One last Baptism

We had a big miracle this week, I am sure I have already told you about Charlotte. We went over and taught her on Thursday. She is literally a dry Mormon, coming to church and obeying the commandments. We have taught her all of the commandments. The only reason why she won’t get baptized is because of her father being against it. She is really scared of that.  Anyway on Thursday we went over to teach her we talked about baptism. When I mentioned the word baptism she cringed a bit and then we asked her about why she didn’t want to be baptized. She proceeded to tell us about her father and how he would react.  Anyway we talked then a lot about faith and fear and about how the gift of the Holy Ghost would change her life. I didn’t want to push her at all cuz I could tell this was sensitive enough. So we invited her to pray about being baptized on Oct. 27. We said she needed to pray about it and on Sunday we would talk more and she can let us know what her answer was. She was very emotional and I thought great we have blown it and now she will never get baptized. Sunday comes around and we saw her and her mum walk into church late. After sacrament meeting I went up and started talking to her.  She told us "I have been really praying a lot about baptism as you said, and I do want to be baptized, but it can’t be this Saturday".... I was sad it couldn’t be this Saturday cause I wanted to be at the baptism.  I thought well that is OK at least she is getting baptized.  Then she said... I would like to be baptized this Thursday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The very thing that literally we have been fasting for, for about six weeks now and praying for soooooo long! Man it was such a great thing to hear. Her interview is today. Please keep her in your prayers!! She is having a private baptism. There will just be a few Elders and a few others people going. I am so happy I will get to see one last baptism before I go home! I love baptisms!!!!! That truly is my miracle. Please pray for her. :)

We have loads of appointments and a baptism!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Huzzah!!!!!!!!

Love you all!

Elder M. White 

Saying Goodbye

This past week we picked up a baptismal date! YEAH!!!! Her name is Tegen and she is 19 years old. We set her date for November 10 so that we she can be properly taught. She is 19 years old. One of her best friends was a member here about four years ago when she was in YW they have since moved. Anyway so we have taught her the restoration, the plan of salvation and gospel of Jesus Christ, she has come to church, and in church they went over the WOW and she accepted to live it and said "I don’t smoke or drink, Coffee is sick and tea I can give that up." So we are stoked for that! She also has read from the beginning of the Book of Mormon to 2 Nephi 5. So we are really excited about that! It doesn’t matter if I am here when she gets baptized, the exciting thing is that she is getting baptized :)

This week we visited Plymouth for a few days. That was very nice. I got to see a few faces before I go. It was crazy going down there, there were so many of the people I taught that have now moved back to their countries and are gone. I did get to see Russel and he is doing well despite his struggles he has had a  loss of his job and one of his best mates. Rebekah is doing well also. Chao Li is in china and Lin is up in Wales at good college. I stopped by Barbara and Martin and we had a good chat. I just feel so privileged to have helped these people gain a testimony in the gospel. I am going to see Della for the last time tomorrow and also say goodbye to big Wayne.

Nellie and Jo I will see on Saturday. They are really worried about helping N-- afford College. It is so expensive and hard to get that much money for her to attend college. 

I’m so glad my mission president is a Dr. that has really been helpful for me while I have this hepatitis.  He wants to know my test results when I get them. He is keeping an eye on me. The English Doctor here thinks I am doing better.  I really like him. They have been checking my blood 2 times a week. I’ll bring those tests and the ultra sound and CT scan home with me for the Doctors at home.  I am feeling better and my symptoms seem to be lessening.  Hopefully I will be good as new by the time I get home:)  I feel so blessed have been able to feel good enough to be able to work and serve to the end.

Love you all!
 

Elder M. White

General Conference

Hi All,

Conference this week was amazing. I haven’t been able to watch all of the sessions yet. I am going to finish watching the last few on the internet. Our church has them all but it was so late for us to be out at night (time difference). We will most likely watch one of the sessions in sacrament meeting. 

For General Conference the Saturday morning session we got it late at night. Our recent converts Jonathan and Debi have never seen conference before and they don’t have a computer to watch it on so we decided to get the mission projector and our laptop and we set it up and projected general conference against the wall for them to watch. They had their cousins there who are from Portugal and didn’t speak any English. So we watched the whole thing in Portuguese! man it was nuts... at one point the cousin was in tears when President Uchtdorf talked. It was really good. I had no idea what he was saying but I knew it was good :) We loved it! 

