I Don't Want to be a Laman!!!

Hi Fam Fam!
This week went by really quickly. I feel like June just went by really quickly, haha. We saw a lot of miracles over here in England.
Thursday: We had the Hot cocoa social as usual at the chapel. We met with Vinh, and he opened up a lot to us! He is hilarious, and he really wants to get his patriarchal blessing, so he is working on some things he needs to get past so that he can get it!
Friday: we did a lot of finding today! We were able to find a family to teach, they are neighbors to a family in our ward, so we are teaching them next Saturday which we are really excited about.
Saturday: we had a lesson in the morning with one of our friends Oliver. He is a funny guy. He is very open to learning about life. He has a lot of Buddhist beliefs, but he says he is not a Buddhist. We aren't really sure what he is interested in haha... its been a bit of a sticky situation recently with understanding if people are meeting with us because they are interested in the gospel, or if they are interested in us. Haha Sister Velez was like Sister Lund we need to put a brown paper bag over your head. Haha 😂 this evening we got to see the Truter family and Emilia, which was really good. We missed Emilia, she was on a trip for the past week, so we were happy to see her!!
Sunday: Sister Velez gave her first talk as a missionary in sacrament meeting today. She did really well! Sadly none of our friends came to church, but the meetings were really good. We had a lesson with Emilia today about repentance... we asked her to squeeze out all of the toothpaste in the bottle, and then asked her to put it all back in. She was like " I give up, it won't go back in, it's too messy". When she said that, it just made me thin, isn't this how we all are sometimes?... like oh man this is too hard, it's too messy, so I'll just give up... but thankfully God had a plan put in place to fix these messy situations. Thankfully he gave us the gift of his Son, so that we could repent for our sins, and through our Savior we are able to clean up the "toothpaste" or our sins.
Monday: this evening we had an FHE with the Savickas family in our ward. They are hilarious. It was so fun. We were able to help them liken the scriptures unto themselves. We asked the question: if there was a zombie Apocalypse that hit England right now, and you had to take only what you could carry what would you bring if you knew you couldn't come back? They started listing off all of these things. So just like Nephi and his family had to take what they had and travel into the wilderness. Then we read in 1 Nephi 19:23 where it says we need to liken the scriptures unto ourselves. That we need to immerse ourselves in the Book. The Book of Mormon is SO important!!
Tuesday: it was such a great day today. We had interviews at Presidents house! Which means we got to travel through London. Man do I miss the city. But I loved interviews! It took the whole day travelling though, so not much else to say about today!
I loved my interview with President. He shared an experience he had with one of his sons. One of his sons had a pretty sour outlook on everything that was happening to him, and he murmured and murmured and kept on murmuring. One day President sat down with his son and opened up to 1 Nephi, and they began reading. All of a sudden his son stopped reading and began to cry. He said "Dad, am I a Laman?" And President boldly but lovingly replied "yes son", and his son replied "I don't want to be a Laman". From that point on his son made a conscious effort to change. The phrase "I don't want to be a Laman" really hit me. There are going to be hard times in our lives, it won't always be sunshine and daisies, but that doesn't mean we can't find joy in the hard times. It made me really think about how I have reacted to situations in my life, and how I want to react in situations to come... I don't want to be a Laman. I want to find joy and peace in my life, because I know it is a lot better to have joy than misery, and it is a lot better to give thanks than to murmur. It also just helped me see again that the Book of Mormon really does change lives. There is power in the Book. I invite all men to read it. It has CHANGED my life, and I know if you will begin a serious study of it, that it will change your life as well.
I love you. I hope you have a great week. We got this!
Love,
Sister Lund

 Sister Velez killing a monster mosquito

It's so hot here, I only found relief in the fridge!!

He that Diligently Seeketh Shall Find...

