Chasing Jesus!!

Hi Fam Fam! Sorry this email isn't as long! But I love you! Thursday: Today we had a great lesson with one of our friends, Francesca. She really is so amazing. She wants to be baptized and she knows that the church is true. But she struggles with keeping some commitments because she suffers with Chronic Fatigue Disorder. She was telling us that she really has had to always look for the positives in her day. That sometimes it is a great day because she was able to get up and stand by herself. So that helped me to see that I really can be more grateful for what I have. People all over the world are struggling with so many things, and I am so grateful for all that I am blessed with. Wow am I blessed!
Friday: this morning we had a lesson with Wilfred. He is preparing to receive the priesthood on Sunday!!! He is so excited, and so grateful. The sun was shining today!! I love England in the spring. There are flowers all over!
Saturday: We got a call from the Erith sisters saying that they got locked out of their flat and they left their bus passes inside, so they needed us to go get their spare key at a members house. It was an adventure! This evening we had dinner with a family in our ward. They are so nice! The day did not go as planned but it was still really fun!
Sunday: It was Mothers Day in England. And it was also Daylight savings, which we completely forgot about!! Haha. It was fun to see the primary kids sing in sacrament meeting. Bishops daughter, Amberley, gave me a rose for Mother's Day! She is so cute!! But the day was really good, the day flew! And it was crazy that it was light outside until pretty late! I am so excited for summer!! Miracle: Wilfred got the Priesthood!!!
Monday: We had a few appointments but they flogged us. But that is okay because the sun was out and we had smiles on our faces! We were able to make a little sign for Bishops daughter Amberley. She is getting baptized in a few weeks, and she is so excited!!
Tuesday: missions are all about growing moments. And some days you feels like wow I couldn't possibly grow anymore, and then you do! Haha. We had MLC today, and President pulled me aside and told me that he feels like the Lord wants me to whitewash a new area and train a new missionary. I am super nervous, but also excited for this new adventure!
Pops sent me an email last week to watch a video called "The Perfect Lie", and I was able to watch it!! Wow it was so amazing!! I feel like my whole life I have been listening to Satans biggest lie: that Me + More = Christlike. I have always been a bit of a perfectionist, and have always felt like I will never be able to be perfect. Well duh Sister Lund! Haha I'm never going to be perfect in this life. Something I loved from the video was when we study Christ's life there is always a common theme - He always took something broken and transformed it. I don't know about you, but some days I feel broken. She also said that for us to be better, this is the equation: Me + Christ = More. I am never going to be perfect in this life, and that is okay, because I have my Savior to help me to be MORE. Now I'm just Chasing Jesus! (Watch "The Perfect Lie" on LDS.org, and you will understand).  Have a great week. I love you so much!! We got this!
Love,  Sister Lund

 Our Bishop's daughter, Amberley

 MLC meeting

 Reunited with Sister Montredon

English people like their chocolate bunnies. Don't worry, we threw it away!

Become the Rock the River Can't Wash Away!!!

