Worksop December 2010

Mummy and Daddy,

Ohhhhhh............it was SOOOOOOOOOO good to hear your voices. I don't have much time today. The Library's closed and Sister Terry and I have to split the time at a member's house....and they don't have an extra USB port to load my pictures with, but can I just say I LOVE MY PRESENTS!!!!!!!!!!!!! all of them have been racking up all sorts of mileage! Be assured that the box of bordeaux chocolates didn't last a day, and poor old chocolate Santa didn't stand a chance. :D oh how I wish I could show you the pictures of Christmas. :D

Let me give you the quick run down of the highlights.

Phone calls. Rosemary and Norman Jones gave us their keys to we could pop in and use their phone. After we had Christmas Dinner at the "Madhouse" with Kim, Shane, and Paige we motored over to the Jones'.....

oooooooooooooh..........what should I say? I'm so awkward on the phone..........small talk gives me gas!!!!!!!! .ooooh I'm nervous! :D

We flicked on the lights, scraped off all our gear, kicked the phone to the ground...as we wrestled on the ground for it, the following conversation took place:

Do you want to go first?

Yes....Do you want to go first?

Yes......oooooh I'm nervous!!!!!! There's only one way we can settle this.....an appeal to the coin toss! Heads, I win...tails you lose!.....just kidding.....Heads you, Tails me.......

*clinnnnng.......tinkle......sshhhhwhh.....wawawaw........clunk*

"TAILS!!!!!! ME!!!!!!! OOOOOOOOHH......I'M NERVOUS....WHAT IF IT DOESN'T WORK!!!? WHAT IF IT COSTS A FORTUNE!!!!!! BAH!!!!! OOOOOOH IT'S DIALING!!!!!!!!!"

"Hello?"

"HIIIIIYEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"Hello?"

"Dad? HIIIIIIIYEEE!!!!!!!!!!"

Yeah....the rest you know....but I was a puddle the whole time.....you should have seen the state of my makeup job by the end of it....that's all I have to say, but it was sooooooo good to hear your voices! Oh it's just what I needed. If anything it gave me a much appreciated boost :D

A week Wednesday, we had our Harrogate Christmas Celebration with the whole mission. We all went to a military base and played bowling, wally ball, I tried to finagle myself a deep fried boost bar, we drank American root beer, watched a musical Christmas Carol, and performed a nativity. I was the best harold angel that ever harked.....The main angel, didn't step up her game, so I naturally slid in....I couldn't just stand there....I don't stand very well :D anyways....I made sure that those shepherds got the message! ;D

Tonight we have Mark Leslie Jepson's Baptism!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHoooooo! More details to come with that, but we are so stinkin excited for him! We feel like we didn't even teach him anything. He taught it all to himself! He's golden!

Hopefully we'll have access to the computers next week :D I love you so much! and i'm so lucky to be a missionary ! I'm so thankful for my testimony! Thank you for all you do, and for just being the best family ever! I miss you so much....in a non-distracting way, of course :D mmmmwah!

xoxo! Happy Christmas, and Happy New Year! I'm excited to hear about all the festivities for 2011! Sorry my grammar and punctuation leave something to be desired :D I love you!

Love always and forever,

YOUR Sister Stephanie White

Worksop December 2010

Mummy and Daddy,
This week has been all sorts of crazy. If these 15 year old mothers
would stop swearing at their children and the computer screen....I'd
tell you about it...wow.

Let me tell you about our miracles this week. Remember how everyone
and their dog keifed all the Wellies. They're harder to come by than
bread and milk (which are super scarce with all this snow...I swear,
you'd think it was the end of the world with the way these people are
freaking out about the snow...hahahaha) anyways...when a shipment of
wellies comes in, within a half hour they're literally gone. Sister
Terry and I are on a quest.....we can't keep wrapping our feet in
grocery bags hahaha. Anyways...the only wellies we tracked down were a
pair of army issue.....we all know how fetching I look in olive
green...but....yeah....don't think that will fly. We were DESPERATE,
and we said a prayer, "Heavenly Father, we can't afford to lose our
toes.....please....help us stay dry....please help us find some
wellies." Guess who called in the next ten minutes....our Worksop mum,
Rosemary Jones saying, "Girls, I have an early Christmas Present for
you.....come pop round." Low and behold.....WELLIES!!!!!!!!! Not just
any wellies......but patterned GIRL WELLIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
HALLELUYER!!!!! I wish I had my camera with me so I could show
you.....next time....next time. BAM! MIRACLE! NEXT!

Sister Terry and I were on the street and we passed this older bloke
with long curly grey hair. He smiled....we smiled and he said, "I
should talk to you." "Yes...Yes you should!" hahahah he's great! He
does little jigs for us...and he's always sending us "Brainwaves from
Steve," for example, let's say hypothetically you were out in the
wild....and you cut yourself....your plan of action should be.....let
a dog lick it...cuz his saliva has antiseptics in it...or pee on
it...cuz urine is sterile.....and if need be....make a tourniquet (fix
my spelling please) out of your own hair....because it's stronger than
other stuff you'd have with you, and It will stop the
bleeding...anyways....I don't plan on wounding myself in the
wild...but if I did.....I'll know what to do....thanks Steve :D He
LOVES learning about the gospel and making all sorts of
connections.....he knows so much about every topic known to man. He
likes reading Quantum Physics, and astronomical phenomena for
fun.....we learn a lot by being with him. When we were at his studio
apartment, Sister Terry and I got a very distinct impression that we
were in the presence of someone....important. We told him....he told
us we were daft, but then he started talking about his family history
work ....for some reason he feels drawn to know about his
ancestors.....Wow.....we told him about work for the dead in the
temple, and he knew that he needed to do that for them. The atmosphere
in the room changed.....something special happened in that
moment...that I'm still trying to wrap my head around....all I know is
that we are not alone. Families are more important than we think, and
our ancestors are more involved in this work than I originally
thought....I dunno how to explain it...I hope you get something from
all of this....but let me tell you .... it was definitely a
miracle...we scheduled him for baptism right there on the spot. BAM!
MIRACLE! NEXT!

