Last email 3/31/14

Dear Family!!!!!

It was so good to see all of you yesterday!!!! You all look so good. I am so grateful to have you as my family!!!!

Brother Delooze has been less active for about 5 years. And their oldest son Jed is Less active. Morgan just turned 13. Jed is 16 and reminds me so much of potato. They are so funny!!!!

She didn't talk to her family because she is going home in June and felt that it would be to hard to see them now. She may do it in may but she is still trying to decide if she is going to or not. She has 2 sisters who are married and have kids. She said that he would have had to go to a safari park or near someone who had malaria or an insect bite. I still find it a bit funny!!!!

Well we will see how that works!!!!!! It will be fun and even if I am on the plane all on my own all the more people to talk to. It will definitely be interesting!!!!

Yes I think I got everything!!!!!! It is going to be fun bringing it home. I am leaving some of my clothes in the flat for future missionaries. They are still in good condition and will be good for others to use. Alright thank you. And no I have not been without for long. I got every thing I needed!!!

Oh I had to bear my testimony in church yesterday because I was leaving. If you would have been there you would have thought I was running sacrament because they had me leading the music as I normally do on Sundays now and then they had me bear my testimony and I also said the closing prayer. It was so funny I am sure that the ward is sick of seeing me now. Just kidding they love me!!!! It was really good at the end of sacrament they had the little kids come up and grab forget me not flowers for the mothers and women in the ward. Sister vosloo and I stayed seated and then Sister Runcie sent her little girl up. By this time everyone was waiting for the hymn and prayer. So they were all watching Bella go up. She grabbed 2 Flowers and and brought them to us. And you hear a AHHHH in the room it was so cute!!!!!!!! I love this ward and wish I could bring the flowers with me but I will just have to get some when I am home.

Oh I am so excited to see the snow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It will be great!!!!!!!!

Haha I wont be able to text him until Friday Afternoon. And just so you know I am not eager to be released I just know it will be hard with all of the temptations around me and still being a set apart missionary. But I will do what ever is asked of me!!! It will be great to be in a Trio again!!!!!!

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Dutch oven!!!!!!!!! It will be a meal from heaven!!!!!!!! I am so excited!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am sorry that she had a heart attack but am glad to hear that she is doing well!!!!!! Wow that was risky to do it but good!!!!!

It is so weird that this will be the last email. I think I may just need to send you little ones while you are at work!!!! That could be fun to brighten up your days at work. Haha I am sorry that it is not going so well. I wish there was something that I could do to help. Just remember that I love you and will give you a huge hug everyday when you get home from work!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love and miss you so much

I will see you in 3 days bahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Be good!!!!!

Love

Sister Ballantyne

Email 3/24/14

Dear Family,

GUESS WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I tuned a Violin Yesterday!!!!! I have not touched or played one in a really long time!!! Yet I remembered how to tune it!!!!! So crazy!!!!! I enjoyed playing with it again.

This week has been so great!!!!!!! We went wedding dress shopping with Joanne and It was so much fun. Other that I have come down with a cold again so that was no fun. She looked so good in those dresses and she narrowed it down to two but decided that she needed to think about it. So later that day her and Neil went to the first place they went while I was in Manchester and she tried on the first dress that she liked. To compare it to the other ones.  And she bought it. It looks really good on her. I got to see a picture. We are going to go help her figure out the details this week. It is so great to see her so happy!!!!

Diane on the other hand I am really worried about. She is not doing so well. And I am lost as to how to help her. I fear that she is going back into the cycle that keeps getting her into trouble. She is so great and so are her girls and I fear for all of them of what might happen this week. I feel guilty for leaving them like this. Yet I know that there is nothing that I can do. I just wish that there was more that I could do. Would you mind putting their names on the temple roll back home???? Their names are Diane Jevens, Scott Hugh, Sarah Hugh, Katie Hugh, Destiny Hugh. And then Neil Young and Joanne Smith. Please and thank you!!!!!!! I honestly never thought that leaving would be this hard!!!!!!!!!!!! I hope that I will be able to keep in touch with them but I don't know if it will be possible with Diane and her family.

