Wharfe Valley

Mummy and Daddy!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Exciting news for this week!!!!!!!!!!!
Miss Rosemary Cousins was BAPTIZED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHOOOOO HOO!!!!!!!! ONE WORD: PHENOMENAL! President and Sister Lindley came. Rose was baptized, and she came out giggling and glowing....that might have been because Brother Wilkinson gave her an extra shove under because her hair floated up. Nervous laughter for her brush with death hahahah. Sister Taylor and I sang, "I Know That My Redeemer Lives," a cappella. There was definitely a moment when our nervous voices melted away and something seemed to happen in that room. I had that strange thing happen to me where my mouth plugs along, but I can look out into the audience and observe...it's very bizarre really. People bawled...especially Kevin, Sara and Rose. It definitely wasn't because of our voices. It was the Spirit! It was amazing! We got roped into singing in Sacrament meeting and for Zone Conference in a few weeks....hello! yikes. Sara and Kevin announced their wedding....so that we can be there....Jan 14th, 2012...hopefully they'll move it up for us. and be baptized and experience all the fantastical blessings God wants for them! Kevin came up to us after the service and requested his own Book of Mormon, because he wants to find God in his life as well! BAM! MIRACLE!

Rose had the Jehovah's Witnesses call 'round the Tuesday after she was confirmed a member of the church. The conversation went as follows:
"Hello Miss, We are Jehovah's Witnesses, and we'd love to talk to you more about our God's name and his purpose."
"Oh... I'm a Mormon."
"Oh.................how long have you been a Mormon?"
"I've been a Mormon for a LONG time!" hahahahaha! BAM! MIRACLE!
A long time...hahahahah...what....a day and a half? hahahah she's so great!

What else happened this week? Well...Sister Taylor and I got to experience the first rugby match of our lives!!!!!!! IT WAS SO FANTASTIC! The sound of skulls crunching and bodies thudding to the ground! haHA! That's what I'm talking about...non-stop action! It just might be my new favorite sport to watch! Whoo-hoo!

We also had a monster exchange this week. Three extra sisters came to us and we rampaged our area. There was on tender moment. Sister Lomiga started talking to this old lady....after quite a while they both were in tears.... I made my way over there to hear the old woman say, "I'm sure I know you from somewhere...this feeling I have inside is so peculiar...I'm sure we've met before. I feel as though I've known you all my life." Sister Lomiga pleaded with this woman to come to church and to learn about the gospel. We'll see what comes from it. Wow. Miracle!

All is well here in Wharfe Valley. I'm happy and sleepy :D what else is new right :D hahahha. I'm so excited to speak with you soon! I love you so so so much and I'm praying for you all! Thank you for everything! Thank you for letting me be out here! I can't think of anything else I would rather be doing! This gospel is so true! It brings people so much comfort....and it stretches me on a daily basis. I love you!

Love always and forever
Your Sister White

Wharfe Valley

Mummy and Daddy....

My hands STILL smell like cat food. :D Now how's THAT for and opening line? Intrigued much? Well, allow me to explain. Sister Taylor and I were knocking on this road in Otley. We stepped up to one door and saw this cat snoozing on the porch.

"Do you think that cat is ok? Should his bones protrude out of his body like that?"

I gave it a pat.....oooooooh.....Knobby Cat! OOOOh that's anti-bueno! It grunted at me, and looked at me through a black marble of an eye ball perched in its socket....HELLO! It stood and it had all these bald patches.....oooooooh not ok...not ok! Quick! Wildlife in distress!!!! So I ran two doors down, and pleaded with this old man for a cup of cat food for distressed wildlife....saying... "Please Sir, may I have a cup of cat food for distressed wildlife!" He refused! "Sir....a cup of food please! There is wildlife in distress!" He'd rather spit his dentures at me, swearing me blind that God does not exist rather than just giving me a simple cup of cat food. I was three seconds away from keifing the bowl right out from under his own cat's nose....but I figured that was unwise. Finally, he trotted back into the kitchen, scooped a handful of kibble, and plunked it into my hands.

"The idea of God is just an excuse for people not to think!"
"Sir! The wildlife!"
"The very thought that God has a human form is simply absurd! Where's the logic?"
*The kibble marinating in my steamy hands*
"Sir! The wildlife! I must tell you though that there is a God! He is our Heavenly Father. We are the literal spirit sons and daughters of him! From human form to human form....perfect logic. Read this leaflet...we will be back after we tend to the wildlife!"

