Ya know, if you're ever on a different continent feeling homesick, just go to a Subway! They all smell the exact same!
On Saturday we had a long awaited meeting with an old man named George at a Subway on the high street! 60p cookies for the win! It's a good thing we were finally able to meet with him because time is running out! For one, there's only two weeks left until transfers! And secondly, this man has one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peel! He was very kind and has a deep belly rumbling laugh that shows off his singular tooth. In the middle of saying something to Sister Powell, he paused, motioned in my direction, and said "Does she always smile that much?" Thank you? We were there for almost two hours between our study afterward and the long, conspiracy theory ridden lesson, and on our way out I was handed three sheets of coupons by one of the employees. I'm going to take that as permission to continue holding lessons there. It's been a week of learning and a week of humility. I made the “mistake” of asking God in prayer to reveal my weaknesses to me so that I can better acknowledge and conquer them, and he did not mess around! On Wednesday we dropped the Sister Training Leaders car off to be serviced early in the morning while they were in Edinburgh and I accidentally left our flat keys inside so we were locked out all day. No food, but luckily we had our scriptures! Sister Powell in all her patience and goodness handled it very well and we went to a nearby park for our morning study. Quite honestly I prefer the wet tire swing to the couch anyways, and might start accidentally locking us out more often! We had a lesson cancel on us in the evening along with a string of other unfortunate events (the car needed to be kept overnight, among other delights) so we found ourselves stranded yet again. We bought some pastries at Lidl (the land of milk and honey mentioned in the bible) for dinner and ate them at the top of a covered slide at another park while it poured. As we ate, Sister Powell made some calls while I scribbled out all the swear words written all over the playground. (Had to do my good deed of the day!) Alls well that ends, and we made it home nice and safe eventually with greater empathy for the homeless persons of Aberdeen! On Thursday we spent a lot of time at the Uni of Aberdeen. As we spoke with students and a couple other missionaries on the high street that runs through campus, I noticed a young African gentleman that seemed to be hanging about, checking bus times, sitting on a stone wall with no purpose so I decided it was because he wanted to talk to us (why yes, I do have a big head, thank you for asking!) So we marched over and had a conversation and he really did want to talk to us! His name is James and he is studying environmental law. He's from Sierra Leon, where he said a "movement of missionaries" has come to his city of Freetown. We sat down on the conveniently located before mentioned stone wall and had an on the spot lesson with him (after he purposefully missed his bus!) He asked us to very carefully and thoroughly explain the introduction to the Book of Mormon with him so that he would understand what he is reading. He is actively searching for truth, and couldn't make it to church yesterday simply because he already said yes to go with some missionaries of a different faith to their church. He promised to come to general conference with us next week and is very excited! We have another lesson with him tomorrow that I am greatly looking forward to! I was so caught up in the spirit and magic of the lesson that I left my phone and a Book of Mormon sitting on the wall. We didn't realize until we were back in the city, and asked the district leaders who were at the Uni to check. It wasn't there, and we couldn't find it for an hour and a half! In the meantime, we were calling the bus company and running around city center trying to catch a bus back and ran into another young man with a similar background! He ran onto his bus shouting his number so that we can meet up this weekend! Shortly after, the district leaders called to say that someone had turned my phone and the Book of Mormon into the multifaith chaplaincy on campus! Yet another reason to be thankful for the Book of Mormon! Thank goodness for honest souls and prayer and Sister Powell's patience. Thursday evening, the Sister Training Leaders returned and saved the day! After a particularly bashy lesson we bumped into them and I was reduced to tears. I was sick and exhausted and mad at myself and so the STLs took us back to our flat and we made chili together and laughed together and all was well! Even though we'd just eaten, we accepted a last minute lesson/dinner invitation from a man named Kevin we'd never met that previous sisters had bumped into. We had no idea what to expect but we had a good feeling! He treated us with a big huge smile and Nandos, a posh chicken place! He couldn't thank us enough for the Book of Mormon we shared with him. He's from Paisely and his mom is a less active member of the church there. He called her during the lesson and told her who he was meeting with at that very moment and you could honestly hear the elation in their voices. He's an absolute delight and wanted to hear all about our message, our lives before the mission, and the reason we're serving missions! He gave us a gift card to go back to Nandos with the STLs. Literally a saint. Wouldn't be surprised if I find out in the next life that he was one of the three nephites. We passed his information to the Paisely sisters and he is going to general conference with his mom this weekend! He is in Aberdeen for work every few weeks so we might meet again. I can't wait to hear of the progress that happens in the meantime! On Friday...something else happened and I did something else incredibly daft haha but I don't remember what. In conclusion, this week we have met with those who seek to tear down our faith and we have been ignored by those who once were so eager to hear it! However, for every trial of faith there has been an equal and opposite increase of faith! I have been listening to past addresses from President Nelson this week during my studies and personal time to prepare for conference. A distinct theme, whether it be a BYU graduation address or a general conference talk, is that truth is truth! There are constants in science and there are constants in the gospel of Jesus Christ! I've truly seen this principle in action this week. Following promptings = blessings. Being obedient = blessings. Helping others see this connection has been fun this week. Stallone is incredible! He is funny in the most quiet way and wants a cat. He loves Portal and his family and moved from Kenya to Australia and now here. He went from not believing in God or wanting there to be an afterlife two weeks ago to traveling an hour and a half to come to church yesterday! Helping a logical mind see the logic of the gospel and the spiritual blessings that accompany following the laws of God has been so rewarding. It breaks my heart that we are passing him to the Aberdeen sisters this week, but I feel peace knowing he will continue to progress and that's what matters! We spoke in church on Sunday on preparing for general conference. You can listen to it on TEDtalks.org! We began our preparations by going to Lidl this morning and getting conference snacks and stuff for crepes. Every once and a while they have random American candy in stock and THEY HAD REESES. Now we're really prepared for conference! I spoke about the parable of the sower and how we need to prepare our soil to receive the messages this weekend! Know what you're listening for. Make lists of the questions of your soul. Real concerns you really can't come up with fathomable answers for by yourself. Listen with an open and undistracted heart and the answers will come :) Miracles happen right when we need them most. God loves us all and is just waiting to bless us, and he certainly has this week! Thank you for all that you do! It occurred to me this week that for 6 days a week I'm called to serve the people of Scotland, and for one day a week I get the chance to serve you all at home! PLEASE let me know if there's anything I can do for you! You want scriptures, neural network gospel metaphors, European chocolate? I GOT YOU! Random quotes from Sister Powell yesterday: "Your metabolism is FAST. I don't understand how someone so small and tiny eats SO MUCH. How is your husband going to feed you?! If there's ever a food apocalypse you're gonna be the first to die!" *After ranting for 10 minutes about the poetic and whimsical nature of the world* "...You really are Anne of Green Gables." Speaking of sister Powell, I haven't properly introduced her which is an injustice because she's incredible! She is from Heber City and studies math and choir and is inquisitive and a powerful missionary and so passionate about the gospel and I love her so much! Whelp, I've got to go! Lessons to be taught, lessons to be learned, mistakes to make and habits to break! I hope you all enjoy conference and make it a magical, rejuvenating experience!
Sister Allen