On Saturday, we had Transfer Calls. We came home from our Christmas
Party. Sister Terry and I weren't nervous at all. You just kinda know
if you're moving or not....and I knew I was staying....anyways....we
got into the flat...and it was time to receive our call....but....no
phone!!!!!!! OH.....not good. We searched all over the
place....multiple times.....ooooooh not good.....so.....bam.....down
on our knees....Heavenly Father, we need the phone, I'm sorry I lost
it....please help us...." We sat there for a long while....trying to
feel where it was......I felt like we needed to check the car
again....for the twelfth time.....We scurried out there. As we walked
towards the car, my spirit spot burned brighter and brighter as if to
say, "getting warmer....getting warmer." We crawled inside, felt
around...nothing.....Oh Heavenly Father....we don't know what to do."
all of a sudden.... *doo da doo doo da doo doo da doo doo doo da
doo*.... Our phone rang!!!! and the screen lit up, shooting this beam
of light into the darkness saying, "here I am....whoo hoo!"
WHAT!!!!!!! BAM! MIRACLE! NEXT! I'm pretty sure we freaked our
district leader out with our squeals and sighs of relief. Long story
short, Sister Terry and I are staying together!!!! HALLELUYER! I knew
it...I still have unfinished business here :D

This week for Christmas, we're having a mission p-day at the Harrogate
Military Base where we can play sports, eat, bowl and chit
chat.....whoo!!!! for Christmas, we have all sorts of meals
scheduled....looking forward to squishing as much food as humanly
possible into the tennis ball that is my stomach. URP! I got all your
packages!!!!!!!!!!! YAY FOR LOVE, JOY, and JOYNESS!!!!!! YAY FOR
CHRISTMAS!!! Know that I will be missing you like crazy! I'm excited
to hear your voices. I don't know what to talk about, so come prepared
with a list of topics :) small talk gives me anxiety ;) jk I can't
wait to talk to you....I'm interested to hear if you think I sound
different...pretty sure I don't...but you never know.

I love you sooooooooooo much. I'm so grateful to be a missionary at
Christmas time....I get to focus 100% on Jesus Christ, and my
relationship with him....I've never done that before at
Christmas....how cool is that. :D I pray that amidst all the baubles,
burps, and banquets, you'll take a second and really think about what
Christmas means to you. :D I know the work I'm doing is real, and what
my Heavenly Father needs me to do. There's no way I can deny the
spirit I feel or my testimony that I know God lives and that we are
all here for a purpose. I know Jesus Christ loves me and went through
so much for me because of that love. I can't tell you how much it
means to me to know that I can live with you forever. My forever
wouldn't be happy if I didn't have you. Happy Christmas....talk to you
soon!!!! Tell the families I love them.

mmmmwah!
love always and forever,
Your Sister Stephanie White


That's sooooo crazy about the Provo Tabernacle! What the heck! BAM!

Worksop December 2010

Mummy and Daddy,

Today is a crazy sort of day. We've been trying to get ourselves to Sheffield today for our Zone P-Day. I don't believe I told you, but we welcomed our new Senior Couple to Worksop. President Lindley called all the stake presidents in the mission and asked which ward deserved a senior couple. All the recommendations piled in, and President selected Worksop!!! Who!!!! They're wonderful. Elder Douglas and Sister Ivy James from Scotland. They carted our carcasses about the English countryside.....old people + gps technology= interesting :) hahahah we made it to our destination.....eventually :D heh heh. For Zone P-Day we played chair soccer, went for a treasure hunt (way fun!!! I love a good hunt), exchanged gifts, and sang carols of our own design.... Ours goes as follows *to the tune of Silent Night....please sway when you sing it*)

Chocolate cake

Holiday cake

oh how I

Love to make

Layers and layers of fluffy delight

Making it all for you this Christmas night

Gee, I want some more ca.....AKE

Gee, I wish I had some cake.

Chocolate fudge

Holiday fudge

Oh how sweet

Just a little pudge *pat stomach*

Oh how wonderful it is to feel

full of chocolate for every meal

Gee I want some more fu...UDGE

Gee I wish I had more fudge.

The end

This week was loooooooooooooong :D lots of flogged appointments...lots of sloshing through slurpies....lots of road runner legs + slams on the ice......lots of crude comments.....but at the same time, there was a lot of laughter and a lot of little happy moments. Sister Terry and I have a miracle star that we see every night at about 4:00pm (we only have a few hours of sunlight. It's funny. At 4:00pm people are surprised that we're still roaming around. "It's too late. Go home. Go to sleep." Uh.....its 4pm hahahaha) but we hold pinkies and sing a little song and make a wish.

But the icing on the cake was the fact that Neil Raymond Stocken got BAPTIZED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yeah Neil!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh it was amazing....you should have seen him.He was just a twitter the whole night. Some of his close mates came and they all "felt something weird....something emotional." It's the spirit!!!!! Feel it! Love it!!!! Embrace it!!! Come to me and LEARN ABOUT IT!!!! YAY!!!! The fact that there were all sorts of technical difficulties, talks that were mustered up at the last minute, and sparce numbers were all pushed aside when I saw Neil's red face punch through the water hahahahah :D oh....good times....it was amazing. He's already doing member missionary work. He's passing our pass along cards. He's referring his friends to us, he paid his tithing after he was confirmed....it goes on and on. Wow...BAM! MIRACLE! NEXT! Where did he come from and where can I find another one of him :D.

Life is so good here :D The only thing that would make life better would be a bowl of Spongebob Mac n cheese and a nice long nap :D oooooh yeah....a nap....that's what I want for Christmas....I'm starting to look like and old bag....I think England's aging me. I'm falling to bits....I think it's cuz their meat here proper sucks. I need some proper milk and meat....how is a girl supposed to survive in this country without high quality life staples....this i'll never know. I miss my American cows :D hahahah

I love you so much. I received your packages. (and yes I tore the customs labels off straight away...you'd be so proud. I didn't even peek.)

