Talk with Taylor 12/25/12

It was so good to talk to Taylor this morning. There were a lot of emotions and tears but it was so good to hear her voice. 

The ward members have been taken very good care of them. She said that she was given a suit case and a sparkle blue hat from the ward members. They have been to dinner at many of the members homes and have received gifts. Some she mentioned was lotion, journal, chocolates, night shirts......

She says that she has been writing in her journal everyday for us to read when she gets home. I am so glad to hear that and can hardly wait to read about her experiences.

She had liked most of the food but is tired of all the big Sunday meals. She says that she is over them.

They are having transfers next week so we will not hear from her until Wednesday. She is very concerned that they will be effected by the transfer. Her companions have been together for two transfers now. Since one is from Idaho and one is from Utah they should be able to keep in touch. 

It was so good to hear from her. Still a little home sick but I challenged her to try and not worry about here and focus on her work. She can also try to find information on our ancestors. She is going to fine and do an amazing go. She is amazing.

Email 12/17

My week has been a little better i had a blessing about two weeks ago from one of my zone leaders. It helped a lot.

My exchange went really well. Sister Embley was so nice and fun. She is a lot like me as well. When she would talk to people in Chinese I would talk to other people in English. In lessons they all spoke pretty good English so I could just talk. Sister Embley would speak in Chinese and then repeat it in English so I would know where we were in the conversation. We had tea at some members house and they were so sweet they gave us so much chocolate. I am so going to gain weight here in Chorley especially with all of the tea appointments.
The meals are usually what they call a Sunday roast. Which is just like Thanksgiving dinner. But I kind of have gotten a little sick of it.

The Christmas party was fun. We had some lessons one from President Preston and the other from our Zone leaders. They were amazing lessons. I learned so much from them. We did skits and we did white elephant gifts. We watched Emma Smiths Story and then received our package from President and Sister Preston.

How is everyone at home??

I love you so much and can't wait to call you next week. I wont be able to email next Monday due to me calling you on Tuesday.

Sincerely

Sister Ballantyne

Letter 12/10

We also received a letter in the mail today.

She seems to be very home sick. She says that she has poured her heart out to her Heavenly Father and knows she is where she is supposed to be but feels guilty being so far away. She can not shake the guilty feeling. Questions if she really knows what she is doing there.

Email 12/10

I am kind of nervous for the exchange this week but it will be fun.

It is going really good. The members are really nice. We have a few investigators. They are really fun to teach and really nice. Some members refer people. We usually street contact or tract doors. Well the Holiday so far has been really great. It tends to make people a little happier. It is just a visit for the day. On Christmas eve we have kind of half a pday and then we can go to members houses each for 3 hours. Christmas day we go to the members houses 3 hours each and just spend time with their families. The ward is buying us a Christmas present. They keep asking us what we need, and you know how much I hate that question. I think i will just call you!!! I was thinking i would call around 9am. I figured that you would be at the Curtis's house. Is that alright or would you rather do something different?

Sister Longmore has been out 11 Months, and Sister Hansen has been out 8 Months. We are the only sisters in our zone but there are about 8 sister companionships in the Manchester mission.

Thank you for everything that you do!!!

I Love you all so much and miss you too!!

Love

Sister Ballantyne

Letter from 12-3

I switch places with another sister. And I just found out that the sister I am going to be with on the exchange for her mission is the Chinese speaking mission!! So I will be teaching Chinese people!!

I love the food they are serving me!!! It is so good we are really spoiled!!  There were only two sisters before I got here they just thought that I replaced one of the other sisters. I think it willl get better now that they know there are the 3 of us. I had to bear my testimony yesterday so I hope that helps and that they get to know me better.

Zone conference was amazing and so was the temple!!!! I loved every bit of it!!! I got to meet so many people. I learned so many things. Yes i bought a back pack it works great. No I have not found a coat I have been looking but I am not that cold my companions think I am crazy because they are always cold. I am fine with money so far.

We have a Christmas fireside at the Mission Home about a week before christmas and we are going to members houses on Christmas day.

Thank you so much for eveything!!!!
I love you so much!!!!

I hope every one starts feeling better!!!

