a warm heart." Apparently it's a common expression here! 

Country Hoppin to Wales 
Tuesday, my comp and I got to go to Wales! I went on exchanges with my STL, Sister Southerland. She's from Jamaica. Anyways She's the sweetest and I learned SO much from her in just a short 24 hour exchange.  Wales is so crazy. All the signs are written in Welsh (and English luckily). 

Zone Conference in Crewe
On Thursday we finally had Zone Conference!  It was in a city called Crewe. We of course got to see good ole President McReynolds and the first thing he said to me was "Wow Sister Gilland, you looked tired"... haha thanks prezo...anyways, I learned SO much and got to meet the rest of the Chester Zone as well as New Castle Zone. I love how on a mission, when you're away from your family, members of your zone (really the whole mission) is your temporary family. Fun fact, in my mission there's about 180 missionaries and 40 different nationalities! It was my sweet companions last zone conf so she had to bare her testimony and oh my heck she did so amazing.  She's literally the best missionary in the world.  We are both in denial that she's leaving. 

First Baptism?? (Maybeeee)
Our first lesson with Roger went pretty well!  He's got a few issues with the word of wisdom but he's progressing rapidly and is officially dated for baptism on November 11!  He loves coming to church and the spirit he feels when he listens to our lessons. 
Our teaching pool is a growin. We have THREE investigators and TONS of potential investigators

We had Stake Conference which was really good. A recent convert drove us and was asked to share her conversion story at conference. She's like 24 and she's so cute and she was SO nervous but she did amazing!  The rest of stake conference was so good. My Mission President and his wife both spoke and then the Stake President spoke and talked all about member missionary work and he announced that they will be doing a stake wide fast for the missionaries to find success. Its a good time to be a missionary in the EMM. 🇬🇧

Today was such a good Pday! We got to go to Conaway castle! It was so gorgeous and we got to go with our district and I love them all so much! Such a fun day! I'll send pics!

One last thought
I probably sound like I'm just repeating myself but if there's one thing that I've learned out here so far, it's that the savior is your BEST FRIEND.  I loved what my mission President said in stake conferemce. "When we feel so achingly alone, so wrecked in anguish, so overwhlmed with sin, remember that HE descended below all things in that he comprehended all things."
The savior can not only sympathize with us but he can also empathize. He suffered all pains and sorrows for us. The atonement is the greatest gift we have. As a missionary, I've had to rely on the savior every single day. When I'm tracting in the pouring rain and I'm soaking wet and cold I can always turn to my savior because he has felt that. 

Mosiah 3: 
7 And lo, he shall suffer temptations, and pain of body, hunger, thirst, and fatigue, even more than man can suffer, except it be unto death; for behold, blood cometh from every pore, so great shall be his anguish for the wickedness and the abominations of his people.
8 And he shall be called Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of heaven and earth, the Creator of all things from the beginning;

I love you all lots! Thanks for the continuous prayers and support! England is amazing. I love being a missionary! 

English Vocab 
Package- Parcel  (as in, "mom plz send me a parcel") xoxo

Sister Gilland

What Happens in Birkenvegas....

Hiyaaa! Y'all miss me yet?! I can't believe it but I hit my 1 month mark on Friday the 13th! My companion just hit her 17 month mark haha I'll get there one day....

This week went a lot faster and smoother. I absolutely LOVE my ward. It really feels like family already. Something super funny about my ward is the Bishop, the Relief Society President, and the Young Women's President area all siblings.  Also the ward mission leader, is their cousin. #FamilyGoalsss. After several Tea Appointments this week, and getting to know so many families, I already feel like I've been in this ward for forever. This ward hasn't had Sister Missionaries in like decades!  I REALLY hope they keep me in this area for Christmas.  

We had our first district meeting and it's so crazy, we had to take 3 trains and two busses to get to it. Our meeting is only 2 hours long but we didn't even get home til 3 haha. Lots of Train and Bus contacting (one of my weaknesses) . An elder in my area, just told me to just stop caring about getting embarrassed when talking to people on the public transport because odds are, I'll never see them again...unless it's for a return appointment ;)! 

Wednesday and Thursday were some of the hardest days I've had so far. We just walked and walked and didn't accomplish any of our goals.  We didn't hand out any books of mormon and didn't even get a new contact. We decided to visit 2 old ladies in our ward and we found out that it totally made their day and lifted there spirits so at least we did something right!

Lol funny story! On friday we were out tracting around 8 at night and there was a house that we walked by and decided not to ring because the man in the window looked passed out drunk and he had a scary dog. So we went to the next door and then my companion and I felt guilty (robbing a child of God of learning about their salvation) so we went back and as soon as we knocked we heard a huge bang on the door and it was the giant dog body slamming into the door or something and both of us took off running the 'Beware of Dog' and 'No Cold Calling' signs should've tipped us off. Lol probably the most scared I've been so far- well at least until about 20 min later (continue to next paragraph).

So later that night, we were walking home and I saw a little ball of fur (looked like a rat) run over towards our rubbish bins and I screamed and jumped (naturally) and literally considered coming back to America for a second. We then came to find out it was a HEDGEHOG?! So that was definetly random but made for a pretty funny friday the 13th. I'll send pics. 

MISSIONARY MIRACLE:
Ok so on Saturday me and my companion and Elder Risk and Elder Santa Maria did a street display.  We set up a banner at a mall and talked to several people walking by.  I didn't have much success but one man, Roger, came up and talked to me.  After testifying of the book of mormon and giving him a copy, he seemed kinda interested so I gave him a flyer with our church's address and told him to come to church the following day. I honestly didn't have high hopes but heavenly father had other plans! He DID come to church and he wants to learn more! Yay! 