Thank you so much for your constant prayers. I love being a missionary. I love seeing that I can't do a single thing, then witnessing my Heavenly Father just take over. It's so cool....then I remember....dang....I can't do anything...but then I remember....that's ok....less stress for me :D then the world feels right again, and then I skip....until I hit ice...then I fall down, and sit in the puddles whilst drunk people curse over me....then I squeeze myself dry....crawl to safety...old lady myself up....then whistle.....until I get the stink eye....then I run to the stink eye person and share the gospel with them until they "nope nope nope" on their merry way....that is my life in a nut shell....if you can decode it. anyways...I love you so much Happy Christmas. I still don't know about calling times, but I will keep you updated.

mmmmwah!

love always and forever,

Your Sister Stephanie White

Worksop December 2010

Mummy and Daddy.
This week was quite the week. Wow. I have one major event that I MUST
relate to you. So....background.....It bucketed snow here for three
days. We're talking non-stop hockey pucks of snow beating down on us.
We've been on foot since then. We're talking TWO FEET of snow!!!! The
whole of Britain shut down!!!!!!

Well, Neil and Michelle were supposed to get baptized this weekend,
and everyone told us we couldn't because the car park was chucked full
of snow. Well, we weren't having that. We wanted to try our best to
make it happen, show Heavenly Father that we had faith in him and that
we know how important baptism is. "Sister Terry, are you ready to make
a miracle happen?" So we gathered the troops, grabbed our spade,
broom, and dust pan and marched to the chapel. After ours of scooping
away, we stood back and surveyed our progress.....we cleared a square
of side walk....."Alright! now just 200 square feet left to go!" Some
people left, but a small group of us were up for the challenge. We
prayed and asked God for a miracle, and continued kicking snow around
(I figured I could work on my b' thigh at the same time:D) After a
couple of minutes, guess who trundled down our little side
street.....guess...just guess....oh you won't guess so I'll tell you.
Our Big Yellow Miracle came trundling down our road...a full on
BULLDOZER!!!! A little farmer man hopped out of the cab and said, "You
need some help?" I fetched those gate keys SO FAST!!!! No reason to
give him space to change his mind! In a matter of minutes he cleared
the car park in it's entirety!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BAM! MIRACLE!
NEXT!!!!!! Crazy right?!?!?!? "This is not even happening!!! We
prepared juice and pringles for him...but when he was done he zoomed
down the street!!!! I chased after him...probably not the smartest
idea on a sheet of ice, but I prepared juice and I had to say thank
you!!! "I have juice!!" BAM! MIRACLE! NEXT!

Your next question, Did we have the baptism? No...the bishop put the
kiabosh on it(the weather elsewhere was too bad), but I'm still so
proud of us! We asked God for a miracle and he sent it!!!!! It was Big
and Yellow and BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!

I love you so much!

Life is so good! :D

Expect presents soon. (remember this the names are written on the
wrapping paper. not the ribbons...I didn't have time. you'll find the
names no worries.)

I love you!

Sister White!

Worksop November 2010

Mummy and Daddy,

Oh do I have a story for you. :D Do you remember the chap Neil? He was
the one who approached US in the street, called US to come to church,
and who lived behind the door we just happened to knock one day and
schedule him for baptism? Well....he's amazing! We made a little
calendar for him to keep track of his reading and praying. He loves
checking off all the little boxes.

Anyways....we got a text message from him yesterday morning.....I
never thought I'd say this, but I really really hate text
messages.....shocked much?....so am I....Whenever people text us on
Sundays, they usually break the news to us that they're backing out of
church and the whole investigation process.....I shake my wrists at
the sky, "OOOOOH TEXT MESSAGES!!!!" .....BUT.....his text message
thanked us profusely for all we've done for him, and later he called
us right before church. I nearly had to dive after the phone as his
elated squeals rocketed it into the street.
"IT'S TRUE!!!!! IT'S TRUE!!!! IT'S ALL TRUE!!!!"
" What's true, Neil?" *shouting at the pieces of the phone in the street*
"I did what you said. I prayed and I got a RIGHT TINGLE!!!! I KNOW
IT'S TRUE!!!!!! --- Don't mind me,Neil I'm just putting the phone back
together---I JUST WANT TO SHOUT IT AT THE ROOFTOPS!!!!! IT'S TRUE!!!!
My kids can just sulk if they don't want to come to church. I'm
coming! I'm the father, I'm coming! IT'S TRUE OH THANK YOU FOR ALL
YOU'VE DONE. THIS IS AMAZING!"
You can imagine that this put a particularly good spin on the day.
I've never quite experienced this before.... :D BAM! MIRACLE!
NEXT!!!!!!

He came to church, and he looked quite smart indeed. He was so happy.
He bore his testimony to us. SO COOl. He called us a few times that
day to tell us that he invited a bunch of people to his baptism, he
prayed with some of his friends. One of his friends and his wife have
been trying to have a baby for 8 years with no luck. Neil said, let's
say a prayer, so they did and afterward Neil asked, "How do you
feel?" "I feel a right tingle!!!" hahahah Neil's referring us to his
friends....it's crazy. BAM! MIRACLE! NEXT!

In other news....The latest heated debate in England....Pepsi v.
Coke.....Which is better? I agreed to a blind taste test......Guess
what I picked.....nope... wrong....Pepsi tickled my brain in the right
spot...shocked?! So was I!!!!! .I still think it was rigged to be
honest. The coke was flat and diluted....which made me anti-happy.

Life is good :D Sister Terry and I are so happy! We're planning on
going to Sherwood Forest today :D Robin Hood here I come! We're so
excited for Christmas. We bought a little £5.00 tree and decorated
it....oh! blast I should have taken a photo...will do....that's
coming. I love feeling the spirit.....even if that means I'm sweaty
all the time :D I'd rather me sweaty and happy than dry and empty :D
ha HA!!!! Being a missionary rocks. Thank you so so so so much for
letting me come here! I'm learning, and relearning stuff all the time.
I know so much, but I know absolutely nothing at the same
time....isn't it wonderful :D I know this church is true with all my
little heart...how could it not be....oh if you could just feel what I
feel right now.... :D I'm so glad that all is going well. I wish I had
more time to comment on everything, but know that it makes me happy to
hear what's going on. I love you so so so so so much! mmmmmwah!

Love always and forever
YOUR Sister Stephanie White

Worksop November 2010

Dear Mummy and Daddy,

Ahhhhh.....Life is good. What to say? What to say? I will just
explain. So remember how it was time for me to take control of the
Worksop area....stress of my life...we all know responsibility gives
me gas, but I had to bite the bullet and do it anyways....so I did :D
I spent the last few days feeling like I was spinning my wheels,
straining to prove that Sister Terry and I could do this missionary
thing. Everyone in the mission was stunned that two 3 1/2 month old
sisters were put together....BAM! I wasn't :D heh heh, but I must
admit that I was feeling the pressure a bit.

