Literally everything happened this week!

Okay, this has been a crazy week. I'm going to throw everything out there and hope it makes sense.  First, here's the pictures from Stephen's baptism last week. 

 

Monday-We went to Glendalough!!! The pictures I send won't do it justice. Honestly, the most beautiful place I've ever been. We trailblazed for about 2 hours, then went and played in the river for while. It is a must see, literally so flippin' amazing.

Tuesday-We had exchanges with Sister Sly, who I love to pieces! We talked to our friend Boon that day, who was set to get baptized on Monday. But then it moved to Sunday. SURPRISE!!!! So our friend Boon, from Thailand, was baptized on Sunday :) 

We were in a trio for the week with Sister Hall, whose comp went home early. Sister Hall is just the best person ever, we had way too much fun.

Wednesday-In Belfast! I love that city so much!!! It was so nice to go home :) Sister Lumbama and I had a great day!

Thursday-In Limerick!! My first time in the city, it was beautiful!! Sister Hebbert is awesome, I love her so much!

Sunday-Boon's baptism was amazing :) :) :)

 

 "4-SWAG" in honor of Boon's baptism!

 Then........Moves call!!!!!!.  I'm staying in Dublin, and Sister Garner will come be an STL with me. She is honestly one of my best friends out here, I am excited to serve with her.  Sister Petersen (my dear Petey) is moving to Belfast.   I've had so much fun serving with her and will miss her soooo much!

This is moves week, I'll be driving up to Belfast today, hopefully I'll have some fun stories to share!!

Great week. I'm exhausted. Love you lots!!!!!!!

Week of Miracles!!

**All photo credits go to 2 friends that visited Ireland and Scotland this past week.  Thank you Julia and Rebecca!!"

Mission home in Edinburgh  Megan loves spending time here.  This is the first picture we've seen.

 Wow, I honestly can't believe it, we're over halfway through September! Craziness...It's flown.

Our friend Stephen got baptized this week!! WOOOO!! It was such a great experience, he was sooooo happy! I love seeing the change in people's lives as they come to realize they are children of God. People raise their head a little higher, smile a little bigger, and have a lot more hope for the future. It's great!

Thanks for the photo-Julia!  So glad you got to visit with Meg!

It was nice to catch up with Julia this week! She was visiting Ireland on a study abroad, so we met up for some classic Seattle Starbucks. The Starbucks in Dublin is actually the only place open 24 hours in the whole city.   Julia is awesome, it was so nice to hear about her baptism and share with her what we get to do out here as missionaries. 

We spent Tuesday in Bray, a tiny coastal town near Dublin. It's beautiful there!!

We have a friend named Boon from Thailand, and he's probably getting baptized a week from today! He's struggling to get off work to be able to come to church, but we are praying that it all works out :)

We had exchanges this week, I got to be with Sister Lehtimaki from Finland and Sister Sams! It was so nice to be able to catch up with them, I love having friends from all over the mission!

We met a girl named Alannah. She is from California, but has lived here for the past 2 years. I LOVE HER SO MUCH! Literally, she is the coolest person ever.  She came to Stephen's baptism, and felt the peace so strong. We're really tight with her and I'm excited to see what's in store!

 This next week we're driving up to Belfast and down to Limerick for exchanges. One sister is going home because of knee pain, so we're picking up her companion to be in a trio with us for a week. It's Sister Hall from Denmark, one of my besties out here :) It'll be a fun week!

Love you all, hope you have an awesome week! Thanks for all you do :)

-Sister Stapley

 **Here's a few more pictures taken at the mission home.

Office missionaries accepting the package for Megan.  Thanks for delivering the goods, Becky!!  Megan requested her big, black, fluffy sweater, Product 19 cereal, and Sour Patch Kids.  Sister Petersen and Sister Sams have goodies in there, too!

That Target bag is waiting for Megan in the mail room. She'll be in Edinburgh next week.

David O. McKay's inspiration.  "Where e'er thou art, act well they part." This sits on the lawn at the mission home.

All Over the Emerald Isle!

What a great week! On Wednesday we drove to Belfast and back, on Thursday we were in Dublin, and on Friday we drove to Limerick and back.  At Zone Conferences, different teams of missionaries instruct the zone (around 20 missionaries) on different missionary skills and things that are good to know. It's always a very uplifting meeting and I love how the instructions are different for each zone to help personalize what is needed. President Donaldson comes to every one and sits down with every missionary for a bit to catch up. I don't know how he does it, he is the best! He loves all the missionaries here so much! I'm so happy to be able to call him my friend :)

We went on two exchanges this week. I was with Sister McOmber and Sister Ligertwood. Both of them are such great missionaries and it was a blast to be with them for the day! 

