HAPPY MUM'S DAY!

So yesterday was UK Mother's Day, so Happy Mum's Day to everyone!!

THE SUN CAME OUT!

Tuesday we were supposed to go to Ireland....but I forgot my passport in the car that is getting maintenance work done. I hope you are all happy to know that despite living in a foreign country without my parents for the past year, I still manage to goof up. Maturity is real, responsibility is still a work in progress though....Oh well, we had good times working in Edinburgh, instead.

So the beginning of this week was absolutely freezing and it was pouring and life was kinda rough. Then one day, the sun came out. And man, it was beautiful! We've had sunshine for the past three days now, and it's like Christmas came early! Yesterday it got up to 15 degrees!! I am basically tan. Basically.....

 We had a couple of awesome exchanges!! Sister Six and Sister Hebbert. I went on exchanges with them about 10 months ago, it's crazy how time flies and we're right back where we started! Seeing their progress is inspiring. 

Today, we are not sure what we're going to do. Possible the beach by Tantallon Castle again, it's supposed to get up to 13 degrees today and be sunny til evening. To be honest, it doesn't really matter where we go, this squad can manage to make it a fun day anywhere. But, Google Seacliff Beach in Scotland- you'll see it's practically heaven!

Thought for the week: Yesterday in church a woman shared about her mother. She shared about the Christlike attributes she had, and in what ways her mother was an example. On my mission I have been striving to attain different attributes that our Savior has. He is our perfect example! This woman  shared however, that we don't need to be perfect to be Christlike. That rang so true for me! None of us are perfect, but we can still work on becoming more like Jesus Christ and be happy with the progress we are making. 

Love you all!

-Sister Stapley

Galalalalalalalashiels and Lessons!

Crazy week here!

On Sunday we had quite a different day. We went out to church in Galashiels! Our friend, Cat, lives out there, so we took her to church to introduce her to everyone. Oh my days, Galashiels is beautiful!!! There's a whole bunch of farms and sheep and highland cows, I love it! I could die happy out there for sure. 

Our friend, Cat

We attended a little branch and the amount of spirit felt there is insane. We were in the middle of nowhere in Scotland with about 20 people in this little meeting house. These people give so much to build the kingdom where they live. Cat's baptism is planned for the 29th. We had a very special experience with her this week. So, the Piano Guys were the ones that got her interested in learning about the Mormons. One of the Piano Guys recently lost a daughter and that led Cat to pray and want to learn more about the church.  Well, that same Piano Guy has a son in our mission. Cat got to meet him and tell her story. We all felt his sister was present in the room.  We truly have help from above in this work.

Wednesday, we instructed at the new leadership training meeting. It went well! This mission has some amazing leaders, they just keep getting better and better.  Let me just say, though, we are nothing without the Holy Ghost. The Spirit works through us as we instruct. We could not do this on our own. So grateful for the spirit. It's fun that so many mission friends come to the mission home for training and the great reunions we have. This mission really is family!!

Tuesday, all the new missionaries arrived and we gave instructions the whole morning and afternoon. Again, it went well! The new missionaries are awesome, they are going to do some great things here!

Getting ready for leadership training.

 We met a girl, Lavinia, from Italy. We were talking to people in the city and she immediately sets an appointment. She has been meaning to find Mormons and meet up. We taught her and she said she was just curious, but by the end of the lesson she agreed to meet with us more. We told her the gospel blesses families and learned that is what interests her the most. We showed her the Family Proclamation to the world. SHE LOVED IT!!

Throughout the week we've been meeting with Collin. He is so great, we've been meeting with him for over a month now. He'll be getting baptised in a couple weeks! It's been quite the journey, he has come so far! He's gone from thinking there was no god, to believing and understanding he is a child of God. We are so happy with the joy he has found. 

 Monday, we hiked Pratt's Hill, it was so windy! Then we played frisbee at the park. Classic. I have played so much frisbee in the past couple transfers, it's insane. I'm gonna be a straight boss when I get home. Jokes, I still can't throw to save my life. We started playing frisbee for morning exercise.  6:30 at the fields with the 8 elders. It's so fun, honestly the best way to start out the day! Over the summer all the missionaries in Edinburgh would play and now that the sun rises earlier, we get to play in the morning again!

Tomorrow we fly back to Dublin again! WOO!! Literally frequent flyer. I'll have some good pics for next week! We've got exchanges on exchanges on exchanges as well,  it's gonna be a busy next couple weeks. Life is flying by, I can't believe it's almost April!

Hope you all are well, love you loads!

-Sister Stapley

I found Paradise on P-day!

Well. I don't even know how to describe this last week, so many adventures went down! We'll start with Monday.

We all climbed into Bertha (the huge mission van) in the morning and set off to a castle. We got there and realized it cost money to enter, which is something we don't have! So, we decided to keep driving until we found another one. Shoot dang. Tantallon castle. We roll up and start exploring. It was the most beautiful place ever!

