A very English Thanksgiving and Sister Mussman

Hey family and loved ones,

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving full of turkeys, pumpkin pie, gratitude, and a much needed nap. :) I just wanted to tell all of you how thankful I am for all your prayers, love and emails. I love you all, and am SO blessed to have each of you in my life! My Thanksgiving was pretty fantastic as well. It wasn't quite as traditional (seeing as England doesn't celebrate the holiday, and I'm in an all British ward), but 3/4 of our small district are American so we thought it was only right to treat ourselves to delicious food for the night. We ended up going to the Carvery, and oh my goodness that food was AMAZING!! It was probably the most traditional British Thanksgiving you could ever have, but it was definitely worth it! :) haha I'll send a picture. Lots of Yorkshire puddings, stuffing, and chicken.

In other exciting news of this last week... I have a new companion! :) And not only that, but my first American companion in the mission field. Sister Mussman is fantastic and I love her! She's actually served in Canterbury before so with our combined efforts we've had a really amazing week. She knows the area like the back of her hand (good news, because I would have gotten lost a ton), and I know the recent events and goings on in the area, so it's a good mix. :) I have a feeling that this transfer will be one of the best transfers yet. We're both ready to work hard, but also enjoy the work, and the beautiful place that we're living in. It should be good!

Wednesday was when transfer day was. Sister Kinnard and I woke up super early and headed to St. Pancreas station to swap companions. She's actually in Thetford now, which is where Sister Mussman came from. We had to wait a good 4 hours, because the other sisters were stuck in traffic, but that gave us the chance to pop over to Platform 9 3/4 and see a little bit a magic! Also, I've been assigned to the house of Gryffindor. :) SO COOL!! The rest of the day was a flurry of travel, unpacking, and recovery time for Sister Mussman because she's been ill.

Friday we had a lot of appointments with investigators and less active members, but just a little thought of the day: We taught about Thomas S. Monson twice that day, and each time we showed his testimony for part of the lesson. Can I just say how much I love that man! The spirit that comes with his testimony is undeniable, and these two investigators felt it. Going along with the thankful trend of this email- I'm sooo grateful for a living prophet on the earth today to give us Heavenly Fathers words, and to lead and guide us through this crazy world that we are living in today.

Skipping another day, Sunday was truly fantastic as well! We got to teach sharing time in Primary which was fun. Once again I just want to say just how darn cute these little kids are. I absolutely love all of them! One of our investigators, J also came to church which was a miracle. She has been being taught for 3 years, but hasn't been baptized because of lack of commitment to the word of wisdom.. but we're working with her, and she's gained a newfound desire to try again! I adore that women, but she causes me so much stress as well. Another miracle of Sunday is when we went OYMing in city central, and we stopped a young man. We asked him if he'd ever seen the Book of Mormon, and he just grinned from ear to ear telling us how he'd had a bad day, but that now he'd met the Mormon missionaries and he had so many questions. His name is S, and he's a big fan of the Mormon musical. haha... He's great though! Hopefully we can help answer his questions and find the truth. :)

Well everyone, have a wonderful week! Now that Thanksgiving is over, I bet it's "Beginning to look a lot like Christmas" LOVE you all!!

Love, Sister Rebekah Croft

The comforter and the blue book

Good morning everyone! 

This week was transfers, and the news is in. I will be staying in the historical city of Canterbury, and the incredible and crazy Canterbury ward for Christmas, and I couldn't be more thrilled! :) The sad news is that Sister Kinnard is being transferred to Thetford.. :( I'm going to miss my British twin sister, but I know that she's needed somewhere else now. My new companion is Sister Mussman from California (more on her next week).

Besides transfers, this week has been really great! Although, the Winter is coming in fast now! There were rumors of snow this week, but no snow flakes were seen... The temperature could have fooled everyone of that though. It was FREEZING!! It's a different cold then Utah though. Much wetter, and a fiercely cold wind.  

Recently, I've realized just how amazing the Book of Mormon is. We're reading the whole book together as a mission before Christmas, and I've come to absolutely LOVE that little blue book. There are so many things we can learn from the experiences of those people. Enos, Moroni, Ammon, Alma, they are all real people, I've come to know that. And the fact that we actually have another book that testifies of Christ alongside with the Bible is astounding! I love telling people what the Book of Mormon is about and then watching the light turn on. I'm never going to get tired of that. :)  I also had to give a talk on Sunday on Omni 1:26 (15 minutes on one verse of scripture is not easy, let me tell ya. ;) Anyways, just that one verse is so jam packed with inspiration, and advice it's ridiculous!

