Lest We Forget

This week was so good. Like INCREDIBLE. Our STLs gave us the challenge this week to talk to at least 1 person on every bus we get on and to have at least 10 good conversations with people per day. Normally yall, I hate numbers! But this was actually such a good experience. On day one of this challenge, the first person I talked to became a new friend and idk just so many miracles came from this. I forgot how much fun it is to talk to people.

On Friday we had interviews with President and his wife which is always so helpful. He gives the best advice. As a mission we're all getting super excited for the upcoming #LightTheWorld campaign. BTW the website is up and running. ALSO, as of this week, my mission no longer uses Facebook, I'm not too bothered to be honest. As great of a tool, we didn't really use it all that much.

On Sunday, we celebrated "Rememberence Sunday". Basically veterans day. We had one hour of church. Libby came and unexpectedly brought her brother Sean! We taught him the restoration and he came to the fireside last week. They loved church. Sean even wanted to have a lesson that same day. We taught him and Libby the plan of Salvation. Sean had some deep and more difficult questions but he was so open to learning more and agreed to finish the Book of Mormon in 2 weeks??! He also said the closing prayer of the lesson and Libby told us later that evening he prayed on his own for the first time in years.

After church, we all went to town hall to honor the veterans. There was a flag ceremony and dozens of different churches represented. It was a neat experience to kind of come together. There's a nice tradition they do here in England. At the end of world war 1, England was pretty destroyed and the only bit of hope was hundreds of bright red poppies in bloom. So this time of year everyone wears a red poppy pin to honor those who served. The phrase "Lest We Forget" is written everywhere as well as another reminder to remember.

While reading the other day, this scripture jumped out at me,
Mosiah 2:41 And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it.
There have been so many times in my life when I've felt that "blessed and happy state" by doing my best to keep the commandments. I also know the other side of the spectrum all too well. There is a clear and distinct contrast between the two and I just know how much blessed and happier we have the ability to feel if we do our best to stay on the covenant path.

Love you all!

Sister Gilland
England Manchester Mission 🇬🇧

Sisters Before Misters

Hello November! Well this week was good. As you all know it was Halloween which as I said last week, doesn't get celebrated too much in this country. But the 30th of October is known as Mischief Night. Basically all of the teenage thugs (British call them "Chavs") come out and cause problems (egging, robbing, damaging property, etc) . Luckily we weren't affected!

Libby is doing well! We get made fun of by her coworkers every time we set foot in McDonald's. But it's fine. She's kinda dating a kid she works with and he's actually a former investigator lol! And he's been kinda bugged that she's spending more time with us than him so she told him "Sisters Before Misters"  and I couldn't have said it better myself. We went to a fireside with her and her brother Sean and they loved it! It was amazing because Josh from Chorley spoke and he did so well and it was so good to see him! It took me back to when we were at a fireside with him months ago in Manchester and he said "I can't wait to share my testimony up there in front of everyone!". He killed it.

So on Saturday we went to a Roman Catholic Mass with our friend Steven. We told him we'd go to his church if he came to ours. He's coming next week. Let me tell yall, it was an experience. I've been to a Muslim and  Church of England church and this one was quite different. Lots of sitting, standing, and  kneeling. It was a good experience for sure but very different from what I'm used to.

Today is Bonfire Night/Guy Fawks Day/ made up holiday celebrating anarchy. Basically someone called Guy Fawks attempted to kill a member of parliament and he failed and the whole country celebrates his failure with fireworks and getting wasted! So missionaries have to be home at 6. Haha not complaining ;)

Well this week I studied the talk by Joy D Jones. She shared this quote that y'all might remember, "If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway. What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight. Build anyway. The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow. Do good anyway. Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough. Give the world the best you’ve got anyway. You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and your God … anyway.”

I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week!

Sister Gilland
England Manchester Mission 🇬🇧

Pictures are from pday last week. We went to a petting zoo with libby and it was the best £4 I ever spent and I paid an additional £2 to have meerkats crawl on my head.

