Friday, September 25, 2015

July 2015 Letter



Hi Family,                                                                                                                             July 26, 2015
We want you to know how much we love you and appreciate the effort you all put into getting together this past week.  We know that you all love each other and treasure the time you can spend together.  Our hearts and minds were with you this past month.  It was hard not to be there with you. 
Serving a mission has been full of wonderful experiences as well as difficult times but we know we are doing the right thing by being here.  On difficult days we wonder what the purpose is for our sacrifices to be here and then we find someone to teach the gospel to, someone who is struggling that needs our help, someone who is looking for God and has been prepared to hear about His love for them.  We have witnessed many miracles and blessings through the power of the priesthood and through the power of prayer.  We do not doubt that Heavenly Father loves us all and is helping us to prepare for the second coming.
The world is moving farther away from belief in God as well as the divine power and ability of God to bless their lives.  There is less trust and belief in God’s power to help us here on earth.  We see many people who do not want to be bothered with God and rely only on themselves.  But there is great comfort in knowing that the priesthood will never again be taken from the earth. That doesn’t mean that our faith will not be tested.  Apostasy is a great stumbling block for many here in the church.  We have seen many members turn to their own strength and knowledge, or others deceptions.  It breaks our hearts.
We know that when you as a family and individually read your scriptures daily, pray and hold family home evening you will be strengthened and supported against the evils of this world.  There are many members who joke about being too churchy or preachy, but where else can we turn for peace?  Where else are you going to find the security and safety of the gospel?  Nothing else in this world or within yourself can bring you true happiness and peace. We are not ashamed to say that we love the Savior!  We are grateful for his atonement and we know that through Him we can all be made clean which makes it possible for us to be together as a family forever and live with our Heavenly Father.
Dad and I spend 24/7 together.  It has been a difficult adjustment.  It was hard for me at first to not have my own phone and car keys and to be so dependent on Dad, and he is dependent on me.  We have had to learn to trust each other, to work together and to be patient with one another.  We are happy to say that we are getting there.  It is getting easier.  We have both been very independent and have managed our lives together but separately as we raised our family.  On a mission we do EVERYTHING together!  Don’t worry!  It is all working out great!  We love each other even more because of our mission.  Thanks for supporting us!  Thanks for trusting Heavenly Father enough to let us come to England and to be missionaries.  It was not easy for you either to see us go and to have us so far away.  Our hearts are never far from you!  You are our children and we love you with all our hearts!  We are proud of you!  You make us so happy!  We can’t wait to be home again and to see you and hug you and to spend time with you.


The mission office recently called and asked us to go to the prison here and meet with 11 members of the church who are incarcerated.  If it works out that we can do this, unfortunately dad will be going by himself.  I will not be able to go with him because the prisoners are sex offenders and the security clearance is tight.  Women are not allowed there.  We purchased triple combinations for dad to give them.  We will let you know how this turns out.  Not sure yet.
We are looking into teaching a Book of Mormon class at the university here.  We hope it works out.  We are also going to start teaching English to a man who speaks Arabic.  His name is Hommad.  I think he is from Jordan?  That should be interesting.  Heavenly Father must think we can do things that we ourselves are not sure of.  We will trust in him and see how it goes.  If Heavenly Father is helping us we know it will all work out okay.
We are going to another castle tomorrow and are looking forward to learning about the local history.  We hear that there are dungeons there that are pretty dark and scary.  Don’t worry, I will hold tight to dad and we will be okay.
We love you all!  Miss you!
Love, Mom and dad

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