A couple of tender mercies this week include on Sunday when B was confirmed a member of the church and received the Holy Ghost. She had the biggest smile on her face the whole time, and later she told us that she never wanted the blessing to end because she felt like she was being hugged by Heavenly Father. :) Also, on Friday when we were teaching S with a member and her little brother J. We were talking about the Holy Ghost and baptism, when J (9 years old) piped up and asked if he could tell an experience when he first received the Holy Ghost after being baptized. I listened to this young boy bear testimony and the sweetest spirit came into the room. :) S committed to pray about the Book of Mormon and about baptism that very night. It just goes to show that this gospel is real and simple. 

Well, I hope everyone has a fantastic Thanksgiving!! Everyone eat a pumpkin pie, and turkey for me alright? I think we'll be going out to eat... at a *carvery? I'm not sure, but we're planning on making it memorable, even if England doesn't celebrate it. Love and miss you all! 

Quote of the week: (yes I'm going to start being that cheesy and send a quote every week. Sorry!)

 "Sometimes a single phrase of testimony can set events in motion that affect someone's life for eternity." -Dieter F. Uchdorf

Love, Sister Rebekah Croft

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* I had to look up what a carvery was after reading the email. Just for reference sake: "A carvery is a restaurant where cooked meat is freshly sliced to order for customers, sometimes offering unlimited servings for a fixed price. The term is most commonly used in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Australia, but it is also found in the United States."

Baptism!

Hello one and all! How is everyone doing after this crazy week? Life here in Canterbury has been pretty incredible to say the least. :) It's gotten a whole lot colder recently so we've broken out the hot cocoa, and hats and gloves, although I haven't seen a trace of snow yet... we'll see what happens. I'm crossing my fingers that we'll see a little bit at least. This last week has also been busy preparing for the B's baptism. Wait, what now? Yes! B was baptized this Sunday and it was AMAZING!! She even wore high heels with her white dress, which I loved.  

I'm not going to lie. The beginning of the baptismal service was a bit hectic due to the baptismal font turning off after only half way full, and the food having to be moved because of the piles of donations for the refugee camps in the cultural hall.. but when the service started the spirit was there and everything fell into place. :) There were so many wonderful moments of the baptisms, but just a few tender mercies of the baptism were: B invited her whole family to the baptism, and as we sang Families Can Be Together Forever the Spirit was SO strong! Also after B was baptized and we were hugging her she just turned to us and started to cry. With emotion in her voice she told us how she had felt the Lord's arms embracing her as she went down into the water, and as she came up. Isn't it incredible just how personally Christ and Heavenly Father know us. :) 

Another eventful day this week was Wednesday. We had Zone Conference, so that meant making the trip to none other than the Hyde Park Chapel in London. It was so great to see everyone, but also a little weird being there, and not serving there.. I got to see all of the other VC sisters though, and my old zone which was fun! Zone Conference was fantastic though! Wow. It's so cool how every zone conference fits perfectly to our needs. Inspiration is real! Something exciting is that we got to watch the church's video for Christmas time "A Savior is Born" I'm excited to show it to people and testify of the reality of a savior!

Well have a great week everyone! Sorry this email is so shrimpy and pathetic. I always have so much to say until I sit down at the computer and then everything disappears. 

LOVE you all!! xoxo

Love, Sister Rebekah Croft

So fun to see Sister Apiyo again!

The need for a Savior and British traditions

Good afternoon all! :) I hope everyone is healthy, and well. 

This week in Canterbury has been a blaze of miracles, crazy holidays, amazing people, and physical exhaustion.. It's always a good thing when you hit the end of the week and you're tired though, because it means you worked extra hard. Just to touch on a few cool British traditions that happened this week: On Thursday was Bonfire Night! I described it as the English version of the 4th of July, but Sister Kinnard wasn't very happy about that.. ;) (British heritage and all). Apparently, there was once a man named Guy Fawkes who tried to blow up the house's of parliament, but the guards found him before he accomplished it. To celebrate everyone gathers around bonfires, drinks hot cocoa, and watches fireworks. Also, Sunday was Remembrance Sunday for everyone who fought in WWI. Everyone wears red poppies all week long and then on Sunday there is a solid 2 minutes of silence throughout the whole country to remember those that died. It was really beautiful actually! And I've loved wearing my poppy throughout the week.

A big highlight of the week was going to zone conference on Wednesday. It was nice to finally meet everyone, and set some goals for this next month! :) One of the trainings was literally an answer sent from heaven for Sister Kinnard and I. One of our investigators has been struggling to understand the need for a savior in God's plan for us, but this training was exactly what we needed to help him. It also made me realize just how essential Christ's role was in Heavenly Fathers plan for us. Only because of him are we able to have second chances, be forgiven of our mistakes, and ultimately make it back to our father in heaven. I'm honestly so thankful for my Savior! He is so loving, and so understanding, and so willing to pick us back up again when we fall!

