Are you in the painting?

Hi sweet family and friends! I hope that you've all had a wonderful week, and that you are enjoying this beautiful summer. :) Also, I hope that everyone had a fantastic Fathers Day on Sunday! I just want to say thank you to all Dads out there! I love my Dad so much, and couldn't be more blessed to have him in my life. He is amazing! 

I've had a really good week here in the hustle and bustle of London. Now that it's really into the summer season there are SO many tourists here! The tourists are a bad thing for our area, because we end up stopping loads of tourists when we go finding.. it's a good thing for the VC though, because a ton more people come in and want to learn more! 

On Thursday we saw our investigator E------. She's the Filipino women we've been teaching for the past little while, and the very first person I ever taught on my mission! She's really progressing in the gospel, and every time we teach her the spirit is so obvious and strong! This week we taught her about keeping the Sabbath Day Holy, and she just wouldn't commit to come to church... :( She just kept saying "I'll try, yes I'll try sisters" but it wasn't until after both Sister Wai and I bore our testimonies about coming to church that she said "I will." It reminded me a lot of Sister Kearon's talk last week. "What if the Saviour said, I'll try?" There is a HUGE difference! 

I ate something new this week. Ox Tail. Yep, an Ox's tail! ... what?! It was quite tasty though! Santa (pronounced Saunta) made us a big Ugandan style feast on Friday night, and it was delicious! 

Also on Thursday President Stevens and Elder Hulet pulled me aside into the chapel to talk. They told me that after much prayer, they had received revelation that I needed to be a VC trainer. It's kind of like STL (sister training leader) for the visitors centre. Oh my goodness!! My first thoughts were of how unqualified and inadequate I would be to train and help these sisters in the visitors centre...I mean, I've never even trained before! But at the same time I'm excited to help in any way that I can, and love these sisters even more than I did before! :) I'm just beyond thankful that I have my Saviour to give me strength, and help me along the way. Sister Griffeth is the other VC trainer. It figures. She just can't get away from me! ;) haha I love that girl! 

Friday and Saturday morning we had training by Mark Lusvardi. Brother Lusvardi is the head director of all the Vistors Centers. He even helped write Preach My Gospel, and so it was incredible to be trained by him! He's an amazing teacher! One of the biggest things I learned was from a picture he talked about painted by Carl Bloch. In the middle of his training Friday morning he led us all to this picture hanging at the front of the visitors centre. It's behind the security desk, and so I've never given it much attention, although it's a beautiful picture. He gathered us all around this painting and then he started to ask us one by one who we were in the picture. Elder Hulet offered that he saw himself as the man on the wall watching Christ intently. Sister Lung said that she hoped that she would be the blind man touching the robes of Christ, and having the faith to be healed. He asked me as well, and I told him that I saw myself as the little girl peaking around the wall. Childlike, curious, and wanting to be close to the Saviour to feel his love. It was a powerful lesson to me of a few things. First, pictures can be used for a lot more than I thought they could. Woah! And second, every single person has an individual relationship with the Saviour. Everyone is different, but Christ has felt it all, and He knows us ALL perfectly! :) So who are you in the painting? Are you the man in the back, or the skeptical group in the left corner, or are you the blind man longing to be healed, or the mother with her eyes fixed on the Saviour? Who ever you are, the Lord knows you, and He loves you! 

Just a heads up, I'll have another P-Day this Saturday and then not another for 10 days. Sister Wai is going to "Wicked" before she goes home in 5 weeks and so we had to switch P-Days. So I'll talk to you all really soon! 

Love you all! Have a beautiful week in the sun. 

Love, Sister Rebekah Croft