I would just like to thank you for letting me grow up in a safe and secure family unit. Seeing what Diane has gone through I am just so grateful that you are always there for me and have my best interest at heart!!!!! Thank you for being my parents and standing by me when I need you the most. I could and would not ask for better parents!!!!!

Great I look forward to seeing you as well. Their names are the Delooze's. She is from America (Rochester New York). And she served her mission here. They are great!!!!!!! I will definitely tell them thank you for you!!!!

Yes I will look for one for him. That will be fun.

Oh I cannot wait to see all of you. And if she doesn't want to go to the Airport on her birthday she doesn't have to. She is so cute.

I know I am so happy that she got married but a little sad I was not able to be there. But there will be other weddings!!!!!! I look forward to finally meeting her Husband!!!!!

Yes I will speak on that day!!!!! It sounds like it will be a very crazy day!!!!!! Do we know when I am going to be released??? Maybe I wont prepare a talk and just wing it and see how it goes!!!!!!!! haha that could be really entertaining!!!!!!!

Oh I forgot about that I will do it!!!!! I am excited!!!!!!!! OH how I love you so much!!!!!!

Tell potato not to worry about not being there. Tell him to go and enjoy!!!!!!! And I will see him later!!!!!

I think I was just offered a job because I can type. Who knew it would be a skill over here just emailing home. It just goes to show that people are really watching us!!!!!!!

Thank you so much for all that you do!!!!!! I love you so much.

Love you more than you will ever know

Love

Sister Ballantyne

Email 3/17/14

Dearest Family, 

Oh how I love and miss you so!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This week has definitely been an interesting one!!!!!! I went on Exchange in Manchester and that was really great!!!! It is so beautiful there. Every time I look around at this beautiful country I am more determined to find a way to come back and see more. There is just so much History that we miss as missionaries. And I would love to be able to share these wonderful sites with my wonderfully amazing family!!!!!!

So this week has been fun. Diane forgave 2 people that she said she would never forgive!!!!!! I don't know how she did it but she did!!! And she looks like there has been a massive weight lifted off of her shoulders!!!!! She is so strong. Unfortunately her baptism will have to be moved back again because something came up and she was not able to make it to church on Sunday. That was really hard because I know that Church will help her but she needs to make that decision on her own. But she is still wonderful!!!! While I was on exchange the Sisters here went wedding dress shopping with Joanne. I was a bit gutted that I was not able to go but we are going to another place this week so it will be fun!!!!!! I think that they are still planning on having the wedding on the 10th of May. It is so exciting!!!!!!

I love being a missionary so much!!!!! Although it can be stressful at times the miracles and tender mercies far out weigh the stressful times. 

I am sorry to hear about Elder Toa. That is not something anyone would want to hear. It is just like what you told me. What better place to be then to be serving the Lord when He calls you home. I will keep his family in my prayers.

I am surprised to hear that we have a new bishopric. They will do great. Tell brother Webb that he should come here all if the bishops are young. They are all pretty much around 28 years old. It was a complete shock to me when I first got here. But that is who the Lord needs. 

Oh I forgot to tell you that on Saturday we had to go and do some emergency service for some members to move some things out of a house. Apparently there was a less active that died a little over a week ago and they just found her in her home last Saturday. That hit a bit close to home but we went and helped them move the fridge and washer out and we are going back to day to help move some more out. I just hope that the family will be able to know that she is in a better place. 

I love you all so much and thank you for your prayers!!!!!!!

Love 

Sister Ballantyne

 

Email 3/9/14

Dearest Family!!!!!!!

This week has been fun. On Monday Sister Vosloo and the Elders in the area went to see the Air Base Museum. When we got there they said that it was closed. But when they realized that we were Americans they opened it up just for us. It was great!!!!! I took so many photos and it was wonderful to see the History of the Land that we are living on.

We have not gone to the funeral yet. I believe that her Nan is going to be cremated. Hopefully it will be soon. But Diane is doing great!!!! We had to move her Baptism date back cause she was not able to come to church yesterday so it is now on the 29th of Apr. I am praying so hard for her. Trial are continually being thrown in her direction. It is a testimony builder for me that this church is true. She is such a wonderful women and I wish that I could just take away all of her struggles.

