God comes first

Is it P-day again already?? Lucky me! I just wrote you all a few days ago, but because Sister Wai and Sister Lung are going home at the end of the transfer they wanted to go to "Wicked" together before they go home. So we have 2 P-day's this week, and no P-day's next week... kind of crazy!

Not too much has happened in the last few days. Sister Wai actually hasn't been feeling very well, and so we've taken it pretty easy.

One exciting thing that happened on Tuesday-Wednesday was going on exchanges with the STL's! It's always fun to go out of your area, and learn from the other sisters. :) This time I was with Sister Swann from Australia. She's absolutely hilarious, but also such a spiritual powerhouse. I love her! One of the biggest miracles that we saw together happened on Wednesday morning. We were walking out of the tube station and we bumped into someone that Sister Swann and I had actually found together back in March. When we originally met B-- on the street he had so many questions, and was sincerely interested in reading the Book of Mormon to see if he could find some answers to his questions. He had met with the sisters a few times, but then disappeared off the map for a long time. Wednesday morning was the first time Sister Swann had seen him in months, so it was a pretty big miracle! We talked for a really long time, and we were both able to bare testimony of how the gospel of Jesus Christ has helped us in our lives. By the end of the conversation he looked very thoughtful, and he just said "It's a pretty big coincidence that we ran into each other again on the only day you were in town after months." Or not a coincidence at all. If there is something that I've learned on my mission, it's that if Heavenly Father wants his children to learn about the gospel it will happen one way or another. :) He's very aware of each and every one of us! B-- said that he would come to church, so we'll see what happens next. 

I also learned that asking someone to explain how "Interstellar" ends is a very good finding question. We got a whole group of people in the tube talking about it, and then somehow transferred it into our purpose as missionaries! It was so hilarious, and Sister Swann and I were dying laughing by the end, but it also really worked and we invited a whole tube car full of people to church. 

While we were on exchange we also did "tim tam slams." haha Just to explain... in Australia they have these delicious chocolate covered biscuits. A tim tam slam is when you take the chocolate biscuit and use it as a straw for hot chocolate. Right before the whole biscuit dissolves into the drink you shove the whole thing into your mouth and it just melts in your mouth! It's pretty darn delicious if I do say so myself! ;) 

The last thing I wanted to talk about is this quote. It's something thats been on my mind the whole week. "Put God first, regardless of the trials you face." -Elder Aoyogi. This quote couldn't be more true. I've seen this time and time again in my own life, that when I put God and His will first everything turns out for the best! Believe it or not, our Heavenly Father really does want the best for us. He loves us more than anything we can comprehend, and He sees the full picture while we only see a few steps ahead. So this week remember to put Him first in everything! He always puts us first. 

Family and friends, I love you SO much!! Thanks for being incredible and constantly filling my life with more light. Have a wonderful week! I'll talk to you all in 10 days.

Much Love,

Sister Rebekah Croft  

I've been begging Rebekah for months to take a P-Day and go see the Tower Bridge. She kept telling me she'd get around to it eventually, but that on P-Days, sometimes naps were more important. ;) Apparently today while their companions were at "Wicked" these three went to see the Tower Bridge. I seriously did a little yelp of glee when I saw the pictures. Yes, living vicariously...what can I say? 

 The England London Mission all together for Elder Oaks' visit earlier this month.

When Rebekah sent this picture a couple of weeks ago, I thought it was so cute I shared it on the Missionary Momma's Facebook page. I don't post there very often, but I thought the other missionary moms would get a kick out of it. The administrator of the page saw it and asked if she could turn it into a meme. I told her she could. She then reposted the picture all memed up onto the Missionary Momma's page (with over 10,000 members). I sent it to Rebekah in an email, but apparently that wasn't the first time she'd heard about it. She responded with this:
"Oh my goodness yes!!! haha Kasper (her friend from London who came to visit us a few weeks ago) actually called us in the middle of the day on Wednesday and told us that one of his Danish friends had posted it, and thought we would like to know that we were made into a meme. We just didn't know the story behind it, so it's good to hear what actually happened. Apparently it's been going about though. You've made us into an internet sensation. ;) 

Cute cute picture though. Elder Neeley is very talented!"