Hi Fam Fam! This week was amazing!
Thursday: We had a lesson with Sete. She is such a sweetie. We were teaching the Plan of Salvation, and at the end we asked her where she wanted to go after this life. She immediately pointed to the Celestial kingdom, and was like " I WANT THE BEST!" We are seeing a lot of miracles with the friends we are teaching.
Friday: Congrats Emily and Josh!!! Happy Saint Patrick's Day. And Happy Birthday Nana! Today was a pretty good day. Wilfred's Baptismal interview was today! After his interview he said " I am so excited and grateful that I get to be a member of The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter Day Saints". I also "learned" a new skill today! I learned how to conduct the music! I had to because I'm leading the music tomorrow at Wilfred's baptism.
Saturday: BEST DAY EVER! Wilfred got baptized today!! Can't even begin to express how happy I am! I know part of the reason I went on my mission was because I needed to meet him. He has become an eternal friend. When he came out of the water he said " I feel amazing. I feel like a weight has been lifted off of my shoulders, I feel clean." Ahh here come the water works! I could just burst right now! I lead the music today! It was kind of scary considering I am not very musically talented! Haha but I did it!
Sunday: Wilfred got confirmed!! His blessing was amazing. I am so happy for him. He was glowing. Like he really looked different. We had a lesson with Sete this evening. We went over the baptismal questions with her, and she was able to see that she is ready for baptism. When she prayed at the end, she asked that she would have the strength and courage to be baptized! She is making so much progress. So I'll keep you updated with her.
Monday: We had exchanges with the Orpington sisters today! It was Sister Alushaj's last exchange. She goes home in two weeks. Crazy! She told me "Sister, time flies". Haha some days I believe this statement, other days not quite as much 😂. But it was really nice to be with her, she is so nice!
Tuesday: Today was pretty good. We traveled home from Orpington. The rest of the day consisted of a lot of finding, and trying to visit Formers. Nothing huge to report!
This week in my studies I have been focusing on God's Timing, and on Endurance. And I found a really amazing talk from October 2013 conference by Richard J. Maynes, called The Strength To Endure. I loved it! My favorite part was when he was quoting the Apostle Paul. He says "The Apostle Paul stated, “In order to honorably and successfully finish the race and return to our Heavenly Father, we will need to pay the price of dedication, perseverance, and self-discipline. We need to get into spiritual shape. We need to develop spiritual stamina. We need strong testimonies that will lead to true conversion, and as a result we will find within ourselves the inner peace and strength needed to endure whatever challenges we may face.
So whatever challenges you wake up to each morning, remember--with the spiritual strength you develop, coupled with the Lord’s help, at the end of the race you will be able to enjoy the confidence that the Apostle Paul expressed when he said:
“For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.
“I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:
“Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day.”
I loved this talk so much. I want to be like the Apostle Paul, and be able to say when I leave my mission, and eventually when I leave this life, that I have fought a good fight, and that I have finished my course, and that I kept the faith! But I especially loved how he said the endurance is something that you develop. Endurance is something that we all need to learn to develop. I'm so grateful that I was able to learn this lesson this week, and I pray that I will take this lesson with me through the rest of my mission, and throughout my life. As it says in the scriptures, if we endure this life well, He has mansions prepared for us. I want to be a rock that the river (the world) cannot wash away!
Love to all,
Sister Lund

 Last exchange with Sister Alushaj

 Best day ever!!!!!! Wilfred's baptism day

Flowers, Sunshine, and Gypsies, oh my!!!

Hi Fam Fam! This week was pretty fun. I've got some fun stuff to tell ya! Here we go!
Thursday: "I'm walking on sunshine, wa-oh!" It was warm and sunny today. Isn't it amazing what sunshine can do for the soul?! Today while we were on the bus we drove past the Woolwich Artillery Barracks, which is basically like England's "Hill Air Force Base" kinda. But it was really cool. The army men were outside with their chariots and horses, doing drills! It was so cool! And while we were knocking on the side of the street there were a bunch of Daffodils, that of course I had to take pictures with!
Friday: we had a lesson with Wilfred. He is getting really excited for his baptism. We went on exchanges with the Erith sisters today. I was with Sister Chishimba, a brand new missionary from Zambia. She is so funny. A goal she had set was that she wanted to work on finding. So we did LOTS of finding today. Oh boy. Haha but it's funny some of the things people say to us to get us to go away. We had one woman that open her door, and immediately said "I'm a Jew!" And closed her door. We were like, that's good! Haha people are funny.
Saturday: Today Sister Honeycutt and I sat down and evaluated how we are feeling about our missions. We were talking about Joy. And how we want to feel Joy throughout our mission, not just in spurts. Because missions are a pattern for life. Sometimes missions are hard and we just try to endure through them, but I need to sometimes remind myself that this should be a FUN experience, and that I should have Joy.
Sunday: Today we saw some great miracles! Wilfred and Sete came to church!!! And get this, Wilfred came to church, even though he didn't get home from work until 2am, and he stayed for all three hours! Wow! Miracles. It just shows how important church really is!
Monday: when people talk about how they feel like they were called to a certain mission for certain people, I'm always like "okay yeah that is nice"... but it is so true!!! I feel like the "one" I was supposed to meet here was Wilfred! He really has become one of my Eternal friends. He is going through SO much. But he won't let ANYTHING stand in the way of getting baptized or being a member, because he can see the difference from his life before. I can't even tell you how excited I am for him to be baptized. For him to build that relationship with his Savior even more. Nothing brings me more Joy on my mission, than seeing lives change, and seeing people enter the waters of baptism, and embracing their Savior. This evening was funny. Haha we went to heart attack a member in Abbey wood. Turns out she lives right by all the "travelers", aka Gypsies. Haha I felt like I entered a whole new world. Literally. We started walking down the street, and we saw little kids driving golf carts, dogs eating chicken bones, men throwing white sandwich bread to feed the horses, and garbage bins on fire. Haha we were both like, where are we? It was pretty funny.  But don't worry mom! We were totally fine!
Tuesday: Today we had our Penta-Zone Conference. The meeting was focused on the Doctrine of Christ, and how we need to find Joy in life. I love my mission, I am grateful I have time away from the world to focus on my relationship with the Savior, and to help others do the same.
This week was good! Sometimes we need to remind ourselves to "move the clouds, and let the sunshine in". We might as well laugh and be happy, right? Life isn't meant to always be easy. We are meant to have tough times and learn from them, but if we choose to look at life in a sour way, that is what life is going to give right back, sour stuff. No worries, be happy! Also, cherry on top of my week: we saw the Easter Initiative. You are going to LOVE it. Stay tuned... #PrinceofPeace.
Love, Sister Lund