Neil and Joanne and their family are doing great!!!!!!! They have pretty much set a date for get married. They are just waiting to finalize it. They are aiming for the 10th of May. It is so exciting!!!!!! They are a wonderful couple and I am so grateful for the blessing it is to teach them. They seem to be having a bit of a rough time but they are hanging in there. It is so hard to see that they are doing the right thing but have so much opposition. But again it just builds your testimony of the church. Why would so many people and things be working against one church??? Unless it was true. We took them to walk around the Temple grounds on Saturday. They absolutely loved it!!!!!!! And they looked like they belonged there!!!!!! I look forward to the day that they are able to go in. That will be a glorious day!!!!!

On Saturday we found a miracle!!! We were calling by a FI (former investigator). Her name is Joyce Rigby. We knock on a door that we thought was hers and no one answered. Then we were walking down the street and saw another house and decided to knock. And she answered the door. She said that she was terminally ill and was not interested in changing her religion at this time. So we just talked to her for a long while. She has visited Utah and saw the Provo Temple dedicated and was able to go in before it was dedicated. And she  has read the Book of Mormon. She is not interested but we will be going over to give her some company now and again. She is an absolute sweetheart. Her husband died of Alzheimer's. He had if for 11 years before he died. It made me think of Grandma and Grandpa Tyne and how it must be for them. I want to help them as much as I can when I get home.

Sometimes we feel that it is not the right time but it really is the perfect time. I have definitely learned that since being out here. That the Lord is preparing so many people around us and often it is the people who we think are not ready that are the ones ready!!!! All I ask is to pray about it. You could even just pray and ask Heavenly Father who He would like you to give a Book of Mormon to.

No it is only some missions right now that are using face book. They are doing it one mission at a time. 

I miss Chez too. And Sister Peirre is great!!!!! She is so funny!!!!!!

I love and miss you tons!!!! Don't have too much fun with out me!!!!!

Love

Sister Ballantyne

Email 3/3/14

Dear Family,

This week has been pretty good.  Diane is already doing so much better then when I first met her. The changes are completely amazing and Heaven sent. I just really worry about her!!!!!! Especially with the news that she got yesterday that her Nan died. So we went to see her and help her through this hard time. She has asked us to come to the funeral with her when it comes because he does not want to face her step dad alone. And for very good reason I would not want her to have to face him again either. I just wish there was so much more that I can do for her!!!!! There have been a few that are willing to help. So that will be good because she is really going to need it.

So we are working on strengthening them and mending patches in the ward. We are already starting to see it work We had 5 of the relief society come out with us on Saturday to go finding and we were able to help a few of them resolve conflicts that they had with each other. It has been great to see. We are doing all kind of service for them. What ever they need we do. It is great I am learning all of these new skills. Some times is it just going and spending some time with them and letting them teach us what their talents are and learning how to do them. It is so great to be able to do so much service for those around us. That is a really good Idea!!!! I had forgotten about it but I really like it!!!!!!!!! We will try it!!!!!! I have not yet but I might do.

Oh my goodness!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! One of our investigators got up during testimony meeting in sacrament and bore his testimony!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was floored!!!!!! It was so great. Then we went to the Mission home fireside that night and our recent convert Hannah spoke. It was a wonderful day!!!! To top it all off Neil ( the investigator who bore his testimony on Sunday told us that they are really thinking about getting married sooner rather then in August!!!!!!!! It was just a great day!!!!!

I have definitely had some great companions!!!!!!!!

A carvery is like a buffet at home. But is is a Sunday roast!!!!!! It is really good!!!!! She was 6 so I am not too sure that she looked at that!!!!!

OH my goodness the Temple visit was wonderful. I cannot wait to go again. I didn't realize that he recorded it. That is funny!!!!!

Those crafts sound so cute!!!!!!!!!! I am glad that you were able to get together.

Haha yes they will!!!!!!!!!!! I am glad that they are doing well!!!!!!! Have you given them a book of ormon???? I was thinking you could all write your testimonies in them and then give it to them.