We have a baptism this week!!!! Our friend Stephen is getting baptized on Saturday :) He is Irish (finally...an Irish convert!!!) and we met him a couple weeks ago. We gave him a Book of Mormon, and when we saw him the next day, he had read 12 chapters of it!! He is sooooo golden, he loves coming to church, he loves reading the Book of Mormon, and he just gets the gospel! I'll send pics next week :) :)

On our road trip to Limerick, there was a petrol station named the  'Barack Obama Plaza'. So naturally, we went to check it out. Turns out that Obama visited this petrol station years ago, and so they named the whole flippin plaza after him. It's literally a gas station in the middle of nowhere. Obama stopped in for a second, and they named the whole thing after him. It's the best thing ever. 

This week we talked a lot about how the Spirit guides us in everything. 2 Nephi 32:5 shared about how the Holy Ghost will show us what we should do, if we do our part and "enter in by the way". We need to turn to God for help, trusting we will receive an answer. Then we can be led in all things. And boy, do we need it. There is a lot of craziness in the world today, and we are all at stages where we need to make important decisions about our future. Luckily, the Holy Ghost is given to us to guide us in the right direction.

Love you lots, have a great week!!!

110 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS!!

Just because I'm on a mission doesn't mean I've forgotten the 2nd most important day of the year!  110 days until Christmas, everyone!!  

 

MLC friends

We had two exchanges this week, I got to be companions with Sister Coons and Sister Calahan. They are both new missionaries, but they are powerhouses! I am so excited to see what they do here in the next 18 months.

We had MLC (mission leadership council) this week!! We flew to Edinburgh Thursday morning supes early, the Elders almost missed the plane! Then we had a great meeting at the mission home! We were able to sit around and talk about how we can help move the work forward. Then we had some extra time, so Sister Paxman and I got to go on exchanges and talk to people in Edinburgh, just like old times! I love her so much, it was so nice to see her! Then we flew back to Dublin around 10. It was a longgggg day. 

The sky over Scotland was brilliant!

Other than that, we've been working hard, teaching a lot, and meeting a lot of amazing people!

Waiting for our flight!

Well, that's really all for this week, but we have loads of Zone Conferences this next week, so I'll have lots of fun stories :) We'll be headed to Belfast on Wednesday, be in Dublin Thursday, and then to Limerick Friday. Limerick is the last stop for me in the mission, the only zone I've never been to! It'll be sooooo fun!!! Sister Petersen and I are instructing on the Holy Ghost and how the Spirit makes all the difference in missionary work. Wish me luck!

Love you all lots, have a great week, talk to you all later!!

Edinburgh from our plane.

Workin' for the Weekend....and every other day!!

Helloooooo erbody! It's been a pretty good week, we've met some incredible people and made a lot of good memories! 

 

We got to learn Irish Sign Language from a deaf man, Sean, in our ward. It was pretty cool, but not gonna lie, American Sign Language makes a ton more sense in my head!

We went on exchanges twice this week, it was really fun. Once with Sister Fisher, who is just the sweetest human being on earth. Then with Sister Bradley, who is new to the mission.  Both were a ton of fun! 

Sweeping the driveway with my friend, Danny!

Highlight of the week: We got to do hardcore yard work on Saturday! Our friend, Ali, has an awesome house that she rents out on AirBRN. Two travelers that came through are members of the church from Texas. They invited her to church and she loved it! She has recently broken her foot, so a group of us went over and helped out around the house. IT WAS SO FUN! She's also a gourmet chef, so dinner wasn't bad at all.... :) We shared the Book of Mormon with her and with Anna, an Italian girl staying with Ali. They both absolutely loved it! They loved the historical background of the Nephites and the Lamanites and how Jesus Christ visited more than just Jerusalem when he was resurrected. It was hands down the coolest lesson I have ever been a part of!

 

Yard work crew stops for lunch!

 MLC is this next week, so we're flying out to Edinburgh Thursday morning, having a bomb diggity inspiring council, and then flying back to Dublin on Thursday night. I'll have some fun stories and cool pictures next week!

2 Nephi 26:24 is a scripture that has come to mean more and more to me on my mission. Everything Jesus Christ did while he was on Earth, He did for us. He set the example of how we can be perfect, and then suffered for us so we can have that chance to try again and again. None of us will get it right the first time, but that's alright. We realize what we need to change, and then we need to actually change it. Christ already paid the price for our mistakes. It's the greatest show of love we could ever experience! 

Love you all!!

-Sister Stapley