I have never seen a cat eat a handful of kibble so quickly in all my life! Needless to say...the old man wasn't interested in what we had to say. No matter how many times I wash my hands....I still have that hint-o-kibble...even now....*sniff sniff*....kibble.

In other fantastic news, Miss Rose passed her baptismal interview!!!!! She's all geared up and ready for Saturday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Whooo! BAM! MIRACLE! NEXT! We're really excited about that!

In other interesting news, we taught Rose's daughter- in-law-to-be, Sara, the law of chastity. :D heh heh....she was all up for it until we told her that in order to fully live the law, she needs to live separately from her partner, or get married. :D I nearly had to run across the room and fetch her eyeballs for her! hahahahah they'll get there.

What else? Oh..confession....I did a bit of breaking and entering this week. We had an appointment with this man in a block of flats. He didn't have a buzzer that worked properly, and he couldn't remember his mobile number when we met him. I was resourceful, seized and opportunity and made things happen! He wasn't home though... oh well. :D

Lastly, Sister Taylor and I chopped our hair today. :D Mine was pretty gungey! I cut about 7 inches off! Who knew I had that much hair!.....not I!

I love you so sosososo much! Thank you so much for all you do! I can't wait to talk to you for real!!!! :D Bah! Only a couple more weeks! Wow....can you believe that April is almost over?! Wow...where has it all gone!

I love you!
Love Always and Forever
Your Sister Stephanie White

Wharfe Valley

Mummy and Daddy, This week has been BEA-Utiful!!!!! So much sun I can't even handle myself!!!! It was about...20*....what's 20* over there.....uhhh...it was about 70-80* delicious degrees. I've never seen so much fluorescent skin in my life!!!! People people, my retinas can't take it any longer!!! Here, those hankies look a bit chilly...here...borrow my poncho :D Pretty sure we were the only two people in all of Wharfe Valley fully clothed hahahhaha....yello! Good news though...my hands have a silly little tan and my cheeks have an ever so light pink-ish hue! SUCCESS!!!!! Too bad Sister Taylor's felt like death this whole week, coughing up a storm. I'm surprised she hasn't choked on her lung yet! In other news, President Lindley's 15 year old granddaughter, Maddy, came teaching with us! No pressure right! Well we did some street contacting, some knocking, and taught a lesson where we taught Jonathan and Amanda's daughter Sophie the Plan of Salvation. Maddy was a star! We even invited her to be baptized! Wha-BAM! When Maddy returned home, she went straight into President Lindley saying," I'm definitely going to serve a mission!!!!" Phew! That could have been bad :D Sad news about Amanda and Jonny, they fell out the other day and they're threatening to get a divorce...Jonny's looking for a flat in Skipton....more to come on that. I'm sure it'll die down, and everything will settle back to normal. We were so looked after this week! We went to visit Miss Rose on Oxford Road. She's so golden!!!! She invited her daughter in law (to be), Sara, to listen to us. As we taught them, our discussion turned into the Plan of Salvation. Sara talked about how she lost her nan and granddad recently and how they were her whole world! She said she'd stop smoking and drinking tea even before we taught her about the Word of Wisdom! AND!!!!! SHE CAME TO CHURCH! After testimony meeting, both she and Rose were puddles! They definitely felt the spirit! Sara leaned over to me saying, "I am definitely coming next week, and I'm dragging my fiancé with me! That day when you came by to teach Rose, my fiancé told me he was leaving and if I wanted to come. I told him, 'No...I think I'll stick around for a bit...I feel like I need to stay for some reason.' Then you lot showed up. I know I was supposed to stay for you! I needed to listen to what you taught Rose! God was definitely looking down on me that day! You two really are my angels!" Rose poked her head over our way and said, "SEE! THEY'RE MY LITTLE ANGELS TOO!" Then the hankies came out! BAM! MIRACLE! NEXT! Ooooh AND when we taught Sara about the Book of Mormon, Rose started teaching her about Joseph Smith and the Restoration!!!!! BAM! MIRACLE! NEXT! I also had this dream about this street near the church. On said street we met this lady with blonde hair and a stroller with a little boy. We went to this brand new street and as we drove down it I said, "Sister Taylor!!!! This is the street!!!!!" We started knocking.....a bunch of oldies...bah! At every door I asked, "Do you know a blonde lady with little kids that lives on this street?" Nobody did....We came to this one door, knocked and this young lady with blonde hair came to the door. After ten seconds...this little boy scurried into view....Sister Taylor and I scooped our tongues off the floor and asked if we could teach her more. She was busy, but asked us to come back!!!! We went back and her husband refused to let us speak with her!!!! It's a SIGN!!!! :D hahah we will go back! BAM! MIRACLE! We had Zone Leader Council this week so Sister Brown came out with me. Wharfe Valley was her greenie area. The night prior, I prayed about a street to go visit, and I felt very impressed about Harrgrave Terrace in Yeadon. When Sister Brown and I went out to Yeadon, we neared this street. At the same moment, I said, "I want to go knock this bit here." and she said, "Hey! I know a lady that lives over here!!!!" We rounded the corner and knocked on this door to find, Joan, a lady on major dialysis and is full blown dying! We had a great lesson with her and scheduled another time to see her. I asked her what her address was... 22 Harrgrave Terrace....What!??!?!!? I showed her my planner with "Harrgrave Terrace" plastered on the page! IT'S A SIGN!!!! BAM! MIRACLE! NEXT! Final miracle of the week. We wanted to go to the mission home fireside; however, Rose and Sara backed out. They had other plans....DANG IT!!! We called and visited all we knew....no luck. So we left it in Heavenly Father's hands. He knew where we needed to be, whether that was the fireside or out and about finding people. We went knocking on a particular street. People were especially snippy on this road, but we knew the most opposition comes when we're getting close. The last door we knocked on we met Suzanne. Suzanne lost her best friend in all the world last week. We talked with her about the Plan of Salvation, sang her a song, prayed with her, cried with her and set up another time to go see her. She said, "You must have been sent to me today!" BAM! MIRACLE! The Lord's hand is definitely in this work! How honored am I to be a part of this amazing work?!! WOW! I love you so much! I'm so glad everything is going well at home! Give everyone a big hug and a smooch for me! Love always and forever, Your Sister Stephanie White

