Email 7/29/13

To my dear wonderfully amazing family!!!!!

Oh how I love you so much!!!!!!! First of all my birthday was good. My 3 companions were telling everyone that it was my birthday. I was funny. Today was are going to see a museum to kind of celebrate. Plus it is Sister Hanson’s last Pday in the mission. 

Oh my goodness guess what!!! Do you remember a few months ago when I was at the mission home fireside and I told you that I found a woman with the same last name as us. Well I found her again. She was at transfers and she came up to me and said that she was now a Ballantyne again. Her divorce went through and that she was getting married again. Her name is Kim and she said that she hoped that I would come there way soon. It is absolutely amazing to be here and to see so many thing and meet so many wonderful people.

The area is great!!!! I absolutely love it here. Sister Urian has been out 6 weeks. You know how Sister Spencer came in and finished my training. That is what I am doing of her. She is great!! Ok let me explain. Sister Hanson has only a week left because she extended a week. She was one of my first trainers.  I love being able to be serving around her again. And Sister Peters was trained by Sister Hanson before I came in to the mission but she had to go home early due to medical reasons so she is here for a week as well doing a mini mission so that she can say that he finished hers. It has been really fun.

Wow that is crazy!!!!!!! So many Missionaries!!!! The work is really progressing forward.

 

Wow that is so true about life and how we don’t really notice until it is too late. I am so grateful for the gospel in my life and to know that I can always return to my Heavenly Father and that he loves me no matter what!!!!

 

Yes there is a pagent coming up It is about how the first missionaries came to England and how the pioneers left for the valley. It is all about the church here in England. It is going to be huge. It is being used as a missionary tool so we are allowed to go. We are taking an investigator on the 2^nd of August. I am so excited.

Also on the 8^th of August we are having a full mission conference. And guess who the speakers are!!!!!! Oh Ok I will tell you. Elder Holland, Elder Russell M. Nelson. And then Elder Kieran and Elder Evans of the Area Seventy for this mission. I am so excited!!!! It is going to be absolutely amazing!!!! I love this mission!!!!

I love you oh so much!!!!!!!

Love

Sister Ballantyne

Email 7/25/13

I have been transferred this week. I am now in Macclesfield this transfer followup training Sister Urian. She is from the Philippines. She is really nice and cute!!!! I also have Two other sister's staying with us for a week and a half. Sister Peters and Sister Hansen. Sister Hanson leaves and goes home in a week and a half d sister Peters is just visiting the mission. It is a lot of fun. I am sad to leave St. Helens but I know that this is where the Lord needs me at this point and time. Which reminds me the I am going to need to get a new suit case at some point this transfer. Because the one they bought me in Chorley is broken the wheels are shredded.

 

the address is

 

9 Westbury Court

Westbury Dr.

Macclesfield

SK11 8Wl

 

Thank you for the spiritual thought as well I have printed it out and i am going to take it with me.

 

When I left a lot of the members of the St. Helens ward kept telling me how much I have already helped. there are Less Actives that are coming back to church that have not been there in years just because we took the time to really get to know them and show them that we care about them not just to have them come back to church. I think that is what I am in this mission to do to work with less actives and to help them. 

 

One of the less active is name Collette Mann. She is great she as decided that she needs to quit smoking so she is. And the other day she told me that her son came up to her and told her that he was going to quit smoking with her because he thought it would be rude for him to smoke around her while she was quitting. They have been smoke free for almost 2 weeks.

 

I am glad that Candace liked her card!!!! I hope that she had a good birthday!!!! 

 

Thank you so much for telling me that. I really needed that . At times I don't feel like I am making a difference.

  

Thank you for the birthday wish !!!!! You are the best parents any sister missionary could ask for!!!!!!!!!!

 

I hope that Grandma Kathy is doing better!!!!

 

I am sorry that this email is so short. Not much time to day

 

But I love you tons!!!!!!

 

Love Sister Ballantyne

Email 7/15/13

This week has been a bit stressful. I have no idea what I am supposed to be doing here. I feel completely ineffective and like I shouldn't be here. I have just wanted to hide in a corner or just have my mom and dad with me this past week. I miss you both so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I just don't know what to do.

 

We were teaching a few but we ended up passing them to the elders. which is frustrating because it seems like we are passing all of our investigators to the elders and they are keeping all of theirs who happen to be single women. Who would be much easier for us to teach but oh well I guess. I really makes me start to wonder if I even want to get married when I am home because these elders are on my nerves and I don't even want to be around them. I feel like I am going to snap at them every time!!! Which I know is not good but it is how I feel at the moment. We have tried most of those ideas but they just don't seem to even have faith that any one will show up or they just don't put any action into them. I love this area and it just kills me that they don't see their potential and it seems like they don't even want to at all.

 

Yes they do have small flats. The houses are small as well. They are as big as the apartments that you live in. But as a house.