The Most Haunted Country on Earth

So somebody once told me that England is labeled the 'Most Haunted County On Earth' which I fully agree 100% because this place can get so spooky! Especially at night. At most churches, there's a graveyard to the side of it and we walked by and there was legit fog hovering over the graves and I felt like I was in a movie. But unfortunately, this country hardly celebrates Halloween! I'm pretty sure it's an American holiday anyway right? Like we see kids in costumes and the occasional decorations but nobody really goes trick or treating its so sad.

This week was pretty good. Well we taught Ash on Thursday a lesson around 1Nephi 8 the Iron Rod. We tried to teach as plainly and simply as possible but unfortunately he made it all complicated. That's been the hardest thing with Ash. The gospel isn't complicated but he makes it that way haha so we are just trying to work through that.
We also taught Libby a couple times. We've been doing our best to address all her concerns and answer her questions. On Saturday we were able to take her to the temple. Sister McKinnon and I fasted on the Friday before and prayed and role played so much. The plan was to date her for baptism at the temple. Unfortunately that didn't happen but on a positive note, she wants to keep learning and said she would get baptised if she felt it was all true. So we will press forward and continue teaching her. She came to church, she's reading the scriptures, and praying she's even giving up coffee!
We went finding on Wednesday and I talked to this 15 year old boy named Alen. He was really nice, he's from india originally, he's Roman catholic and he was in a rush so I just gave him a card. We got a text from him the next day asking if we could meet and he brought his friend and we taught the Restoration and a bit of the Plan of Salvation! They were so nice and willing to listen. They knew a lot about their own faith as well (which doesn't often happen!). But hopefully we see them again.

That was pretty much my week. I gave a talk in Sacrament meeting about the Book of Mormon. I've really just come to love feasting on the words of Christ. I honestly never thought that could happen. I've taken the challenge given by President Nelson (and I invite you all to as well) to read the Book of Mormon before the start of 2019! Read it, gain a testimony of it, and use it as a shield. I know that it's true and I love reading and learning from it each and every day!

Love you all! Have a good week!

Sister Gilland
England Manchester Mission 🇬🇧

Pictures are from our Zone Pday last week in Liverpool. We saw two giant cathedrals and went to the Beetles museum. So much fun. Also including pics from the temple trip with libby! Also sat by these cute little girls on the bus and gave them my orange.

Tardiness Never Was Happiness

Hello all, it's getting absolutely stunning here in the UK. Grateful I get two autumns:)

Well we had Zone Conference this week and so we had to leave our flat about 7:30 to get to the conference about 45 minutes before the conference started (which is ideal so we can spiritually prepare), so we left and arrived at the train station only to watch our train pulling away EARLY??? So the next train came an hour later and would still get us there on time but not early so we waited and then once our train came IT BROKE. The electricity went out and the train wouldn't even turn on. We sat there for an hour and I was having a proper freak out staring at my watch. Zone conference literally started in 10 minutes and we were still in St Helen's train station #anxiety. They ended up kicking everyone off the train. We then saw two other missionaries, Elder Prudencio (from the Phillipines) and Elder Murphy (from England) get off the same train which brought us loads of comfort knowing that we weren't the only rubbish missionaries that would be arriving very late to zone conference. We called a member and luckily he was able to get us there and we were only an hour late 😂. Stress level 5000 y'all.

We met up with both Libby and Ash! It's crazy to me that I didn't even know these two people a month ago and now we see them multiple times a week! We took Libby to our ward Halloween party which was slightly cringy but we made the best of it! Also, we are going to the temple with her this week! Also, she even went and bought dresses to wear to church and she will be coming this week! We are so excited! Our other friend Ash is also doing well. We gave him a chapel tour and he's going to come to church this upcoming week hopefully!