Sincerely

Sister Ballantyne

Also 11-26

The address for my Apartment for you to send me letters at is

1 Grove Wood House
Preston Road
Chorley, Lancashire
PR7 1PT

Letter from 11-26

I am having a wonderful week. I love having 2 companions it is what I am used to. I think it will be really weird just having one. Speaking of which I am going on exchanged on the 11 December to 13 December. I will be going to Liverpool for those 2 days. I am both excited and nervous. It will be a great experience.

For Pday today we went to a funeral for a lady in the the ward. The Spirit was so strong. I cried!!! Then we are emailing and then going to do a little shopping to get a few things that we need and then we are going to write letters and then go eat at a members house. The members are so sweet we have a dinner appointment pretty much every day. Then we are going to meet with a gentle men that we met street contacting the other day.

Yes I know I am very spoiled right now when it comes to the Temple. I think it will be the last time for a year. They only go once a year in the Mission field. So I will have to wait until the next time.

I love you so much and I hope everyone is doing well!!!!

Sincerely

Sister Ballantyne

Letter fom the Mission President and some pics

Dear Parents,

Your daughter has arrived in the England Manchester Mission (EMM) safely and is ready to go to work as a missionary.  We held a training session Wednesday morning where we covered many things including their mission finances, their first three month training schedule, becoming a “Christ-like Missionary” and the EMM vision and guiding principles.  We concluded with a testimony meeting and afterwards Sister Preston fed the group a warm hearty meal.  I held a personal interview with each missionary and we then transported them to the Manchester Stake Centre where they were introduced to their first companion and trainer. 

As parents, the most important thing you can do for your daughter is to be supportive and encouraging.  The first month or two can be challenging for a missionary with many adjustments having to be made in their life.  But it normally does not take long until they capture the full vision of their calling, gain a love for the people of the United Kingdom and lose themselves in the work. 

Please be supportive of the Church’s policy on communications which allows missionaries to send and receive emails only with family members which, in addition to the immediate family, includes grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins.  Anyone not part of the family must communicate by letter. Occasional efforts by some to circumvent this policy, such as family members forwarding personally directed emails from non-family members, are outside the spirit of this principle. 

We often talk and train on the principle of “Becoming a Christ-like Missionary.”  While it is good to be an Honorable Missionary, there is a higher principle and that is becoming a Christ-like Missionary.  This involves many things but it primarily is a commitment by the missionary to purify and sanctify their life and fully commit their heart and soul to their mission.   The happiest and most effective missionaries are those who limit thoughts of their pre-mission life, put the world behind them and get completely lost in the work of serving the Lord.  Your encouragement and support of this principle will help your daughter grow personally, gain a greater depth of spiritually and more easily affect for good the lives of others. 

Attached you will find a picture of your daughter  with Sister Preston and me inside the mission home and also a picture of her first companions and trainers.  She will be in a trio.  Sister Preston and I have three sons who have served missions, so we fully understand the emotions and joys that you are going through right now.  Please know that we love the missionaries in the England Manchester Mission and we watch over them with great care.  May the Lord bless you during this time of sacrifice in the lives of both you and your daughter.

With warm regards,

President Preston

England Manchester Mission 

Sister Ballantyne and the Manchester England Mission President

Sisters Hanson, Ballantyne, and Longmore
(from left to right)

First Transfer

Hey Family!!!!

How is everyone doing? I hope all is going well!! I miss you all. So as you know I am in the real world now as a missionary!!! Crazy right;) I love it so far!! So I woke up at 5.00 in the morning on Wednesday and got everything ready to go. We left at 615 and took our bags to the Stake Center and then went to the mission home and had breakfast with the Mission President and his Wife. It was so amazing they are so sweet. We were there until after lunch just going over things we needed to know for the mission. Then they took us back to the Stake Center. When we got there most of the missionaries in our field were standing in the hall way singing Called to Serve. It was an amazing experience. They had us go in to the chapel and there were some more missionaries lined up and they were our trainers. So we all walked down the line and shook their hands.  President Preston had us sit on the stand and he then he introduced us to the missionaries and our new companions. When he got to me he said my name and then asked if any of them new Elder Ballantyne. Quite a few raised their hands. Then he told them that I was his cousin and they all were surprised that there was an intake of breath. Which reminds me will you let Kevin know that someone he met or taught has gotten baptized. Her name is Michelle H. I can't remember her last name. She was in Littleborugh. My new companions/trainers are Sister Hansen from Idaho, and Sister Longmore from California. They are so nice and funny. Sister Longmore is a lot like me. After the introductions we went to our flat and then went and got a few groceries. Then we went Street contacting. It was so much fun!!!! We knocked on the door of a less active women and she was so sweet. She let us in and told us that she had converted to Muslim. It was so interesting to hear about her belief, and she listened to us about ours. They ended up having me teacher her the story about Joseph Smith and the First Vision. I was so nervous but i think it went really well!! I am learning so many things already. It has just been a great experience so far.