After church we had the privilege to hear from Elder Ballard in a broadcast shown only to Europe (sorry USA). He talked all about miracles and also member missionary work. Fun fact: weve had 3 baptisms in my ward since june and ALL of them have been from member referrals. 

Well that was my week folks! I want to leave you with a little thought. I want to echo what Russel M Nelson asked us at the recent General Conference.  
1 What would your life be like without the book of mormon?
2 What would you not know?
3 What would you not have?
For me personally, my parents met at byu in Book of Mormon class (#goals) so I know I probably wouldn't be alive! But on top of that, I wouldn't know the extent of how much my savior loves me. I wouldn't know the importance of following his commandments and enduring to the end. I wouldn't believe Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God. I wouldn't be able to comprehend God's infinite love for me. I certainly wouldn't be in England sharing the gospel for 18 months!  Who knows where I'd be. Where would you be?

English Vocab of the Week

Eggplant- aubergine 

Sidewalk- foot path

Sick- poorly (like "I'm feeling rather poorly today")

 Well I love and miss you all! Thanks for the continuous prayers! I definitely feel them! God loves you!

Tara' loves

Sister Gilland 

HIYA FROM BIRKENHEAD

Hiya! (Lol that's how everyone says hello here) friends and family! I miss y'all! I hope you're all doing amazing! I arrived safely to England and it's as beautiful as I imagined. I have been assigned to the Birkenhead area and I live in a small town called Prenton! 

My Companion 
My companion is Sister Menlove! She's from Payson Utah! We have a few mutual friends and she actually trained Sister Stapel from Springville! And she has a 24 year old sister named Hillary And she plays tennis! #sameee What are the odds?! She's probably the best missionary in the world, and it's her LAST transfer. I'm gonna be so sad when she leaves.  We've already become super close. She makes all my food too. She's like a mom haha I just love her. 

My Area 
Birkenhead, is also known as 'BirkenVegas', 'the Whirral', and according to the members, 'Zion'. 

For those familiar with England, I'm located south of Liverpool across the River Mersey.  Something a bit scary though, is my companion and I are BOTH new to this area (normally I'd be put with someone who's been here a transfer or so but NOPE)  AND it's brand new so we are literally building it from the ground up. Our area book is empty. AND the area is literally HUGE.  The population is about half a million people. We have 2 elders here as well in this area, Elder Risk and Elder Santa Maria.  We started with zero potential investigators.  We've had little success but have seen many small miracles that boost our confidence a bit. This week I've handed out several pass along cards and placed 3 books of mormon.  9 times out of 10 the people reject us. Some are super rude, some are just not into it. It's definitely tricky here but I'm confident that we will have success. 

The accent here does NOT sound like Harry Potter at all. It's an accent called Scouse and it's hardly english.  Most people greet you with "Hiya ya alright?" Which means "how are you ?" It sounds so weird but I'm just goin with it!  People also give you nick names like "love". Hahah I love it!

My Ward
The one ward here is so amazing, they're so humble and the kindest people you'll ever meet. They've been so excited for sister missionaries to come because apparently it's been years.  One funny surprise was they had me and sister Menlove bare our testimonies in church lol YAY.  The ward is amazing though, we've already had two tea appointments and lots scheduled this week.  Oh ya "Tea" here means dinner! So im getting fed LOTS. Also English food is amazing! A lil bland but ya just gotta dump some salt and pepper on it!

My President
President McReynolds is AMAZING. It's funny though because he has been here since July and apparently the previous one President Ulrich had lots of rules. And McReynolds is sgill strict but not as strict. The missionaries joke about Ulrich being like Moses and it was like living the law of Moses and now we are living the higher law so I guess that makes McReynolds Jesus???  Hahah lucky me! We had a good first interview. His brother served in Manchester the same time my dad did so we had that connection.

Funny Rules
So this is super funny for me, but apparently this mission is really big on refraining from saying the words "cool" "awesome" and "you guys". They think it sounds too casual. It's been super hard to adjust but I'm getting better. 

Trip to LIVERPOOL
I went on splits with Sister Libron this cute sister from the Philippines so that Sister Menlove could travel to her previous area, Oldham to watch someone she taught get baptized! While they were there, Sister Libron and I got to hang out in Liverpool. Dad- Pretty sure it's changed a ton since you left haha. It looks like time square haha.

Not gonna lie. This week has been quite the struggle. The people here are not the nicest. I've probably had dozens of doors slammed in my face, but like I said, we've had some small miracles that give me hope that I can touch the lives of the children God has prepared for me to teach. Cute Sister Melove showed me a scripture in Alma 20:30
"And, as it happened, it was their lot to have fallen into the hands of a more hardened and a more stiffnecked people..."  #relateable
I know it was my lot to have been called to England. I know that this is going to be hard and that I'll have so much rejection but know it's exactly where I'm supposed to be. I love England and I love Birkenhead.  The people here are so amazing. I can't wait to build this place from the ground up. I'm humbled President McReynolds trusts Sister Menlove and I with such a daunting task. I'm hopeful that we will see miracles!

Here's your British Vocab for the week (who said I'm not learning a language) ;)

Pram- Stroller

Hoover-  Vacuum 

Courgette- Zucinni (lol what)

P.S. My British accent is coming along nicely. Jk haha

Love you all! Tara' til next week (Tara' means byeeee)

Sister Gilland 

Pics:

1) President McReynolds and is wife 

2) View from my cute flat 

3) My first Fish n chips!

4) The door to my flat- the place was built in 1850!

5) My Companion Sister Menlove!