Transfer 1 Round Up

Warning: If you're looking for continuity and coherent thought, you've come to the wrong place.  This week marks the official end of my first transfer out here on the mish, and to celebrate I thought I'd do a more casual blog. Just kind of a loose handful of things I've thought about over the last six weeks and not so much moralising. 

First things first, I love the mission. This whole 'living in England' thing is really working for me. It's gorgeous here, even when the locals think it isn't. Maybe it's just that I'm from a desert and there are actual trees here, I don't know. I also really love how simple this life is. It's hard, but it's straightforward. I have one purpose. To invite others to come unto Christ. Everything centres on that. It's great.

English food is actually really good. (I warned you that this would be all over the place) The classic English roast is amazing, of course, but then you get stuff like roasties, which are potatoes, and Yorkshire puddings and roasted parsnips. Oh man, the parsnips were good. The only slightly unfortunate thing is that they put gravy on everything. Every dinner appointment we've had has involved quite a lot of gravy. Now gravy is good, don't get me wrong. But Sister Pickett and I are feeling that gravy on some of these hills we bike up. It's a rough life. ;) Really though. I'm trying to figure out how to politely suggest less gravy, because I feel like I'm drowning in it.

So, for the first few weeks, basically all of October, the weather here was beautiful. Like, amazingly beautiful. No rain, sunshine and blue skies. The leaves were all turning colours, and the world was a happy place. Then, no joke, as soon as November hit, the weather did a 180. November 1st, there was this wicked awesome fog that rolled in. Proper spooky, that was. Especially riding past the cemetery in town. Creepy. Anyway! Wet and cold is the life we live here. Rain is every day. Maybe not pouring, but if you're ever trying to envision what it's like for me out here, start with some kind of rain and you'll be on the right track. It's lovely though. Way nice. Nothing could make England unpleasant. I'm convinced. Short of a nuclear holocaust.

What else? Bike riding has become as natural as breathing. Although, with some of the hills we go up, breathing can feel pretty unnatural. My bike is awesome. Good little road bike. Everything works really well, except when I hit the front brakes, they squeal pretty bad. They work, they just complain about it the whole time. As a result, I've decided to name my bike Myrtle, as in Moaning Myrtle. Ah, Myrtle. What a character.

I guess I should talk about the actual work a little bit. Right now, we're having a hard time holding appointments, but we have a couple of people that we are teaching who are awesome people. Courtney is the first person we started teaching, and she is fantastic. She's 16, and the daughter of a less active who has been wanting her to learn from the missionaries for awhile, but he was waiting for sister to come. Now that we're here, she's making good progress. She's accepted baptism, but we're having a hard time really teaching her because she's so busy. We pray for her all the time. To be honest, if you could spare a minute for her, it would be awesome if you guys could pray for her too.  This is something that I know will be so good for her in her life. Not only that, but as she's learned more, Steve, her dad, has expressed an increasing desire to come back to church. This is so important for both of them. 

Other than those two lovely people, we are teaching Oliver, who is the most British man to ever British. You should hear him talk about his gardening. He is always wearing a tie. Always. He's 68, and he lives in this beautiful house that he's more than a little proud of. Anyway, he has a great faith in God and a desire to do His will, but he won't come to church, and we can't figure out why. He says he wants to come to church, but he never does. It's trying. But he's in the Lord's hands, and all we can do is keep loving and keep praying.

It's hard, but I love it. Everyday out in the field is hard work, loving and caring for people you don't even really know. But they're God's children, and we're here for them. It is so worth it. Even the smallest good thing makes me so happy. There are miracles happening left right and centre and it's a beautiful time to be alive.

Alright, back to the truly unimportant things. So I realised about a year ago that I am lactose intolerant, which makes so much sense. But I didn't really act like it for a long time, because not eating dairy is hard. First of all, it's hard to avoid. But also, I love cheese and butter and chocolate every now and then was really nice. However! I've drawn the line and finally gone dairy free. I drink the fake lactose free milk stuff, I don't eat cheese anymore, and I even found this fake lactose free butter! It's kind of fun, actually. I sometimes have to get creative with what I eat. One time, we were out of pretty much everything at the end of the week, and all we had for breakfast was cereal. I didn't have any fake milk left, but I refused to eat it dry. So I found some juice that we had and put that on it. Juice cereal. Delicious. Honestly though, it wasn't half bad. I probably won't do it again unless I have to, but it's an option.

I talked about rain a little bit before, but Imma talk about it again because rain is a huge part of life. There are many types of rain. I won't repeat Forrest Gump's list, but I would like to add a few. There's heavy rain, light rain, but most dangerous of all is stealth rain. Stealth rain is, as far as I'm aware, unique to England. It looks like... Like a mix between snow and mist. It doesn't really look like anything at all. And then ten minutes later you're completely drenched. It sneaks up behind you and just... I don't even know how it works! It doesn't even look like it's raining, and then you're wet. Crazy.

