Sister Ellie Smith England, Manchester Mission

Wow. I am so proud of Sis Christensen. This email goes out to HER. I feel so beyond lucky to have been her trainer and it's been the biggest BIGGEST blessing to see her grow and become such a strong missionary. She always taught me how to keep going and not to be so hard on myself. Everytime I messed up with something she would just say, "It's okay! Maybe God just wanted you to learn from it." And AMEN I have learned so much. She is going to wiiiiiiiiigan, such a promised land. It makes me so excited to think about all the adventures and people that lie ahead of her. I'm honestly so jealous. Like super jealous.  Sister Souto is soooooo stinkin lucky to have her. She's gonna do so great. I love you Sis C!!!! This week zoomed by once again. Shocker! It was so good, we had an amazing chapel tour with our friend Chris, called 92749372 referrals, and even had thanksgiving dinner today. Let'sgetitttttttt. So good.  So this is it! I'm ending my mission in Cho...

  WHAT THE FLIP CAN WEEEEEKS SLOWWWW DOWN!!!! Gosh dang. Great week though! Some highlights... - Had exchanges with SISTA CORTEZ. She is actually incredible. She's from Argentina which has a huge special place in my heart. God's fingerprint right there! I love her so much and we had such a good time together. We chatted about a looooooot of things... lol. We had such a good talk about integrity and consecration and how important that is in our lives. Especially on a mission! She invited me to read one of the best talks ever. It was exactly what I needed to hear. Highly recommend! "Reflections on a Consecrated Life" by Elder D. Todd Christofferson. Here's a fire quote from it: "In like manner, future generations will take courage from your consecrated life, acknowledging their debt to you for the possession of all that truly matters" Don't forget how much your integrity and faithfulness blesses others too, not just yourself! - Yep. Sister C got comple...

Wow. This week was incredible. A good friend told me about God's fingerprints and how if we look we can see them everywhere and let me TELL YA I SAW THEM this weeeeeek. It was amazing.  First of all, this week I tried my very hardest to give it my absolute all, it's been a lot harder to do that recently because the end is soon! But I know it's what God would want me to do. So I'm here for it.  Here's the highlight of the week: (Back story we have been trying to find just anyone SOMEONE to teach in Chorley for so long) We got a referral for Chorley this week. His name is Alan!l. I taught him over the phone about the Atonement of Jesus Christ. He is going through a really hard time and is confused why his life feels so messed up. We set up a chapel tour for Thursday...and he never came. This happens quite a lot in Chorley  so we weren't shocked, just sad. Yesterday in the middle of ward council we got a call from Alan!! He said he's gonna try his best to make ...

Help!!! Do you think I will survive???  President Goode and some of the mission are doing no sugar November so pray for us!! We will see who lasts. But this kinda goes into what I want to quickly share and that is the POWER of sacrifice. These last two transfers have been some of my hardest but it still shocks me every time how close the hard times bring me to my Savior. Something that I've learned a lot is how the spirit speaks to me. Now this is something I have struggled with my whole life and I'm sure a lot of you do too. It takes experience to be able to feel the spirit direct you and a lot of the time it can be from doing the wrong thing so that you know what is right. There have been so many times I have fallen short on my mission but HEY we all do. I realize now if I had never messed up I would never feel the power of the Savior's Atonement. There is nothing more special than feeling that power. I am so grateful for Him and for the countless chances he gives me to b...

Time just seems to be flying. I can't believe it's already been another week! This week was a very good week. I have been praying and seeking miracles and God showed them to me!! It was awesome. One of my highlights this week was having a day with Sister Mund. We went on swaps together and it was so much fun. I love Sister Christensen so much but it's always nice to be with a missionary that is a bit more experienced for a day. Sister Christensen and I have been DYING for a new friend. All we wanted more than anything is just to have a new friend here in Chorley. It is so hard! Mostly it is just so hard to find time. But God astonished me that day. We envisioned an African wearing red and black and the first person we talked to was BOOM. Amanda. Wearing red and black. I've never seen more Africans in one day in Chorley than on Thursday  we talked to so many people who were in the right place at the right time. God really was looking out for us. We got to extend and prac...