Hi Fam Fam!
I don't even know where to begin with my week. It has been amazing.
Thursday: We had a lesson with Alcina, and we are still reading the Book of Mormon with her. But it is amazing to see the light that has come into her life since she has been reading it. The Book of Mormon literally has changed her life. I can't say it enough... there is power in the Book. We NEED to read it! This evening we went to YSA with Patrycja and Alcina's son Paul. It was in Portsmouth, right by the sea shore. It's great to be by the sea side.
Friday: we had weekly Planning and correlation meeting at brother Handleys house, so there isn't  much to say about our day, but we got to have lunch with Patrycja in the Park in Southampton, so that was fun.
Saturday: Wow. Such an amazing day. It started off by us waking up at 4:20am, because we had to travel to get to Staines chapel because...... We got to meet and listen to Elder D. Todd Christofferson! We got to meet an Apostle of the Lord... I am still on cloud nine. I got to shake his hand, we got to hear from him and his wife, and also a member of the seventy Elder Moirera. We were very blessed. It was also really cool because our mission gave him a hand carved wooden plaque of "The Living Christ", and he asked us all to sign the back of it. So cool! President pulled me aside and said "Sister Lund, you and Sister Velez are staying in Hamble River together, the Lord still needs you to learn something..." haha I was like oh boy...I am excited though. I'm grateful God has a plan. This evening we were able to visit Rehana. We invited her to come to church! It has been a bit difficult to teach her, but all In Gods time...
Sunday: Father's Day! I got the lovely opportunity to speak in sacrament meeting today. I was asked to speak on Lehi, and how he was a great father, and great example. Being able to talk about Lehi, and my father, and my Heavenly Father today was pretty cool. I was able to see a little bit of how blessed I truly am. This evening we had a lesson with Emilia, and then the rest of the evening we were out on the streets, and knocking on doors, because we are trying to find people to teach. Haha it is really hot here. Like really hot! We knocked on this one door, and this couple answered it and they were like " aww these poor little girls, are you alright? Can we give you some water?" Haha then they saw our tags... haha. They were still really nice, but not interested. It's funny Sister Velez and I are like "are we in England? Because I feel like we are somewhere else!" But hey the sun makes people happy right?
Monday: sister Velez and I felt really prompted to stop by a former investigators house "Charlie Bright". AND she was home!! Miracle. She at first wasn't too interested, but after we talked for a little bit she opened up and softened her heart a bit, and told us to come back!! She even told us that she has been reading from the Book of Mormon. Wow! This evening we went over to Alcina's and we had a lesson with her son Paul. Paul is a great guy, but he is one tough cookie.
Tuesday: today was a great day! We followed the spirit a lot today! And miracles: we found two new investigators!! One of their names is Dennis. He is a 73 year old man, but he looks like he is in his early 60s. He loves cars, the 1960's, and he even owns his own double decker bus. He was SUPER nice to us, and genuinely was interested and wants us to come back. So we are going to see him next Tuesday! We had Dinner with Sister Hollis and her Sister. We had Cottage pie... the English people LOVE cottage pie. We love sister Hollis.
This week was amazing... It all started when someone shared an insight with me about The Brother of Jared in the Book of Mormon. Someone told me "Sister Lund, the Brother of Jared took his plan to God... take yours." This area has been hard for us. We haven't always had the best attitude, but God told us we needed to change our attitudes.
I was so grateful we were able to listen to Elder Christofferson... he gave so many amazing insights. But I want to share one of the things he shared with us...
" If we will be grateful for what we have received... then He will give us more."
" What to do during times of affliction or fiery furnace? .... endure. We shall be converted and he shall heal us. Harden not our hearts. We need to be willing to drink the bitter cup. Be willing to submit to the Fathers will. We shouldn't be critical or complain, we ought to ask for his help and for his tender mercies, and rest assure that he will carry us through. Everything that happens, he will make sure that he will make these things good for us. Ask for our "daily bread". EVERYTHING will turn out for our good. Turn to him. He will make it good. Don't ever rebel."
When he shared these points, the spirit hit me so strong. He wants to give us more... but if we aren't grateful for what he has already given us, then we won't be grateful for anything. Even when we have afflictions or feel like we are in the fiery furnace, we need to be grateful, because he gives us these opportunities, because he loves us so much. If we turn to him, everything works out. I know that is true. I have seen this in my own life.
I loved this week. It was so hard. But man I would not change one thing about it, because I am so grateful God is blessing me with these amazing opportunities to grow. His plan is better then my plan.
I love you. I hope you have a great week. We got this!
Love,
Sister Lund

 It's my bestie, Sister Honeycutt

 It's my ma...Sister Montredon

 Lunch in the Park

 I love being by the Sea!!