One last completely random thing. There are cats everywhere here. Everywhere. I'm beginning to think that they're using Cannock as a place to amass an army for the imminent cat invasion. Everybody seems to own cats, but no one seems to care whether those cats are in their house or not. So the cats are running loose in the streets. And staring at us from windows. Good stuff.

We had a special conference two days ago. It was a mission conference, where we met with the entire England Birmingham Mission to hear from Elder M. Russell Ballard. It was a magnificent opportunity. Even more incredible was the fact that Sister Pickett and I were asked to put together a musical item for that conference. We sang with two other sisters from Wales. We sang "Joseph Smith's First Prayer" to the tune of "Come Thou Fount". It was really special, and an amazing privilege. Listening to Elder Ballard, sitting at the feet of an apostle and learning from him was a powerful experience. 

I love you all so much, and I'm looking forward to another great transfer here in Cannock. 

God is good, life is great! Talk to you soon,

Sister Pike

Buckle Up

So in the third Harry Potter movie, there's this crazy wizard bus called the Knight Bus that has these shrunken heads hanging on the rear view mirror. The heads can talk, and the entire time the bus is driving, they make snarky comments in stereotypical Jamaican accents.  I tell you this because there's a road that Sister Pickett and I bike down all the time, and it's really bumpy. Very extremely bumpy. It's almost guaranteed that every time we go over it, Sister Pickett will say, in a barely Jamaican accent, "It's gonna be a bumpy ride!" To which I invariably respond, also in a Jamaican accent, "Take it away, Ernie!" It's from the movie, I promise.

"But Sister Pike," you may be thinking, "What does this have to do with the nature of missionary work?" Boy am I glad you asked. The phrase "it's gonna be a bumpy ride" is an incredibly accurate description of mission life. Sometimes it's just a bit of a bumpy road, but a majority of the time it's a veritable emotional roller coaster. There are good days and bad days, of course. Then there are the days where you feel fine one minute, and then something happens and you drop like it's the Tower of Terror. And then 20 minutes later you're feeling great again. I've begun to wonder how long my sanity will last. Maybe it's gone already! Maybe I never had it....

Seriously though, it's a wild ride. My catchphrase for the past couple weeks has been 'buckle up'. I like it, cause it reminds me of a couple of things. First of all, I chose to get on this crazy ride. I paid for entry, and waited in line for 10 years for this roller coaster of a life I'm living right now. It was my choice, so there's nothing for it but to strap in, hold on, and enjoy whatever gets thrown at me as best I can. Secondly, it reminds me that, as much as I get thrown around, I can be belted in. The Lord has designed things to hold me fast and keep me buckled up. I have a companion who is a spiritual rock. I have the scriptures to remind me who I am and how much God loves me. I have prayer to communicate with my Father in Heaven, to get guidance, to resolve my concerns, and to thank the being who is responsible for all of my happiness.  Those things are always there, but I have to make the effort to buckle up.

We all have those things available to us. Life can be a roller coaster. We can get tossed around a bit. So buckle up. Hang on to the things that have been given to us to keep us safe.  Read the Book of Mormon every day. It's the thing that keeps me sane, and keeps everything in perspective. Pray daily at least, or as often as you may feel the need. I can promise you that as you make that effort, though the ride may get bumpy, you will not be shaken loose. You will be held fast. There are definitely times where I feel like I don't need to be buckled, like everything is fine and stable. Those are the times that we most need to check our seat belts. We never know when the ride will get crazy again, but it's almost guaranteed that it will. If we hold on while things are fine, we can be more confident in the harness when things are not fine.

These past few weeks have definitely been bumpy, but they have been so good. Sister Pickett and I are really getting settled into Cannock. We're coming to really love the ward, and they're starting to get comfortable with us. Good things are happening here. I'm learning how to bring the person I was back home to England, and as I'm figuring it out, I'm having more and more fun. Fun is important. Fun is the beating heart of work well done.

Apropos of nothing, it's getting kind of cold here, so whenever I walk into a warm house after being outside for awhile, my glasses instantly fog up and I can't see anything. It's great when it happens in members homes, cause then I can stagger around a bit and call out, "I've gone blind!" In everyone else's homes I just have to deal with it. Side note: Houses here are tiny. Everything here is tiny. Most of the roads are only about two small cars wide, and people generally park on the curb along roads, so it's pretty normal to see cars driving down the wrong side of the road for stretches when there are cars parked along. Traffic here is mad. Roundabouts are complete madness, especially on bikes. I think I've seen one stop sign since I've been here, and we've gotten around a bit.