We had the Primary Program this week on Sunday and if you're wondering, Yes- British children singing and sharing testimonies is by far the cutest thing ever. The spirit was so strong and they did so well. Actually teared up whilst they sang "A Child's Prayer". It really got me thinking when they sang the phrase "Some say that heaven is far away, but I feel it close around me as I pray." I can testify that the Heavens are in fact open and we can access them through prayer. Some months ago, President Nelson's wife told us to envision the deceased ancestors of the people we teach. Think of how much they long for someone to do their work. I know that there are seen and unseen forces moving this work along.

Love you all have a good week! 🍁🍂

Sister Gilland
England Manchester Mission 🇬🇧

Picturessss
Zone conference & Sister McKinnon and I found PUMPKIN at the store (super rare in this country) and made cookies and pie!

Week 1 of Transfer 10

Hello everyone, it's been an exciting first week of the transfer! Navigating through this crazy town is next to impossible but luckily my comp Sister McKinnon is super patient. We work so well together and she is such a powerful missionary. We have lots of fun too. The work is just going so great! We picked her up on Wednesday and we've been so busy every day!

As for Libby (girl from McDonald's) we met with her TWICE this week and taught her the Restoration and Plan of Salvation. Her brother came to one of the lessons as well! We are trying to get her to church but she is so open minded about everything and she always does what we invite her to do. She is honesty the best! I can't wait to see what happens with her.

I didn't share this last week but as a mission, we did something called 'Miracle Monday'. We set a goal to find 2 new friends per companionship that day. We spent the entire day finding in the Town Centre and I stopped and talked to Ashley (male) and found out that some months ago he was on a flight to Seattle to live there for a few months. When he landed, they denied him entrance to the country because of an issue with his visa. They sent him home and on that flight, he met a woman from our church who gave him a Book of Mormon and testified of it! What a seed! He admitted to me that he hadn't read the book yet but he'd open it later that day. We met with him later that week and taught him the Plan of Salvation. He loved it and we are seeing him again tomorrow!

Well other than that, and just running around the area aimlessly, not much else happened this week! My companion shared with me a scripture that I just love found in D&C 123:17 "Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed."
Sometimes it's hard to feel like a successful missionary but this scripture promises that if we do our very best that the God will lend His hand. I know this is Lord's work. I know that each of us has a role to play and the Lord deserves our very best!

Sorry if this email was lame! Next week will be better!
Love you all! Have a good week!

Sister Gilland
England Manchester Mission 🇬🇧

Pictures
For pday we got to go to COSTCO aka Disney World to a missionary. Also found a weird statue in St Helens called "the Dream"

Would You Rather Be Shot Or Jabbed???

Another busy week here in St Helen's! Time just seems to go faster and faster. We've ended another transfer and as for news.... I'M STAYING and saying adios to Sister Escalon! My new companion is Sister McKinnon from Park City, Utah! I've wanted to serve with her my WHOLE MISSION. We found each other on Instagram before we came out, she's one transfer ahead of me!
Well anyways, lengthy email ahead!! Lots happened this week, including one of the hardest days of my mission so get ready! :')

This week we had to get flu shots but the british call them "flu jabs" . If yall know anything about me, you probably know I'm terrified of shots. So I told the pharmacist "The word 'jab' just sounds so violent" and he was like "Well would you rather be shot or jabbed? " I thought that was a pretty good point. And then he jabbed me. Kinda fainted afterwards... I'll include pics.

Something heartbreaking happened on Tuesday. After district council in Wigan, we decided to do a street display. We set everything up. I had a grocery bag with some bananas, a water bottle, as well as my notebook and very worn copy of the Book of Mormon that have had my whole mission. I glanced several times to check on my bag but when I looked, it was gone. I immediately started scrambling looking in every direction but it was nowhere to be found. These items were so special to me and in an instant they were gone. I called the city council to see if I could check the cameras and to do so, I had to file a police report (lol you learn how to do loads on a mission!) but sadly, we never found my bag. It's times like these when I just look up at the sky and ask God "WHY ME?". It caused me to think of all the other trials I've had on my mission. All the "why me" moments. Why can't things just be easier? But it's these defining moments that I truly learn and grow the most. Just because these precious sentimental items are now gone, it doesn't mean my testimony is. Im not sure what good thing will come out of this, but perhaps the person who took it needed it more than me. 😓