Can I just tell you that I love Sister Crystal Terry so much! I've
been so so blessed with my companions thus far.......maybe I passed my
test with my many "interesting" flatmates in college heh heh...jk....who
knows....touch wood. Just a bit about her....Sister Terry is from
Wilard, Ut. She has four siblings, one of which is her fraternal twin
Angela. She is the
sweetest, sunniest person I know. She has all these goals for her life
like being on the cover of Time magazine for a medical advancement,
and travelling to space. Bears stir her soul...she'd love to rescue
bears for a living. Her favorite color is yellow, she loves
pistachio nuts, but hates fish. :D I love her, we have so much fun
together.

We were having a good long chat on our way to an appointment. I was
telling her about all my pressure and she said to me, "It's ok if we
don't make 100% standards every week. We just have to do our best." At
that very moment in time, my burden clanked to the floor of the car
and I was so happy!!!!!! Even still....I am so so happy. :D do you see
the size of that grin on my emoticon! Now that's happy. I can't fully
explain what happened in our little Vauxhall Meriva, but my little
eyeballs twinkled and the spirit told me that we were going to do
amazing things :D.BAM! MIRACLE! NEXT! The moment we stepped out of the
car, we ran into this man and his dog. He told us he's happy with his
life. He has a beautiful family, everyone's fed and happy... he's
quite content, but he feels like something is missing in his life. He
sees that religious people just glow and he knows he needs to find out
more about God. BAM! MIRACLE! NEXT!

Sister Terry and I were walking home for tea when I felt like we
needed to knock on a door. So we did. A man came to the window, poked
his nose through the curtain, saw who it was, flipped out, pulled down
the curtain in the process, and as he was was sorting out the door, I
said, "OH! Look who it is......it's Neil!" Neil flogged our
appointment earlier that day. Amidst all his apologies, we invited him
to be baptized and he accepted! BAM! MIRACLE! NEXT!

There are so many miracles! I remember my dreams now. I've really
missed having dreams. The scriptures I need to soothe my soul appear
on the pages of the Book of Mormon as soon as I pray for them. Life is
so good :D And I'm crazy happy!!!

Side Note: Can I just tell you how much I love these oldies....hahahah
I love old
people....I love how none of them can talk at a normal volume. Either
they blast your face off or they inhale as they talk
hahahahhahahah.....I mention this merely because I'm in the Library
right now and the poor librarian is having one heck of a time trying
to explain to various "patrons" how to double click. HAHAHAHAHAH "No
sir....double...double click....that means TWO quick presses of the
button....not one long --- sir....please.....do pay atten---no, see,
that was too long....let me show you....Sir, don't click on
that......oh.................I believe it froze. Well....you'll just
have to wait in the que for another station to open, I'm afraid."
ahahahahah I love old people.
Ps..I still sound the same. :D Everyone here thinks I sound
Irish....except for the Americans who think I sound Texan....Pretty
sure I just sound the same. :D

I love you so much. I'll send you a Christmas List. Don't worry about
Heather, I'll sort something out. I'm excited about Steve Young! WHoo!
I love you so much!

Love Always and Forever,
Your Sister Stephanie White

Worksop November 2010

Mummy and Daddy!!!!

I'm happy to inform you that the clouds have parted from last week! I wish I had a bit more time to email today, but today is a little weird....we got transfer calls last night....and today we have to make...preparations....I'll get into that a bit later, but point is, I only have a little bit to write today. This week's highlights are:

Beryl's Baptism!!!!!!!! Miss Beryl Dolan got baptized on Saturday!!!! BAM! MIRACLE! NEXT! Oh Miss Beryl...how I love Miss Beryl. She investigated the church three years ago, but felt like she couldn't keep the commitments that were associated with getting baptized. When Sister Owen first showed up, she felt like she needed to go see Beryl. When I showed up, we went to see Beryl once...she said flat out, "I cannot forgive...I will NOT be baptized." Alrighty then...well...we went about our merry way, and a few weeks ago I felt like we needed to go back and visit Beryl. We walked in the door, talked to her for a bit and Beryl told us she missed feeling the spirit we bring with us. She missed seeing the people at church. She didn't want to be a "visitor" any more. She wanted to "belong." BAM! MIRACLE! NEXT!

Her baptism was an experience. She has knee and back problems so we finagled a way for her to get baptized on a chair. Then someone put the plug in the hole too soon and the font over flowed hhahahahha. When Beryl sat down on the chair, she was straining to keep her lips above water hahahhaha oh dear...even now...it's a visual. Then she was baptized....it was all in slow motion...all I could see was that her right hand was not aiming to plug her nose.....oh she's gonna drown. All of a sudden, from the back of the room....some tall girl with crazy long arms....we won't name names....shouted out "ooooooh.....hold your breath!!!!!" She went under for a moment, tossed about, and sputtered her way back out. SHE LIVES!!!!! BAM! MIRACLE! NEXT!!!!! Good day. Good Day.

We were street contacting one Sunday morning on our way to church, and this man approached us saying, "You are from the church on Sherwood Road aren't you?" "Yes" "Oh good. You're the Mormons right?" "Yes" "Ok, brilliant....I'm coming to church next week. See you soon" Perfect. Fast Forward to Saturday night....*ring ring* *ring ring* "Hello, this is Neil, I'm coming to church tomorrow. Is it ok if I bring my kids?" "OF COURSE!" Fast Forward to Sunday afternoon during Fast and Testimony meeting. *Neil and his two kids show up. He shakes his head in wonder "This is brilliant!" He leans to me during the meeting* "Am I allowed to go up there and bear my testimony?" Risky business.....but I decided to let him. He went up on the stand and bore his testimony about the incredible warm feeling he felt in the meeting, and strength he got from Jesus Christ at the hungriest point in his life. He had quite the story, and was so impressed our church meeting. BAM! MIRACLE! NEXT! Wow....