 I found Spring!!

 Exchanges with Sister Chishimba from Zambia

 My eternal friend, Wilfred

Just Keep Swimming!!

Hi Fam Fam!
Lots went on this week. It was pretty fun though!!
Thursday: we had DLC (district leadership conference) today at Orpington, and traveling to Orpington was an adventure as always. But the meeting was really good. Haha I thought I wasn't allergic to cats, but I think it's safe to say I am. Quite a few people here in England have cats. And this evening we were at a members home having dinner, and my allergies were crazy. But the funny part of the evening... we literally just said the prayer on the food, and we were passing around the salt and the pepper grinders. Sister Honeycutt, handed me the Salt and when I went to turn it upside down the salt it EXPLODED all over my food. Haha oh my it was so embarrassing. I just picked off all the salt I could... but through out the meal I would bite into a chunk of salt... yucky! But great memory. 😂
Friday: Today I was reminded of the quote Kylee shared with me while she was on her mission. "You never grow in your comfort zone, and you never feel comfort in your growth zone". Some of the experiences I had today made me feel uneasy. But one thing that I am learning right now, is that all of the experiences we have in life are bringing us closer to the one person who knows exactly how we feel... our Brother and Savior Jesus Christ. Sometimes we might feel like we are "blind" on the pathway. But as long as we let Christ take the reigns and show us the way, we have nothing to fear.
Saturday: Today we attended the baptism of Tololupe, a friend the elders in our ward were teaching. He loved his baptism. Elder Still, our district leader had the opportunity to baptize him. Tololupe, had to be dunked 4 times, because his legs kept coming out of the water haha. Just shows how important it is to have witnesses, to make sure that baptism is performed correctly. This evening we were able to see a family in our ward for dinner. The wife is a member but the husband is not. At this time, he isn't quite ready, but he really is trying to make changes in his life, and study and learn, because he expressed how important his family is to him, and that he really does want to be with them eternally.
Sunday: we had church at the Maidstone stake, and Wilfred came with us! Huge miracle  considering he doesn't have a car, and that he had to take the bus! Wow! He is so prepared. Since we don't have a chapel in Welling, we showed Wilfred around the Maidstone chapel. We showed him the baptismal font, and he just smiled. He expressed to us how incredibly happy he is to be getting baptized. He has been searching for a long time, and he was like I know now that I have finally found the fullness of the truth!! Teaching Wilfred makes me so happy!
Monday: we taught Wilfred again today. Each time we teach him, he opens up more and more. He committed himself to start preparing for the priesthood and the temple... HOW AMAZING! He isn't even baptized yet!!!
Tuesday: Today was such a fabulous day. We had interviews and zone training at Presidents house. Today I was able to see so many personal miracles, and I was able to understand the path Heavenly Father has me on just a little bit more. Being in Presidents home was so amazing. The spirit was so strong, and it felt like home. It was like all our worries were just wiped away for the day. Sister Gubler asked sister Honeycutt and I to make dinner for us, and them, and the zone leaders. Haha so we made a cobb salad, and toasties. They turned out really well! After dinner Sister Gubler drove us to the train station to go home, we got in their car and it took 4 tries to pull it out of the drive way, but she got it eventually. 😊
This week really was such an amazing week. I really have seen that God always answers our prayers. They're not always answered in the ways we want or the the ways we expect them to be answered, but he always answers them. As it says in Alma, I know that God lifts our burden and makes them seem light. I know if we just put our trust in Him, and have faith in his plan, even just a little, that everything will just work out. A story was shared with us about the woman who swam the Catalina Channel a few years back. This woman trained and trained and trained so that she could swim this difficult journey. Her first attempt she swam I think it was about 15 hours in all, through the cold water amongst many sharks, and she was so exhausted. She came up against some fog, so she wasn't able to see if there was land ahead. Being so exhausted she told her trainer and rescue boat to pull her in, that she couldn't go any further. To her disappointment, she soon found out that land was just a little bit aways. After this experience she went back trained really hard, and made her second attempt. She got to the same point where there was a bunch of fog and she couldn't see anything ahead of her, but she was resilient she wouldn't let anything stop her. She finished the course. She was the first woman to swim the Catalina Channel. And not only did she finish it, she beat the men's record by 2 hours! Wow!! I bet this woman the second time she swam this Channel, just kept telling herself "Just keep Swimming". At times I feel this way. But you know what, that is okay! Sometimes all God asks of us it's that we "Just keep swimming".
I love you so much!! Have a great week. We got this!
Love, Sister Lund