Also a memeber in our ward invited us to a "Faith Day" at a local high school. Basically us and a lot of other different religions set up displays and stand there and talk to the students about our faiths. There was us, some Jehovas Wittnesses, Muslims, and other Christianity sects. It was a really good turn out and we talked to loads of people. Afterwards there was a Question Panel and the memeber that brought us so kindly volunteered me to sit on the panel and answer questions in front of 100+ 16-18 year olds. We got asked so many crazy questions and I was shaking the whole time but it was super fun and I found a lot of common ground with the other religions sat beside me.
But ya my fabulous companion snapped a pic of me in action so ill include that lol.

Yall remember Libby from Mcdonald's last week?? Well we met her and she's amazing and me and her get along so well. We gave her a Book of Mormon and explained a bit about it and she said it all makes sense and she'd give it a read. We are seeing her this week too!

Saturday and Sunday of course was GENERAL CONFERENCE! And my LAST one as a missionary! I can't believe it. But wow it was much needed for me personally and I'm sure many of you as well. It's hard to talk about just one but I particularly loved Elder Rasbands talk on fear. He said something along the lines of "When we stand with the Lord, we are standing in Holy Places. When we stand in Holy Places, we feel Christ's love and Christ's love is perfect and perfect love casteth out all fear." I just love that promise. We need not fear!
I invite you all to go back and read those notes that I know you all diligently took this past conference and set goals for yourself to better align yourself on the covenant path. This Conference just reaffirmed to me that the Lord truly is hastening His work. How grateful I am to have a prophet to lead us back to our loving Heavenly Father.

Until next week,
Love you all!

Sister Gilland
England Manchester Mission 🇬🇧

Pictures are from pday in Liverpool last week, Flu Jabs, Faith Day & Question Panel

How to Offend an Elderly Brit

This week was super busy and jam packed. So many things happened both good and bad! Transfer calls are next monday so hopefully I stay because I really don't want to pack :')

We had exchanges in Liverpool and I got to work with my old companion Sister Westover. We taught two lessons together and it was just like old times in Manchester YSA. It was also a blast being in Liverpool it's such a unique city! We also had interviews with President and it was as usual super good. President is the best because hes the definition of British humor (super dry lol) and I laugh so hard at him but he's so serious ah that man kills me.

Well something kinda lame happened. An old lady that we are teaching dropped us and it was definitely my fault. She's 74, her name is Gwen and on Saturday we went and taught her the Restoration. Bare in mind that she's been dropped by the missionaries 3 times because she wasn't progressing. So we started with the lesson and her TV was on and so loud and it's already hard enough to understand her scouse accent with her quiet voice and lack of teeth (lol England) so I asked if we could turn the TV off and got up to mute it and sat back down not really thinking anything of it. The lesson went pretty good,  we ended on such a spiritual note and felt good about it. Later that evening she called us and yelled at us on the phone "You don't come over here and turn off my tele, that's so rude, ignorant American, etc". Ya so after that I was actually proper upset about it and felt awful but to be honest she definitely might be crazy and there's a reason she's been dropped by missionaries in the past. Also, there's a very good chance she thought we were Jehovas Witnesses (typical lol).

On to a happier note, we had a miracle in maccys (what they call McDonald's). We planned on teaching our friend Steven on a bench in the town hall (like we normally do) but it started raining (shocker) so our backup plan was to teach him in maccys. So we were teaching him and Sister Escalon was doing most of the talking testifying so boldly and pouring out her heart like she always does and I was staring at one of the McDonald's workers cleaning the tables. She was standing by the bin and I walked up to her to toss some rubbish and saw amongst several tattoos, a tattoo of the state of Texas. I pointed to it and asked her about it and found out her name Is Libby and that she's never been to Texas but she's always wanted to! I told her that's where I was from and we talked a bit about why I'm here in St Helen's! She was so nice but we literally only talked for 30 seconds. As we continued our lesson, I got out a Pamphlet and wrote a little note and our number hoping she'd pick it up. Well about an hour later, we got a text from her and we scheduled to see her again! We've been texting her all weekend! I'll keep yall posted on Libby!