Now for the major news of last night......Transfer Calls......Our zone leaders put us all on a conference call. Our little hearts bounced about while we listened to the different assignments...."Worksop Sisters!" ooooohh....Sister Owen and I literally synchronized our nail chewing....."Sister Owen.....You're going to Ashington with Sister Granier!!!! Sister White....you are.....staying and your new companion is......Sister Terry!!!!!!" Say what?!?!?!?! Homegirl Terry!?!??! I thought for sure I was going to get a follow-up trainer.....Sister Terry and I were in the same MTC group!!! I am the senior companion after three months....well lookie here. BAM! MIRACLE NEXT! It'll be a miracle if I can pull this off :D hahahhah we all know that Heavenly Father will be right there with me, telling me where to go, what to do, and what to say. Sister Owen is sad....who wouldn't be :D hahhaha there is only one Sister White....never mind that she's going to the coldest place in England for the winter with no car....psssh whatevs...she's going to the Harry Potter Castle for Christmas...that's pretty phenomenal. :D

I'm doing so well.....I'm fat and happy :D I've eaten more fish and liver than anyone who has ever lived.....AND I haven't yakked up a storm!!!! BAM! MIRACLE NEXT!!! hahahhahah life is so wonderful!!! I'm so grateful that I get to feel the spirit in such abundance every single day. I wake up every morning and say, "Self, remember how you're in England right now....freezing your knickers off? hahhaha" It BLOWS my mind!!!! How did I get to be so lucky? :D I must have done something right. :D I love you all so so so much! I think about you and pray for you every blasted day. I'm so grateful for my solid testimony that I know that God lives, and that he listens to my silly worries, thanks, and jokes. I know I'm doing His work. I'm so grateful to my Savior.....wow....I love him so much. Thank you so much for letting me come here. I can't tell you how much it means to me. I love you!

Love Always and Forever

Your Sister Stephanie

Worksop October 2010

Mummy, Daddy, Brotha and Sista,

My goodness...Happy Halloween, Happy Bonfire Night and Happy
November!!! and to my lovely father, Happy Birthday this
week....expect a little somethin somethin soon :D.

It sounds like you
all are up to your usual mischief....unfortunately for me, I was
ordered to stay indoors from 5pm onwards. Not that I mind that
much....it's chilly. :D

What to write about? What to write about? Well...if I may be
candid....this week was kindo of a Debbie-Downer week full of sadness,
mayham and death! ahahhah. Tis true. The majority of the people we've
met with, cried with us. Lots of people died this week. There's been a
funk in Worksop. The major tidbits: there was a deadly gun fight in
town center. The only thing people would tell us was that there was
and "incident," Come now....I'm not a babe in swaddling
clothes....splatters and debris on the street coupled with caravans of
ambulances.....I was not born yesterday, good sir..."incident" my
foot...puh! hahaha. Our dear friend Julie Kelk has been in hospital
for the past two months with cancer....leukemia (?) Things took a turn
for the worst this week. She had a major chest infection, and she was
"confused"...not good. We've been calling her little husband Trevor
everyday to give him words of encouragement. Bless him. Trevor was
very upset yesterday during church and rushed to the hospital with
some ward members (all of whom missed my epic talk...not that i'm
complaining) We got word at the tail-end of Sacrament meeting that she
passed away. There's a funk in Worksop...I think we all kind of
knew... if you catch me drift. BUT Trevor is determined now more than
ever to kick his smoking habit and qualify himself to be sealed to
Julie in the temple. BAM! MIRACLE! NEXT!

In other news Sister Owen successfully learned to whistle! I'm sure it
happened because of my constant love, encouragement and expert
teaching :D only speculation :D.BAM! MIRACLE! NEXT! hahhaha she's
giving me the stink-eye right now...and it's not just her face :D

Yes I received Debi's package!!!!!!!!!! Every day I harassed the
Royal Mail employee, "Please Sir, do you have a parcel for me?"
Yeah.... the "sir" didn't really go over so well considering that this
employee was a "madame"....fail, but one day she saw me coming and
said, "37 Beaumont Rise? Right, I have a parcel for you!" Ha Ha!
Success. Let's just say, there was quite a bit of ugly dancing in the
street, and even more when I strapped on those fanciful Hallows Eve
argyle socks!!!!!! Wonderful!!!!! Sister Owen walks away from me when
I dance...that or says,"You're so LONG!" Truth:D heh heh.

I would like to thank all those who have rallied in support for my
Liprosy.....Leprosy of the lips. I officially have 27.25 sticks of
chap. Count them again...27 1/4 chapsticks!!!!! I've tried them
all..I've tried all home remedies....everything.....to no avail......I
think I'm just allergic to this country :D hahahha I'm a right
state....my right eye's a puffy sliver, and my mouth looks like a
three-year-old had a hay day with some red lipstick on my face, yet
I'm still smiling. I'm downing the multi-vits and avoiding things that
make my throat itch :D any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
It's just getting to the point that if one more person points at my
mouth and says, "oooohh..*sharp intake of air*.....what's up with your
mouth?.....you really should try some chapstick.....are you
contagious?" the name tag might "fly off "as I wail on someone :D
hahahha anyways....

I love you all so much! Thank you for all the love....so much
love....I can't even handle myself right now. Know that I'm thinking
and praying for you always. I am so grateful for the Spirit....and
chocolate...in small sensible portions :D mmmmwwwah! Write soon! Eat
some mac and cheese for me.

Love Your Sister Stefanya

Worksop October 2010

Mummy and Daddy,

I had such and amazing week this week! To start everything off, Shane
Allan Joseph Owen Jones was BAPTIZED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Whoo hoo!!!!!!! Amazing! He's made such an incredible transformation
ever since I came to the area. It was such a good night. In other
news, Sister Owen and I transferred with the Wakefield Sisters. Sister
Terry came home with me. Homegirl Terry! We were in the same MTC
group....oh....can I just say....we had some incredible experiences. I
swear we prayed about ten thousand times, thanking heavenly father for
sending us difficult people, asking him to guide us to those who are
prepared, then after we met said prepared person, we prayed, thanked
him, and asked for more. We found 17 new investigators...17....all
because we prayed all the time. say what!?!??! BAM! MIRACLE! NEXT!
Wow, I really am so amazed at how much Heavenly Father listens to my
silly prayers.