I have a pamphlet of all of the church history sites we visited and I took lots and lots of pictures. It was so beautiful I never wanted to forget it;)

I love you all so much and I will write again on Monday.  We were able to write today because we did not have time yesterday. Just so you know when ever it is a transfer week P-day will be on Wednesday.

I hope you all have a great rest of the week!!!!!!

Sincerly
Sister Ballantyne

P.s. I am in Chorley so I am exactly just down the street from the MTC and the Temple. We have Zone conference next week so we are going to the Temple on Wednesday. I am so excited!!!!!!!!!

i swear i sent my sister out... but i dont know what they have done since...

ENGLAND MISSIONARY TRAINING CENTRE

Temple Way, Hartwood Green, Chorley,

Lancashire, PR6 7EQ, England                                       

November 17, 2012

Dear Brother and Sister Ballantyne,

Your son will be departing from the England Missionary Training Centre on Wednesday November 21.  We want you to know how much we have enjoyed having him with us.

Elder Ballantyne is a fine young man and we are grateful for the opportunity we have had to work with him on a daily basis.  He is well-prepared for his mission and he continues each day to grow spiritually.  He is developing good teaching skills and is excited about the work.  He will soon be ready for full time service in the England Manchester Mission.

We love this young man and are grateful to you for all you have done to prepare him for this wonderful time in his life.  Your love and continued support are important to his success.   Letters from home are always greatly anticipated and appreciated.  Please address all future mail to:

England Manchester Mission

Spring Wood Suite G5

Booths Park

Knutsford

WA16 8QZ

May you and your family be blessed as he continues to serve our Heavenly Father.

Sincerely,

President and Sister Walker

President and Sister Walker

President and Sister  Williams

Email from 11/13/12

We went on a Church History Trip on Sunday and it was amazing!!!!! We walked around England and it was beautiful we stopped at President Hinckley's apartment and took pictures it was even better because we got to take a picture with his daughter right in front of the building. I love it here so much it is so rich with history!!!

Oh man I miss the snow:( send me pictures please!!!!

(We informed her that there was a death in the family) I started crying really bad and my compainions sitting next to me thought i was crazy;) I kind of already knew something bad was going to happen because of the dream i had last nigtht. I had a dream that you were bringing lexie here and I told you not to because you would need her home and I asked you if I could come home and you told me no that I needed to be here and there would be nothing I could do at home to help!!! there was some other stuff as well that when I woke up I was crying and I was furious with you!!!! I will tell you that part when I come home. I am so glad that I was able to go to the temple today because I really needed it. Don't worry I am not mad at you now!!! And I hated the feeling of being mad at you!!! I love you so much and miss you everyday!! It is so hard not to call you every morning and talk to you every night:) I guess this is better than nothing!!!

pics 11/18/12

New Pics!! 11/9/12

Email from 11/6/12

I miss giving you your morning call!! Yes i have had a few ruff times already. I have just wanted to run to a phone to call home or to a computer to see if I have had emails. I wanted to be able to talk to my mom who was one of the few people that could help me figure things out and calm down. But I couldn't so I did the one thing that I haven't really done in a long time. Before I went to bed on Friday night I knelt down to pray and to talk to my Heavenly Father. I told him about my anxiety and about missing my family and friends, and that I didn't know what to do about it. I asked him if he could help me to feel better and I told him that I would ask for a Presthood blessing if that is what I needed. So I went to bed that night planning on asking for a blessing and in the morning my nervous feelings were gone and I wasn't as anxious to get to a computer or phone. I have really learned to rely on the lord here and I am so greatful for that experience.