I'm grateful for all the ups and downs on my mission because without them, it'd make for a boring ride. I read a scripture in Jacob 3:1 "But behold, I, Jacob, would speak unto you that are pure in heart. Look unto God with firmness of mind, and pray unto him with exceeding faith, and he will console you in your afflictions, and he will plead your cause, and send down justice upon those who seek your destruction."
When you liken that scripture to yourself, it's such a wonderful promise that if we pray daily and exercise faith in him, the Lord has got our backs! He will be there for us in any moment because he never leaves us!

Whoohoo my last General Conference on my mission is THIS WEEK! I invite you all to prepare a question and earnestly seek it by listening to not only what the speakers tell you, but what the SPIRIT tells you! The heavens are open my friends!

Love and pray for you all!

Sister Gilland
England Manchester Mission 🇬🇧

SORRY no pics this week, I'm the worst!

17 Miracles + A Baptism

Well this week was one I will always remember. Josh was baptised! So for my email, I just thought I'd share Josh's story with yall + the unbelievable miracles we experienced in order to get to this baptism. What a week!

Josh's Story
Joshua Collins found a copy of the book of Mormon whilst working part time at a bookshop. He took it home and read bits but didn't think much of it. He knew some about the church because his Dad is a less active member and his grandmother is very active. Josh studied philosophy and had come up with the conclusion that there was no God but religion always interested him. He was approached by two sister missionaries and agreed to meet with them later that week. He was then passed to myself and my companion and we began teaching him the lessons little by little. He kept all the commitments we gave him, he read, prayed, and asked God if everything was true and made so many changes in himself. Since he's been investigating, he's never missed a single hour of church. Josh would hitch a lift to church from a member family and would wear a suit underneath a hoodie and jeans (he didn't want his family to know he was investigating). He would walk an hour and a half to meet us in town for lessons. He attended several of our street displays to help invite others to learn about the restored gospel. After attending the baptism of a friend, Josh told us that he wanted to be baptised. On the 22 of September, in front of his parents, grandparents 4 younger sisters, and so many friends, Josh entered the waters of baptism and made his first covenant with the Lord . Just recently, Josh has told us that he wants to serve a mission and bring others the joy that the gospel brought him. In the span of 3 months, Josh went from an atheist to a member of the Restored Church of Jesus Christ and a future missionary! Josh is another testimony to me that the Lord actually does prepare the hearts of his children.

17 Miracles
To attend a baptism in my mission, you have to bring an investigator (much easier said than done my friends). I pretty much accepted the fact I wasn't going to be able to attend Josh's baptism. It's 45 minutes away, nobody would want to give up a Saturday night, and it was too short notice to organise everything. OR SO I THOUGHT.
We experienced 17 miracles this day (probs more but in reference to the movie title we will just stick with 17)

1. When I left Chorley, a recent convert, Jess offered to give us a lift to Josh's baptism. The offer still stood and she was willing if we paid petrol.
2.  Two days before the Baptism, we invited Anna and her mum and they said yes!
3. They didn't cancel!
4. We got the APs approval for us to leave the zone last minute :')
5. We got there safely and on time. NO TRAFFIC.
6. I was Reunited with the lovely Chorley members and missionaries.
7.We had time to look at the beautiful temple grounds with Anna and her mum.
8. I got to see my BFF Sister Dunlavy.
9. The best part... JOSH WAS BAPTISED!
10. Josh's less active dad and non member family and several friends were there to support him.
11.Josh gave such a powerful testimony.
12. Josh brought a spare pair of undies so he didn't have to "get dunked commando" (his words) . He also publicly thanked his nan (grandmother) from the pulpit for reminding him to do so:')
13. The ceremony was amazing. The spirit was so strong. Anna was so touched that she cried.
14. The Chorley sisters had someone familiar sitting next to them at the baptism. It was Al! A man Sister Hawkins and I tracted into weeks ago and his son! He came to church last week and he's taking the lessons!
15. There were custard donuts.
16. Anna agreed to come to church the next day.
17. The greatest miracle of all, perhaps is the Gospel of Jesus Christ and my sacred opportunity to watch it change the lives of people like Josh. I'm so grateful to have watched such a miraculous conversion take place.