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 

An Apostle Visits & Transfer Calls

Hello sweet family and friends! I hope that the last 7 days have treated you well. I hear that it's getting super warm in most places around the world. It's super humid here lately! Sheesh, I miss the dry heat of good ole Utah. Summer is treating Sister Wai and I well though. :) 

To start off this email, we had an APOSTLE come and visit!!! I feel so blessed to have heard Elder Holland last June, and Elder Oaks this June. They are both incredible men, clearly called of God to be witnesses of Him and His son. We all arrived early Tuesday morning to be seated in the Hyde Park Chapel. With the England London Mission, and South Mission combined there were about 400 missionaries at this conference, and Elder Oaks wanted to shake all of our hands when he arrived. Sister Wai and I were on the front row, so we were actually among the first missionaries to meet him. Can I just say that there is something very special about shaking an apostles hand. To look into an apostles eyes, and see the smile on his face as he shakes your hand and says your name. I know he truly is a special witness of Christ, and His restored church. I could feel it. I got to watch almost all 400 missionaries shake his hand, and I couldn't shake the feeling, nor would I want to, that that man is a true representative of the Lord. What a cool experience!  :) The first thing he said when he got up to speak is "Wow. I'm just an ordinary man, but I recognize that I have a mantle put upon me." He is so humble. Along with Elder Oaks, we also got to hear from Elder and Sister Kearon of the European Area Presidency. They are so passionate about this work, and so in tune with the spirit! I loved every single minute of the conference! It was incredible!

Some of my favorite thoughts:

President Stevens "Trials are evidence that the Lord sees you are prepared to grow more."

Sister Kearon "There is a huge difference between 'I'll try' and 'I will'. What if the Saviour said 'I'll try'..."

Elder Kearon "We thrive in opposition"

Sister Oaks "Share the truth, It's an act of love."

Elder Oaks "Candidacy for eternal life happens when we take the sacrament. When we take the name of Jesus Christ."

In other biggish news, this was a 5 week transfer and so we got move calls on Monday night! The results are I'll be staying in Hyde Park 1 with Sister Wai. Which means I'll at least be here for another two, because this is Sister Wai's last transfer. Sad day! 

On Thursday Sister Wai and I had a super cool experience! We gave a tour to a guy from Iowa named L---. He was super receptive to everything we talked about, and we could tell he was genuinely searching for the truth. We showed him around a bit, and he had some concerns about how Jesus Christ could actually help him in his life. We showed him Elder Oaks' talk from the past October general conference called "The Healer" and talked about how Jesus Christ is there to help us if we ask. By the end of the tour, he turned to us and said, "If I could say I've taken anything from this whole experience, it's that I've decided to give Jesus Christ a chance." That's all I could ever ask for in a given day. That I helped someone come closer to Christ! 

Our district leader called us for call-ins at the end of the night one day, and because we were late home he left us a voice message to the song "Nephi's Courage" from the primary song book. The next call-ins night, he was late and so we decided to sing him a song too. :) haha

The Lord commanded Elder Auras to have call-ins with us

But he won't pick up, and he's left us in the dust.

Sitting and waiting we have already tried,

But the phone's just ringing and he has not replied.

Elder Auras call us back!

It's time for call-ins now.

We want to be obedient,

But we can't if you don't.

Elder Auras call us back!

It is the Lord's command.

We know the Lord provides a way,

He wants you to obey.

That's about it for this week. Although there was so much more that happened! It would be impossible to write down everything... You are all amazing! I love you all, and I couldn't be more blessed to know you all. 

Have a wonderful week! Keep smiling! :) And read a talk by Elder Oaks. You won't regret it. That man is inspired.

Love, Sister Rebekah Croft 

Because Sister Lung and Sister Wai are leaving soon they asked Elder Neeley to come with us to Abbey Road/Studios and take pictures of us. haha. :) We had so much fun, and Elder Neeley is incredible!! Also, Sister Lung walked so fast across the road! I had to run after her to keep up.

 Lunch with some of the Filipino ladies in our ward. Love em!!  :)

The Chinese couple I was talking about last week. They are going back to China now, but they will be traveling to Hong Kong to get baptised!! :) They are the absolute sweetest, and so prepared. I'll always remember them walking through the doors of the VC. "My wife and I want to be Mormon as soon as possible. We want to be baptismed."