I promise that I will not work myself up or stress myself out!!!! I will take one day at a time and figure it out as it comes!!!!!!!!!!!

I really do love and miss you so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

I hope you are all doing well!!!!!

Love

Sister Ballantyne

Email 2/24/14

Dear Family!!!!!!!!!!

It has been yet another crazy and a bit stressful week. Right before transfers we found out why Diane one of our investigators has been so distant in the past two lessons. She has found out that she was 24 weeks pregnant with twins. She is 34 and already has 4 kids under the age of 12. She told us that she didn't want them because they were from her ex that beat her on new years. I was completely shocked and had no idea what to do. So I have just been praying for her constantly. We went to go and see her on Thursday last week and she was not in. So we then went and saw her on Saturday and she told us that she packed up the kids and went for a few day holiday to clear her head. She has decided to keep the twins. I was so happy. It is still going to be a long road but she seems to be listening so much more and really taking it in. Her and her two daughters are scheduled to be baptized on the 22nd of March. They are so great!!!!!! I love their family so much I just want to take away all of the pain and stress that they are going through. The next step is to get the Relief Society involved. I hope that they will. We really need her to have friends to help her through this rough time.

My Companion is Sister Vosloo! She is from South Africa near Johannesburg. She has been out only one transfer less then I have. She is great!!!! I already love her so much. She is helping me to not be so stressed about the area and leaving it. I just love every one here so much that I don't want to leave them without doing all that I can for them. It has been wonderful to have her connect with so many of the people we are working with. So much so that I don't have to worry about them as much as I have been because I know that they will be in good hands.

Right now we are going to be working a lot on uniting the members. So we will be doing lots of service for them!!!!!! They are great as single families, but they seem to forget that they are a ward family. They are letting little things come between them and it is hard to see. So we are going to work on building their faith in the Atonement. You can see the discord in church.

Oh my goodness I have a story to tell you!!!!!!! So we went out to tea with some members. They took us out to a carvery!!!!! It was heavenly!!!!!!! Well while we were talking they were saying that the little girl was just like her mom. So I asked the little girl if she wanted to see a picture. She said yes so I pulled out the one of you and dad holding me as a baby. She looked at it for a second then threw her hands down on the table and said " WAIT YOUR MARRIED" I could not control my laughter because it was just so funny and priceless. She is 6 years old and it just reminded me so much of little Audrey!!!!!! Oh it was a great night!!!!! They brought out sister Vosloo's pudding on a really big plate (the pudding was really small) , and that same little girl said. "I think they should bring you a smaller plate for your pudding.

We got in contact with Ryan and his phone had broken so we now have his new number but have not had a chance to meet with him yet. Hopefully this week.

NO the weather has just been up and down!!!!!!!

I get to go to the temple tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so excited!!!!! I have missed it so much. Oh and president said that it is fine to skype on mothers day. It is the 30th of March!!!

I am not sure if I need to send anything home as of yet but I will look through and let you know. I don't know what to bring home!!!!!!! It is so hard.

I hope that everyone starts feeling better!!!!!!!!

I love and miss you tons!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love

Sister Ballantyne

Email 2/17/14

Dearest Family!!!!!!