Do you remember Michelle Linacre...she was supposed to get baptized on
the 9th....well...we lost contact with her and I prayed for a way to
get back in touch with her. Well. Sister Terry and I were driving home
from our final "knocking" session for the evening...it was just a bit
past 9:00pm. As we neared Michelle's home I thought, "K, Father, I'll
go if the light's on." The light was on...I continued driving...It's
past curfew Father (technically we can stay out til 9:30 if we're
teaching a lesson). This sickening feeling swelled inside me....so I
screeched to the side of the road, and said,"Sister Terry, I feel like
we need to turn around....but it's past 9:00pm....what do you say?"
"Let's go." So we flipped a U and knocked on Michelle's door. SHE WAS
IN!!!! AND SHE INVITED US INSIDE!!!! So we talked for a bit....then
silence...."Why did you come tonight?" I explained what
happened.....then she started to cry. "Uggh! I'm sick of pushing this
out of my life! I know what my heart wants...I just want the rest of
me to agree!!!! I'm ready." So we scheduled her for the 6th of
November!!!! BAM! MIRACLE! NEXT! wow.

The morning that Sister Terry and I were meant to exchange back, I
felt like we needed to prepare for the 8:00am train. So we headed out
nice and early, and got to the deserted train platform at 7:58am.
Turns out the train we wanted left at 7:52am....and the next one
didn't leave until 9:15am...blast. "Heavenly Father, I'm sorry I
didn't follow your prompting all the way....please help us know why
we're here so early." Just then this man popped onto the platform
opposite us. He kept checking his watch and looking at the
screens...."Go talk to him!" "oh ok...in a second...I'm cold." "Go
talk to him!" "Ok i will in a little bit." "Go take your planner, and
the Restoration leaflet and talk to him!!!" "ok" So I grabbed my junk,
trotted over the bridge and said, "Hello, I feel like I need to talk
to you this morning, and I need to give this to you.*cue leaflet*"
"Are you Christian?" "Yes." "This is so crazy right now...I'm at a
crossroads in my life right now, and I'm trying to figure out what
path I need to go." I talked to him a bit about what I do, and the
message we share, then I told him to pray and ask God if what I shared
with him was true, because he'd let him know. "This is so crazy right
now. Friends have told me to come to their churches, but I told them I
needed some sort of sign from God as to what I should do." "Wouldn't
you say, this is an answer to your prayer then?" "Pshh Yeah!"
"Remember how my train doesn't leave til 9:15, but I felt like I
needed to be here and hour early? I know I was sent here to meet you."
"Remember how my train is ten minutes late?" "Well I'll be quick then,
because I feel like your train will come when I leave." Remember how
the train came when I returned to my seat on the opposite side of the
station.....wow....BAM! MIRACLE! NEXT! We meet with him later
tonight.

Sister Owen and I met with this florist, Rachel, who wants to have a beautiful
marital relationship. I felt like I needed to share with her the
counsel given in the True to the Faith book about marriage. When I
read it, she had tears bubbling down her face, "That was beautiful.
You know how you always ask if there's anything you can do for me?
Well...you could photocopy that for me...that was really lovely.
That's what I want." Later I photocopied it, and as we walked towards
her shop to give it to her, Sister Owen told me we needed to board a
bus to get to another appointment....uggh! but we need to give this to
Rachel. Well the bus drove down the street past her shop and I prayed,
"Heavenly Father, Please make the lights turn red when we reach
Rachel's shop and please soften the heart of the bus driver that he'll
let me out for a split second so I can run it inside. We approached
her shop, the lights turned red. I ran to the driver, he said, "I
never do this...you'd better be quick or I'll leave you." I dashed out
flung my long arm into the shop, threw the papers on the desk, yelped
at Rachel then flung myself back on the bus just as the lights
shifted!!!!!! WOW!!!! BAM!!!! MIRACLE!!!!! It really is amazing what
happens when you rely on the Lord and do what he prompts you to do.

I love you so so so so much! I hope all is going well.
Love
Your Sister White

Worksop October 2010

Mummy and Daddy,

Oh what to say? What to say?
This week has been an adventure to say the least. :D heh heh Sister
Owen had to go up to Leeds for some leadership meetings so I spent
five hours driving all over the English countryside picking up elders,
dropping them off ,and herding them all to the mission office...I fetched Sister
Freeke (yes prounced freak) and we made our way back to Worksop. Oh
Sister Freeke :D heh heh She's from Germany and she's been out seven
months. Worksop was her greenie area as well.
HAHAHAHA finding our way home was
quite the adventure, As we trundled down busy carriage ways I'd
say,"Sister Freeke, do you still know where we are?" insert frantic
page flipping in the map book......oh hannah.......Let's just say, I
said a prayer that screamed up to Heavenly Father to help me find the
motorway when I couldn't look at the map. As soon as I said "Amen," I
found myself on the on ramp to the motorway......say what?!??!!?!?
BAM! MIRACLE! NEXT! Sister Freeke giggled away and I thanked my
Heavenly Father for watching out for me YET AGAIN!!!! I'm seriously so
amazed all the day long. We embraced when we finally made it back to
our flat! WE MADE IT!!!! We visited a lot of people that she didn't
properly farewell, and we had some really powerful lessons with
people. One man in particular in Shireoaks let us into his home, and
we had an amazing lesson about the restoration of the gospel. The
spirit was burning a hole in his couch! He told us he believed
everything we were telling him, but there was no way in the bleepity
bleep that he'd ever be a "Mormon."
OH be careful boy...don't deny what you're feeling. Anyways, we'll see
what happens with him.

In other uber exciting news, our investigator Shane is getting
baptized on Wednesday!!!!!!!!!! WHOO!!!!!! He's completely transformed
in the short time that I've been here! BAM! MIRACLE! NEXT! His little
family is going to be eternal!!! We're so excited!

Our friend Ricky Rowley called us up the other night and said, "Elder
Rowley speaking!" He's been called on a mini mission (four weeks) to
the Huddersfield area in our mission!!!! We'll miss him, but he's a
natural anyways.

Other than that, life is fantastic. I'm up to all sorts of shenanigans
as usual and loving every second of it. :D I love you both sooooo
much. Thank you for all you do for me. MMMMWWWAH!!!!

Love Always
Your
Sister Stephanie White

Worksop October 2010

Mummy and Daddy

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA can I just say that I LOVE hearing about all the shenanigans that happen at home :D I'm sitting here in the Worksop Library laughing my frizzy head off.....even though some hooligan keifed my chocolate bar!!!!....I suppose it's for best...i do have a b'thigh :D...k...I'm still kinda ticked....I was saving that.....will persevere!