"Built Upon the Rock of our Redeemer"

Hia family and friends! :) I just wanted to give a big shout out to my 2 incredible sisters. One, Julianne graduated High School on Friday! Congrats sister!! You are a genius. Second, Lilian is officially 9 years old! Happy Birthday little sis!! Side note: She was 7 when I left.. craziness. I couldn't be more blessed to have these two girls as my little sisters. They are absolutely incredible! Love you both!

This was a really wonderful week here in the big city of London! I can't even remember half of the things that happened, but I'll share a few that I remember.

Last Monday Sister Wai and I had an incredible experience at the very end of our night. As we were walking down the road to our flat we saw a women coming down the road the opposite way. We didn't pay much attention, because we were already late coming home, but as she got closer we both had the impression that we needed to stop her. As we did we saw that her eyes were red from crying, and she was visibly shaking. She looked shocked that we had stopped her and then she asked us between tears if she could tell us what had happened that night even though "we were just strangers." She sobbed and sobbed right there on the street as she told us about her night. At the end of the story I asked her if I could give her a hug, and she thankfully hugged me for a good couple of minutes. Poor girl! As she stepped back she saw my name badge and she said "Oh! Jesus Christ! Thank you so much." Turns out that she had been praying as she was walking down the street, and that we were the answer to her prayer. We were able to help her calm down enough to get home, and then we gave her a Book of Mormon which she took gratefully. Wow. What a humbling experience! We are still in touch with her, and she wants to learn more about the message we have to share. :) I am amazed at how aware Heavenly Father is of every single one of his children. He loves us ALL!

 A small miracle of Tuesday was when a random number called in the early morning while Sister Wai was sleeping (she wasn't feeling well.. poor girl). I answers the phone and Gerald was on he other end. He said "Sisters, sisters, I would like to meet with you as soon as possible. I've been reading the Book of Mormon and I know it's true!" Umm, yes we would love to meet with you! :) haha We meet with him the next day at the visitors centre- this crazy old man originally from Trinidad. Oh my goodness but he was so sweet! Turns out that he is actually a less active member of the church, but hey we found one of the lost sheep!

Friday was a really busy day at the visitors center! We were giving a tour to a recent convert, and investigator from Canterbury, while in the middle of the tour a group of 3 Chinese came in. I went to go talk with them and one of them told me that he had lived with Mormons a few years earlier in California. He was so impressed with the example that they gave, and the happiness that they had. He told me that him, his wife, and friend all wanted to join the church as soon as possible, and learn everything that they could! they would only be in the country for 2 weeks and then they would be going back to China.. Woah. "Ni hao ma! Wo shi Ke jie mei" That's about all I know in Mandarin. Maybe it's just because I have a Mandarin speaking companion, but we keep meeting the most prepared Chinese people! :) We gave them a tour of the entire place, and when Sister Lung (from Hong Kong) got to the chapel, she and Sister Wai went and had a lesson upstairs. They've had two more lessons since then to help them prepare for baptism!

Something I've been thinking a lot about recently is my testimony. I read something in studies the other day that said "you can't visually tell the difference between a strand of cobweb and a strand of powerful cable- until stress in put on the strand." Our testimonies are kind of like this. Until we have opposition, and challenges we won't be able to see how strong our testimonies are, and we won't be able to strengthen them! We need to have a strong testimony "built upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, ...that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, ...and his mighty strong shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you..." I know this is true! :) And I love my Saviour and Redeemer, Jesus Christ!!

Have a swell week all! I love you loads! :) Oh, and enjoy the SUMMER!

Love, Sister Rebekah Croft

 The S-------- family from Italy! Caio!

 The Hyde Park Zone as of June 2016. :) Portuguese, Spanish, Ukranians, British, Chinese and American. These people are wonderful!

 Sister Wai on the way back to the chapel. I love the Mews here!

World Wide Teaching

Wow. This week flew by! I know I've said this before but, "the weeks feel like days, and the days feel like weeks." Time is a weird thing on a mission...