This week has been absolutely Crazy!!!!!! Monday was crazy because pretty much nothing went as planned. But it was really fun!!!!!!! We ended up not seeing Ryan unfortunately because he was in wales visiting his mom and was not able to make it back. So hopefully we will be able to meet with him soon. Tuesday we had a zone meeting and it was really good!!!! It was an answer to my prayers!!!!!!!! I have been trying to figure out how to become more sincere through prayer. And the whole zone meeting was on prayer and what we can do to have more meaningful prayers. It was amazing!!!!!!! Then sister Steinagel and I went on an exchange. She went to St. Helens with Sister Taylor, and Sister Fonoifua came to me. She is from Tonga and she is really funny!!!!!!!! We had so much fun!!!!!! We saw a lot of miracles. Like one of our potential investigators that we have not been able to get in contact with us and said that she would like to come to church this Sunday!!!!! I am so excited!!!!!!! On Wednesday we had crazy weather!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There were 80 mile an hour winds. It was so bad that we were on a bus for 2 hours and stuck in the bus station for 1 hour. It was quite entertaining!!!!!!!!!!! I love being a missionary!!!!!!!!!! Thursday we exchanged back and I got my wonderful Companion back!!!! Yay!!!!!
Thursday and Friday were the craziest days I have ever had so far. On Thursday agter we exchanged back we went to go see one of our investigators. On the way there we stopped to talk to a man and He bent down to kiss sister steinagel and she stepped back so he kissed her hand. It was so funny. We then went to call by one of our investigators and she answered the door and told us it wasn't a good time that she was getting ready for work and then flashed us. I wonder if she thought that we didn't understand what she was saying but I was completely shocked!!!!!!!! On Friday we would knock on doors and people would come in their bath robes and tell us that they were just about to get in the shower!!!!! I just don't know what is going on!!!!! It is crazy!!!!!!!! We had 3 amazing miracles on Friday. One was we met a less active and he said that we could come and teach him again. Then the other two were that night!!!!! We were going to a members home and on the way sister Steinagel was talking to a lady on the bus and another woman kept staring at her. She got off at the same stop that we did and I knew that I needed to talk to her. She was really nice and said that she would like to learn more about what she had heard and we are meeting with her on Tuesday!!!! Then right after her there was a woman who was about to fall over so sister steinagel ran to help here. We started talking to her and she said that she would love to know what the purpose of life is and what happens after. We are also meeting her on Tuesday!!!!!!!

Saturday we got transfer calls. Sister Steinagel is leaving and I will be staying here in Warrington. My new companion will be Sister Voslou. She is from South Africa. Sunday was really hard because it was all really starting to sink in!!!!!!! But the lessons were really good and helped a lot. I am glad that this will be my last area!!!! They are all so wonderful!!!!!!!!!!

The woman that died and her husband were members but the rest of their family are not members. And we were volunteered by the Senior missionary couple in the ward. I think it went alright.

We are still trying to get them to pick a date. I hope that it will be soon but we will have to just pray and see.

Oh that is such a cute idea!!!!!!!!!! I am sure that she loved it.

Wow that is good that he is going on a mission. He will do great!!!!!

You can talk about how Obedience is what can bring pure happiness. Ecl. 12:13; D&C 84:44; 1 Ne. 3:7.  I found the first one the other day and linked it to the others. I really puts what is expected of us into perspective. When we do that everything else seems to fall into place. Often times we make it ten time harder then what it needs to be. Just go back to the basics and work at them every day. It was a great personal study on Sunday!!!!!!! You will do great!!!!!

I hope that you are all doing well!!!!! I love you tons!!!!!!

Love

Sister Ballantyne

Email 2/10/14

Dearest Family,

Oh how I love you so!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This week has been absolutely Crazy!! I ended up getting everything that everyone else has had plus more. It has been miserable but I am pushing through it. I finally buckled down and used my Nibulizer yesterday and It helped a lot. I know I probably should have used it sooner but I was stubborn. But on the other had we had a miracle last week!!!!!!!!!! So do you remember when I was in Rhyl and we had a party for sister Clawson's Birthday and she invited a magician. Well after that we could never really get in contact with him. Well I found him a few weeks ago (actually he found me). Sister Steinagel were walking through the shopping center and this man stopped us and asked if He knew me. I remembered him from Rhyl. We talked for a bit and then went on our way. Until Last week. When I saw him at his stand in the shopping center. And before I knew it my mouth had opened and said: Hi Ryan. He said Hi and we started talking. And he asked for a Book of Mormon. And we set up a time to meet with him today!!!!! It was absolutely amazing!!!!!!

On Thursday we sang at the funeral. I was not sure if I was even going to sing let alone make it through the whole song. Because I could not stop coughing. But the Lord strengthened me again and helped me sing. I hope that they were able to feel the spirit and to know that she is happy and in a better place. The funeral service was really good but different. It not being done by our church. But as I was sitting in that church watching the family comfort each other. I couldn't help but think about our family and how much we strengthen each other. I couldn't help but think about how much they don't know and how much they needed the comfort of our savior. It was a wonderful blessing to be able to share a bit of that with them. I am so grateful to know that I will be able to see my loved ones again and to know that they are never too far away.