Another amazing thing that happened this week is that on Sunday two people who left the church and came back were able to be re-baptized, and officially welcomed back into the Canterbury ward again. :) It was really emotional for everyone. Even I got teary-eyed! When he got up to bear his testimony, something he said really stuck out to me. He explained that throughout all the craziness, and even when they were confused and lost, the one truth they clung on to was the realness of Christ, and his atonement! He expressed how they had always believed, but that for a time they had got caught up in the things of the world and lost much of their testimonies. It was such a cool experience to see this family come back and see the light in their faces after being re-baptized! :)

Overall, this week has been a rollercoaster. Full of talking to people on the buses and streets, knocking doors, teaching lessons, having awkward moments with Sister Kinnard, laughing, eating British food, and sharing the gospel 24/7. (Seriously though, I was told the other day that I sometimes teach while I'm sleep talking).. How embarrassing is that?

Well, I wish everyone an incredible week! :) Love you all.

Love, Sister Rebekah Croft 

All Hallows Eve & prepared people on the bus

Well first of all, Happy belated Halloween everyone! Another week has gone by in the blink of an eye and many more amazing experiences along with it. I'm really enjoying my time in Canterbury & the people here are really fantastic!

Eventful moments of the week:

On Wednesday Sister Kinnard and I were sitting at the bus stop and a girl came and sat beside us. We were busy figuring out maps, and where we were heading so we weren't necessarily paying good attention to our surroundings. After a few minutes she turned to us and flat out asked us if we were the sister missionaries. Apparently she'd been taught before last year, but lost contact with the missionaries when she went on holiday. She told us she'd love to meet with us to learn more! :) Wow. Later in the week on Thursday when I was on exchange with Sister Epicoco (from Italy), we sat next to a man and started up a conversation with him about the Book of Mormon. He told us that his sister was actually a member in Nigeria, and that he had a Book of Mormon but had never opened it. At the end of the conversation he told us that we'd given him a new found determination to read it and know for himself if it was God's word. How cool! :) Both these experiences witnessed to me just how aware Heavenly Father is of each and every one of his children. Either we'll be lead to his prepared sons and daughters, or they'll be lead to us. 

Just yesterday we had a lesson with R. Because of his background he's been really caught up with the nature of God, and had some pretty deep doctrine questions.. he was going on and on trying to figure out why God would send us to earth and I just turned to him and just said " R, we don't know everything about God, not even close, but from my experiences I know without a doubt that he is loving, and ultimately that's all we need to know." I couldn't even believe what had come out of my mouth, but the spirit was there. He just looked at me in silence for a few seconds and said "thank you". 

On Halloween Sister Kinnard and I went tracting... ;) Just kidding, although we were tempted to go trick or treating and give out Book of Mormons instead of taking candy. We actually had to stay in for the night, but we watched a documentary about Gordon B. Hinckley with the district and ate lots and lots of M&M's. It was a different sort of Halloween, but I loved it! 

Well I hope you all have a wonderful week full of happy miracles from a Heavenly Father who loves us. 

With love,

Sister Croft

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As far as Halloween in England goes, Rebekah said this in my personal email today:

"Apparently, England isn't as in to trick or treating as America is because from

what I saw there wasn't many kids on the street at all. One unique

tradition that Canterbury does have is a trick or treat thing in the

city center. All of the shops open up and you can go shop to shop

trick or treating for sweets! We didn't end up going because of

mission rules.. but a lot of the members went and they said it was

pretty cool!

Our Halloween consisted of heading inside early and having a pretty

chill night. In a lot of Canterbury, Halloween consists of going to the

pub, gang initiations, and some trick or treating... But President

asked us to be home early so we went to the Jones' house (senior couple

in our area) and watched a movie about Gordon B. Hinckley while eating

M&M's and soup. I know, I know, try not to be jealous. ;) But earlier

in the week we went to a Halloween party at the chapel for the little

kids, so that was pretty fun! We also went to a members house on

Wednesday and decorated Halloween sugar cookies and played

Halloweenish games! It was a different Halloween for sure, but it was

really fun surprisingly. :) One regret that I do have is that I didn't

carve a jack-o-lantern! I wanted to so badly, but we never had time to

buy a pumpkin.. I though about carving a grapefruit, but it just

wouldn't be the same. Needless to say, I'll be carving 2 pumpkins

next year."

And here are some pictures from Rebekah's visit to the Canterbury Cathedral last week. Canterbury Cathedral is one of the most famous cathedrals in Europe seeing as the place has become a pilgrimage site after the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Beckett, was murdered there in 1170. (Geoffrey Chaucer's famous "The Canterbury Tales" apparently tells the story of pilgrims traveling from London to Canterbury to visit the shrine.) As a missionary, Rebekah was apparently able to get in free using her ministerial card. :)