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!!!!!!!!