But oh how amazing this week was! :) I was looking back on my week yesterday and realizing just how many different people we taught in the last 7 days. On Tuesday we taught our friend from Angola Africa. Wednesday we taught L-- X--- M- from China, M--- from England, and visited a member family from Brazil and Ecuador. Thursday we taught E------ from the Philippines, and then I taught a lesson over the phone to someone from Romania. Friday we had a dinner appointment with a group of people from Denmark and Japan, and shared a spiritual thought with them. Then on Saturday we taught our good friend in Alberta Canada online at the visitors center, and gave a tour to someone from Chile. Sunday we had some of our investigators come to church! :) They are originally from Pakistan, Poland, and China. Then later in the day we heard all about J------'s baptism in Canada. We've been teaching her for a few months now over facebook and messenger, so it was a happy moment to hear all about her baptism. She is incredible, and will be an amazing missionary as well! Tonight we'll be visiting the S--------- family from Italy, and then teaching our investigator and her family from India.  

This is a typical week serving here in London, and I couldn't be more grateful for the opportunity I have to experience so many cultures, and meet and share the gospel with so many people from all over the world. It's incredible! :) The gospel really is for everyone. I've come to understand that as I've seen it change peoples lives from all over this beautiful planet. We are ALL children of a loving Heavenly Father. Every single one of us! 

I just wanted to share a quick experience with you all. I mentioned that Sister Wai and I gave a tour to someone from Chile earlier. This young man just walked into the visitors center, and as we started talking both Sister Wai and I got the impression that he was either not a member, or very less active. As we gave him a tour he opened up about his life, and how he hadn't gone to church or prayed for the last 8 years. We showed him the video "Because He Lives" in the cinema room, and the Spirit was strong. This young man started to share what stood out to him in the video and as he did his voice cracked, and he started to cry. He told us how he had walked by the visitors center, and halfway down the street felt like he need to come back, and come inside. I don't remember exactly what Sister Wai and I said, but God knew what he needed to hear. A reminder of God's love for him, and the reality of a Saviour. Experiences like these are how I know there is a living, loving Heavenly Father above. He knows me, he knows you, and he knew this man. This knowledge gives me so much happiness every single day! :) 

Family and friends, you are great! I love you all so much, and it travels across the ocean. Have a fantastic week ok? 

Much Love, 

Sister Rebekah Croft

The crazy Camden Marketplace. This place is so interesting, and you can find absolutely anything there! So fun! :)

 At the pub. Don't worry, it was family friendly!

 Weekly planning!

1 Year Mark

...Can I just take a moment...

Oh dear. I can't believe that it's been a whole 1 year since I was first set apart as a full time missionary to represent the Saviour here in England, London. My mind hasn't even completely comprehended that fact yet... the time has absolutely flown by! What an adventure it's been so far though! :) A crazy, incredible, spiritual, beautiful, adventure. I honestly couldn't be more grateful for the people that I've met, and the experiences I've had in these last 12 months. They made me more of who I am today!

48 weeks. 4 areas. 6 companions. And more memories than I can count! :) I can't wait to see what the next 6 months hold for me here in London.

This week was good. :) Granted it did start out a bit rough because I got a nasty cold, and Sister Wai wasn't feeling very well either. We did a lot of finding recently because some of our most solid investigators have been to busy to see us. We weren't seeing much success at the beginning of the week, and by the middle we were really starting to get frustrated. In nightly planning one night we got to the point where we set goals for the next day, and the goal of new investigators we were going to find for that next day. We looked at each other and both said "3!" For our mission that's a lot of new finds for one day, but we had some serious faith that we could find those prepared people. The next day right after shift a man in our area came into the visitors center, and the other sisters gave him a tour. Afterwards we met with him, and we will be seeing him next week too! That left 2 more.

After this, we went to visit a less active member family in our area. We had never met them, but when we got there the mom opened the door and said we could come in. She told us to come and sit down in the kitchen, and as she was on the phone she called her son to come and talk to us. But... he wouldn't come into the room... He just popped his head around the door and talked to us from there. Then a few minutes later we heard his mother yell "R---, go and put some trousers on, and sit down and talk with them!" What?! Sister Wai and I were laughing so hard until he came back into the room so that we could teach him. It was a very weird, but also absolutely hilarious experience! He also became a new investigator, although the Elders will most likely start teaching him. Then on our way home another man stopped us on the street and we ended up talking with him for a good 45 minutes! The whole day was full of small miracles so that we could hit this goal, and find these people who are prepared to hear the gospel! The Lord is definitely in charge of this work.

On Tuesday we had a specialized training with President and Sister Stevens. We talked about a lot of things, including the culture in the England London Mission, and the power that the Book of Mormon has in teaching and finding. The training that stood out to me the most however, was one called "My Soul Was Filled With Love." It was all about the first vision of Joseph Smith and how we could gain a stronger testimony of it so that we could teach it more effectively. It was powerful, and I can say without a doubt that I DO know that this event actually happened. I know that that humble boy did see God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and this knowledge has taught me so much!

