Sister Ellie Smith England, Manchester Mission

HEYO turkeys!!!! It's almost 2025??? That's amazing and flippin weird. Happy new year everyone. So stoked to have a new year and set some new goals. Let me know some of yours!  Saturday was one of the most incredible days on my mission so far. God astonished us ALL day. We walked around with huge smiles and were so grateful for the opportunities Heavenly Father provided for us. We met SO many people. Lots of them came from knocking on member dots. 3 different times it led us to other people who were interested in building their faith in Christ. The last door we knocked happened because a lesson fell through so we knocked on a dot nearby. It wasn't the member we thought but a woman named Madi. We chatted with her and she let us in! She was the nicest lady and had the biggest smile the whole time. She is from Bangladesh and we were able to teach her a lesson and are going back on Thursday! We also decided last minute to talk to this other lady who was walking into her door. W...

How annoying was that title? That's how I feel though. Merry Merry Christmas to everyone!! It's the best time of the flippin year.  Been doing so great over here. There's been so many Christmas acitivites and it's been a blast. I'll add some photos. I love love love the birth of Christ it's such a special time. Its been such an amazing time to reflect of what the Lord has done for me. An experience this week when the Lord assisted us was on Wednesday. Sister Hanks and I emphasised the importance of alignment prayers and were saying them consistently throughout the day. Prayers of gratitude, strength, and forgiveness after EVERY little thing we did. We went to visit a random member dot family that we have never heard of. We felt prompted to go and knock on their door. They didn't answer so what did we do? Alignment prayer! In the middle of the prayer the mom called us and said please please come back on Saturday! She sounded so happy and so excited. Then we s...

This week was full of hard work and joy! We were able to see the Lord magnify our efforts for being diligent and working hard.  Saturday was brilliant. We were able to follow the spirit and accomplish things that the Lord wanted us to. We had to decide either to walk or bus to the chapel for the ward Christmas party. We said a prayer and felt that we needed to take the bus. So we did! This transfer, we have been envisioning an African family with 3 kids to bring into this ward. As soon as the bus drove up, I saw this couple and said, "Ohhh we are definitely sitting by that amazing couple." So we immediately sat next to them and started a conversation. They are from Nigeria and moved here with their family. With THREE kids!!! Sister Hanks and I were beaming with a smile. We started getting to know them and they are strong believers in Christ. We met with their beliefs and introduced the Book of Mormon. They grabbed it immediately and started flipping through the pages. We gave...

  Hellooooo everyone.  CRAZIEST past 2 weeks ever. We have be running around like headless chickens with no pday. But man we've worked hard!  Here in Oldham now with the awesome Sister Hanks. We have been having a blast and she is the most incredible missionary I've ever seen. So lucky that the Lord placed me with her. Lots and lots of things been going on!! Christmas is coming. Sang in the missionary chior and somehow got in the small group. Don't know how but it was great! Very special to share our testimony of Christ through music. Christmas season is the BEST and there is such a special spirit.  Have to be quick because it's been SOO busy and gotta go already. But just wanted to say there is absolute nothing better than serving the Lord. I feel so lucky to be spending my time here in England for my Savior, especially during this Christmas season. There is no greater feeling than knowing how much he loves me and all of the people we are teaching. He is so awa...

I'm leaving AGAAAAAIN. See ya. So crazy I feel like I just got to Chester but I'm outta here! I am moving to Oldham and so stoked but also sad to leave. It's a weird mix always.  This week was good. It was definitely hard but good. Shocker. But I'm so excited for Christmas!!! It's coming! It's time to light the world! This has probably been one of the hardest transfers yet but I am so grateful for all the things I've learned. The biggest thing I've learned and probably said a million times is that I seriously cannot do any of this without the Savior. I'm going to be completely honest, no matter how many times I tried to remind myself, I did not rely on Jesus Christ as much as I needed to. We really need him in this life. Mosiah 4:27 will always be my favorite scripture and something I will always need to apply. We cannot run faster than we have strength!! We can. Not. God has his own order and timing and we need to follow it.  Really amazing news. On...