Let me tell you about WORK to the SOP! I am proud to announce that Sister Owen and I are now the proud owners of a classy new toilet seat with mohagany finish :D success! Our Worksop parents, Norman and Rosemary Jones, hooked us up. Our last toilet seat was on the fritz....I won't go into all the nitty, cheek pinching, death defying details, but let's just say I'd wake up each morning and say, "Suh-cur-it-tee...this toilet seat has GOTS TO GO!" So we're excited about that AND Brother Jones presented us with the Toilet Fitters Special Award" for being the first sister missionaries in Worksop to fit a toilet seat properly. :D I knew you'd be proud.

This week I went to Zone Leader Council...apparently I am the Coordinating Sister this transfer...go figure, but Sister Owen got to go out and about with my homegirl Rausch whilst I sat in a corner and listened to Politics and Numbers of the mission.....Politics and Numbers....my favorite subjects of all time!!! I may or may not have doodled pictures of large mustached men. :D who's to say for sure?

We've had some pretty incredible experiences this week. Can I just tell you I love it here? Not only do I get bathed with the spirit every single day, but I get to mingle with the English, many of whom can whistle through the gaps in their teeth :D Talent. :D I love the English. Cards are all the rage here. We go inside homes and see scores of paper cards adorning the walls....funny thing is...no one writes in said cards...just a signature. :D This one lady cried her eyes out about a card her husband wrote her.....he just signed it....she said, "The card says it all." hahahah I love it. I also love how people are afraid to open the doors for us sometimes so I get to whisper sweet nothings through the letter box :D hahahha

We are meeting some amazing people. A couple days ago Sis Owen and I heard this *thunk* as we drove to our flat. We stopped to check it out...we couldn't see any damage or injured children, but we did see a woman we stopped a few weeks ago! We ran down the road. Don't worry...we didn't hit her with our car.....Her name is Maha. She's an Arabic Christian from Gaza.....oh Maha....she's so cute. She told us how she tried to call us so many times, but wasn't brave enough. We just happened to have our Arabic Book of Mormon with us, and she met with us the next day. BAM! MIRACLE! NEXT! K....our lesson was amazing....the spirit was so strong as we watched the Restoration DVD, and I prayed that the spirit would touch her heart and that she'd be able to understand. At the end of the movie, she said, "I could not understand the words, but I understand." BAM! MIRACLE! NEXT! We invited her to be baptized and asked her to kneel and pray right there to know if this was the right thing for her to do. She knelt down and prayed in Arabic. At the end of her prayer, she sat for a while, thinking...she got a little emotional....and said, " I asked God for him to tell me if this is good or bad, and to let me know that this is how I get near to him now." *pause* *pause* "This is good. I feel this good and I will be...how you say...baptize." SAY WHAT!!! BAM! MIRACLE! NEXT!

Remember the guy, Mark, we found and invited to come to conference....well his number was bogus, but we saw him on the street the other day......"QUICK! we have to stop him." So we swung back around...we prayed the lights green and found a parking spot...but he vanished! bah! However, as we made our way back to our car, I saw this man, at the cross walk. *Slow motion* I saw him, he saw me... and just as I was about to say, " I need to talk to you." he said in his Polish accent, "I must be talking with you now." SAY WHAT!!!! BAM! MIRACLE! NEXT! His name is Kornel and he came to church! We taught him at the chapel, and when he saw a picture of the Preston England Temple he paused for a moment and said, "I am told that I will go to this building. Not now, but soon, and with someone else....someone of my other half." Who told you that? "No man told me.....a voice inside" SAY WHAT!!??!?!?!?! are you kidding me right now!??!?!?! BAM! MIRACLE! NEXT!

I really am amazed at how many miracles there are...wow....even now....wow....ooohh AND Worksop Branch is officially Worksop Ward now :D Big big week here in Worksop.

I love you so so so much! I can't thank you enough for letting me come here. UGGH! I AM SO LUCKY I CAN'T EVEN HANDLE MYSELF!

Love, Your Sister Stefanya

ps....CASTLE REPORTS! :D many thanks

Worksop October 2010

Mummy and Daddy,

Last week our district went to MEADOWHALL!!!! It's the major "mall" in our neck of the woods. We walked in...I just about died....so many beautiful clothes.....oh.....just thinking about it now....oooooh...heeee ahhhh...hee hee oooh oooh hee. SO GLORIOUS!!! Sister Owen unfortunately couldn't find her wallet!!! Stress! So we prayed, called a member and he went to the Library in Worksop and found it with all cards, money, and candy wrappers still intact!!! BAM! MIRACLE! NEXT!!!!

We really have seen some incredible miracles this week. Sister Owen and I worked really hard to invite people to General Conference. Quick side note: our General Conference schedule was really messed up. On Saturday, we watched the "Saturday Morning" session live at five o'clock in the evening....so...We were watching the same thing at the same time!!!!! You should have felt so close to me! :D Then Sunday morning the Priesthood session was shown from 10am-12pm, the "Saturday Evening" session at 1pm-3pm and the "Sunday Morning" session live at 5pm-7pm. There are rumors that we won't get to watch the Sunday afternoon session which really chapps my cheeks, but oh well.... But back to my story...so...Imagine Sister Owen and myself sloshing through the water cannon rain inviting everyone we see to come to conference. I said a little prayer, "Heavenly Father...push me to someone I should talk to." Instantly...in slow motion, I saw this man striding on the opposite side of the lane. The thought,"Run" came to me, so I dodged through traffic and pranced after this guy. "Hiya!!! Hiya!!! We're missionaries we're sharing a message about Jesus Christ. I have a question for you...Do you believe in prophets?" "Uh...there might be...." "Will you come to church with us. There's one speaking right now!!!" "Sure...let's go!" Say what!??!?! We led "Mark" to our chapel and caught the last hour of Priesthood session. Afterwards, we gave him a tour of our church, and when we were in the font room he said, "This is a wicked good environment. I don't have to think...I can just BE" :D hahahha haha remember how we found this guy on the street and in an hour and a half scheduled him for baptism!!!! BAM! MIRACLE! NEXT!!!! Wasn't Conference incredible!??! Remember how the camera went haywire every time President Monson spoke....interesting :D

Remember how we were contacted by this man named Patrick who wanted a Finding Faith In Christ DVD. We motored out to Retford, and chatted with him about his beliefs. Remember how he doesn't have a tv and does a lot of pondering...and in his ponders, he thinks about why he's here, and where he's going....remember how his beliefs are consistent with the things we wanted to share with him!!! Remember how we scheduled him for baptism as well!!!! What the?!?!!? BAM! MIRACLE!!! NEXT!!! Wow....