Miracles have not ceased! I invite you all this week to look for those miracles!

There's not a soul on earth that could tell me that this isn't the Lords work:') I'm so grateful to be apart of it. Love you all. Have a good week!

Sister Gilland
England Manchester Mission 🇬🇧

Pictures: Josh's baptism, a cute less actives puppy, me and sister Escalon before a massive storm, also a bat the elders found on the way to district council.

Cheers to One Year!

Well this week was the 13th of September.... One year ago I entered the Provo MTC and put on a missionary badge for the first time. I can't believe how fast it's gone and how much I've learned. Four areas, seven companions, lots of laughs, lots of miracles, lots of tears, lots of rain, but most of all, lots of JOY. I've loved helping others come unto Christ whilst coming closer to Him myself. It is true when they say a mission is life changing!

Well we had a great week. My comp and I were both a bit sick with a cold so that messed up the week quite a bit but we still saw miracles! Most of our investigators are on holiday which is hard but we still have loads to do. We've been visiting a bunch of less actives and it's been really good. Josh is all set to be baptised on Saturday. Satan's gonna work hard on him so everyone keep him in yalls prayers!

Lol not much else to update yall on but a scripture Sister McReynolds shared at Zone Conference last week that particularly struck me is found in Mosiah 5:12 "I say unto you, I would that ye should remember to retain the name written always in your hearts, that ye are not found on the left hand of God, but that ye hear and know the voice by which ye shall be called, and also, the name by which he shall call you."

I honestly can't read that without weeping (missions make ya soft). I'm so grateful to have had His name written on a badge for the last year and to have been able to represent him every single hour of every single day. Whether you're on a mission or not, always REMEMBER to retain His name. I love this gospel and I love this work. This year has been so incredibly special to me and I can't believe how fast it's gone. I'm grateful for another 6 months here in England as a representative of Christ.

Love y'all! xx


Sister Gilland
England Manchester Mission 🇬🇧


Pictures
Sister Escalon went all out for my 1 year mark, this is what I woke up to :')
Painting a house haha the biggest fail.
Saw a Dalmatian and almost started crying.
The District Fam

Zone Conference With Elder Moreria

Wow what a week it's been! On Wednesday, we had Multi Zone Conference with the North half of the mission. It was held in Chorley so its like I never left ;) We had the privilege to hear from an area seventy Elder Joaquim J. Moreira. He's from Portugal and was so funny and so interesting to listen to. I feel like we talked about every area of missionary work but mostly focused of planning. It was a quite the spiritual kick in the pants and exactly what I needed to hear. I set so many goals for myself to make these last 6 months of my mission my best. I also got to see 6/7 of my last companions (the missing one is home now) so that was a fun reunion.

Just an update on Josh in Chorley! He's doing so well. I saw him at the Liverpool fireside last week in Chorley and I got to talk to Sister Hawkins at Zone Conference about him and he's been helping the missionaries proselyting at the street displays. He's still dated for the 22nd. I'm hoping to be able to attend. But if not, I'll be skypin haha.

As for the work in st Helen's, we have two people on date, Ray and Steven but Ray has been dogin us lately and Steven is on holiday so we might have to move their date. The challenge in this area is to get people to progress. But we have loads to teach!

On Saturday, we did an amazing street display with the district. As a mission, we are still doing this 21 day challenge to get people to read The Book of Mormon. For the street display we printed out pages of the Book of Mormon and encouraged people to highlight every time the see a mention of Jesus Christ or Heavenly Father. This went so well and people were so touched to take part. The Book of Mormon speaks for itself!