This was a week of gosh dangs. Poor Sister C has been super sick so we have been partying in the flat!! She's such a trooper though and I am so grateful for her strength. I'm so lucky to have her!! To be quite honest I don't have much to say at all this week  butttttt I still LOVE ENGLAND. Gosh dang! So that's good. Recently I have just been overfilled with gratitude for my mission. It's genuinely so hard to describe how much I love it and the friends I have made along the way. The spirit has been super strong with me these past few weeks its AWESOME. I am just so grateful for the spirit and the things that just remind me that God is there!! He is too good.  Excited for a new week, 2 months left??? What the heck. No idea where time went.  Listen to "New Beginnings" by Patrick Kearon from this past conference because it ROCKS and it's my favorite.  I love you all!! Sorry but also not sorry for this short email. PEACE Cheeeeeeers Sister Smith 

HELLO!! I had a lot of spiritual highlights this week. Here are 2. First, THE TEMPLE. Sister Christensen was sick this week so it was the first time on my mission where I had to stay in the flat all day. It was tough but I'm grateful because that meant we got to go to the temple, just the two of us on Friday. It was probably the most special experience I had in the temple ever. The spirit was so strong and everything resonated with me. I read the scripture in D&C where it says that after we leave the temple, we are armed with power. That's exactly how I felt. There was so much this transfer that I could've done better and it was weighing on me so heavily, but when I was in the celestial room I got the strongest feeling that I have been forgiven and still a faithful servant of the Lord. It became another day of recommitment and since that day I have felt so much peace. I have felt a fresh new start and I am so excited to continue this next transfer.  The second experienc...

 Hi!!!!  I felt so much strength from the Lord this past week. I have really focused more on my personal connection with my Heavenly Father and reminded myself of his great love and plan for me. I felt strongly that he knows the deep desires of my heart, which is such a comforting thing. First resonders is STRESSFUL but God is just tooooo good too us.  I had a very special experience calling a referral this week and I don't think I will ever forget it. His name is Richard Clarke. I decided to call him during my lunch time. This was my last contact with him before sending him to Preston. I started talking to him and he sounded very nervous and distraught. Turns out he is a less active member. He has a disorder and half of his brain doesn't work properly. He expressed to me the pain he has felt as he lost his best friend (his mom) due to cancer a few years ago. He told me about stories of past missionaries coming over, him becoming a deacon, recieving a patriarchal blessing...

This is what I've been saying every 5 seconds recently..  No worries! Or alllll is well!! Or it's okay everything with be fine! Or we just have to keep going! It's been a stressful week... but it has really helped me ponder on the definition of hope and faith.  HOPE. Is my favorite thing. Hope is something that I cherish and feel very grateful for because I've developed it a lot throughout my life. It's natural for me to just keep saying "this sucks BUT everything will be okay eventually" as you can tell by a lot of my emails I'm sure. It's one of my favorite sentences actually. But it can still be hard in that in between stage where you're waiting for that "good ending." It can be hard to stay strong 24/7. Sometimes we crash and sometimes that's what we need. I've experienced this a lot this week but I've learned one of the most important things. Everytime I crash, that is where I find the Savior. To pick me up and remind...

Hellllooooo family and fabulous friends. Thanks for the all the prayers I could really feel them this week. This week was full of stress but BOOM. MIRACLES TOO because God is too good and will never slow down his work. We have started a new program called first responders in my district. Still haven't escaped from social media yet but hey! It's brought me so close to Jesus Christ so I won't complain. Basically we are responding and teaching online referrals allllll day. You know when you stare at your screen for so long your brain begins to rot? Feeling that a bit recently but all is well. I've talked to some of the coolest people. It's beautiful to see the prepared souls that are just ready to soak in the gospel and change their heart. There are so many people out there, especially right now in the world! Sometimes all we need to do is invite them....  Went to freshers this week to find all new Uni students in Liverpool and that was FIIIIIRE. Saw some of my favorit...