I can't believe all the things Heavenly Father does for me.....wow...I love being here in England. I love that the majority of people are either drunk, stoned, or crazy full stop!!! I love that so many people have eyes pointing in different directions so I don't know which one to focus on. I love how everyone has some sort of growth or symbiotic parasite feeding off their heads hahahahah :D I love how everyone and their dog (for everyone indeed has a dog) has a jazzy...even if they're not old :D I love how driving is a free for all here....lines don't mean much here... neither do traffic laws for that matter. :D hahahha. I love that I have to kill giant spiders every night before I go to bed! :D I love England. I love being a missionary. I love you so much! I'm glad that you're managing to get on without me...even though I don't see how that's even possible ;)

All my love!!!

Your Sister White

Worksop September 2010

Mummy and Daddy,

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE PACKAGE!!!!!! I danced when we got a little Royal Mail slip shoved through our letter box, and I just about DIED when the crotchety old guy lugged my giant package to the counter!!!!! THANK YOU SOOO MUCH!!!!! You are so good to me. Thank you so much for the sweet things you say to me each week in your emails. They really do mean alot to me, and keep me going. I look at your pictures frequently to remind me of the people who are rooting for me back in sunny old Sandy. Thank you so much for posting my stuff on my blog...YAY people are reading my blog!!!!! :D HA-HA!!!! Success!!!! People, you ROCK!!!

Well... news from Worksop, last night was Transfer Call Night. Dun Dun Dun. Sister Owen is moving on..."Why you want to leave me?!" She's going to....NO I jest!!! She's staying!!!! She's staying and I'm staying and we're going to have another amazing transfer together!! Can you believe I've already been out in the field one whole transfer? Remember how it's October this week?! What the hey nonny nonny?! Where does the time go? This I know not.

In other news, we went to Haddon Hall last P-day (apparently that's where Jane Eyre was filmed). It's so cool to see these ancient, drafty buildings, but can I just say hallelujah for indoor plumbing and heating....that's all I have to say about that :D Today we're going to Meadow Hall, the largest shopping centre in the area, to purchase a coat. I know you've been worrying mother...fret not, I'm getting a coat and some wellies today.

What else have we been up to? We had a YSA Family Home evening this week at David Baxter's home (member) in honor of a recently departed sister missionary, Sister Freeke. We all dressed up as "Freekes"... the pictures really do say it all. David goes all out for EVERY holiday by completely redecorating his flat. This week we have a dungeon theme :D quite classy really.

The film crew went home yesterday morning, and the branch is starting to relax a bit more now, but yes, it's true, I have had my close up. I don't know how they did it, but the camera men showed up in the very moments when we were caught by freak rain/wind storms. I'm afraid I look quite a fright on the footage. Do something really ugly with your hands...and that gives you a pretty good idea of how we looked. HAHAHAHA Our last evening, when we were dragging ourselves home, quite "shattered" and ripe for bedfordshire, the crew requested an interview. "Yes...sure....let me fetch my toothpicks and bobby pins so I can prop my eyelids open while you film us. Don't mind me...I'm just going to sleep here on the wall for a moment while you set up your lights." Sister Owen and I plopped on the couch and they asked us the importance of the ward missionary. I had no clue what to say...I was tired...I couldn't be bothered....."Heavenly Father, I know this is so important....I'm tired...I can't be bothered tonight, but please...please....help me say something...help me string at least one sentence together for these people." Before I knew it, words were hurling themselves out of my mouth....I spoke for a good while I think....I'm not sure....my mouth was busy but my mind was taking a nap. At the end of the interview the producer said, "Thank you sisters, you gave us exactly what we needed." The ward mission leader, Bro. Jones, was on his steps with tears in his eyes....his wife, Rosemary, was beaming at us. Sister Owen looked at me as we walked home saying, "You really set the tone in there. You were so eloquent in front of that camera." Say what?! I took a nap! I don't even know what I said really...BAM! MIRACLE! NEXT!...

I'm amazed each and every day that the Lord blesses me, answers my prayers on an hourly basis, and on many many many occasions speaks through me. How crazy is that!?!?!? There have been so many times when I don't know what to study, what to say, or where to go and the Lord shows me where to go!!! I wish I could go into each one..heck!..I wish I could remember each one but there too many!!! For instance Sis. Owen and I prayed about a street to knock. We knocked it, Hemmingfield Road, early the next day and left for an appointment. Later that night when it was time to go back to knock the rest of it, we were a little unsure. I felt like we should just drive and turn when we felt we should turn.....guess where we stopped....Hemming Field Road. Wow...I guess this is where we're supposed to be tonight. BAM! MIRACLE! NEXT!!!! We also felt impressed to visit this old woman, Anne, and we found out the day after that she DIED!!!! BAM! MIRACLE! NEXT! We prayed to know where to go to find people who had referrals. Sister Owen felt like we should wander down this dirt road...guess what we found....GYPSIES!!!! in real live CARAVANS!!!!! and guess what they had...REFERRALS!!!! They referred us to everyone else on the site....BAM! MIRACLE! NEXT! There are SO many miracles happening to us every blasted day. There are countless prayers being answered....one man, as he closed the door in our faces, said, "I'll believe it when it shows up on my doorstep." HELLO!!!! WE'RE HERE ON YOUR DOORSTEP!!!! hahahhahah we just have to open our eyes and recognize that the Lord is actively helping us everyday. When we do, we can't help but believe, and thank him! :D I love my Heavenly Father so much! I'm so grateful that he trusts me enough to prompt me to do things. I really am so lucky. Mum and Dad. I love you so much. Thank you for all you do. I can't wait to see you again. Send chapstick. Know that I'm praying for you just as much and you pray for me. mmmmwah!