Whilst taking part in the 21 Day challenge, a scripture jumped out at me on day 4.The question was "How can my sins be forgiven?" the scripture was Alma 36:1-24 and I just loved the idea that "[his] soul was filled with joy as exceeding as was [his] pain" because he cried unto the lord for a remission of his sins. I think that answers the question perfectly. Our Heavenly Father loves us so much and wants us to be happy. The great plan of the atonement allows us to feel that joy always!

I love you all! Have a wonderful week!


Sister Gilland
England Manchester Mission 🇬🇧

Pics of St Helen's and zone conference. My sweet Sister Fielding is going home!

Hiya From St. Helen's

Hiya from St Helen's everyone! Week 1 in this blessed area has been amazing. The work here is BOOMING. I didn't know missionary work like this even existed in England!

Here's a couple of things I'm loving about my area:
-People are SO FRIENDLY (well in British standards). Never in my mission have I been somewhere where people are so nice. Like normally I'm used to saying "hiya" or "good morning" and getting a response like "sorry love not interested" or nothing at all but HERE, people talk to ME!!
-ONE WARD, as much as I loved Chorley wards 3 and 4, it's so much easier to just be in one. It was weird not having 6 hours of church!
-"Tara' Love" is a common phrase in my first area (Birkenhead) and I totally forgot about it and they say it all the time here and I just Iove it. It just means Goodbye.
-SO BUSY ALL THE TIME, its like I'm back in Manchester! The field is white and ready to harvest!
-It's a proper city and has quite a few people, also the scouse accent has become a favourite of mine.

My Companion
I absolutely love Sister Escalon. She's the first companion I've had that's younger than me. She's 19, what a baby! She's also teaching me Spanish and it's coming along very well. We are both so similar and I just love her to death. There's a chance she might be crazy tho because day one of our companionship, she comes up to me and says, "Will you cut my hair?" WHAT. So I went at her with our kitchen scissors and cut off a proper 6 inches. If that isn't trust, I don't know what is.

We are working with loads of people including a man who's been investigating since my dad was a missionary here so I'm convinced they crossed paths lol. I am still learning names and figuring everything out so a better update on our people will come later.

On Sunday, I was able to meet the ward. Bishop so graciously volunteered me to start off testimony meeting introducing myself. After church we got to go to the fireside with our friend Stephen! It was in Liverpool just down the road! It was so good and Stephen really loved the atmosphere of the place!

Just to close, I was reading in a talk called "Born of God" - Ezra Taft Benson Oct 1985. This is such a good one and I encourage you all to give it a read. But this quote really stuck out to me: "The Lord works from the inside out. The world works from the outside in. The world would take people out of the slums. Christ takes the slums out of people, and then they take themselves out of the slums. The world would mold men by changing their environment. Christ changes men, who then change their environment. The world would shape human behavior, but Christ can change human nature."

I just love that because I've seen time and time again, Christ's hand in "taking the slums out of people". Including myself. As long as we are willing to humble ourselves and let him change us, we can become true diciples of Him. I'm eternally grateful to experience what Alma called, "a mighty change of heart".

Tara' Loves

Sister Gilland
England Manchester Mission 🇬🇧

Limited pics this week cuz we were so busy!
Here's me and my comp and the chapel!

Lookout Liverpool!

Forgot to mention, pday is on Tuesday this week because transfers mess everything up. So for the transfer news.... We got the call yesterday! I'M GOING TO LIVERPOOL. Well sorta... It's in Liverpool stake! My area is called St. Helen's and I've heard wonderful things! I am so gutted my time in Chorley was so short but on to a new chapter! My new companion is Hermana Escalon from MEXICO! 🇲🇽 The only mexican in the mission so I'm pumped. She just got done training so she's been on her mission for just 3 months! I leave Chorley tomorrow 😓.