On Saturday we went on exchanges to London North Area, so I got to spend the day with none other then Sister Mussman! :) It was so fantastic to be with her again, and to laugh through the entire day while seeing so many miracles. We met so many amazing people while getting lost, and making our way towards appointments.. I learn so much from that girl, and couldn't be happier that she is my STL.

On Sunday we got to go to a Filipino party with all the Filipino members of the ward. Oh how I've missed those!

So there was my week in a nutshell. I hope that you all have an amazing week sweet family and friends! Love you all!

Love, Sister Croft

Weeping Angels in the Brompton cemetery!!! Dr Who references in London happen often. :)

Visitor's Centre staff photo

Greenie Deja Vu in Hyde Park 1

Hello friend and family! I hope that you all had a wonderful week. 

This whole week was a huge dose of deja vu for me! There were times these last few days that I felt like I'd never even left Hyde Park 1 area. It was absolutely bizarre to go to places that I haven't been since I first got here a year ago, and teach people that I did when I was a brand new missionary. One thing is for sure, I can teach a lot better now! So that's a relief. It's good to be back though, officially. :) I love these people! 

This email won't be the longest, because I don't have much time, but I'll just share some of the highlights. 

On Wednesday morning I moved all of my stuff to Hyde Park 1 area. The good news is that I only had to move rooms in our flat. Thank goodness! There are perks to having all the areas so close together in London! Then Sister Wai and I went onto shift at the visitors center where we had to control the crazy crowds of missionaries coming and going. Wow, there were a lot of new missionaries this time! After shift we taught our investigator M---. He is probably the happiest, nicest British person I have ever met. He's progressing in the gospel and is looking forward to his baptism coming up in early June. :) I love teaching him, because he just keeps saying how right it feels when he is coming to church, or reading the Book of Mormon. It's my favorite thing to hear about when others feel the Spirit! So cool. 

Another amazing lesson we had this week was with E------! This is where the major deja vu comes in. E------ is actually the very first person I ever taught when I arrived in London. But wait, it gets even better. E------ hadn't met with the missionaries for a very long time, and so we taught her the exact same lesson that I had almost one year ago to the day. It was CRAZY! This time however, instead of tripping over my words and casually extending a baptismal date because my trainer told me I had to, I could actually teach her the restoration of the gospel boldly, and invite her to be baptized without hesitation! I think Heavenly Father was trying to help me see the growth that I've made on my mission so far. Although, I still have a long way to go! 

In other exciting news, we have a new Senior couple here at the visitors center now! The Ashby's left a couple of weeks ago which was super sad... I love Elder & Sister Ashby SO much, so it was really hard to say goodbye... :( I am excited to get to know the Mullens though. They are from California, and seem like some of the sweetest people! Elder Mullen is actually a convert to the church because he went to a visitors center, so that was cool to hear! Also, Sister Von-Niederhausern arrived on Wednesday! Although, we all just call her Sister Von now. :) It's exciting to start to see new visitors center sisters coming. We haven't had any new sisters for a long while now.

It's also turning into Spring/Summer here! The last week has been beyond humid, and so sunny! :) It's a lot easier to talk to people about the gospel of Jesus Christ when it's sunny outside, because people are night and day happier. Vitamin D is real people! No, but really it's been absolutely beautiful here in London! I fall in love with this city daily. Today for P-Day we went for our weekly Dutch pancakes, then walked down Oxford street and through China Town, and then climbed to the top of Suffrages to see the view. It was a good day! 

I love you ALL! Have a wonderful week, and enjoy the sun and the reality of a loving Heavenly Father. 

Love, Sister Rebekah Croft

D&C 6:36 "Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not." (my favorite scripture of the week) 

Saying goodbye to Brother and Sister Ashby.

(Photo credit for all these pictures goes to Brother Neeley who serves in the Visitor's Centre. I totally swiped them from the Neeley's blog.)

Baptisms, Birthdays and Bugs...oh my!

Happy Mums Day everyone!! :)

Technically it's not really Mothers Day here in the UK, but my heart goes out to all the incredible women that I know. Not to mention my amazing Mother, because she is one of the biggest lights of my entire life! She is my best friend, role model, and biggest supporter. I couldn't be luckier!

