Meetings on meetings on meetings!

4/24/17

What a great week, full of meetings, but it was good non-the-less!

Colin's baptism. with Elders Bradshaw, Giles, and Moore

On Tuesday we had a new leadership training. We instructed the new STLs and DLs, they are going to help the mission so much!  It's great to see the up and coming leadership.

Wednesday, the new missionaries came in. They are also such powerhouses! Honestly, every missionary that comes in is better than the previous. It's going to be an amazing two years for them. We got to climb Pratt's hill as well, Sister Six and I got to talk about everything we are going to accomplish this transfer. It's gonna be a good one! 

 

Thursday, we had MLC. It was also a great meeting! The new STLs are going to crush it, I'm so proud of them! It was great to see all my friends as well. 

Our friend Dylan is getting baptised this Wednesday! He is from the Caribbean, is 20, and is a professional paintballer. Literally, he's the coolest! When I stopped him on the street we had a nice conversation about how faith can lead to happiness, and here he is two weeks later getting baptised! What a boss. 

Sister Six is an awesome companion. We are so similar! We've been having loads of fun and have gotten a lot of work done. 

I have had the opportunity to learn a lot about agency lately. We have all been given the gift of agency, the gift to be able to choose for ourselves. The commandment are given so when we choose righteously, we receive blessings. We cannot be forced to obey, or even do it complacently. Blessings from commandments only come when we choose for ourselves. When we choose poorly, we end up in situations that limit our agency and have negative consequences. By simply choosing the right, we ensure that we keep our gift of agency and get to accomplish all we need to.

Love you all so much, I hope you have a wonderful week!!

Stayin' in the Burgh!

Paxy and I have served together for 5 months.

With Paxy in the Burgh

4/17/17
I'm staying in Edinburgh! My new companion will be Sister Six. She was my very first exchange back in June last year. She is a chiller, I'm so excited! We are gonna have a good transfer :)

We went to Stirling for a day. Sister Brousseau and I got to spend the day together, it was so good to catch-up! I love her so much, and it was great to be in Stirling.

We had to stop by Glasgow for some business, that was fun! It's a huge city.

Monday, we went to the beach and had a bbq! It was so good, we grilled pineapple and everything. Best day ever :)

Sorry I don't have loads of time to email, it's moves week so we have a lot of work to do.

Love you!!!! HAPPY EASTER!!!!

My Petey is heading home

From Aberdeen to Dub City!

We packed so much into this week!!

 

Monday night, we drove up to Aberdeen for a conference. Sister Paxman, Elder Tullis, Elder Jones, and I instructed on planning and how to use the new Daily Planning Aid to best use every hour of the day. It went really well! I also got to catch up with some of my friends from Ireland that I hadn't seen in ages. Driving home from Aberdeen was a party as well, we had good banter. 

I had an exchange with Sister Wayne this week. She's been out about a month, but she is already a boss! Her teaching skills are really good and we had fun finding throughout the day.

 

That night, after the exchange, we flew to Dublin. WOOT! No problems flying over, but we didn't get to the flat til about 1am....ouch. It was a late night. The day in Dublin was great! We saw Boon, taught loads of Brazilians, ate delicious food, life was good :) I was with Sister Jorgensen, she is always good craic. 

 

Hanging with the Dub squad!

 

 

Boon made us a picnic!

Highlight of the week!!  We flew back in time for our friend Colins' baptism! He is a legend. We've been teaching him for about 2 months now, and he's had the coolest journey! He's from Scotland and is super solid. It was a great baptism, I got to speak about baptism. It went really well. Afterwards, the members had pizza and biscuits for us. It was so good, they just made it an awesome experience for Colin!

Wow, long one this week. Another bonus: the sun is out!!!!! It comes up around half 6 and doesn't set till about 8. Honestly it is such a blessing! The sun makes people so much happier here. I love it!

 

For P-day, we went to the Pentlands reservoir and explored a bit. It was so windy, it was actually crazy! We played capture the flag and frisbee. After all that, we came back to the mission home and played some games. We played signs, which went amazing haha. Then we played the cereal box game. It's where you have to bend down and pick up a cereal box with your mouth without your knees or hands touching the floor. You rip off a layer of the box every round, until at the end, it's just a piece of cardboard on the ground. Plot twist, I actually managed to get it. It was hilarious, but man I was so sore the next day!!

 

Food highlight of the week: Howies. It's this really nice British restaurant. A member from Washington took us. I had Cullen Skink...... it's actually amazing, despite the name. haha

 

Thank you all for everything, I hope everyone has a happy Easter! Remember the reason for it :) Love you!!

-Sister Stapley

Getting Tan!

On Tuesday we had an all Scotland conference. We presented about some new planning aids and it went pretty well.  It was fun seeing everyone, conferences are the best! We played a few fun games afterwards. In one game, we tried to eat a whole apple (core and everything) in three bites. Oh my days, my abs still hurt from laughing!!

Wednesday, we had exchanges. I was with....SISTER GARNER!!! Reunited! We had so much fun and taught some really cool people! There was a baptism that night for our friend, Victor. We went and took our friend, Cat.  She loved it! Sister Garner played the piano for a bit afterwards, it was so fun hearing her play again!

 

We had a couple other exchanges through the week. I was with Sister Muller from Switzerland. We had good fun! The best part of the week was definitely the sunshine!! Believe it or not....I'm getting tan :) Or more freckles....whatever. The sun has been absolutely beautiful! The joke is that this is our 2 weeks of summer, then it'll rain until I go home. But hey, I'll take what I can get!

General  Conference was good craic! I watched at the church with Rosen, Elder Stoker, and Elder Wright. We watched the AM sessions live, and went back the next day for the recorded PM sessions. I loved the talks about charity, they really seemed to stress the importance of loving everyone! When it comes down to it, treating others with love is the most important attribute we could ever obtain. 

Love you all so much, hope you get sunshine too!!

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!