The Lord loves you and so do I. Stay buckled up, and keep your arms and legs inside the ride at all times. :)

-Sister Pike

It's Not About Time, It's About Faith

Time. What a concept! I know I mentioned this last time, but it feels like I've been out here for forever and a half, and it's been just over a month. Even since the last time I posted, so much has happened. It's been crazy getting settled into the area, but I think Sister Pickett and I are doing pretty well. One thing we really had to get used to was using the trains. In her last area, Sister Pickett had a car, and my last area was Tempe, so neither of us were in the habit of getting to trains on time. the station is fairly close to our flat, but it's still a bit of a trek, especially on foot.

We had to rely on trains, especially the first week or so before I got my bike, and we'd always forget how long it took us to get to the station. Like I said, it's not that long of a walk, but we would stop and talk to people along the way and that would stretch it out. As we were rushing around, Sister Pickett would often say, "It's not about time, it's about faith". It's crazy, but it's so true. There have been so many times that we were nearly late for a train, stopped to talk to somebody, and still had to wait a few minutes when we got to the platform. The Lord provides. 

Sister Pickett and I both have a tendency to focus too much on where we're going and forget to work as we're getting there. We made and agreement that, every time we notice this, we tell each other that it's not about time, its about faith. It helps to remind us why we're out here. It's not to rush from appointment to appointment. It's to love the people and to love the country. And what a country to love! It's getting to be autumn here. All of the leaves are turning magnificent colors. The air is getting cool and crisp, and everything is just so beautiful I can hardly stand it. People are always out walking their dogs, walking with their children, or just enjoying the weather, and most of the people we stop to talk to are quite at ease. Why not have a friendly conversation on such a nice afternoon? As we've forgotten about time more, we've been better able to show our love for the people and the world around us, and are therefore better able to do the work.

Speaking of work, having two missionaries who are brand new to an area is hard. The last missionaries didn't leave behind a huge teaching pool, and we're only just beginning to gain the trust of the ward, so the work is slow. We have few investigators, very few referrals and loads of less actives. It has the potential to be very discouraging, especially as it's my first area. But as we sit and plan each night and I realize how few appointments we actually have, that phrase comes to my mind. It's not about time, it's about faith. It doesn't matter if people listen to us today, tomorrow, or next week sometime, we have to have faith that they will listen. That's something that's really hard for me. I know that I have been called to this place for a purpose. I know that there are people here that are prepared. but I don't feel like I've met them yet. I have to continue to shift my focus from time to faith, because it is faith that makes all things possible. 

As well, you never know what the Lord has planned. Right now, we're just meeting and getting to know the ward. It's small. Very small. I think we've already met and had dinner with most of the active members. Good things are beginning to happen there, though. We're forging friendships and gaining trust. We're getting involved with the young women and plotting some fun activities. Who knows what it is that the Lord has planned for us? We can only watch, wait and have faith.

Really, that's true for all of us, at every point in our lives. We never know what the Lord has planned for us. It may feel like we are so far from being the person He wants us to be. It may seem as though the changes we want to make in our lives will take decades. Maybe they will. But the Lord doesn't really care how long it takes us to get to where He wants us to be. It mostly matters to Him that we get there. As long as we're moving forward, as long as we're trying and looking to him to be our strength, it will all be alright. Because. . .it's not about time, it's about faith.

There's No Such Thing As Ready

What a wonderful, insane, exhausting two weeks. Or has it been three weeks? I don't even know anymore. It feels like it's been a month since I saw you all. I've hardly had time to breath, let alone draft a blog post, but I've had some thoughts that I'd like to share with you. Let's hope this is coherent.

So the Missionary Training Center (MTC) was crazy. The first day felt like a hallucination, and I think some of it might have been, considering how horribly sleep deprived I was. We landed in the airport, slipped through customs undetected and were promptly whisked off to the MTC on the wrong side of the road, where we met the 41 people we would be spending the next two weeks with. Our districts, or classes were assigned, and we were paired up into companionships.

When I considered the idea of a companion before my mission, I kind of thought of it as insta-friendship assigned by God. I did not think about the fact that I would be spending literally every waking minute with this person. Thankfully, I was blessed with an amazing companion, Sister Vousden, and it was clear right away that we would be fast friends. But friends isn't all that is required of a companionship. You are expected to live together, plan together and teach together. In fact, we are asked to try to teach as one. That requires compromise. Sister Vousden and I are both very strong-willed people, so it took us a while to understand that there was a way to do things other than our own. It was hard. It was so hard. nothing in what I had been told or taught prepared me for the reality of trying to work in a companionship. I think I understood what I would have to give to make it work, but I didn't want to give it. Eventually, we both caved. We opened our hearts to each other and we dared to really trust each other. After that, the difference was like night and day. Whereas before, we struggled to teach simple concepts, we found ourselves able to teach whole lessons comfortably. We relied on each other and built each other up. We literally finished each others sentences. We became more than friends. We were the same person. It was an amazing transformation.