The Book Brings Power!!

Hi Fam Fam!! 

I can't believe this is the last week of another transfer! Wowzers...time. But this week was a hard good week. We had many growing opportunities, but we still saw the miracles! 

Thursday: We had district meeting, and we focused on how Mornings are so important! We need to "Attack the morning". We have been making sure that when we wake up in the morning we don't let ourselves be lazy, we "attack" our prayers, exercise, getting ready, breakfast, personal study, planning, etc. And boy oh boy, have I a seen a difference in my whole day. The mornings truly do affect your day. We read the Book of Mormon with Alcina today. I love Alcina. She is treats Sister Velez and I like her daughters... she is such a sweetie. 

Friday: Fridays are always crammed full of planning and correlation meetings, so there isn't a ton to report... Today Sister Velez and I talked a lot about how the Devil is really mean...haha. But seriously!! He wants us to nitpick at everything we do. He wants us to be as miserable as he is. But ultimately what he really wants is for us to forget who we are... he wants us to forget that we are sons and daughters of the almighty God... because if he can make us forget who we are, he can do just about anything to us. 

Saturday: Today was a good day! Sadly all of our appointments fell through! BUT we were still able to have a good day! This morning we went into Southampton city, and we did some contacting on the high street... which wasn't very effective. Apparently people really don't want to stop and talk about God when they are looking for clothes . But that's okay! Even though our appointments fell through, God guided us to do what we needed to do. We were able to have a lesson with Emilia this afternoon, and teach her about her purpose here on earth. And then this evening we were able to have a game night with Alcina, and her kids Paul and Rehana. Which it was a miracle Rehana joined us because usually she stays in her room!! We are making progress! Yay! 

Sunday: Miracle!! Our recent convert friend Vinh came to church!! He hasn't been to church the entire time we have been in this area! So yay!!! He stayed for all three meetings too! He said that he felt SO much better, he felt like he came home. Emilia in sacrament meeting leaned over to me, and was like "Sister Lund, I know moves are coming up... they better not take you away! I will be SO mad!" I love Hamble River... We will see what happens with moves, we find out on Saturday. This evening we had dinner with a member Kim Smith. She is so funny! She is very bubbly, we love her. After dinner we went to Patrycja and Emilia's and we watched the Restoration movie. At first Emilia REALLY didn't want to watch it because she thought it would be really boring... but she got really into it! So miracle! She loves Joseph Smith. 

Monday: Major miracles today! We had a Skype lesson with Heather... she is amazing, by the way she has been struggling with smoking lately. And during the Skype lesson I got a strong impression that we needed to talk about her smoking... and I was like noooo Heavenly Father, that will be the last straw for her... but I got the prompting really strong again. Right as I got the prompting Heather told us that she needed to use the bathroom, and that she would Skype us back in a little bit. As soon as she ended the call I looked at Sister Velez and I was like "God wants us to talk about her smoking!" And she was like "phew, you got that prompting too! I thought it was just me, and I had no idea how to bring it up"... so we were like, okay, God wants us to talk about this with her, but how are we going to bring it up.... and then Heather called us back. When we answered she was like "girlies, I need to apologize to you... I lied about going to the bathroom. I went to smoke". Sister Velez and I just looked at each other in awe. I want share the rest of the story, but this was a testament to me that God really does provide us with the spirit, and if we are listening, He will provide us a way to say and do the things he needs us to. Wow! Tonight we had an FHE with the Baker family. We followed the counsel from a few of the brethren in this last General Conference, and we read "The Living Christ" with them. We are told throughout the Bible and the Book of Mormon, that we need to come unto Christ... but how do we do that if we don't really know who he is. That is why it is so important to study his life. 