We have been working with Charlotte and finished up all of the commandments with her.  She committed to live them all. There is no reason why she shouldn’t be baptized. This week we are going to try and give her a date for Oct 27 just two days before I go home. I really hope she accepts it. We have been fasting and praying for it. She is a really good girl.

For our zone trainings we have focused a lot on the baptismal commitment. At one of the zone trainings the first councilor in our mission presidency took us out for fish and chips at a place called "Chez Fred’s" (pronounced Shay-Fred’s, French I think). Anyway it was by far the best fish and chips I have ever had. Holy cow that was the highlight of the week for sure! I loved it sooo much! The zone trainings were good too:0 Tomorrow we have another zone training on the eastern part of the mission. It’s only about an hour’s drive away.

Debi and Jonathan are throwing me a b-day party today! I love them to bits. All of the other RCs are doing great :)  Emiliano I think is getting serious with this Bolivian girl (a member) so that is good. We like to hear that. Good man he is.

 I heard a great quote that I liked. "Only the church will save the world from its own destruction."           -Ezra Taft Bensen.

Love you!!!

Elder M. White

Gods Tender Mercy and "The Mormons are coming!!"!

This week we went to Windsor Castle and I forgot how beautiful it was there! Man inside it is crazy amazing. When we come back we will have to go there. On Tuesday we had to move some sisters out to the Isle of Wight. That place is fun to go to and a place to visit also. It was a long car drive though and then we had an hour fairy out from Southampton. The sisters we moved out there brought so much dang stuff! We brought our mission van and their entire luggage took up the whole van!!!! On Wednesday we had a ZLC. Thursday we worked in our area. I won’t lie it has taken me forever to try and grasp how to work an area while being and AP and I don’t know if I will ever be able to do it... Trying to do exchanges and trainings and then still trying to get enough rest and work in our area it just manic. Right now our big hope for a baptism is Charlotte. She is doing great. She is in Alma in the book of Mormon. Really the conversion is already there. It is just when. I don’t know if I will see another baptism... I was thinking though that no matter what the seeds which I sow don’t die when I leave but continue to grow as the Lord of the Harvest (Jesus) reaps of their benefits.

The Book of Mormon musical is coming to London. It’s all over the double decker buses and in the news papers and the ads they have put up say.... "THE MORMONS ARE COMING!!!!" and has a picture of a missionary, then in little letters at the bottom it says Book of Mormon Musical, but no one notices that unless you are really close to the bus and so it actually has been really good for the church. Everyone in London is asking us if we are Mormons! It is fun!!! Anyway the church I believe is planning to blitz London with the "I’m a Mormon" ads and they have bought a piece for advertisement in the program for the musical. It hasn’t been bad and I think the only people that will see the musical are morons anyway and those who do see it hopefully have sense at least investigate to find out more. Anyway made me laugh.

Remember a year ago when I was teaching Grace, a Chinese student from Plymouth and were about to be baptized but didn’t. She had some things she needed to work out. Then before she got them all worked out she went back to China. About two weeks ago she came back to UK to finish her schooling. She moved from Plymouth to Birmingham. I got her number and have called her a few times but never was able to get her information from her. She said she was coming down to Surrey sometime but I didn’t know when and where and keep in mind that Surrey has at least 4,000,000 people. I had no idea when she was coming and where she would be but I wanted to get in touch with her so I could get her info to send elders to her in Birmingham.  I  also wanted to say good bye to her...... Anyway ok back to story... we went to an eating place that was about an hour away from my area called Guildford. We went inside and talked for a while then went to order our food. While I was in the line I heard "Elder White!" and there was G-- right behind me!!!! I was shocked!!! Of all places I had no idea it was in this particular city in the county of Surrey that she was going to visit, at this time, and at this restraint! (Tender Mercy for sure)It was really neat! We talked and I got her info and passed it on to the Birmingham Elders. She said she will let me know when she gets baptized as well. We probably talked about 10-15 minutes. It was really good. So that was quite the tender mercy of the week. Just those divine meetings that God sets up. Amazing how that works, He knows where we will be at that exact point in time. I would expect she will be baptized in a month or two's time. 

Well family love ya tons and I will speak to ya soon!

Elder M. White