Wharfe Valley

Mummy and Daddy! I am officially OLD :D heh heh Can you believe it??!??!?! I am 22 years of age! This gives me gas :D Remember how my birthday was the best day of my life!!!! Not only was it sunny and warm, but I got a surprise call from the Worksop crew and a rousing rendition of "happy birthday" in accents around the globe, a bacon muffin breakfast, a birthday badge to wear about, American tampons, a PURPLE PRINCESS CASTLE!!!!! presents and cards galore, a wonderful springy ensemble to wear, a birthday party at every tea appointment, a birthday bash at Subway on Saturday evening, one of the Elders pulled a CHAV and keifed a Subway balloon for me, PLUS it was CONFERENCE ALL THE DAY LONG!!!! AND Rose on Oxford Road came to conference! BAM MIRACLE NEXT! Why did she come to conference? Because she wanted to hear a prophetic voice, but she is also......SCHEDULED FOR BAPTISM!!!!!!!!!!! YAY!!!!! BAM! MIRACLE! NEXT! HAHHAHA That was so golden! Let me tell you the story! We went to her abode, trundled to her basement and she said, " You know what....a funny thing happened to me this week. I was on my way home from a funeral when I was looking out the window at the sunrays peering through the clouds and I thought to myself, “That looks like when Jesus came to that boy in the woods." I sat there thinking about this for a little while and I remembered you telling me that if I prayed to know if it was true, God would show me a sign. Well at that moment in the car, I said a little prayer and asked to feel a sign. Well!!!! We rounded the corner and there was this GIGANTIC sign on the motorway that said, "Believe in Jesus Christ and you will be saved." WOW! Now THAT'S what I call a sign! I knew right then and there that it must all be true! I prayed and I saw a sign! I had an answer to my prayer just like you said I would!!!" BAM! MIRACLE NEXT! We scheduled her right then and there! She's amazing! She's our saving grace at the moment. So much happiness....oh AND I celebrated my 8th month mark....can you believe I'm almost half way?! This week, we're looking forward to hours upon hours of finding...exciting yes....especially since I don't have to worry about me face freezing and cracking off...always a plus! I'm so incredibly grateful to be here in England. I'm so grateful to have a living prophet on the Earth to speak to us. How amazing is that.... we have a prophet ladies and gentlemen...a real live prophet! Wow! I'm so thankful that Heavenly Father blesses me with opportunities to struggle....just shows that he trusts me and sees that I have so much potential. He knows everything!!!!! All we have to do is try our best, act and react in a way that the Savior would and put our trust in God. This church is the Church of JESUS CHRIST! I am his missionary, teaching the things he did. How incredible is that! This stuff is true! Mosiah 2:41 "Consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God" I'm incredibly grateful for my testimony and knowledge of this! Thank you so much for all you do for me! I love you so much ESPECIALLY because you sent me a pretty pink palace :D you know me too well. MMMWAH! Love always and forever Your Sister White