This week was absolutely nuts! So much happened, and I can't believe that it all happened within the last 7 days.. First things first. I'm being transferred once again! I'll be headed back to Hyde Park 1st ward (my greenie area), and be companions with Sister Wai (my favourite Asian) again! Didn't see that one coming... Wow! I'm excited to be going back, because I love the area and all the people, but I'm also heartbroken because I love the people here in Hyde Park 2. I'm just thankful that the Lord is in charge of this work, otherwise I would be a mess every single transfer. It's comforting to know that wherever I go, I'm needed there. For now, I'm needed back in Hyde Park 1st ward. :) More to come next week...

Earlier in the week we visited one of out recent converts C---- and her little daughter A----. They had had a long weekend full of sickness, and thought it was due to a horrible case of food poisoning.. Turns out it was actually the stomach bug, and Sister Griffeth came down with it the very next day. Poor girl! We spent a day in the flat where I had my own war against the "bugs". I poured myself a bowl of cheerios that morning, and had eaten almost half the bowl when I spotted a small, black ant on the tip of my spoon. I was horrified as I looked down at the bowl to see dozens of ants swimming in my cereal... So our week started with Sister Griffeth having a bug, and me EATING bugs... haha

We had a neat tour at the VC Thursday morning. It was a member from California who turned out to be someone who played Jesus in some early church movies. He also played John the Beloved in The Testaments! Also, Jen Blosil came into the visitors center this week too. I don't know her, but apparently she was in the top 24 of American Idol this last season? She was very nice!

It was also stake conference in the Hyde Park stake this week so we had some special visitors. Our stake president, President Stevens Phillips was called to be a member of the area of the Seventy, so the whole presidency was rearranged. Elder Dryden, and Elder Dyches spoke, and the entire conference was super inspirational, and spiritual. Sunday's are the best as a missionary!

Sunday was also C------'s baptism! :) We taught her a few times throughout the week, and then she passed her baptism interview with flying colours. At one of the lessons she turned to us and said "Sisters, do you think I am ready to make this step?" Yes C------! You are amazing! The actual service was completely in Spanish, and although I didn't understand a thing I could feel the sweet spirit throughout. After she was baptised Sister Griffeth and I ran back to the changing room so we were ready to hand her a towel after she came up out of the water. We found C------ coming through the door completely overwhelmed with emotion. There were tears streaming down her face, as she fell to the wet, tile floor and started to pray in Spanish. We put our arms around her, and just sat there for a good 5 minutes as she prayed, and wept. I've never experienced anything quite like that before. It was so right, so special, and so perfect. When we all came out to join the rest of the service my skirt was absolutely drenched! Sister Griffeth and I sang "I am a Child of God" in Spanish to end the baptismal service, and there was an undeniable and unforgettable feeling in that room. It's an experience I'll never ever forget!

I just want to thank everyone for all the birthday wishes, emails, and letters! I appreciate it more than you know, and love you all so much! Thank you, thank you, thank you. We had a wonderful day of finding in the rain yesterday to celebrate. And yes, we did find a new investigator. So hurray! :) Thanks again! You are all wonderful!

Much Love,

Sister Rebekah Croft

 Birthday celebrations!

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We had our Mothers Day skype on Sunday. Because of Rebekah's crazy schedule with stake conference and C------'s baptism, and then our late church block here in Utah, we had a small window to fit in a skype call. Luckily it worked! Rebekah called us at 6:40 PM her time, 11:40 AM our time and we were able to chat for a little over an hour. (We were a bit late for our own Sacrament Meeting...but I wasn't about to cut her off!)