 

 It's right on the cliffside, so we ran around climbing all over everything and taking pics. We played rugby and frisbee on the grounds, as well. Oh my days, it was so much fun!! Then we climbed back into Bertha and drove to the beach. This beach is what heaven will look like. We played frisbee again and ran around avoiding the waves. It was the best!!

Tuesday, we went to Montrose for a district meeting. It was a nice drive and a great meeting. Our friend, Elder Stevens, goes home this week. It was great to be in one last meeting with him. 

Wednesday, I went on exchanges with Sister Petersen! It was great to have a little reunion. 

Thursday, we flew to Dublin! It was the rockiest landing of my life. Like, I almost died. Not really...but the university aged dude sitting next to me screamed like a little girl!  That was entertaining. The day in Dublin was amazing! I was with Sister Kotter right in the city center. We met so many people!! Oh my days, I love that city with all my heart. 

Friday, we had a leadership training meeting in the morning. It went really well, there are a couple new tools that are being introduced to help the missionaries out. It was great to hear from President Thompson and President Kerr, the counselors in the Mission Presidency. They are both such amazing leaders, I have learned so much from them! After the meeting, we grabbed Vietnamese food with Boon, and then went out to teach a couple lessons. I got to see Bruno again! It's always good to go back to my city.

Saturday morning, we flew home flippin early. It was a great flight with lots of fun conversations and stuff. Then we went straight to the Scotland leadership training. Same meeting, but the vibe was totally different. It's crazy how the context can be the same, but people will get totally different reactions.

Sunday was a great stake conference at church. We had a lot of friends attend and the talks were so great! A lot of the speakers are recent converts who shared their conversion stories. It was so powerful! 

Hope everyone is doing well, I love you all!

Marching along!

Office work!

 Monday, we had a beach day! We played frisbee in the sand, and man it was absolutely freezing!! It was so much fun though, getting out and running around! Today, I think we'll be going on a hike somewhere.

Tuesday, we drove to Glasgow in the morning for a meeting. Glasgow is a huge city, it definitely doesn't look like Edinburgh! We came back afterwards and got to work on a couple things. 

Highlight of the week...we got loads of food! Someone made us a quinoua salad, we got curry, pizza, cheeky Nandos, cake cookies, 5 guys, a good fry, the list goes on and on! It sounds dumb, but this week we were so blessed by delicious food.

At church on Sunday, there was a broadcast for all the Northern Europe countries. There were a lot of great talks, it was cool seeing how specific the talks were to what people here are going through! Definitely give it a look, I'm sure it's on LDS.org.

Other than that, it was a pretty chill week! Paxy and I didn't have a single exchange, so that was nice to be comps for a whole week. This next week we head down to Dublin again (YES!) and I'll get a couple good exchanges in. It'll be good craic. 

Thanks for all the emails, and I hope you all have an awesome week!

-Sister Stapley

Mardi Gras in the Burgh!

My Dublin sunrise!

Goooooooood morning everyone!

Where to start this week... well, Tuesday we had exchanges! I was with Sister Sun and Sister Tiffany. They are both pretty new, but man, they are amazing! They both speak Chinese, so it was cool to be able to learn from them how to teach people with different backgrounds. I love them both!    

Thursday, we flew over to Ireland. WOO BACK TO DUBLIN! Storm Doris tried to stop us, but I was not having it!   The flight was delayed a couple hours but we finally made it. We worked the day in Dublin on exchanges. I got Star Pizza (a Dublin must), talked to loads of Brazilians, and got to hang out with my best friend, Sister Hall, all day. Literally, amazing day!

The Emerald Isle

Friday, we took a bus down to Limerick. It is such a beautiful drive! I got to spend the day with Sister Schulze. She is from Germany and has only been out a couple weeks. We met a ton of cool people and had pancakes for dinner with a member. I ate so many!




Saturday, we bussed back to Dublin to catch our flight back to Edinburgh. I was exhausted, it was a long week of traveling. I'm also a little sick, but nothing too bad. It was hard to leave Dublin again, but I'll be back soon :)

Mardi Gras Dinner with Avril

Sunday, we had a good day at church and then went to our friend Avril's house for dinner. She is from  Cajun country, Texas. It was Mardi Gras, so she made corn bread, a king cake, and my favorite....GUMBO!!!! Oh my days, it was a miracle. I ate so much, it was so delicious! I felt like I was back visiting the South.

Yes, a picture of my food.  It was THAT good!

Today we're going to the beach because it is a BEAUTIFUL day!  Ya- it may only be 2 degrees Celsius- but hey- the SUN is out!

I also can't believe it's almost March. Like what...... I don't like how fast time is flying. I want to stay here forever! haha

Love you all!

-Sister Stapley