 

Oh I wish I would have been able to go to the Tree family reunion!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There better be one next year. Haha you do have good parents!!!1

 

We have done a lot of service this past week. One of our investigators owns a Chinese Chippy and has offered us Chinese food anytime we want because we are out here helping people and she wants to help us. Well on Thursday night she called us and told us that none of her drivers showed up. Well we were at a members house getting ready to do service for her. Well that member ended up helping us do service for Winnie. We ran food for her chippy for 3 hours. It was so much fun and it gave Winnie a chance to know that when we say that we will help her with anything we really mean it, and she got to meet a member of the church.

 

I had to give a talk in church this week. It was on missionary work. I mainly focused on Moroni 1:3 and Moroni 10. In Moroni 10 it was exhort 8 times. Exhort=Strongly encourage. So we are strongly encouraged to do 8 things. It is a wonderful chapter.  We also taught the relief society lesson this week as well.

 

We sanded chairs and a table for a member. Painted chairs for another member. Worked in the garden of the member who ran food with us, and washed her car. It has a service filled week.  

 

I love you tons

 

Sorry the email is short this week.  

 

Love

 

Sister Ballatntyne

Email 7/8/13

This week has been great!!!!!

Yesterday I was at the mission home fireside after it was over I was going to talk to Karl (my recent convert). He was talking to another man so I waited until he was done. He was telling this man that as long as he had faith, took his medicine, and prayed every night he would be able to take control of his epilepsy. Karl has been a member for about a week and he was bearing his testimony to someone who has been a member for about a year. So I started talking to Karl and seeing how he was doing and how his family was doing. Then the man that he had just been talking to showed me a picture and asked if I knew the person in the picture. Can you guess who that person was??? It was none other then Elder Ballantyne. I told him yes I knew him that he is my cousin. He told me that Elder Ballantyne was the one who found him, and he was baptized. It was so amazing to be able to meet him and to hear his story. He really loves Elder Ballatyne. His name is Tom Spencer. And his girlfriend was just baptized I think. I was able to get a copy of his testimony that he shared last night and it is absolutely amazing. I love this mission!!!!!!!!!!

We have been teaching a few people. I just wish I really knew how to help this ward. They don't seem to have faith in themselves and I am at a loss of what to do to help them. They are great and have so much potential but the way it is going I can see the ward going in to a branch in a few years. With all the youth that have gone less active, and they seem to be content with that. It is so frustrating. Do you have any insight???

How is mady doing??? There is a young woman in this ward that reminds me a lot of Mady it is scary!!!! She ended up adding mady on facebook because I told her that she reminds me of my cousin. It is like I have a little piece of home when I see her.

Oh I miss thunderstorms!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I miss dancing in the rain as well that was always great!!!!! We have had the heat here and it is only about 60 degrees and everyone is complaining that it is too hot. I am loving it. I have a tan on my feet. HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE. It is great!!!!!

There are so many miracles all around us! All we have to do is open our eyes and look for them. Keep your eyes open, keep them on the Lord and he will help you through!!!!

I hope everyone is doing well!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love you so much!!!!!

Love

Sister Ballantyne

Email 7/1/13

Haha. President means that after transfers a lot of people ask him to bring missionaries back to the previous areas. They don't like that they get taken away. He loved how much the Rhyl ward loved me on Saturday!!!.

 

St. Helens is going alright. It is hard work but it is getting better. Nothing that is worth a lot was ever easy to get right;). We have one chinese investigator who owns a chippy and told us that since we were out here helping people she wanted to help us and said that we could come to her chippy anytime and get free food. She is really nice. We have another investigator who was a former investigator two years ago. She seems really good!!!! We are also reteaching someone who asked to have their name removed from church records a few years ago. But she is ready to come back. She is so sweet. She is just waiting for another sign that it is right for her now. We have not had the FHE as of yet. It doesn't seem like they are two excited about it. So I think that we just need to start planning it and then tell them about it and make them set a date soon. It is really hard when the ward doesn't have faith in themselves. We are not getting I pads yet but it is a possibility. I don't want them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can just see how missionaries will miss use them and I just don't want the temptation. The mission will provide them. We won't have to bring dvd's around with us we will just be able to pull them up on the internet, and we would be able to show them mormon.org instead of just showing them.

 

Haha I hope that they have fun. Tell daddy to catch a really big one for me;) Hehe. I can eat it when I come home!!!!!!

 

I wish I could say that about here but it has pretty much just been raining. There are a few good days of sun but just goes back to rain. But I absolutely love it. Friday was a down pore and I was as happy as could be. I looked like a drowned rat but I just made the best of it and tried to make others happy around me. We would ask people if they wanted to know how they could be happy in the rain. And they would tell us no. It is just so sad that they don't even want to know how they too can be happy in gloomy weather. Oh well at least I gave them a chance right.

 

I love you all so so so so so so so Much.

 

Love you mostess hostess toastess!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I WIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Love

 

Sister Ballantyne