Well because of the transfer news, it's hard to think of what happened the rest of the week! We made a baptismal calendar for Josh who is dated for the 22nd of September (a week before he heads to Uni). He made a Facebook event for it (lol isn't that our job?). But hes so solid. We've taught most of the lessons. We are just finishing up the commandments with him. We taught him on Friday and my good friend, Chantal (Manchester YSA) was visiting Chorley so she fellowshipped! It was so good to see her. We pretty much spent the day with her so that was so fun because I've missed her so much!

One of my favourite things about England at the moment is the billions of blackberries everywhere! Seriously every street has at least a row of bushes. And everyone's allowed to pick them! We've been making ourself sick eating so many! It's honestly the best!

Well my heart hurts a bit because I just don't feel ready to leave this area. Chorley will forever hold a place in my heart. I have grown and learned so much in these 3 months. But I sustain President McReynolds and I know that St Helen's is where I need to be now! Ugh. Missions are so bitter sweet! This is the scripture I found this week in my studies.

Mosiah 26:18 Yea, blessed is this people who are willing to bear my name; for in my name shall they be called; and they are mine.
20 Thou art my servant; and I covenant with thee that thou shalt have eternal life; and thou shalt serve me and go forth in my name, and shalt gather together my sheep.

I'm so grateful to be called of the lord to gather his sheep. I've been blessed to do that in 3 amazing area and now Im on to my 4th. Its been an emotion 24 hours and I know it's going to be such a hard day leaving tomorrow but my calling doesn't change and my responsibilities are the same. I know without a doubt this is the lords work. The miracles I've seen in the short 12 weeks I've been here are my proof.

Sister Gilland
England Manchester Mission

Pictures probably not in this order....
-pretty rainbow at a pretty park
-Chav pic with josh
-this horrible watch is a Chorley tradition! Every true Chorley missionary is gifted one by a member! Thanks Jack!
-picture with our cute 80 year old investigator, Stella!
-Chantal wearing my badge!
-Chantal pt 2
-I'll sure miss Sister read!

How Bout A Baptism

What an amazing week it's been here in Chorely. It totally slipped my mind that school was back in session. Happy first week of school to you all! I'm sure glad I'm in England spreading the good news of the gospel instead of being stuck in a classroom lolll. 

So Josh has officially been investigating for two months now. We met with him twice this week and really decided to focus our lessons on baptism (subtle right?). The lessons went so well and he turned up at a baptism outside of our zone in Southport on his own to watch a friend of his get baptised. That sealed the deal for him. On Sunday after church, he told Sister Hawkins and I that he wanted to be baptised before he heads to Uni in October. We told him to pray for a date and and he said he's thinking two weeks from now. His best friend in the church and recent convert of 4 months, Jacob is going to baptise him! This was the best news! Everyone pray for Josh cuz Satan's gonna do all he can to ruin this! 

Well it's that time again! Transfer calls are this Sunday! Lol I'm not gonna lie this has been the longest transfer of my mission for a number of reasons and one of the hardest as well. But if my mission has taught me anything, it's seeing the good in every situation. At the end of the day, (or transfer) you can absolutely find little miracles here and there. I'm grateful for all the things I learned in the last 6 weeks! 

For the month of September, Europe is doing a 21 day Book of Mormon challenge! We just got materials and I couldn't be more excited! Similar to #LightTheWorld, there will be a calendar with chapters to read and challenges to complete! I'll send pics of the banner!

Something that really helped me this transfer was this scripture found in Proverbs 3:5 "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."

I can think of countless times when I feel like I'm doing my best but yet encountering curveball after curveball. It goes to show that no one is except from trials. Even our Saviour Jesus Christ-a perfect being- had to suffer the most of all. I truly believe that as long as we trust in the lord and follow him, we will be able to overcome whatever life throws at us! I'm so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father!

Love you all!

Sister Gilland
England Manchester Mission

Pics (probably not in this order) 

Sis Hawkins was straight buzzin about her pizza cone

Hannah Tarr (goodbye for real this time)

Book of Mormon challenge banner

S/o to my old ward Manchester YSA (featured on lds.org)