Tuesday: today was a good day. We were able to see Vinh, and he brought his friend Mike and his two kids, Sophia and Leo, to the chapel to play football. Vinh even gave Mike a chapel tour haha! It was really good to see them. This evening we went and had dinner with Sister Jean Baker, and her friend Angie. We always love seeing them. Today Angie told us that she is absolutely not interested in learning about the gospel, but she likes to see us. Maybe she will change her mind later on in life... you never know. 

This week was a good hard week. As missionaries, it can be really hard when your friends flog, or when it is really hard to get people to want to learn more about the Gospel. But I have found that when we have "hard" weeks in the work, the Lord is right there with us. He helps me to remember why I came on my mission, and that I am here to grow, and to learn and to be converted. It is so important to have a positive attitude! So so so important!! 

I absolutely love the Book of Mormon. I love how the beginning in 1 Nephi, it talks a lot about how the Lord is "preparing a way" for us... and then the rest of The Book of Mormon IS that way. There is so much power that comes from the Book of Mormon... I encourage all of you, if you are not reading the Book of Mormon or if you have never read it... read it! I testify that it will change your life! He has the way prepared for you... find out what it is! 

I love you so so much! BIG shoutout to daddy! Happy Father's Day. I couldn't ask for a better daddy! I get to speak in the Hamble River Ward this Sunday! I am talking about Lehi, and his example as a father, and dad... you know how much I love Lehi, and Nephi, hence my mission scripture! God works in amazing ways!! I love you. Have a fabulous week. We got this!

Love,

Sister Lund

 The members gave Vihn a tomato plant

 Teri wanted a picture of our ward nursery in Hamble River

Emilia!!!!

Look for the Double Rainbow!!

Hi Fam Fam!
This week went by really fast! This email might be a little short, because I don't have a ton of time left! But it was a pretty good week.

Friday: We had a lesson with Alcina, and we read the Book of Mormon with her. It was a bit hard for her, because it is hard for her to switch from Portuguese to English, but she is doing really well. Wow the Book of Mormon is powerful. This evening we had correlation at Brother Handley's house in Gosport, and DADDY, we drove past the D-day beaches, so that was something pretty cool.

Saturday: we went to the sea shore in Netley and walked in the park with Emilia and Patrycja, and it was so fun, but I got sunburnt, haha. After we went to the sea shore, we had a dinner appointment with Sister Baker. She is always so nice, and we love visiting her.

Sunday: miraculous Sunday! Alcina's son Paul came to church!! And Emilia bore her testimony (she is 10) in sacrament!! We love Emilia... she is unable to get baptized right now due to some things at home, but she is amazing!

Monday: we had exchanges in Havant. I was with Sister Ripley, she is from Canada. She is so nice. Our exchange was funny haha. English weather is fantastic haha... 😂 we did a lot of drop bus in the evening, and we were trying to find this one less active members house and we could not find it for the life of us. And from about, 6-8:30 it was pouring!!! And we were outside the entire time. we got soaked... and I mean soaked, everything in my bag got wet, like everything was wet, and my umbrella turned inside out about 20 times from all of the wind haha. But during the whole time, instead of being miserable and complaining because we wanted to go inside, we decided we would sing hymns. And we sang them with all our hearts 😂! NO ONE was outside, but if they were, they would probably have been laughing at us.

Tuesday: we finished exchanges, so we got home a bit later. When we got home we went to the relief Society activity at the ward, it was great. It was a pretty good turn out.
This week has been great but at times hard! But that's life 😊. Something I have been thinking a lot about this week is the Mormon message called "Good things to come". I invite all of you to go and watch it because it is amazing! But I love at the end when Elder Holland says " Don't you quit. You keep walking. You keep trying. There is help and happiness ahead" He also says " Some blessings come soon, some come late, and some don’t come until heaven; but for those who embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, they come." This is so true. God is always showering blessings upon us. He is always cheering us on, because he KNOWS what we are going through. He knows how to succor his people. So we can't quit! We keep walking, we keep trying, because those blessings will come!! This is a promise given to each and everyone of us, from the best promise keeper, our loving Heavenly Father.