One of the things Sister Vousden and I had to get used to was the studying. Oh, the studying. All day, every day, for hours on end. There was so much to study. So so so much to learn, and only two weeks to learn it! I'll admit, I was a little uptight about the whole thing. I am so determined to be the best missionary that I can possibly be, and I knew that the way to do that is through study. I took it a little too seriously though. I snapped at my district a couple of times for being too distracted. (£50 says Mom is shaking her head in disbelief. Me too, Mom, me too.) It was hard for me! I wanted to talk to them--they're all amazing people and I love them--but we only had two weeks! I put so much pressure on myself. I wanted to be ready for the field. I wanted to know everything that I needed to know. In fact, I put so much pressure on myself that, at one point, I cracked. I just broke down. I couldn't live up to the standard I was setting for myself. The amazing Elders in my district gave me a blessing of comfort, and I realized that, while it's good to have standards, we have to make sure that they are the Lord's standards first and foremost. We do all things on the Lord's time, and that includes learning. As I got comfortable with that idea, I found myself having more fun, and learning more at the same time. Heavenly Father not only teaches us through the scriptures and prophets, he teaches us through the people he gives us. The people that surround us are there to bless us and instruct us in our lives. I learned so much from my district. I know that we were all meant to be together. I would have missed out on so much if I hadn't lightened up and trusted in the Lord's timing.

Of course, the most dramatic thing that's happened to me so far is leaving for the England Birmingham Mission, the EBM or Earth's Best Mission, as I've heard it called here. It's been a whirlwind, but I'm here. My companion is Sister Pickett, and she is the best. She is so fantastic. She is excited about everything. Like, I'm excited too, but I can never match her enthusiasm. We're doing what's called 'pink washing' which is when sister missionaries go into an area that just had elders before. So we're both new to the area. We don't really know any members, we don't have any investigators, but we get up in the morning and go to work. This is hard. This is so hard. We've talked to so many people, and nothing has turned up. The reality of this is much more.... difficult than I expected.

As hard as I worked in the MTC, as hard as I tried to prepare myself before I came to England, I don't feel ready. There is no way that the MTC could have taught me everything that I needed to know. They taught me everything that they could. But it is literally impossible to know what it's like out on the streets until you're there. For two weeks, you wake up in the morning thinking, "Someday soon, I'll be a missionary." And then you wake up and you are one. And there's work to do. And you don't know if you're ready.

Here's what I've learned: There is no such thing as ready. We can never know everything we feel we need to know, we will never understand all of the things we feel we need to understand to be ready. There will always be something we haven't considered. There will always be something that goes a direction we haven't anticipated. In that sense, there is no such thing as ready. I've seen it day after day after day. It doesn't matter how ready we may think we are, something is going to throw a wrench in what we've prepared for.

If we try to be ready in our minds, we will never achieve it. If we determine to be ready in our hearts, we are always ready. In the scriptures, understanding is always connected to the heart, not the mind. It's the most important thing I have learned so far. The Lord will make up the difference. He'll give us whatever we need, as long as we make sure that we are dedicating ourselves to the Lord's timeline, not ours. When we open our hearts, when we rely on the Lord and the people he gives us, we will always be ready. Nothing can come that we aren't prepared for. No trial can surface that we aren't capable of surmounting. In the strength of our Father in Heaven,we can do all things.

I understand now that I have no idea what I've gotten myself into. This is way more, way harder than I anticipated. But I am ready. My heart is humble, and I have faith in the Lord. And none of us need anything more than that.

Till next time,

Sister Pike  

Introduction

  Why hello! Welcome to my new blog place! I thought I'd come on here and do an introductory post before I actually get out on my mission. Speaking of which, I leave for England in 27 days. It's go time, basically. I'm excited.

So, this blog. What is it? What will it be? This is a place where I, through my parents, will be posting an account of whats happening to me in England. It'll be a cross between story time, a weekly update, and my spiritual journey. Probable emphasis on my spiritual journey, since that will be my life for the next 18 months.

I'm hoping that it will be a fun read, but honestly I have no idea what I'm going to have time to write out there. I'll try to include pictures as much as possible, but again, I don't know how much picture taking will actually happen. I do know that I'm going to keep you all as in the loop as I can. I know I'm going to love England and the people I meet there, and I know I'm going to learn a lot about myself and about the gospel.

That's all, really. I just basically wanted to inform you that this blog exists, and that you can come read it. Updates will probably be posted every other week once I get out, and I'll notify you about it through Facebook.

Oh! Also! If you want to tell me about your life once I'm gone, feel free to email me at alyssa.pike@myldsmail.net. I'd love to hear from all of you.

Alright! Thanks for reading through this slightly pointless post. I'll meet you all back here in about a month. :D

- (Soon to be) Sister Pike