*We had her open her birthday package from us and we sang the Happy Birthday song to her. 
*We talked about her guesses about the upcoming transfers (which happened today) and she shared all sorts of details about stake conference and the baptism she had just come from. 
*We laughed about her lack of a British accent. (She had more of one in Canterbury when she was surrounded by solely British people, whereas London is more of a melting pot where she hears multiple accents daily.) 
*We talked a bit about what I needed to do to get college ready for her when she heads back to USU in January. 
*She asked a lot of questions of home in Kaysville specifically and America in general, and what we were all involved in. I wish I got a screen shot of her face palm when we mentioned briefly the presidential election that looks like it will be between Trump and Clinton. "How about we stick with Queen Elizabeth, " she said, "She's a classy lady!" 
*And then she shared a lot of information about where she lives and what it's like to travel around London. Rebekah said that they take the tube to the visitor's centre each morning right in the middle of rush hour. She says she often uses that time in the morning to get in more study time so she rides the tube packed in like sardines with Book of Mormon in hand, reading as she goes. :)  
*She says that there are 5 new visitor center sisters set to arrive sometime in the next few months and she figures she'll likely be training one at some point. 
*She talked about the difference between sharing the gospel and defending her beliefs, and just how much she LOVES being a missionary and the people that she serves. 

It was wonderful to talk to her....and when she said our family prayer, I couldn't stop the tears from flowing. This was only our second, but last skype. The next time we talk to her will be at the airport. Which brings me to one final bit of news, she just found out her release date! She's coming home on November 30th! We'll be welcoming this girl home in about 6 1/2 months! 

We told her to step back a bit so we could see her whole body...Julianne specifically wanted to check out her cute skirt. ;) She also opened the window and put her iPad out so we could see the view of the Mews. (She was on an upper floor in the Hyde Park Chapel VC.) She also took us to the classroom next door to let us meet Sister Griffeth and Sister Wai.  

Bryan snuck this picture while we were saying our family prayer right before we said our goodbyes. Feels a little strange to have a picture of a prayer, and yet at the same time, it is kind of neat to see Rebekah with her eyes closed and arms folded...and then us in the little view box at the bottom doing the same.

Technology is such a blessing, isn't it?

"I am a Child of God..."

Wow. Another week has flown by! I swear time on a mission goes faster and faster each day.. Anyways, this week was swell. :) It was definitely a challenging week to say the least, but Sister Griffeth and I still smiled, and laughed through it. It's amazing how you can always see the Lords hand, and feel the enabling power of the atonement in those tougher moments. This last week was one of those. However, even though there were some very mean people who yelled at us, lots of cancellations, and sheer exhaustion, we also had many many incredible of flecks of gold! 

One of those flecks of gold was seeing the Child family in London!! They are my "adopted British family" here in England, and so it was wonderful to see them again! It made my entire P-Day. Oh, how I love them! They hold a special place in my heart.

Another fleck of gold that might seem small to many, but was huge to me happened on Monday. I learned that C-------- got baptised in China!! :) For those of you who don't know who in the world I'm talking about I'll do a quick recap. C-------- was someone I was teaching in Britannia that came over to London from China specifically to be baptised. She had been taught before about a year earlier, but could only be in England for a total of 5 days. She came. We retaught her everything in two very, very long cram lessons, and then she was interviewed by President Stevens. The end result was that although she was prepared to be baptised, President felt it was better if she went to her own ward in China 3 more times. The rest is history! I couldn't be happier for her! :) Also, I find it incredible that the gospel of Jesus Christ is breaking boundaries, and is finally reaching those prepared Chinese!  

Another sweet moment of this week happened as we taught C------. She's been doing really well, and she's keeping her commitments to a T. Last week when we taught her we asked her how she was doing with the word of wisdom, and she told us that she had some wine in the fridge from a party a while ago. We again testified of the importance of the word of wisdom, and the Spirit was strong! She stood up, opened up the fridge and said "Seesters, see this? Diablo! (devil in spanish), Diablo is bad, and it's going down the seeenk!" She literally had a wine called Diablo in her fridge, and she poured the entire contents of the bottle down the drain. haha She is the best! 

At the end of her lesson this week I felt like we needed to sing "I Am a Child of God" for some reason..? It's interesting how random the Spirit can be sometimes, and then again, not random at all. As we sang, and she read the words in Spanish she started to cry. Then the crying turned into sobbing, and we worried that we had done something wrong. We stopped, and she looked at us through tear filled eyes and said in her broken English "I know God sent you to me, you are my angels." I am a firm believer that we do in fact have a Father up above, and He knows us individually. He loves each and every one of us perfectly, and infinitely. If you are reading this, then you should know that too! Heavenly Father loves YOU!

The rest of the week was a blur of emotions. Good, terrible, wonderful, and hilarious. I love this work, and I know without a doubt that this is the Lords, work and that it is in His hands! Love you all! Thank you for all you do for me.

Much love, 

Sister Rebekah Croft