We did service for some of our investigators on Saturday. It was so much fun we painted their walls. And by the end we were helping them plan some of their wedding. Telling them that we had hook ups in the ward and that they would be more then happy to help. It is so much fun!!!!!!!!! I love being a missionary and helping all of these wonderful people come to know who they are and the potential that they have inside of them!!!!!!!

Yesterday was a really rough day!!!!!! We went to our investigators house to bring Her and her 4 kids to church. Well all weekend we had called members to see if they could give them a ride and finally decided that we were going to have to just walk with them. Then a member said that they were able to take them. Which meant that we would have to walk. Which was fine, but we would be late and we were supposed to be there early because it was ward conference and we were supposed to sing the prelude music with the choir. So then the Choir was mad at us and I just felt the feeling that I have felt many times before. Like I just cannot do anything right. And I just broke down. I didn't want to go to church or anything I just wanted to go to my bed and sleep. Plus I was having a really hard time breathing. The member that took the family came back and got us so I had to put on my strong face. Church ended up going fine. But when we got home I just died. So we ended up having to stay in because I just could not breath or do anything. But I am doing so much better today!!!!!!!! And this is going to be a wonderful week I can just feel it.

I am so happy for her!!!!!!!! That is wonderful news!!!!!!!!!

Ya I am trying really hard not to think of coming home. I understand that I will still grow after my mission, but I also realize that I still need to change a bit more before I get home. And I am hoping that I am able to do it. I love the changes that I have already been able to make and am so grateful for this journey in my life. But I am afraid that when I get home it will feel like a dream. Tell Potato that I understand and that it is alright. I hope that he has fun and I will give him a huge hug when He gets home.

I am so grateful for you each of you in my life!!!!! I hope you know how much I love each of you!!!!!!!

Love

Sister Ballantyne

Email 2/3/14

Dear Family!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This week has been another roller coaster. It was going really well until Thursday when I got the phone call that said that my release date was April 2nd. I was thrown off because I was told that it would be May 7th. They said that president has the ability to change it either 30 days before or after the original date to make his live a little easier. So I guess he changed it to the 2nd. So I guess you get to see me sooner!!!!! My shoulder is doing fine it still hurts but I am just getting over it.

I have not had to go back to the Hospital lately thank goodness. And I believe that my Asthma is doing fine.

Yes we are still working with the same investigators. Except the aunt of the family we are teaching. She has gone back to live in Lincoln. She was only here so that she could mend. But we planted a seed and hopefully she will look up the missionaries in her area. But that family is doing wonderful. They are thinking about getting married soon!!!!! She is looking at wedding dresses. We are praying so hard for them. He knows it is true the only thing holding them back is the wedding. BAHHHHHHHHH It is so exciting!!!! The other family we are teaching are not progressing as fast. We are still waiting for them to come to church. Each week they say that they will and then each week they don't show up. I just want them to come. I know that it will help them so much. The ward is wonderful!!!!!!!!!!! I love them all so much. They really pull together. There was a member that passed away about a week and a half ago. And they are really pulling together. The woman that passed away and her husband were the only members of the church in their family so they are having the funeral in a Church of England Chapel. And my companion and I were volunteered to sing at the grave side. I am a bit nervous. We are going to be singing Be Still My Soul. Hopefully they will feel the spirit and be comforted.

NO it is just an old air base that they have built a bunch of houses on. There are a few land marks but it is no longer a proper air base. I just love that it has American History;)HeHe

I have not heard back from her yet. I don't know if I will but I hope that it helped and didn't make anything worse.

You did not make me feel that way. I never wanted to be in a leadership position any way. I would much rather just do what I am doing. I have been have a bit of a rough time not feeling like I have accomplished all that Heavenly Father wants of me on His mission. And when I got that call on Thursday it was really hard to realize that after this transfer I only have one left. So I have a lot of work to do and am a little worried that I wont make it. But I am just trying to take it one day at a time even though it is really hard.

I love you all so much.