I love you. We got this!
 Love, Sister Lund

Sunshine and Daisies!!

Hi Fam Fam!!
Another week down?! Where is the time going. I cannot believe that it is already June! The weather is starting to get pretty nice here in Southampton. It is nice and sunny today! Sorry I forgot to say in last weeks email that preparation day got switched to Thursday this week, because we had Quad- Zone conference yesterday. But it will be back to normal this week (Wednesday). But BIG SHOUTOUT to Kylee. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, my beautiful best friend. I love you so much!
Thursday: We had the hot cocoa social, and it was fun! We set up tables and chairs outside because it was nice and sunny. Jessie Sheppard taught us how to make daisy chains! We went and did service at Alcina's today. She has been needing some help since she just had surgery. So we did some cleaning, and then we also helped her make dinner. We made lasagna! Then we were able to have a lesson with her, and read the Book of Mormon. We had Elder Ataide Skype in on the lesson, since he is from Brazil and he can speak Portuguese. It was really helpful for us and for her. And I'm actually picking up a bit on Portuguese... like a tiny tiny bit! But hey ho!
Friday: today wasn't too eventful. We had correlation with Brother Handley. He is so kind. Such a great ward mission leader. So humble.
Saturday: we saw Alcina, and had another lesson with her. She is so funny. She calls us her family, and like a mom naturally is, she is a bit nosy. She wants to know my whole life, and she wants to plan my whole life. She's completely harmless, but oh boy is she funny. After Alcina's we went over to Patrycja's and Emilia's house, for a lesson. This family has such a special place in my heart. They are amazing!
Sunday: Church was pretty good. Emilia came, and she went to Primary which is really good, because sometimes she is not too keen on going. But it was great because bishops family has a daughter named Beth, and Emilia really likes her. So they are developing a really good friendship!  This afternoon, we went to Rafaella's for dinner and she made us Mexican food. It is so strange because before the mission I wasn't a huge fan of Mexican food, but ever since I got to England that is like all I ever want to eat haha. I love Costa Vida 😂. This evening we had a few members and friends come to the chapel to have a game night. And it was lovely. It was so good to help strengthen our bonds with the members and our friends!
Monday: It was a bank Holiday here in England, and it is half term for the kids at school, so everyone was off of work, and out of school, so our ward had a picnic! It was so so fun! And it was a pretty good turn out. We played lots of games. And we made a lot of daisy chains and daisy crowns. So so fun! I'm not sure if daisy chains are just an English thing? I never heard or did one until I came here, haha. This evening we went to Nando's with Patrycja and the Elders, because it is Elder Athertons last day in the area. It was pretty fun! English people love Nando's, and they love KFC... I guess they just really like chicken, haha.
Tuesday: we read a lot of the Book of Mormon today and I LOVED IT. Right now we are helping Alcina, Heather, and Emilia read the Book of Mormon. And it is helping me so much. I love the Book of Mormon. It feeds my soul. Every time I study it, I go in with a question, and every time I finish my study I come out with an answer. Amazing.
Wednesday: Today we had our Quad-Zone conference, with Elder Kearon of the seventy. It was amazing!! I learned so much from this conference. He gave us a "recipe" that will bring POWER. Power from God.
1. Pray: really pray
2. Exercise: really exercise
3. Shower/prepare yourself: this helps bring confidence
4. Breakfast: eat healthy/ take vitamins
5. Studies: feed your soul
6. Make plans:  our plans but don't worry if your day doesn't go to plan.
This will bring power from God into our lives!
I think something God has been trying to tell me recently on my mission.... well actually my whole life haha... has been that I need to stop worrying. In life we aren't here to look for the "comfy place" we are here to work, we are here to grow and to learn... but don't worry. Be happy!  Have faith in Christ... not in outcomes.
I love you so much. Have a great week. We got this!!
Love,
Sister Lund

Look at my daisy crown 

 Nandos

 I Love Emilia!!