Ask and Ye Shall Receive!!

Hi Fam Fam! This week went so fast! It was such a great week, I really learned a lot. This week I really learned that God is wanting to give us revelation, but are we willing to accept what He has to offer?

Thursday: Today we helped a senior couple move into their new flat! Sister Honeycutt and I got assigned to cleaning duty, which I was actually totally okay with because it was really windy outside today!! In my personal study, I got an impression that I needed to open up the April 2005 General Conference. I thought that was totally random, but I did it and I opened up to the talk: Knowing the Lords Will for You. I love experiences like this. They are golden! I loved it because I received revelation from my Heavenly Father, that he was going to give me more revelation this week, if I was open to it. So I thought that was pretty cool!

Friday: Today both Sister Honeycutt and I saw a few tears, happy ones! This last transfer has been interesting, we have seen opposition... But this morning I read an email dad sent me and it had the quote on it " Do you only see one set of foot prints in the sand? It is then when the Savior carried you". Wow, how amazing is that! Everyone has trials. And at some point, because we are human, we sometimes think we are going through them alone. I shared this with Sister Honeycutt and we just started crying, because we were overcome with the love that comes from our Savior. Today again I saw the power that comes from praying for revelation.

Saturday: today was so good. It was a good day to be a missionary. After Opposition comes blessings... Wilfred one of our friends accepted to be baptized March 18!! I am jumping for joy! I am so so happy for him. Today was Sister Honeycutts 9 month mark. Time flies!

Sunday:Today at church, there was a farewell. It mad me think back to August when I gave my farewell talk. And just to look back and see how much the mission has refined me so far. I didn't expect my mission to be the way it has been, but it has been amazing! I'm so grateful I chose to come on my mission, I would have missed out on so much growth.

Monday: " We are spiritual beings having a mortal experience". Oh how grateful I am to know this! Sister Honeycutt and I watched this talk by Matt Townsend, that talks about our identity, who we really are. I highly recommend it, for one it is super funny! And two, it reminds us of our true purpose here.

Tuesday: today was National Pancake day! We made some yummy pancakes. We had MLC (mission leadership conference) today. MLC was revelation and comfort to my heart. President played two songs for us to listen to: Let Us All Press On, and Brightly Beams Our Fathers Mercy. My favorite verse from Let us all press on is " If we do what's right we have no need to fear, for the lord, our helper, will ever be near, in the days of trial his saints he will cheer, and prosper the cause of truth". Don't you just love that verse!? But what especially stood out to me what in the chorus when It says "fear not... courage for the lord is on our (my) side." I love this! Then President had us sing Brightly Beams Our Fathers Mercy (which is one of my favorites now). I love the part "let the lower lights be burning, send a gleam across the wave. Some poor fainting seaman, you may rescue you may save." THIS is our purpose. We are the lower lights, and we MUST let our (HiS) lights beam so that we can rescue the struggling seaman. How great is our calling!

I know this week's email wasn't full of events, and that it was more full of emotions. But I wanted you to have a taste of my week. God is so merciful. He is so loving. He knows exactly what we need when we need it. And I know that He truly has a plan for me. I am so grateful for every experience I am having and have had on my mission, they are shaping me into a better and stronger person. Ask and ye shall receive... knock and it shall be given you. I LOVE revelation. Have a great week! We got this! Love you!!!

Love,

Sister Lund

P.S. Sorry not a lot of pictures this week.

 National Pancake Day!!