Love

Sister Ballantyne

Email 1/27/14

Well my week has been pretty eventful. We had a return missionary come home in this ward. He was serving in the France mission. We went to his homecoming on Wednesday and I pretty much had a complete come apart. It all became too real that it will be me really soon. And I am so not ready for that. I have not become who I want to be yet. Friday night I had to go to A&E (ER) because my shoulder has been hurting me for a good week and a half. I was ignoring it pretty well until it became really sharp pains and there would be times that I could not move it. So we went and we sat and waited to be seen. It was not very fun because I promised myself that I would not to back to one of the British hospitals again. But look where I ended up. The examined it and said that it was an inflamed tendon and gave me so pills to take and a cream to rub on it 3 times a day. I am not to sure if it is working yet but we will see.

We had a miracle this week as well!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was absolutely amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! One of our investigators had their aunt come and stay with them for few weeks. So on Thursday night we went over to teach them and she came and sat in the lesson. But before we could even say a word she told us all about her life and a week ago she almost died and that has left her looking for more truth. She listened to every word and was so happy to have her own Book of Mormon. On Saturday we taught them the Plan of Salvation and she told us that it was pretty much everything that she already believed in. And she came to church on Sunday. I think that she is going to help her family progress even more.

We met a family a few days ago and they are now dated for baptism. Hopefully they will come to church next Sunday. They really are a great family!!!!

I have not gotten poorly yet and hopefully it stays that way.

Oh I keep forgetting to tell you that where we live is on an old American Air Base. It is wonderful!!!!

The weather has been about the same. It has been hailing off and on lately. Which is really funny!!!!!!

Why doesn't he want to go on Trek. It will be a wonderful experience. It is camping and hiking. He likes that stuff. Plus he will be able to light fires all he wants. I am sure that he will like it once he gets out there. Wow LJ is going on a mission that is wonderful!!!!

I love and miss you so so so so so so so so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love

Sister Ballantyne

Email 1/20/14

Dearest Family,

This area is absolutely gorgeous!!!!!!!!! And the people are wonderful. Well on Saturday I was asked to give a talk in sacrament because one of the speakers were not going to be there. They told me I could talk on anything I desired but the focus was on Missionary work. Well missionary work is hard but it is a lot harder to talk about. So I gave my talk the then we did a musical number as missionaries. And it turned out really well. We were able to get one of the less-actives to come to church and hear us sing. He said that he would only stay to hear us sing and then leave. But he stayed for the whole thing. It was absolutely wonderful!!!!!!!
We met Liz on a train home from widnes she was just coming home from Liverpool and she was exhausted. We just started talking to her and ended up on the topic of family history. She said that she did a bit but that she was stuck. I was able to share with her about how my family history has been traced back to her 100's with the church website. She said that she had heard of it but had not gone on it yet. We gave her a website card with our number on it and the chapel address and told her that we had people who would be willing to help her with the rest of her family history. We met so many wonderful people and it carried on into Sunday. Sunday night we were able to have 4 on the spot lessons in 2 hours. And 2 of those wonderful souls are potential investigators!!!!! It was so great to watch the spirit work on Abbey. She was just getting home from the hospital visiting a friend when we stopped to talk to her. She said that she was an atheist. We talked a bit with her and asked if we could say a prayer with her for her friend. She said that we could. After the prayer she had tears in her eyes. We asked if we could meet with her again and she said yes. She has such a sweet spirit that is just waiting to shine. 

I am doing alright. But there seems to be a stomach bug going around that I am trying to avoid. I am sorry that every one back home is getting so poorly. That is no fun.

NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The 49er's should have won. Oh well it will happen next year.

I love you all so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love

Sister Ballantyne

Email 1/13/14

My dear and wonderful family!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You will never guess what I learned yesterday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My companion Sister Steinagel is related to Ezra Taft Benson. He is her great Uncle!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was flabbergasted when I found that out. It was so funny because she had no idea why until I told here that my uncle was related to him. It is such a small world. Well my Companion is from Kansas. She has been on her mission for about 9 months. And she is wonderful!!!!!!! She is so kind and sweet and the ward just absolutely loves her!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She was here before I got here. This area is beautiful and I already knew some of the members so it has been a really good welcome!!!!!! One of the members asked me if I had a relative serve her a bit ago. I showed her a picture of Kevin and she said that he looked familiar. It is crazy I wonder how many of his areas I have actually been in. I know for sure that he was in stoke but now I wonder about the other areas.