The weather feels like Utah here I am loving every bit of it;) We went to the market today and a gentlemen at one of the stores was talking about how the people in Britain hate the rain. I told him that I love the rain and he told me that I should go to the hospital and get a shot so that I would become British!!! Ya, we have exersice every day so I get to go running with my companions!! I love our relief society room it is so cute, but right before that picture was taken we had all been crying. Because they asked us why we were on a mission what had brought us to this point in our lives. We have our own Sunday services in the MTC. Yes I have shown them a little bit of my crazy bubbly side but mainly only to the sisters.

I have 3 companions now and it is a blast they are all amazing and I love them so much. Sister Francis is from Vermont. She pretty much just go the rain part of storm Sandy. She will be going to the Scottland Ireland mission. Then there is Sister Nkosi and she is from South Africa. She will be going to my Mission. And then there is Sister Lohmann, and she will be going to the Alpine mission in Switserland Austria. And then there are 2 other sisters one is Sister Voth she is Cambodia and Finland. She will be going to the Finland Helsinky Mission. And there is Sister Albalnese, and she is from Cicely Italy. She is also going to the Scottland Ireland. And apparently we have one more sister coming and she is Sister Kinikini. She is coming from the Provo MTC.

I have had my first 2 investigators already and i have another one tonight. They are complete opposites so far and it is a great experience to teach each and every one of them. They are just teachers in the MTC. They are playing investigators that they taught while on there missions.  I am learning so many new things and I am loving it. I miss you guys so much.

I love you tons

Sincerly

Sister Ballantyne

MTC the first day!!

Second Letter Home! 11/1/2012

There were 5 all together but 2 of them went to argentina so there were only 3 on the plane to England!! One is from Utah and the other is from Rexburg Idaho. They are really nice and helped me alot. We all were out of our element.

 

Some are from Germany, Finland, England, Africa, and USA.

 

The Sister from the East Coast will be here monday. I saw a little bit but not that much.

 

I just got my district in the MTC i will be in the Hinckley Zone and the Nephi District. I also just got my first companion while in the MTC her name is Sister Lohman. She is from Germany she just said it is good to have a compaion from the USA so that she can work on her English;) It is pretty good right now. She is really nice. I kinda felt bad because the first time i met her she came into our room and i was asleep. I kinda woke up and she introduced herself to me and i said hi and fell back asleep so i had to apologize later.

 

Hope everything is going good:) Love you lots!!!!

First Letter Home!! 11/1/2012

Yes i made it safely!!!!!

I am supposed to let you know that Preparation Days are on Tuesdays so you will be able to hear from me then!!!

It is so beautiful hear!!!! A lot of it reminds me of the Logan area because of all of the trees:) The plane ride was alright it was really uncomfortable. There were 5 of us me being the only girl when we left salt lake. When we got to atlanta 2 missionarys flew to argentina and the 2 other elders and i came to england. It was funny while we were waiting for our flight to atlanta the elders were talking and the one you asked to help me kept looking for me cause he didn't know that i was sitting right behind them the whole time! He told one of the other Elders that he was looking for me because i asked him to help. The other elder asked him if i was cute and if he wanted to set me up with someone! I couldn't stop laughing;) I am the only girl right now sp o got to choose what bed i wanted. President williams picked us up at the airport he is really nice. He said that we were the fastest group out of the airport in a long time. I was in the isle seat the whole time so i couldn't really see out the window what i could see were clouds. All the missionarys were seperated on the flights so we all sat but different people. I was worried at first and a little scared but then i just thought of it as a giant flying bus and i was just fine. The MTC is so amazing and beautiful i will send pictures when i can and the temple is just as amazing if not better!!!! Everything is so beautiful. I love the look of the old houses. I feel so at home here the people are so nice and it reminds me of home. We haven' t had any lessons yet they are waiting for the rest of the group to get here and they should be her sometime to night all except 2 sisters. We should have 27 missionarys all together when the sisters get here. One sister didn't get her visa in time so she is in the Provo MTC. And the other is on the East Coast so she cant really leave right now. I miss Everyone so much!!!!!!! Ya we got to the connecting flight just fine. That airport is huge!!!!! we had to ride a tram to get to the other gate!!! Every one was really nice!!!

I love you guys so much and look forward to hearing from you !!!

Todays the Day!

 She has officially left and is half way there!! It was so hard this morning to let her go. She was so nervous but we could tell she was ready and excited!

 Saying good bye <3