We had a baptism on Saturday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was the biggest turn out I have ever seen for a single baptism so far on my mission. It was absolutely wonderful!!!!! It was so good to see the support that the ward and her less active family gave her. I am really going to love this ward I can just feel it. There are already some people that I know I am here for them and they have no idea what is coming!!!!!!! I can just feel that this is going to be a great area!!!!!!

Brother Beeston seems to be doing alright!!!! He is out of the hospital and we were able to go and see him before I left. He has had problems before. He has to be careful because he developed a chest cold and they didn't want it to turn into pneumonia. But other then that I believe that He is doing better. I didn't skype from there house but I was there before I skyped.

We have not had snow yet and I am beginning to wonder if we are going to have some this year at all.

Crazy Socks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am sure that He is on cloud 9!!!!!!!!! Which car is he driving????? And I can definitely believe that she is having a hard time with letting him drive. Just tell him to be careful and to not take after his sisters!!!!!!!! That would not be a good thing!!!!!!

So I have decided that I am just going to spend time with family for a little while and think about school later. I just have a feeling that I just need to be with the family. Is that alright????? If not then I can definitely start looking into schools when I get home or right before I get home. Just let me know your thoughts!!!!! And I want your honest opinion Please!!!

It has gone by really fast. And I may not see all of the changes in myself that you have seen but I have seen a few and I am happy with them. I am so grateful to this mission for saving my life the way it has. And I know that it is making me stronger then I thought it ever would. I have been able to change into what I was designed to become. I am beginning to understand who I am and why I am here. And what I am to do with my life. (that one is still completely up in the air. I have completely no Idea what to do with my future career.) Hopefully it will come.

I love you all and am so grateful for all that you do for me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love you tons

Love

Sister Ballantyne

Email 1/6/14

I am leaving stoke!!!!! I am being transferred to Warrington. It is right next to St. Helens. And my new companion will be Sister Stienagle (I think that is how you spell it.) It will be good for a change but it will be sad to leave these wonderful people!!!!!!!

 

The weather is sunny with a bit of a chill. It really depends on the day because one day it can be raining and dreary, and the next the sun is shining and there is only a bit of a chill in the air.

 

I am sure that they are completely thrilled to be going back to work and school. That is so crazy that they are getting married!!!!! I am glad that you were able to help her!!!!!! I am sure that she really appreciated it. It is weird to me that they are old enough to get married and that it seems like everyone I know and their dogs are getting married!!!!!!!!!

 

Grandpa is so cute!!!! I am sad that He has to go through that. I wish I could take it from him. One of the members in this ward we have gotten to really know. He is great and He reminds me a lot of dad. Well we were with him and and Sister Tinsley on Christmas Eve and it was a blast. On New Years day we got a text from him telling us that he had, had a heart attack that night and was in the hospital. He had 3 stints put in and seems to be doing fine now. But that was hard to hear. I am so glad that we have this gospel to help us through all of those hard and stressful testing times. I honestly don't know what I would do with out it. I  don't think I could cope.

 

I miss you all so much!!!!!!!! Can you believe that I have made it this far????? It has be one crazy and emotional ride. One that I am and will be eternally grateful for. I love this mission and these beautiful people!!!!!!!! They are absolutely amazing!!!! They just wont see it in their selves. DO YOU KNOW HOW SPECIAL YOU ARE???? I want each of you to know that you are loved and you have been give special talents and gifts that make you who you are. They were given to you by a Loving Heavenly Father who knew and still knows you and knows what you need. Search for those gifts and talents and when you start finding them you start finding yourself!!!!!! YOU ARE SPECIAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And don't ever doubt that!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I love you so much more then you will ever know!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you for all that you do!!!!!!!

 

Love

 

Sister Ballantyne

 

P.S. Thank you for the pictures and the poster!!!!!!!!!! I love you all so much!!!!!!!!